field trip

Ahhh…. There’s nothing quite like having a pint at your favorite ballpark.

little miss island baby

Island Auntie and Uncle called to share the news that they are having a sweet little girl.  Horray!  I was so excited and inspired last night that I almost finished Island Baby’s quilt top.  Lots of neutral colors with a bit of color.  The little guy helped me choose some of the fabric.

call me or i’ll send my chainsaw guy after you

OK, perhaps that’s a little drastic.  Island Auntie should know whether she is having a boy or girl by now.  Just waiting for that call to learn the big news.

ta da!

Here you have it. The dancer’s quilt. The little guy gave it some cousin-love before we packed it up and shipped it off.

Cowgirl Auntie said that she cried when she opened it. That cracked me up. She is six weeks shy of her due date; something tells me it wasn’t necessarily the quilt that made her cry.

handmade

Because I am one of six children and half of my siblings are spread out across the country, we simplify gift-giving at Christmas by picking names.  Each person gives a gift to only one sibling and their family.  This year, our family lucked out because Architect Uncle and Teacher Auntie picked us.  We received a whole box of hand-crafted maple building-block fun.  Check it out.

Gorgeous, right?  These blocks were absolutely the perfect gift.  In fact, the Cydermaker and I were hoping to BUY blocks like these for our little guy, but weren’t able to find anything in our area that even remotely resembled these.  Pretty nice to have a talented and crafty uncle in the family.  Thanks Architect Uncle and Teacher Auntie!

And speaking of handmade, I sewed a little something this weekend for a certain Big-Sis-To-Be who lives in Florida.  A very early birthday present of sorts.

handed down

Christmas has come and gone and I’m not typically one to drag it out again once the tree has exited the building and the decorations have been packed away. However, we received some extra special gifts this year and I thought it might be fun to show off the loot.

At the top of the list is a beautiful children’s rocking chair that we were gifted on Christmas Eve from the Cydermaker’s uncle, Uncle Cookie Baker. That evening we had no idea that we were the intended recipients. Though I have to admit, when I saw it under the Grandparent’s tree, I secretly wished that we would be the ones taking it home.

Later that week, Grammy asked us if we were going to take the rocking chair to our house. That’s when we learned its history. You see, it’s not just any rocking chair. It belonged to the Cydermaker’s grandfather. The reason why it has been handed down to our family is because the Cydermaker, my husband, is the only grandchild that Uncle Cookiebaker can remember ever using it.

Thank you Uncle Cookie Baker. It is beautiful and is already getting lots of use by a certain little person who loves to show off his newfound rocking skills. And don’t worry about me. I will soon get over the fact that neither the Cydermaker nor I thanked you in person on Christmas Eve for such a precious gift. I guess I was too darn busy eating those delicious chocolate chip cookies you were handing out.

plankton & puppy dogs

We had a great time last weekend. City Auntie and her boyfriend met us at the aquarium. Local Auntie and her Super Six-Year-Old came with us. The Godfather met us for lunch in the city afterwards.

The next day we hit our favorite hiking spot. The little guy dozed as we strolled along. Toward the end of our walk, we encountered a litter of the sweetest puppies. To say that our munchkin loves all things canine is an understatement. He doesn’t say much yet, but he sure knows how to bark. If I could translate his one-year-old babble I’d guess that he is constantly repeating variations of “Why haven’t you people bought me a dog yet? I mean….c’mon already.” You can imagine the expression of pure joy when he awoke from his slumber to this sight.

what to expect when everyone else is expecting

Two of my sisters are expecting their first babies in the coming months.  Cowgirl Auntie’s baby, whom we have nicknamed “Dancer,” should be here in seven short weeks.  (According to her mom, the Dancer will be grounded the second she is born because all of her prancing around made Cowgirl Auntie quite ill during the first few months of the pregnancy.)  Island Auntie is due at the end of May.  As you can imagine, it’s a pretty exciting time for our family.

So, what to expect?  Around here, a lot of sewing.  I just finished a quilt for the Dancer and will drop it in the mail soon.  Below is a sneak peek.  Maybe I’ll post a more revealing photo after the recipients open the package.  I know.  The suspense.  Next on the list is a blanket for the Island Baby.  I have some great fabric and a pretty good idea about the design–but that’s for another day.

a real stand-up kinda guy

Standing on his own is one of the latest tricks. It was followed by a couple of first steps this weekend. And yes–our kiddo does wear his Bruschi jersey quite a bit. He’s a dedicated fan and we have a lot on the line these days….

new year. new blog.

Q: What do you get when you find yourself with a desire to stay in touch with family and friends, but not enough hours in the day to send email and upload photos of your favorite handsome little guy?

A: A handy new blog.

Here it is folks. No more yawn-inducing, thirty-minute photo slideshows of our pride and joy. Just the best-of-the-best, posted once or twice a week, with brief commentary. Hope you like it.

Go Pats!