Our New Bubba

Welcome to the world our little boy, MF! Born 25 October, a smidge before midnight and without complictions (Praise the Lord!) 9lb 8oz (gosh they just keep getting bigger!) and 57cm. He's just perfect and we are so grateful for his well being. We love you lots our little MF and we pledge to you that we will do our best as parents to bring you up to be a great citizen.
Your brothers adore you and will be your best friends.
Arohanui

Busy Nesting

Ahhhh! The nesting bug has gotten me!
I have

• knitted
• cleaned and tidied random stuff
• reorganised
• sorted
• oh yes and knitted
• sewn stuff

and I still haven't done 1/2 my list but we're making progress and that's the main thing.

It's 4 more weeks till my scan date (technically my due date was the week just gone.....after all this is Laura we are talking about and the last 2 just turned up when they were good and ready, yes 2 and 3 weeks later).
I'm feeling good! Not too incapacitated by the large basketball protruding out the front and enjoying this little person moving around inside my belly.
The boys are showing lots of interest in bubba and JK has taken to commenting at least once a day "I wonder if it's a boy or a girl?". LJ's fav comfort thing is to lift up my shirt and put his head on my puku (tummy), talk to the 'bubby' and rub my stomach like it's magic. All very cute! Oh yes and speaking of cute, my darling hubby has been bonding with his next child too.

So here are some of the projects that I have completed and attached photos of

1. Emma's Apron! This is an 'Emmeline Apron' from a pattern by Sew Liberated (formally Montessori By Hand). This special apron has been sent of to my darling sister who is on the Mission field in Ethiopia. Oh and it's reversible! She chose the material herself before she left so this is totally her style.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
2. Sarah's Mei Tai. This was great fun to make as it is so simple and quick esp once you have all the pieces cut out.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Knitted Baby Soakers and Longie. One girlie coloured one, just in case we have a little girl!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. Calorimetry. My first attempt at one of these in this cool wool. It was easy to knit and a great instant gratification project. I think I didn't check the gauge carefully enough (i'm just lazy) so it's a little wider than it should be.....thinking I might give it a bit of a hotish wash to size it down a bit.
   
   
   
   
   
5. One toddler sized longie for LJ. This was the first one I have ever knitted. Am so proud of the new skills I learnt along the way. Knitted in Tekapo Landscape.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Another 2 Dishcloths... One went all the way to Ethiopia for my Mum and the other to my sister Marcella....opps no photos of these.
   

Baby Thoughts

I was just having a little meander through the photos on our computer and came across a file named "LJ's Birth". They brought back lots of memories of that first day and week, along with the reality of having to do the whole labour thing again.
I felt quite tearful looking at the photos as LJ and I were seperated for 3 hours following his birth as I was transfered to the main hospital from the birthing unit.... he had made a bit of a mess. I still remember being in theatre and thinking....'damn this is just wrong, I should be bonding with my new bubba not lying here in this most dignified (NOT) position listening to the theatre stuff discuss family and work'. ( I know it could've been a hang of a lot worse....but still). I have a wishlist for this labour....if God will just cover 2 of the bases, I'll be stoked.
LJ bonded with his Daddy for those 3 hours, a bond which continues on even now. They have something a little extra special going on between them.
As most parents we did wonder how our the 2 and half year old JK would handle going from an only child to sharing his world with a little brother. Well we needn't have worried.....look at the photo I found ...............................

JK's Quilt

FINALLY!!! i have managed to get JK's quilt on the line for a photo. It's only been 4 months since it was finished and gifted to him for his 4th birthday!!
He requested the colour scheme (blue and green) and found a picture of a quilt with courthouse steps as the pattern...he decided he quite liked it.
Some of the fabrics where chosen purely for their colour but many were chosen for their NZ designs. We have pukekos, kiwifruit, korus and ferns. It was loads of fun to make and JK just loves it to bits.

Nappies Away

I'm very proud of my little LJ (or not so little as the case may be!).
Yesterday I packed away his nappies.
He is dry all day!!
At night he's wearing pullups and this morning even they were dry!!
Now I've had a few mums say "gosh you're lucky" but I would like to think that luck has nothing to do with it. We started LJ on infant potty training (or Elimination training) when he was about 2 months old. We haven't been religious about it but I definitely believe that it's made a huge difference. Going to the toilet has never been a new thing for him and boy does it make it easier when you want to get them into undies.

So away with those nappies.......for a few more weeks, then we start all over again.

Just Because They're Cute

An Ice-Cream to commemorate the beginning of Spring

A very satisfied smile from LJ following a fluffy at a new "kid-friendly" Cafe.

JK with yet another flying creation

Check out that expression!
Anybody would've thought LJ was listing to music through those earmuffs!

JK showcasing his new clothes

A New Toy!

Today I purchased myself a new toy....
AN OVERLOCKER!! (or serger if you're from the USA)
I requested that some of my birthday presents a few weeks ago would come in the monetary form as I am not in NEED of anything in particular. My family were very obliging and I ended up with a lovely mix of hand chosen gifts and money.
The reason for asking for money rather than gifts?
Aha! A great question......
I have been saving up for an overlocker without much success, but now.......
I have my very own one.
Found it on Trademe (NZ version of Ebay) for a reasonable price and the lady lived less than 10 min away. Yay! It works and is about to go in for a service now that I've had my first little play with it.
Now I would add a photo for your perusal but the camera is playing hide and seek with me so may have to add that one in later.
Right....off to play some more.

A Great Giveaway to Enter!!

http://lilatuellerdesigns.blogspot.com/2008/07/woodland-bloom-giveaway-contest.html

Winter Busyness

It's that wonderful time of year when the evenings are long and the need to be in close contact with great colours and textures is paramount. It has been rather chilly over the last month and very wet so lots of time to be indoors working on projects etc. I think it's not only the weather but also my pregnancy that motivates me to be home....even when I'm offered an evening out, I am happy-as-larry to be home keeping my hands busy with a new challenge.

Here are some of the things that are happening......and it's not just me but the kids too!

Jordan and Levi with hammers, nails, softboard and wooden shapes.....they LOVE it.



And then there's Mummy's projects.....

The Wheat Sacks requested by my Ken and Dad, they have been divided into 3 compartments to stop the wheat travelling from one end to the other and just a little bit of lavender to keep it smelling yummy.










I knitted a baby beanie from leftover wool to add to a small pile of baby gifts that I'm trying to gather for my own and all those up and coming. It was a quick satisfying project (anybody get the feeling that I need quite a bit of instant gratification!!).



The following knitted item is not my work...you can tell cause it's not very simple looking!!.....my Oma in Holland knitted it for our new bubba.



For my twin sister's birthdays I made them each a messenger bag to take with them on their year long family adventure to serve on the mission field in Ethiopia. They have magnetic closures and the fabrics were esp chosen for each twin. Just in case you don't guess.....one of them is a bit horse crazy. Here are photos of the bags I made.

Bag #1 was made from denim and cute cherry print cotton with an appliqued flower on the outside for a bit of fun.





Bag #2 (sorry no close up photo yet....am doing some adjusting to the strap length....what a mare!!!.....hehe no pun intended) Made from vintage bark cloth picked up at the local sallies and lime green lining. This one even has a pocket on the inside.



And then of course you need to have something sitting to the side to do when ya finish the projects currently on the go (pjs for JK, nappies, flannels, baby cardy, baby hats etc etc) so I purchased 2 patterns from Sew Liberated (formly Montesori By Hand). The apron will be part of my little sister's 21st pressie and the Mei Tai carrier for a friend who is having her first bubba any day now.

Making Dishes Interesting

I tried my hand at knitting a dishcloth!
What a great little project to do when you need a change of scene from a more ongoing WIP.
So heres my hot-chocolate-with-marshmellows dishcloth....

AND....here's the pattern for those who aspire to more unique and interesting
dishcloths in their kitchen.

co4, k 1 row
Next row, k2 inc in next st, k1
Next row, k2,yo,k to end of row
Repeat the k2, yo, k until you have 45sts on the needle
Next row, k1, k2Tog, yo, k2Tog, k to end of row
Continue to do this , decreasing each row until 5 stitches are left. Then, k2, k2Tog, k1.
Bind off the 4 sts.

Walks, Autumn Leaves, Playgrounds and Helicopters

I LOVE summer!!! Especially with two rambunctious little boys who do some much better when they can burn off their energy with running round outside, swimming and more running.
Therefore the minute winter starts to crawl up, I hold my breath and wish the months to go quickly. I'm a bit lazy so even though I say "oh yes, no matter what the weather they WILL go outside EVERYDAY", in reality that doesn't happen, as the thought of MORE washing etc etc just puts me off.

I've been making an effort to get out with the boys to do what boys do best....adventuring. This is what we've been up to........

VISTING PARKS

WEEKEND WALKS WITH DADDY

NAVY HELICOPTER VISITS @ DADDY'S SCHOOL
(We live @ school....one of the perks)

FUN WITH OUR FRIENDS FROM ACROSS THE FIELD

Nappy Sewing

I have caught the nappy sewing bug.
I think I might blame Sharon after viewing her creations and finding a great pattern to use.
I've fought a little with the old sewing machine, wished for an overlocker and started to sharpen up on the self taught, limited sewing skills and I think I'm offically addicted........esp judging by the LARGE stack of material sitting to the left of my dining room table.
Here are a few of creations thus far......

It started with a fitted nappy and cover for our LJ. The nappy is made from Flannelette and hemp, cover is made from PUL. He did a great job at modeling for me! Need to go up a size in the nappy for him or make the wings longer.






Then I had a baby shower to attend so I made a newborn fitted from cotton velour and hemp, a PUL cover and 4 little cloth wipes. Lots of fun!!

An open view of the fitted nappy, it has an extra soaker inside that can be removed so that it all dries quickly!!! Very important with the dank, cold weather we've been having. Bring on summer I say!







I hope to make a set of velour fitted nappies for our up and coming little one along with some PUL covers and some knitted soakers. With the JK I used disposables completely and with LJ I didn't start using cloth till he was about 2 months old....my aim is to get into those cloths as soon as those icky meconium poos are over with.
Check back for more photos later!

I Promise.........

Ah... promises are dangerous things!!
But seeing it's the long weekend coming up I endeavour to blog up some photos of all the fun things I (we)'ve been up to over the rather slient weeks in my blog...
BUT FIRST I NEED TO:
1. Finish fitted nappy, Nappy cover and 4 face cloths for a baby shower tomorrow
2. 2x messenger bags for my twin sisters birthdays on Sunday (the family is going on mission in Ethiopia for a year so they should come in handy.......no use giving them something they can't take with them!)

Once those 2 major's are out of the way I will take a breath and update photos of quilt (LONG overdue), nappies, bags etc etc along with adventures in the lives of the REST of the family....who by the way don't find my sewing quite so interesting!!

Completed Quilt

The quilt has been completed and delivered to JK for his 4th birthday yesterday.
I think it's been dragged round the house for the last 24 hours with much love.
Photos to come.............

Update to List

Why am I blogging when I should be sewing binding on to the quilt????
Very good question.....on which shows I either have a short attention span or I have a serious issue with multi-tasking!!
Anyway.......

Things done off my list......

#2 - Finish knitting JK's hat (I just pulled back about 10 lines as I found a stitch round the wrong way and it just annoyed me!)
#10 - Organise JK's birthday ON TIME to avoid stress


Things that nearly done:


#1 -FINISH JK's Quilt....very urgent

Oh and I had a divergent moment on the way through my list of to-do's and made a Kete Pikau (Maori for Woven backpack) for my hubby. I dyed it black and wine in colour and it was my first unsupervised (by the expert, Tia) effort at making one.

Pictures to come!

Setiu Bubba #3

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret; When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16

Airballoons Over Waikato

The past week has been the Waikato Air Balloon festival, a bit of a long standing institution around these parts. The kids have been running outside every morning to see how many balloons would be up in the sky and spending quite some time watching them drift on by. The festival is rounded off with the Night Glow on Saturday night. Here are some photos from the past week, the night ones are a bit (or a lot) blurry but that adds to the novelty...