Babies and knitting, my two favorite hobbies

My grandsons came up for a visit this weekend and I can't believe how much Leo has changed already. He's not quite two weeks old yet and he is already looking chubbier to me. Moose just loves his baby brother and takes every opportunity to cuddle.

I lost a couple of hours to a time consuming chore yesterday, unwinding tape yarn that doesn't want to stay rolled. It started out like this.....

Started looking like this.....

And finished up looking like this. But as soon as I pulled it off the ball winder it began to "scrumble" into a mess again. Yes, I made up that word, crumble, scrap, whatever. It's a mess!

Liz joined Amanda and me this afternoon and showed us her finished cowl which just needs some buttons. The yarn is very soft and will feel nice against the neck.

Amanda is working on a hoodie for Baby Leo which will match the pants she already knitted for him in solid brown.

Moose needed a bath after dinner so why not make it fun too. It was a warm evening and perfect for a little splashing about.

The evening session started with a few gifts for Leo and Moose.

Moose can't wait to hunt for bugs for his bug house.

Karin's daughter, Annemarie, practiced her knits and purls.

And Beth showed us her "Weekend" shawl.

The lace looks so pretty.

Maureen finished a pair of "Kimono" slippers. They look like the letter "T" before they are sewn together and they knitted up quickly.

Beth made this sailboat sweater to go with the sailboat afghan she showed last week. We all laughed about a white baby sweater when she said she didn't have to worry about white, she's not washing it! LOL!

Leo came by for a little visit with everyone tonight. Seems he and Beth were deep in conversation here.

Karen had a turn to cuddle...

as did Annemarie.

Karin showed us a finished sock.

And all too soon Leo was finished with his visit and wanted to eat and go to sleep.

The boys go home tomorrow. What will I do with my time? Who will I cuddle? I'm going to miss my babies. I guess I'll just have to go visit them.

Moose and Thomas

Yesterday, before Hurricane Irene arrived in upstate New York, Poppop and Daddy Phil took Moose on a field trip to North Creek, New York near the Gore Mountain Ski Resort. While it wasn't skiing weather it was the perfect day for bouncy houses and ....

miniature golf. Moose thought that was all the fun he was going to have when who should show up but....

Thomas the Train! A REAL THOMAS THE TRAIN!!! So the three guys went for a ride along the Hudson River.

Mr. Conductor made sure Moose had a good seat by the window...

so he could look for bears and other wildlife.

Moose had an exciting day which ended with meeting Sir Tophamhat, owner of the Sodor Railway and Thomas and his friends.

Check out the Thomas website to see where the next "Day Out with Thomas" will be and maybe you can have a ride with Thomas too.

We're baaaacckkk!

It's been a long time since I've seen my Chicks! If you are a regular reader of my blog you know that I've been in Pennsylvania helping my daughter and son-in-law with my grandson, Moose, while we all awaited the birth of baby brother Leo. Well, it's been almost four weeks since I knitted with my friends so it felt good to be back in the fold with them again. And the weather was perfect for an afternoon on the deck, in spite of the earthquake, which we all definitely felt! At first I thought I had vertigo. But when the floor wouldn't stop rolling after what seemed like a whole minute and the wind chimes started banging (there wasn't even a stiff breeze) we decided to turn on the news and sure enough! There had been an earthquake. I'm sure by now everyone has heard about it and my friends in California are calling us all pansies as they roll their eyes. But hey! It was the news of the day. And it made us all sit up and take notice!

Liz started a pair of socks using a really pretty Berroco sock yarn. If I'm not mistaken, she said it's her first pair. They are turning out beautifully.

Kathleen brought in a bunch of finished hats and a pair of mittens. This is like a couple she has made before.

But this one, which Barbara is modeling for us, is a new pattern Kathleen decided to try. Isn't it pretty?!

Kathleen decided to try her hand at lace too and she started this stole with a pretty mohair we had in the inventory. The colors compliment the wavy lace pattern so nicely.

Our evening session started with two finished scarves for the homeless women vets. Maureen is so happy to finally be finished with her reversible stripes scarf. Between you and me, I think she's done with that pattern! LOL! Beth finished her ruffled scarf too.

And she brought along a show and tell, a baby afghan that she made for a gift. It turns out that by chance she chose the sailboats pattern and it just so happens the nursery will have a nautical theme. It's really cute.

While I miss my grandchildren, it does feel good to be back home and into my usual routine. I wasn't getting much knitting done in Pennsylvania anyway. I was having too much fun with Moose!

A New Addition!

Moose's baby brother Leo has finally arrived! Amanda awakened me yesterday morning around 4AM to ask if she thought she should call the midwife about the somewhat mild contractions she had been having all night. When she could barely speak through a sudden contraction we made the mutual decision to wake everyone and head for the hospital. One hour and fifteen minutes after we arrived out popped Leo! Amanda was a trooper working hard and consistently with each contraction and all natural, NO DRUGS OR EPIDURAL. She said later that she felt like she skipped transition altogether, even though she knows that's not possible.

Our little butterball weighed in at TEN POUNDS SEVEN OUNCES!!! 21 inches long.

The family looks content and how not fair is it for Amanda to look so good after all that work?!

Moose is thrilled to finally hug his baby brother. He was even more excited when he patted Leo on the back and was rewarded with a healthy belch.

I feel like Eliana Marie was watching over us all from heaven above to make sure Leo had a safe arrival. Thank you God for Leo's healthy entrance into our family and please continue to bless this family with good health and happiness.

Some Knitting and More Moose

I am getting some knitting done in between helping with Moose and Amanda. I've got half of two pairs of Jaywalkers done and started the second on both. The one on the left, blues and greens, is for donation. The one on the right, purples and pinks, is for me, that's why it's a little shorter. I don't like my socks to go clear up to my calf.

For my birthday my daughter gave me this pattern because she knows I love knitting shawls.

When I went to the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festival in June I found this yarn. And so the first two motifs are started and I'm showing some progress. It's a pretty large shawl so it may take me some time to finish it. And let's face it, how much knitting can get done around an active four year old?

Speaking of Moose, he wore his cowboy hat all day everywhere the other day, even when he watched a little TV. He sensed I was capturing the moment for posterity.

And being the shy kid that he is (HA!HA!), he immediately went into performance mode.

He gave me the full on Paul McCartney version of "Oh Darlin'".

I wish you could have been there. He's a hoot!

If You Give a Moose a Muffin

He will not want to go to bed!

We're trying to keep busy while we wait for Moose's baby brother to be born so Moose made banana muffins tonight for our breakfast treat tomorrow.

Mommy decided the batter was a little too dry so it needed some more yogurt. Chef Moose had a different opinion though.

He very carefully lined the muffin tins and then anxiously awaited to finished product.

They finally came out of the oven! And they were the best looking muffins!

And the best tasting too!

Even the paper liners were tasty. Right down to the last crumb.

I hope there will be some left for breakfast tomorrow!