Coming Soon

I have, as always, a list of sewing projects. This time it's a coat. I'm actually making something tailored and semi-complicated! (Although it's actually not been as complicated as I thought it would be.) I'm excited to finish it and show it to you. For a sneak peek you can check out the pattern I'm using here.

I told Dan tonight that now I want to make more coats. It's so fun to see this take shape.

Stay tuned!

What We've Been Up To

Aside from tackling that list I posted a few weeks ago, here's a glimpse of some of the things we (or Edwin) have been up to.

Mastering the steps

(until this week he never fell down them -

thankfully he fell onto a bunch of sheets and wasn't hurt)

"Washing" Dishes

Truck rides from Dad

Trying on Glasses

Playing in the flooded sandbox

(the lid was on all through the rain, but I guess there's a hole somewhere???)

Learning to crack eggs

Playing with Friends

Experimenting with paper towel roles

Getting snacks independently if Mom is too slow.

Why, Thank You Irene

Just wanted to say thanks to hurricane Irene. She has motivated me to get those tomatoes canned before her blustery arrival. I have one more batch to go, but I think I can finish them up tomorrow morning.

And thanks to Mrs. Wages for the salsa mix. You have made making salsa much, much easier this year, and I am forever grateful. (And thanks, Steph, for introducing me to it!)

I'm finishing off my full day of salsa canning, grocery shopping and chopped tomato canning with a bit of pudding and whipped cream. Baby just kicked twice so s/he must agree it's a fitting reward for a hard day's work.

Hiatus

This month has been a busy one and there's more to go. I've got a list of projects spinning around in my head so any given day they parade through my mind, reminding me they still exist, and I try to figure out when to get them all done. What's on this to-do list of mine?

can salsa

can chopped tomatoes

can tomato juice

finish the tablecloth (a custom tablecloth for a friend's client)

finish my winter coat (I am endeavoring to make myself a wool coat - I haven't worked on it since I've been pregnant and hot, humid weather isn't a great time to work with wool)

finish sewing two more cloth diapers

maybe convert my bumgenius velcro diapers to snaps

embellish the bassinet (just bought an old wicker bassinet and I want to add to it just for fun)

I've got the tomatoes sitting in my kitchen so at least I know I will have them taken care of in the next couple of days!

Off to tackle something from the list!

Halfway Point

Today was ultrasound day.

Dan was able to be there, we hired a baby-sitter to stay with Edwin and off we went to watch this little one squirm around. I was incredibly nervous beforehand - really worried that something would be wrong. I'm not sure why I was so anxious, I just was. Then I saw that little heart beating away, and all seemed fine. I'm so thankful. And just now I felt a little kick or punch or something.

We decided to not find out the sex this time around. The ultrasound tech made sure to tell Dan when to not look at the screen because there's a good chance he could've identified the telltale parts if he'd seem them. I looked away too, just in case.

So now we get to decide on a boy name and a girl name. I have no hunch about what we might be having. Guesses?

New

So far I've had 3 prenatal appointments at The Birth Center, and I can't tell you how much I like it and feel that it really is the place I want to be for prenatal care, labor and delivery.

I posted recently about my blood pressure readings being much better there in comparison with the large OB/GYN practice I went to for Edwin's pregnancy.

The first visit to the Birth Center, my b.p. was so high the midwife just smiled and said "I'm not even going to tell you what it was." She left it at that, with no worries, and we moved on to the next thing. My 2nd visit, after chatting with the midwife (a different one) about my previous pregnancy experience, she took my b.p. while letting me know that they don't worry about "white coat syndrome". They just make sure everything else checks out healthy. Can I explain how relieved that made me feel? The last thing I want is drama over something that isn't clearly a medical problem. My b.p. was wonderfully normal.

At my last visit, I saw the same midwife and when she took my b.p., I remember feeling nervous because I was hoping it would be normal. AND IT WAS. I honestly expected it to be higher due to my nervousness, so I feel like it was a miracle. I haven't been able to control my nervousness, and we saw a pattern while pregnant with Edwin and even after pregnancy that the more nervous I am, the higher my b.p. is. But this time, my nervousness didn't seem to affect it. That feels like a miracle to me.

Before deciding to switch prenatal care to The Birth Center, I spent a number of weeks really worrying about what this pregnancy would be like if my nervousness/white coat syndrome issues continued. I was really fearful. I would feel tense and nervous just thinking about going to a prenatal visit.

While in Meeting (Friends/Quaker Meeting) one morning, remnants of a song came to mind that seemed to specifically be for this situation. I clearly felt that God was bringing this song to

my mind. I don't remember all the exact words and order but these are the phrases I recall:

Behold I will do something new among you

I will make a way where there seems to be no way

Rivers in the dessert, I will do something new

Favorite Activities

Signing "helicopter" because he hears an airplane or helicopter outside.

Edwin is at a really fun stage. Getting into lots of things (not always fun for me!) and enjoying a lot of different activities. Here are some things that seem to be his favorites lately.

Holding his little blanket/bear lovey.

Picking (and eating) raspberries or any other garden produce. I have to watch him to make sure he's not picking stuff before it's ripe.

Dogs, dogs, dogs!

Helping me anytime I'm working at the sink. So far he "helps" wash the dishes and has helped wash sour cherries and blueberries.

Anything that lets him play in the dirt. Here he's helping Dan plant squash seeds (that he later dumped out. Whoops.)