Ethan's First Day

Here are some pictures of the past day. They aren't the greatest because the lighting has been pretty bad, but you get to see a little glimpse of our new addition.

Completely captivated by this little man....

Lucas meets his little brother...

Lydia's not too sure about this new addition, but she sure looks happy holding him....

He's Here!

Ethan Garrett
Dec 21st, 2010, 1:39 am
9lbs 12oz, 21 1/4 in long
Perfect in his momma's eyes.
Pictures soon

Recent Creativity

Here are a few things I've been able to accomplish in the last 3 months or so. I thought I'd share them before the baby comes, because who knows when I'll make it back to this poor, old blog!

Here are a few more pictures from a post a couple days ago. This is the quilt that was made for the project swap for the quilt guild I belong to. It was so much fun to design this quilt and see it come to completion. I just love how it turned out!

(Design/Image under copyright. Please do not use without permission)

Last night I realized that we didn't have any extra sheets for this adorable antique cradle a friend loaned to us for the baby. I found some plush minky down in my sewing room that I've had for a couple years and within a couple hours I had two extra sheets. (See the artwork in the background? I love the way the kids hang their artwork in random places throughout the house.)

This little sweetie is a mermaid that Lydia picked out of my Wee Wonderfuls book by Hillary Lang. There are some really adorable dolls in this book, but this is the one Lydia picked for her birthday.

Back packs for the kids. The kids picked out the fabrics from my fabric stash. They really seem to enjoy using these for various things. I forget which magazine I found the pattern in, but they were fairly easy to put together.

Below is my first attempt at a rug mug, which is a newer fad among quilters/crafters. The idea is that it is big enough for a mug of coffee and a treat, such as a muffin or scone. This was a fairly quick project that brought a lot of satisfaction. And it went to live with a very special friend. I hope to have a chance to make more of these in the future.

And here is a random picture of me at 40 weeks. Lucas took the picture for me because I think my belly may be gone by tomorrow. My due date is tomorrow, but I think our little one may come sometime tonight. My contractions are pretty regular and pretty intense which is why it took me so long to complete this post and why it may seem a bit disjointed and random :).

I hope to have pictures of little feet and hands to show off tomorrow!

Ginger, Anyone?

I'm usually a big fan of vegetable "sushi" rolls, but today's little feast is all about the pickled ginger. I am digging it in a HUGE way. See that extra little container? It will all be gone very soon. I cannot stop myself! It is piled high on each little roll and I'm in food heaven!

Anyone else experience weird end-of-pregnancy cravings?

Still no baby, obviously.
Still hanging out in the kitchen... a lot.
Most of what I'm making now is for gifts or easy
breakfasts for the kids.

Hope your weekend has been spectacular!

Oh! Hello!

I'm still here! Still pregnant! Only 6 days left until my official due date, so really any day now we will meet our sweet little one. I've been busy...

organizing....

a little holiday baking....

a little washing....

finishing up a swap-project for a sweet lady in my quilt guild....

And to be honest, I feel a little like this squirrel in his desperate
foraging for his winter food supply...

...because I'm seriously nesting in the kitchen this time! A dear friend came over last week to help me get a few meals in the freezer for after the babe comes or when I return to work. To say that got the ball rolling is an understatement! To date I have:

2 meals of enchiladas- mom's recipe
8 -10 chicken curry pineapple wraps for quick lunches
3 beef vegetable soups, mostly prepped
12 Individual Meat Loaves- Ina Garten's recipe
3 meals marinated chicken thighs
2 sausage stratas, mostly prepped
2-3 quart bags of spaghetti sauce
3 meals of frozen stuffed pasta shells
18 brown sugar oatmeal packets

I've also made...

3 loaves Chocolate Chip Banana Bread for gifts and eating. (We go through this like bananas are going to stop showing up in the grocery store!)

2 batches of homemade cocoa mix for gifts and late night cravings :) (what's up with the text size changes?)


And my favorite.....

Homemade Marshmallows! So yummy and so easy! And they make great, simple gifts!

...and I have to admit, there are a few more things I want to make while there is still time, if there is still time.

Am I CRAZY?!!!!
Bless Brian for putting up with my late evening kitchen marathons!

So, that is where I have been.

What have you been up to?

Lydia's Big Day

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl! We had such a great time celebrating such a special day! We were lucky enough to have family visiting from out of town, so there was a lot of cousin love going around. We don't have everyone pictured, but for a majority of the weekend there were 6 adults and 9 kids running around. I was blessed to have my sweet sister, Jenn, visiting for the weekend. She graciously took pictures for me. Now, if only I could edit them as well as she does!

Here's our little peanut her 1st week of life getting a little extra TLC at the NICU.

... and 4 years later- just as precious (most of the time :))

Little Lydia,

Oh goodness, girl! You are a sweet, spunky darling! You make my heart swell with pride. You are silly and snuggly. It melts my heart every time you randomly come up to me and wrap your arms around my leg and give me a kiss. You make me laugh when you make faces that only you can make. I love it when you come to me and ask me to play. Forgive me for the times I don't take full advantage of those moments. It is such a pleasure to have you in our family. You make our life richer and fuller. I thank God for the way you have helped me grow as your mom.

Happy Birthday, Gracie-Pooh!

Harvest Festivities

Here is a quick update of the past couple of weekends:

A local Fall Festival:

pony rides

bouncy house

Beggar's Night:

love the faces on my little robot and cupcake!

They were so busy running around I couldn't get any good shots. This is the
best one with Dad! We had a lot of fun running around
the neighborhood with Kate and her family!

Sunday afternoon called for my first attempt at homemade Spice Donuts. It was a ton of
fun and not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. The kids got a kick out of the
whole process. I, unfortunately, was a bit disappointed with the end result. I was
hoping for a lot more "spice", but I have an Apple Cider Donut recipe we're going to
try out sometime.... or maybe it's good they weren't irresistible. I might have eaten
the whole batch. I love a good donut!!!

I did love the look of the end result though!

Hope you had a great weekend however you choose to celebrate!