I Swear! Other Stuff Happened, Too!

I've been a bit absent, the last couple months.  The late stages of pregnancy will do that.  Things happened, though, I promise.

I planted bulbs, and though only the paperwhites came up they were my favorites anyway.   One of then even bloomed!

We had the usual Easter party at my Mom's.  I missed having Dad there, especially with it being a new house and all.  So much change, but having family together will always be the same.

We colored and hunted our own eggs, at home.

The kids decided to film their own movie, a thrilling adaptation of Little Miss Muffet.  This would be one of the stills from the set.

The Aztex are back!  And we got tickets!  We've been to a couple games and it's always a good time.

We got a car, too.  It is a Mazda5, but not the one from the other post.  For $5k less we got 2 years newer, 50k less miles, leather seats and tinted windows.  Yeah.

A sunflower sprouted up in our back yard, fell over, then produced blossoms all up the length of the stem.  There's probably 100 or more flowers on it.

Joseph turned 6!  He asked for a square cake that was chocolate with chocolate and M&Ms.  He wore his Super Cape to the soccer game, too.

Yes, Lucy came two days later.  Several people asked me when I was due, at church.  I told them "Technically, a week and a half.  In all practicality, any day, now."  I was at that very moment having contractions that never actually went away.  Here she is at home, getting all settled in.

She makes the big kids (all 3 of them!) look enormous.

And finally, today, at about noon, Joseph lost his first tooth.  He's so excited!

Palatte Choices

What do these colors say to you?


Yup, we're having a girl. Elena was so happy, when she found out, that she started crying.

A Year of Knitting

(WARNING: This post is picture heavy. But so pretty...)

Remember this picture from last year?


Those were my plans for the year, knitting-wise. As usually happens in life, some got done, others didn't, and a bunch of other stuff found it's way in, too.

There were tall socks to keep my feet from freezing at the Temple.


Fingerless gloves to keep my hands warm but still functional. (I hate it when I can't feel what it is I'm touching. It makes me feel all fumbley.)

Socks for James.


And Jonathan.


A small shawl to keep the chill off. I've actually got this one wrapped around my neck right this moment.


Socks for me, too.

There were gifts, too. For Craig's graduation.


Regan's birthday.


Richard's first baby. (A boy. The headband is because I had extra yarn and it pays to be prepared for future possibilities.)

(and an actual view of the sweater.)

More socks. (It was a sock club, after all.) Mine...


and Jonathan again.


Costume help for some nieces and their friends.


New stockings for Mom and Dad.



Sweaters for Elena and Joseph. (James just likes to say cheese for the camera.)


Socks for Mom and Dad, too.




And then there's these. Ready and waiting for their Owner's arrival, in June.


(I know June is hot. Hospitals are cold, though, and my baby absolutely deserves cashmere.)

Baby Blessings

James turned one month old, yesterday. My, how time flies! We decided to give James his Name & Blessing yesterday morning and want to thank everyone who could come participate. It was a beautiful blessing for a beautiful morning.



Today was Grant's Blessing. He's six days older than James and such a cute, sweet boy. Lots of people came to be with Rick and his family. It's always so exciting to celebrate new life and new babies!

Claim Your Prizes

There are up to nine people who can claim cookies, but I need to know who you are. Search your memories & fess up in the comments. If you guessed both 8-14 days early and boy, you get a double portion of cookies. If you have allergy needs or health preferences ( no milk, eggs, peanuts or oatmeal vs. triple chocolate, for example) please note that, too.

The big day...

Hello, this is Jonathan posting. Lisa has been otherwise preoccupied.

It started at about 4:00 AM, when she slapped me repeatedly to announce that her water had broke. We called in our emergency babysitter to make sure nothing caught fire till Gramma could arrive. Some other stuff happened and then THIS!


We are happy to announce the arrival of James Franklin, our healthy baby boy, born at 11:39 this morning, weighing 7 lbs 10 oz, and measuring 19 1/2 in. I'm sure Lisa will have a more in-depth account to share with you, but labor went smoothly (or at least as smoothly as labors go), and she handled it like a pro.


We got a few hours of rest, before the kids popped in for a brief visit to meet their future co-conspirator.


Oh and sorry for not posting updates with Twitter; I don't think we were quite ready for that, seeing as how the kid came nearly 2 weeks before his due date and my cell wasn't set up to text in updates (or some explanation like that; Lisa knows how that was supposed to work, not me).

This Week In Pictures

Elena has started "reading" books to Joseph. Everyone likes this situation--Elena gets to be a big kid, Joseph gets a story, and Mom & Dad don't have to drop what we're doing to read 12 straight books.


Joseph likes to put things in his ears. Sometimes it's crayons, today it was a Mr. Potato Head tongue.


We got to ooh and aah over Rick & Sherry's brand new baby, Grant. He's a real cutie. The kids were amazed at how small he is.