Putting it in Perspective

A couple weeks ago, I asked the city inspector to come out & see if we could start insulating the second story of the addition (future master bedroom).  I was having my second productive day in a row, chugging along through laundry, dishes, phone calls & picking up the house - with EJ in the play pen - when the knock came and I realized the house was a disaster!

2 laundry baskets waiting to be folded; an arm chair piled with half my yarn stash & etsy items waiting to be photographed; baby toys all over... :/

...not to mention all the dishes covering my entire kitchen counter.

But then it was like a voice reminding me:

Be thankful that I have a washer & dryer (no laundromat trips) and clothes TO wash.
Thank God for a healthy baby who is meeting & exceeding her milestones that we need a play pen; that we were even BLESSED with a beautiful daughter (some are not so lucky) & the resources to provide for her.
Thank God for such a beautiful, sturdy house that we can afford to live in & even afford to build on to, for our need of more space.
Thank God almighty for my beautiful, loving family & the hard working, selfless husband He has provided me.

And how could I not be over the moon thankful for this beautiful face?

So on this day I felt the call to show my thanks through service in the home: cleaning & organizing as best as I could with a little 8mo between my feet.  And I have to say, at the end of the day, I felt quite accomplished.  :)

Hair Bows & Bow Ties

I finally got around to trying this nifty little pattern back in March (was it really that long ago?), whipping up quite a few more than I intended, and I'm ecstatic to introduce it in the Etsy shop!

Add a bow to any hat or headband in the shop

I think this pattern was originally intended to be a little girl's hair bow but I have been on a quest to find cute *boy* clothes & accessories before EJ was born.  Using my grandfather and his adorable bow ties as inspiration, I think these would make wonderful bow ties for a little boy!  What do you think??

I haven't figured out how to safely (i.e. not a choking hazard) attach these around a little neck, but I'm open to suggestions.  In the mean time, I'm also selling these under supplies.

I plan to add many more colors soon; I just had this baby blue skein to use up.  What are you working on today?

EJ Arrives & the First 2 Months in Pictures

4 hours old

Our new world began Thursday, April 10th with the arrival of Elvera Grace (rhymes with "Vera").  She was a perfectly average 7lb 6oz & 20-inch long baby girl whom I can't imagine NOT knowing.

24 hours old

I never knew how time-consuming and mesmerizing a brand new newborn could be until EJ arrived.  I can't stop starring at her beautiful face, kissing her sweet-smelling forehead and holding her tiny hands (she has a strong grip!)  

2 days old

5 days old

6 days old

First outting (to the Library) at 7 days old

2 Weeks old - introduced to her first garden starts

6 Weeks old & starting to show some personality!

9 Weeks old - dead-heading flowers with Dad

10 Weeks old w/ Dad - First Baseball game: Toledo Mud Hens

10 Weeks & really smiling now - though it's been camera shy

10 Weeks old - still sleeping on my chest (yay snuggles!) & Neko has decided EJ isn't going anywhere so she's going to make the best of it and try to still sit on my lap like before.  

And Saturday morning demolition began on the house to start the addition (3rd bedroom + family room/Etsy studio).  Here is EJ about 30 minutes before I swung the first sledge hammer hole in the wall.  Last bit of restful sleep she had that day:

11 Weeks

Hope you enjoyed the pictures; it was fun to look back already. :)  To see more, you can follow me on Instagram.

A Wedding & Cedar Point

Memorial weekend the three of us traveled to Sandusky to celebrate a lifelong friend's wedding.

My family: sister's b/f, sister, me w/ EJ, hubby, Dad, Mom, brother's g/f, brother

I couldn't believe EJ was one of 10+ babies attending the wedding under 2 years old.  I think she might have even been the youngest by 1 week at 6 weeks old (the baby at the table next to us was 7 weeks old).  It got to the point that people would walk around the reception and ask each other, "How old is yours?" :-)

After sleeping through the reception, EJ woke up much to the delight of my mom & sister.

EJ, me, Hubby

Sunday we got the whole family (minus my younger brother & his girlfriend) together for a day spent at the famous roller coaster park, Cedar Point.  Even though we only live about 45 minutes from this famous park, the last time I visited I was in 8th grade.  Sacra-religious?  I get motion sick and don't care for roller coasters.  :-\  So my husband was very excited for this weekend and a whole day dedicated to the rides.

We spent the majority of the day at the park.  My mom and I, Ellie, and my sister's boyfriend hung out on the ground, while my dad, sister & hubby rode their chosen rides.  I loved all the walking and even though the sun was hot, the shade was refreshingly cool with a nice breeze; a perfect park day.

After the park, Hubby and I said goodbye to my family and met up with a local college friend to meet his fiancée and their new (2 week old?) baby girl.  It's funny how quickly these babies grow - theirs looked so tiny compared to EJ!  I kept thinking EJ was never that little... was she?

For EJ's first "vacation" weekend with my family, it sure was a lot of fun.  And I'd say this was the weekend she learned to smile :-)

Review of Merchant's Landing Show

Well, our little adorable bundle of joy, little miss EJ, came into the world just days before the weekend show so I was not personally able to attend to my table, but my wonderful sister and amazing husband were willing to step in and represent Knitted Home.  My review stems from what they have told me and my interpretations of those observations.

Photo courtesy of my sister & her iPhone

According to sources, there were plenty of vendors (around 90 was the estimation) in attendance but the overall customer crowd was definitely lacking.  The show ran from 11-6pm (set up starting at 8am; my husband & sister were able to set up the table in 30-60 minutes) and the last hour or more was only vendors shopping other vendors.

The coordinators did a great job spreading like-crafters across the venue (this is something I've seen lacking at other shows) as well as spreading promotion across different media outlets (fb, radio stations, word of mouth, newspaper, etc).

Photo courtesy of my sister & her iPhone

Overall, it seems April is not a month for Knitted Home to do physical shows because the weather will always attract people outside and away from craft shows (though that didn't seem to be the case with the Maker's Mart I attended the weekend after - one of EJ's first outings).  Or maybe it is the nature of my products that is out of season by April (surely not baby accessories, though?)  At least we made our table fee so I wouldn't judge this show a "failure" but I can't say it will be one to do in the future.

Is there a favorite show you are in every year?  What makes it your favorite?

Hello!

Just popping in quick to say hello!  This is what I look like most days now:

She is 3 weeks (+5 days) old & loves sleeping on my chest!

So you can see how I don't get as much done as I'm used to.  When these precious moments are had, they are savored and spent catching up on my magazine, book and blog reading.  I've only just started attempting blog writing like this and so far it seems to be working like a charm!  Until she wakes up suddenly ravishing!  :)

Bear with me; I have plenty of more meaty posts in the works but I have a feeling it is going to take much longer to get them fully composed and ready to publish.  I hope you are all doing well.  Keep up the lovely posts and I promise to stop in again soon :)

Discovering Cloth Diapers

This Saturday was a total blast!  I went up to Ann Arbor, Michigan with a new cloth diaper convert friend to visit my also-pregnant cousin (she is 15 weeks behind me, due at the end of July) and we shopped two rummage sales (aptly named Moms 2 Moms), a local natural baby store called The Little Seedling where we all received a wonderful education on cloth diapering & baby wearing; and stopped at both Cherry Republic & Trader Joe's before calling it a Very Productive day.  :]

Cloth diapering has been a long-time research "project" for me and after many years I feel like I can finally say with some confidence that "I think I get it!" after having visited and talked with the ladies at The Little Seedling.  For the longest time I couldn't tell the real difference between All-in-Ones and Hybrids and Pockets and Fitteds and then I recently discovered "Flats" which are considered another version(?) of Prefolds.  Too many different styles and terms, I'm sure you're thinking.  Anyway, the exciting part is now that I feel confident to cloth diaper my little babe when he or she finally arrives in the next 2 or 3 weeks, I'll be plenty confident to make and use my own longies on my little one come this Autumn which means more adorable baby models for the Etsy shop! :)  yay :)

And I can't wait to tell you my even MORE exciting news (that has to do with my Etsy shop and all things knitted baby) once I have confirmation that it is all a go.  Stay tuned! :)

Referral + Affiliate links help me bring you valuable content without ads.  I recommend products + services that I use myself or that come highly recommended by peers.  
Any sponsorships that you see in my sidebar are handpicked by me because I believe in their products + services and think they could benefit you.