Goodbye Spring

I love seasonal changes, especially now that I have a kid. Spring and Fall are probably my favorite seasons since they have the best weather here in the southeast but they always feel too short. This spring was no different. The weather was great....until it got too hot. This spring however, was not too short, I couldn't wait to see it go actually.

All spring I wanted to write a blog post about happy spring-y new life budding happiness. But you know what? This spring has been rough. Instead of symbols of rebirth and new growth we've had far far too many deaths and illnesses in our small bubble of family and friends. We've spent way too much time in hospitals in this spring, and consoling loved ones and crying our own tears. I just want to scoop up my loved ones and make their lives okay again.

It hasn't all been awful, there have been some beautiful little moments and it's hard not to smile at my silly boy(s). Focusing so much on the pain of others has made it easy to ignore the one budding life that has persisted through these rough months. I woke up yesterday morning and realized I could deny it no longer...

Qais will be a big brother in December :)

Important Work

Simple play goes hand in hand another favorite activity these days - work. Toddler work is very very important stuff ;)

Cooking and yard work are probably the favorites, but he enjoys cleaning too, and really just carrying things around for me is super fun apparently ;)

I must admit I am really not good at letting the little boy "help" as it usually results in a big mess and there are enough messes around here to begin with. But when I do manage to let him, I swear I can see the gears in his brain working and his entire demeanor changes as he approaches these tasks with such a sense of purpose and satisfaction. As with most parenting challenges I am having to reassess my priorities. Messes can (almost) always be cleaned up. There's important stuff going on :)

Simple Play

Another long absence. I blame it on my busy toddler :)

Let's just jump right in and let me show you how we're keeping busy... with the simplest of all activities.

rocks + sticks + water = endless toddler fun

Trying really hard to enjoy the toddler pace, let this stand as a reminder of how great it is to watch him discover this simple play.

Four Things

Inspired by my friend Lapoli and her inspiring thoughts on simplicity we adopted this mantra around yesterdays gift giving. Four things - something you want, something you need, something to wear and something to read. They don't have to be 4 separate things if something falls into more than one category. I have to say that it really worked for us! We don't routinely give gifts to each other but when it comes to Q it's hard not to overdo it.

Without further ado, here are Q's four things...

something you want

something you need

something to wear

and something to read

He loves them all but ironically I think the raincoat is his favorite thing ever!

Happy Birthday!

to my sweet sweet 2 year old

this years birthday celebrations had some serious lessons in letting go for me. Letting go of my baby.... and letting go of my near constant desire to have done more. Last year there were many more handmade touches than this year but his excitement and enthusiasm was so fulfilling that I don't regret how things unfolded one bit.

Birthday Prep & Sickness

My boy is turning 2 in under 2 weeks! I have to shift gears to birthday prep and try to enjoy the anticipation of this anniversary.

As I've been thinking ahead to this birthday I have been mourning the loss of my baby, my snuggly love bug who occasionally stood still. This crazy toddler boy I have now is awesome and so much fun, but I do miss the occasional silence and I definitely miss the snuggles. I guess it's a mixed blessing then that the boy has come down with RSV (again!) and doesn't want to be anywhere except in momma's arms, in the rocking chair with a blanket around us both. He wants lots of kisses and demands to be held with both arms wrapped around him. As much as I want him to get better and get his energy back I guess I'm glad to know my 2 year old still needs his momma like this :)

Hatmania

As promised here are just a few of my recent knitting projects. Enjoy :)

actually an adult sized hat, but it fits Q pretty well huh? Made with Noro Kureyon yarn.

I'm in love despite the fact that it was supposed to be for me and it's too small

another noro yarn here - noro silk garden yarn. Lyon hat.

The ear flaps button off and it's so freaking adorable, another love

this one out of cascade 220 superwash merino yarn, a very simple beanie for my darling husband

I've been hat crazy as you can tell.

I've made this pattern above three times so far because family members keep asking for them! That feels good :)

I think my favorite hat so far is the one I finished yesterday. Soulemama's Rosa. I did it a little differently from hers because I didn't care for the super poofy, gathered top and I'm quite happy with how mine came out.

and here it is sitting on my little model

and I have one other hat that's almost done, a very valentines-y hat actually. Not planned that way but it is rather fitting ;) pun intended :)

phew, that's a lot of hats (and that's not even all of them!). I'll show you some of the other projects I've been working on in another post :)

....and we're back

What can I say? Holidays, family, winter. It was not my intention to be gone for over a month from this blog but here we are. Happy New Year! Welcome 2011! My boy is going to turn 2 this year, this month in fact. That's just crazy.

We had a wonderful holiday season, always crazier than you want it to be and I always have so many ideas about how it will be different (and better) next year and then I forget them in the final weeks. Like how I'm going to make all my gifts, and make an advent calendar, not get Q too many gifts, have less plans, be calmer, etc. Yeah, that flies out the window during that last week where I tell myself - just one more thing, just one more party in there, we can do it.... I always regret it though. Mark my words, it will be different next year! I'll write a blog post soon about all the things I'm going to try to do different.

Since then we've been home just trying to keep up with life. Hard stuff with a toddler underfoot. I have tried to carve out some time for crafting. I've been neglecting my sewing (among other things, like this blog!) for knitting and have been churning out some woolen wear to get us through the cold weather (and snows) we've been having. I don't think I enjoy anything quite like I enjoy seeing my kid wearing things I knit.

I can't wait to show you the knitting and other things we've been up to! I promise not to go away for so long again :)