Sienna Turns One

Yep. Can't believe it. Just like everyone else says. She is the light in my heart. I love her so.

spring update

Good morning! Over here in the Pac. NW we've had some lovely Spring days, but now we're back to typical Portland rain. Regardless, the sandals have been pulled out and I'll do my best to find 'just warm enough' days to wear them.

Little S is over 11 months old now! Wow. I'll share her 10 month and 11 month pictures with you. Yes, I know you need to see those baby knee rolls. Here ya go:

10 months old

11 months old on Easter

Here are a couple of new favorite moments that happened over the last 2 months:

S fell in love with swinging!

And she ordered her first kids' meal, at Hopworks. No beer yet though, don't worry.

We have had a pretty fun Spring so far. We head to Nashville soon to introduce S to our dear friends there. We're also planning her First Birthday! Woah. This mama is finding that absolutely crazy. I am having fun planning the little get-together though and have decided on a gold/star theme. I've ordered super fun party-themed tattoos from Wee Gallery and a seriously adorable star headband from Chamomile and Roses on Etsy. (She's on vacation for the moment, but I'm sure the item will be re-listed soon). The cuteness!!!

As far as knitting goes, I've actually been a busy bee lately! I've finished up a couple of projects (or almost have) that have been lingering on the needles (or hook) and am planning to write up a little eared hat I made for S (crochet fans, it's FINALLY a new crochet pattern from me!)

I've also started this lovely Axil tank by Norah Gaughan. Instead of doing it out of the yarn the pattern calls for though, I'm using the beautifully draping Firefly by Classic Elite in color Linum (linen color). The construction is really interesting on this one. You begin by knitting the center lace panel, then you pick up all around it to knit the rest of the front. The back of the tank is identical to the front, but I'm thinking I may do a solid center panel for the back. After knitting front and back, you then pickup for the ribbing at the neck to finish it off. Ah, Norah. She's so crazy creative.

I'm hoping to be back soon to post Sienna's little crocheted hat and most likely some photos from our Nashville trip. We're also getting family pictures at the end of the month by the insanely talented Posy Quarterman. Oh my. I'm beside myself excited.

Hope you're enjoying the Spring and are having fun finding some lighter weight projects. Please share what you're working on...I always love to see! xo

can't live without...7-10 months

Yay! Another 'need for baby' list. I, too, thought "Oh, I won't overload my house with baby things" when I was pregnant. I still subscribe to that sentiment, but some things just make life easier = more time to actually spend with your baby = win win. Here are some of those things for us.

Baby Brezza (or similar) Baby Food Maker

This. Thing. It's amazing. Babies, at least mine, start eating a ton of food around this time! Wow. Sienna started slowly around 6 months, but now, at almost 10 months old, she's quite the eater! It may seem a little spendy to buy this, but trust me, it's worth it. You can steam and pureè the food all in one setting. It's very easy to clean, dishwasher safe, and doesn't take up much counter space. I do have a regular sized food processor, but it's SO overkill for baby food. I leave this out and use it daily to cook sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, apples, and a bunch of other fruits and veggies. I even made myself some quick cilantro pesto today for lunch! LOVE. Note: I purchased mine gently used on eBay. Through a mishap, they forgot my order and sent a new one to make up for it! Check out eBay!

Amazon Prime (for diapers, formula, dog food, etc.)

I do love buying local, but now is not the time to worry about killing myself to get to every mom and pop shop for all of our every day items. I'm sure most of you already have Prime, or at least order from Amazon, but 2-day shipping is WORTH IT. We get diapers, dog food, formula and many of my really good quality supplements/vitamins from Amazon. They come right to your door. It's given me so much more time to focus on cooking for Sienna, cleaning the house a bit better, writing a blog...Taking babies in and out of car seats to go to 5 different stores on a regular basis is just not worth it to me right now. Be sure to buy local produce though and support your farmers, then it balances out ;)

Boon Silicone Feeder

I mentioned the Munchkin Mesh Feeder in my previous post, what to get moms and babies 0-6 months postpartum.  I still love that thing, mostly now for putting frozen fruit in for Sienna to chew on when she's teething. The mesh feeder is pretty annoying to clean, though. We got this Boon feeder recently in our Citrus Lane box and I love it. It's so easy to clean and Sienna loves eating any kind of food from it: avocados, applesauce, blended fruits and veggies, etc. Fabulous.

Play Yard/ Foam Tiles/Safe Play Area 

So. I really wanted to be the Montessori mom, letting my child roam freely throughout our house exploring, learning and developing. All very fine and good...until you have to go to the bathroom, change the laundry in the icky-floored basement, have 2 seconds to yourself...imagine that! I love having a little setup in our living room where I know Sienna is safe to play when I'm out of the room for a minute. The foam tiles add a nice floor to her area, since we have wood floors. This gives her quite a bit more room to crawl than the traditional play pen. Judge if you will. Mama's happy and baby's safe.

I can't find them on Costco's website, but we got our 2' gray foam floor tiles for $12.99 in the store, half the price of some I ordered from Amazon.com.

Portable High Chair

We love our Inglesina. It travels well and is great for restaurants. We also took ours on vacation and it was wonderful to have. It takes up SO much less space than other high chairs and folds away into it's own little attached bag. Sienna is quite petite and fits so much better in this than the giant wooden chairs at most restaurants. The cover is washable and the seat is padded, making it more comfortable for her to sit in a for (a bit) longer. I also got this gently used on eBay. 2 thumbs up.

Someone to keep your baby!

We have been traveling a lot for the past 3 months, but now that the holidays are long past and we are back from our latest trip, I'm SO glad we found a sweet gal who is going to do some nannying for us. It's time, mamas. I'm ready to start doing more design work again and it's almost impossible to squeeze that plus housework plus cooking ALL into a couple of nap times...doable, definitely, but not easy.

What's also not easy at this point is taking Sienna to ANY appointments anymore. She's crawling these days, super social and does NOT want to hang out in that baby carrier while I'm seeing the doctor, chiropractor, etc. Rachel is only going to come here and there to stay with her, but I cannot tell you how freeing it is to think I might actually have time next week to go work at a coffee shop for a bit! Holy! I'm so excited. I know it's not always affordable, but even if you do it once a month, give yourself some time! Seriously. It's amazing. She was referred by a friend, so ask around to your friends who have kids just starting preschool. They may have just let go of a fabulous nanny!

Have any things to add to the list? I'd love to hear them! I can't believe little S is almost 10 months old. 1 year will be here in a flash. xo

oops! 9 months old!

My Little Bit is actually almost 10 months now. Wow. We were on family vacation when she turned 9 months. Here are a couple photos to capture the day. What a lovely February we had.

Aunt Shayla taught her to raise her hands when we say 'yay!' PRECIOUS. This little one makes all of my days fun and bright. And check out those knee dimples...nom nom nom.

snow day and a little knitting

Sienna's first real snow day...and we've had fun tossing her in the air in her little green suit. We totally coordinated our snow gear :) Precious little bit.

Look at this one with her daddy. Oh my, sweetness. We've had such a fun day: played in the snow, ventured out for lunch and beers and got a lovely 2nd story view of the snow falling (again), dropped off homemade cookies at our friends' house, and snuggled up at home for naps, coffee and knitting. Chicken masala in the crockpot and wine chilling in the fridge for dinner tonight. I love you, snow days! (Only because we only have like 1 or 2 every year here!)

As for the knitting, I'm currently working on a Lacy Baktus scarf (finally!) using beautiful Freia Ombre yarn held with Malabrigo Lace weight in a browny gray. I'm having to adjust and cut the yarn so all of the ombre colors are represented, but it's turning out lovely so far. I will post more when it's done to show the effect of the color change.

Next up on the needles...Baby Surprise Jackets! Lots of babies are being born around here this year. Yay! They need knitting. I have at least 4 babies to knit for! I gotta get cracking. 

Gonna go for a snowy walk this weekend with a friend and her cute little gal, June. Should be fun! Knitting is also extra-fun when it's snowing outside. I'm looking forward to a snuggly couple of days! xo

great morning smoothie for a non-smoothie gal

I know a lot of people LOVE smoothies these days, but I just don't crave them. I rarely want to drink my breakfast and I rarely want fruit or something fruity sweet. 

BUT, what I do love, is second breakfast. :) 

While I was pregnant last year, I could indulge a bit in second breakfast. Now, I have to be a little more mindful of what I consume. Solution: a rich, healthy, FAST smoothie. 

Great Morning Smoothie

2 handfuls of organic kale, rinsed and chopped (I buy it pre-chopped at Trader Joe's sometimes-so fast)

1/2 cup organic frozen mango chunks

1/3 cup organic frozen blueberries

2 TBSP chia seeds, ground

1 TBSP flax oil

1/2 c. + organic almond milk, unsweetened

Optional: daily fish oil serving and daily probiotics serving. *I take liquid fish oil and powdered probiotics, recommended by my naturopath. I LOVE that I can just throw these in my smoothie now.

Put all of the above in the blender and blend until smooth, adding more almond milk (and shaking the heck out of your blender) as needed. We don't have a fancy blender (yet).

I think it's the flax oil and the almond milk that make this smoothie so rich. It's not too sweet/fruity, but, in my opinion, it doesn't taste too green either. Yum! Plus, you're getting a great serving of superfood kale, healthy oils, seeds and antioxidants from the berries. Mmmm. I've had this at least 5 times over the last week and a half. They keep me from eating that (second) bagel or bowl of cereal.

Bonus: Sienna loves mangos now! You can see her here mastering the art of the mesh feeder. We're still learning how not to paint the table top with it (why we switched from blueberries to mango).

I hope you enjoy one of these as much as I do! You can add in any powdered vitamins/supplements you may take. Some days I will add some hemp protein or other powdered protein. Wow. I sound way more healthy than I probably am, but this is a start, no?

yay!

What?! Surprised to be on my favorite blog today. Shana inspired me a while ago to try out these overalls (which I now adore). I returned the favor by sending her a couple of pics of the outfit I put together using some of her suggestions. What a great, fun opportunity to be on her wonderful blog. Thank you!! 

8 months old!

Sienna Wren is 8 months old today. OH MY. She's waving, sitting up, and testing out that voice. Also, making a weird old man face that I can't seem to capture on camera. I couldn't decide on just one photo from today's shoot, so here are a few favorites :)

Btw, this IS supposed to be a knitting blog, so the hat pattern can be found here. I used Malabrigo Merino Worsted, doubled ;)

weekly roundup

Here's a roundup from our week:

Sienna tried blueberries for the first time. I spared you and captured it in b&w.

I patched some jeans using this tutorial.

Got a haircut from the fabulous Tamara at Oranj Studio.

My daughter continued to be the cutest of all time.

We joined our friends Lida and Lilu downtown today for a little city walking.

The sun finally decided to show itself here at the end of the week.

This weekend we are heading to a wine dinner in Willamette Valley so Pinky can round up some business. We're also watching the playoffs on Sunday, of course. We might even try braving a restaurant this evening with Little Bit. Big plans, big plans. Happy weekend!

hearts banner and precious doll, next up

We've had a cozy Saturday at home. I've gotten a little organizing done (OVER RUN with baby clothes here) and I'm currently working on this adorable heart banner for Sienna's room, using some Garnstudio Drops Alpaca yarn. It's coming along quite quickly. I think I'll do 5 hearts and see how long that turns out. I like odd numbers. Check out the pattern here. 

Next up, I'm considering making this adorable doll for her. Oh. my. I mean, it's so so cute. And I'm not a big doll fan. I think it's the giant head and tiny legs, plus the super precious sweater/hoodie she's wearing. And the scarf. Seriously.

Off to make cheesy chicken enchiladas for dinner now. Happy weekend knitting! This is the best, coziest time of year to enjoy our hobby, no?

Iberis Hat finished...what to knit next?

Just finished this hat, Iberis. It was such a fun knit, made out of Madeline Tosh Merino DK. There are a variety of options to choose from in the pattern - size, stitch combo, length. I chose the large size and the men's stitch pattern. I wanted it to be slouchy, but found the directions called for a REALLY slouchy hat. I knit mine to be about 23cm long and then did the decreases. I LOVE it. It turned out great and the stripe of diagonal mock cables is so striking. I never say this, but I'll probably make this hat again. I might even make it for Pinky, if he's lucky :)

Hmmm. I, of course, have plenty of things already on the needles that I need to finish, but I want to start something fun soon. I bought some neon yellow Manos del Uruguay to make another hat and hope to find some fur-like yarn in  mink color to make a pom pom for it. I will probably work on that first, but am looking at some options for projects after that:

This cowl is gorgeous. It would make a nice gift.

I'm in love with these. No pattern, but I think I can figure it out from the photos. SO lovely.

I still love this, too. Wondering if I would wear it much...

I've also been love loving this for a while now. So pretty. And not the full commitment of a whole sweater. 

And then, there's this star pillow. Oh my. Love. I may have to make it for S.

So many pretty choices. Maybe I'll just keep looking at patterns instead of actually getting started on something. :) Seems to be my favorite part of knitting, after all! 

2014 Goals

The new year is upon us. It's amazing how it sneaks up on us this time every year, huh? I really enjoy the beginning of the year, though. Even though it's sad the holidays are over, it's nice to think about a fresh start, invigorating to think about things we can improve upon, and exciting to think about trying new things, finishing old things, and setting doable goals. Now is the time! It's hard to feel so renewed and ready to do these things come August, right?

Setting goals is a great thing to do, but it is hard to follow through on lofty, over-arching goals. This year I'm trying to set reasonable, project-oriented goals that I can actually achieve and that I look forward to accomplishing. Being a creative person, someone who literally feels better when I'm making things, I've learned that my resolutions must include creative and crafty projects. Of course, there are many other parts to life - cleaning, organizing, teaching your children, cooking, staying healthy- but I know when I set goals that are creative and exciting, the rest of these parts of life seem to fall in place.

So, here are some goals I've set for myself for 2014:

1. Finish Sienna's Christmas album, make a 2014 family album and a Pinky and Laura relationship album. I started a First Christmas album for Sienna in December. Now is the time to print all the photos and finish the album for her. This inspired me to continue to do photo albums for our family and have some hands-on memories to look at, rather than having them all stored digitally. I'm so excited about this goal and will continue to share my progress.

2. Finish my hand-lettering I class and complete the hand-lettering II class. I've shared part of my project progress from the class, The First Steps of Hand Lettering. I want to finish up my project for this class and then dive into the second class where you get tips on adding color and digitizing your piece. While I know, mostly, how to do this through my design skills it will be great to have some tips on how to get hand-drawn items to look better on the computer. I'm excited to finish these classes and have a final product to hang in our home. I hope I will continue to create hand-lettered pieces in the future.

3. Downsize! Everything. Ok, that's a big goal. But, I think if I continually think about getting rid of things, I'll be reminded more often, to, get rid of things. Genius! Ha. Specifically, I wrote down "clothes, shoes, & decor." Craft supplies should also go into that list. OH MY, the craft supplies. I want to go room by room in January and do a cleaning out. We are fairly good at giving things to Goodwill and I did have a great yarn sale in November that made me a little $ and got rid of some of the yarn stash, but I want to make this a continual focus in our house. We might be moving to a new house later this year and babies. take. a lot. of stuff. They just do. So, I can downsize a lot of our things to make life simpler. And moving simpler, for real. Any tips are highly appreciated and welcomed. I've been perusing the lifehacker tips and Pinterest lately for good organizing tips.

I'm slightly obsessed with pinning closet office space nooks. They are so cozy and fun. And genius. 

photo courtesy of: thehouseofsmiths.com

4. Speaking of organizing, that's another goal. Make a place for everything. Then, it's easier for things to stay picked up and organized. I live my life in stacks of things. Oh my. They are everywhere. I'm not super messy or a packrat, but I stack things up and leave things out so I'll remember to do them. I want to make a place for things to be put away and then make lists of what I want to do, rather than just leaving everything out in the open for me to see and possibly, someday, work on. This is a HUGE one for me that is gonna take lots of effort. Wish me luck!

Photo from: realsimple.com

5. Learn baby sign language to teach Sienna. This is a goal that needs to happen soon. She's over 7 months old and I really think at the point where she can start communicating soon through other means than crying. Ha. Yeah. It's worth a try! Plus, how cute is it to see kids who sign!? Super cute. And then she can tell me when she's hungry or not and develop that little brain :) (Hey, here's a free downloadable/printable chart!)

Those are where we start. First, I gotta get this little girl feeling better :( But, at least I can be in the planning stages while we're still on the mend here. It feels good to really think about these goals, get them written down, and start moving forward with them. Good luck with your own goals! I would love to hear about them. Happy 2014!!