Week in Review

I’m realizing this has been a good week. A lot has happened, and it’s just sinking in now.

I prepared a list of things that needed to be done in relation to the coming baby. First off, we need to transform the guest room into the new nursery. We plan on putting the two girls in there. However, it’s not as simple as moving furniture. The guest room is the last room that hasn’t been re-insulated. The panels need to come down. I am eager to replace the closet doors and patch the hole in that closet’s ceiling that once served as an entrance to the attic. There was also discussion of re-doing the carpet so that it matches the rest of the third level. Oh, and I want this done by July so that Wren has plenty of time to adjust to her new room. This is a big project in and of itself, but there is so much more to be done.

I have had so many sleepless nights since learning I was carrying a girl. We had a boy’s name picked out, but we just couldn’t agree on a girl’s name. I would say the girl’s full name in my dream, and I would jolt awake trying to remember what that pretty name was. I never could. Well, at last we agreed on a first name this week. It’s unique, and according to the interwebz, not unpopular with our last name so I’m hoping our families will like it, too. I am resting much better at night, but we still need to agree on a middle name. (Part of me wants to continue my Scottish family tradition and omit the middle name altogether, but Okey is against that idea.)

Unrelated to the baby, but related to getting the house in order before her arrival, I am wanting to de-clutter the large pieces of furniture that have been accumulating in our master bedroom. Today a neighbor will help Okey move a large bookcase down into our dining room where the rest of the set is, as well as rearrange some of the pieces there to make it fit. Since becoming a parent, I am willing to let the wine display rack go.

While I was clearing off the bookcase in the bedroom, I came across a great surprise. Our national parks annual pass! I guess I didn’t throw it away after all during my last cleaning blitz.

What else? We just signed up for the birthing class in August. My work has been steady, so that’s good. Okey and Wren are almost over their colds. I’m reducing the amount of Flovent I take daily as part of my doctor’s recommendation, and all seems to be going well despite my initial fears. I’ve confirmed plans to meet next week with another family who adopted their sweet little girl from the same hospital at the same time as us. I saw the OB, and she reported no anomalies from the last ultrasound. And, oh my, I can’t believe it was this past Sunday. We witnessed our dear friend’s son get baptized.

What a great week. I hope your alls’s has been great, too!

It’s a…

Now that the last of my immediate family has been notified, I get to share the following news with you:

On Friday, Okey and I went in for our 20 week anatomy scan. The doctor will tell us the detailed results on Thursday, but the ultrasound technician was able to tell us right away that I am expecting a girl!

I still can’t believe that in another 20 weeks, we’ll get to meet her.

At the tea party on Saturday, we had a lot of red fruits.  Cranberries in the scones (instead of blueberries), raspberries in the homemade ginger ale (instead of blackberries), strawberry spread (instead of grape), etc.  We also decorated with lots of pink roses and pink floating candles. Okey and I had a lot of fun coming up with subtle clues.

I’m so excited that in a few years, I’ll be having pretend tea parties with my two little girls.

20 Weeks

Today marks the beginning of the second half of this pregnancy. As someone who was told that becoming pregnant was very unlikely, I am still in shock that this, my first and only, pregnancy is still happening.

The first two months were the roughest. Hardly a minute went by that I wasn’t suffering from morning sickness or extreme exhaustion, not to mention that the asthma was yet undiagnosed. I could not have made it through that rough patch without my dear husband. His company decided to close his office in Reston, and so he has been working from home everyday. Truly, this became a blessing. Wren would play in his home office while I was resting. The two of them have this bond that otherwise wouldn’t have existed.

My energy returned in the third month, and Wren and I enjoyed exploring the outdoors together. The morning sickness continued into the third month, but it tapered down a bit in the fourth month. I still feel nausea from time to time, but I am grateful that I can keep my food down. Although the number on the scale has remained constant, my belly is growing. I’ve been in maternity clothes for eight weeks or so. My new wardrobe is limited, but I feel that I can handle any occasion. (I am still looking for a maternity swimsuit, though.)

I was unable to travel in February and March, so I took advantage of my good health during the first part of the second trimester to visit family in Ohio and dear friends in North Carolina. Each trip wore me out, and I’m recognizing I still need to take it easy.

I only have three big trips left before September. We are going on vacation in June. Although I will be in my third trimester, my OB says I am allowed to go. I am so very much looking forward to the beach. My family is planning a 50th wedding celebration for my parents, and I very much want to be a part of that. Lastly, I want to visit my husband’s family. Summer is when his folks return North, and the family gathers at their house for good food and fun.

I am also looking ahead to the short-term. On Friday, I go in for the second ultrasound. This is when I will find out if I am carrying a boy or a girl. I’m hosting a tea party this Saturday, and I am excited to hide clues that will reveal the gender.

And then we wait another 20 weeks.

More Adventures in Knitting: Leg Warmers

This past winter, I felt that my little girl needed a little something warm to add to her wardrobe:  leg warmers!  Our Spring mornings here have been very cool, so I still have her wear them with her shorts or a dress.  These warmers easily come off once the sun comes out.

She likes them!

I have to toot my own horn here.  At the Gap Kids, I was asked where I bought them…

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For my future reference, and in case you want to make a pair as well, here how I made the leg warmers with circles and stripes:

Yarn:  Washable Ewe (worsted/sport weight) – Sadly Discontinued

Main Color:  Cottontail

Second Color:  Lilac

Needles:  Size 4, double pointed

Cast on 48 stitches in main color.

Rows 1 – 6:  K2P2 ribbing.

Rows 7 & 8:  Knit stockinette stitch for two rows.

Rows 9:  K2 in main color, K2 in second color . ( K4 in main color, K2 in second color. ) * K2 in main color.

Rows 10 – 12:  K1 in main color, K4 in second color.  ( K2 in main color, K4 in second color. ) * K1 in main color.

Row 13:  Repeat Row 9.

Rows 14 & 15:  Knit stockinette stitch for two rows.

Rows 16 & 17:   Switch to second color, knit stockinette stitch for two rows.

Rows 18 & 19:  Switch to main color, knit stockinette stitch for two rows.

Repeat Rows 16 – 19 twice.

Rows 24 & 25:  Switch to second color, knit stockinette stitch for two rows.

Row 26:  K2 in second color, K2 in main color.  (K4 in second color, K2 in main color.)  * K2 in second color.

Rows 27 -29:  K1 in second color, K4 in main color.  (K2 in second color, K4 in main color.) * K1 in second color.

Row 30:  Repeat Row 26.

Rows 31 & 32:  Knit stockinette stitch for two rows.

Rows 33 – 38:  K2P2 ribbing.

Bind off.

I attempted to chart the colorwork here.  You can click on the image to enlarge it.  The charting begins starts at Row 7, right after the ribbing:

Burp Cloths

An acquaintance I know through several people was expecting a little girl, and I asked if there was anything she still needed.  Her answer was burp cloths as she hadn’t been able to find any.  I searched for heavy duty cloth diapers which work as burp cloths as well, and likewise, I was unsuccessful.  I decided that I could make her a set of burp cloths, so I picked up my knitting needles.  When I got word that she had already given birth, I put down the needles and took out the sewing machine.

I settled on this pattern by Made by Rae which didn’t look fancy or difficult.  Very quickly, I made three beautiful burp cloths.

I just bound off the knitted burp cloth today, and the completed set is on its way to the new mom and her daughter.  I followed the pattern for a chevron baby blanket found on the Purl Bee.  Of course, I used much smaller cotton yarn and size 7 needles.  It was a fun little project overall.

For my future reference, here is what I did:

Cast on 46 via a knitted cast on.  (14 stitches per section, plus 2 at the beginning and 2 at the end)

Knit 14 rows of yellow,

(4 rows of white, 4 rows of yellow) repeat once,

30 rows of variegated yarn,

(4 rows of yellow, 4 rows of white) repeat once,

Knit 13 rows of yellow and bind off on wrong side using method found on blanket link.

(The sewn burp cloths measure 17.5″ x 11.5″ – to be folded lengthwise when used.  I forgot to block/measure the knitted one, but it was a good size to drape over the shoulder.)