cozyblue

he's here!

*Griffin Ever Stiglets*

Our new little guy made his big appearance friday, October 19^th at 11:38 a.m., weighing in at 6lb, 15oz and 19 inches from head to toe.  we had another wonderful, successful natural birth, and couldn't be happier.

Of course, the details are many, but here's the short version:

my water broke thursday evening (though not the big movie version with a pop and a big splash - more like gushes and trickles!) and after several hours of so-so contractions, we headed to the hospital.  several more hours of regular-not-regular-but-getting-very!-strong-contractions and then things finally got rolling around 9a.m.  the labor tub really helped relax me, and i stayed in the water for the next couple hours or so, until suddenly it was time to push!  slowly and carefully i got out of the water, over to the bed, and after 15 minutes of pushing, out he came!  he started crying as soon as his little head popped out, and stig and i both were able to reach down and help him out and up onto my belly. 

he's been a super-star nurser, and we are all doing great.  adella is an awesome big sister, as we knew she would be, and she seems to be making the adjustment very well so far.  (already she's totally into sharing with her brother - see?  she's wearing his hat!)

the next few days, we've got some appointments to take care of, some last-minute things that we now realize we can't live without and need to buy, and lots of settling in and (hopefully) resting to do.  things may be a bit quiet on the blog for a while, but i'll do my best (and maybe i can even get stig to make a few guest appearances) to update and post pictures.  i can't make any promises, since i'm sure that new-baby-mushy-brain will take over, and who knows what i'll be babbling about then.

and i guess i'm babbling a bit now, so i'll go for now.  thanks everyone, for all your support!  see you soon!

on the needles today...

i had big plans for starting and finishing (pretty crazy ambitious, huh?) some sewing projects for the shop today, but after a very full morning of storytime, playground fun, and a surprisingly strenuous walk, i pulled out the piles of fabric, started thinking about how many other things i actually need to accomplish today, and the piles were moved to the backburner.  at least until tomorrow. 

so instead, on the needles today:

a new hat for the shop:

some hula-hoop practice:

and some camera time for adella (got to get that girl a camera of her own...  maybe if i add it to my 'to-do' list, i'll actually remember it when i'm at the store).  and her favorite subject-of-the-day:  me and my belly:

these early fall days are just so beautiful - all i want to do is sit out on the porch, listen to adella playing and singing to herself, and soak it all up.

tomorrow:  tackle the rest of the 'to-do' list, and move those piles off the backburner.

our fuzzy baby

i went in for my 34-week check up today, and my midwife suggested an ultrasound after noting another too-small measurement (this is actually the 3rd appointment in a row that my measurements have been just a bit on the small side).  probably nothing, she said, but just in case, i went on in for an ultrasound.  and after a worrysome wait that seemed to last forever, i got the word that everythings looks perfectly fine!  all the measurements and fluid levels look great, and baby is an average size.  up there you can see his profile (he's looking up, and you are looking at the left side of his face) and he looks perfectly cute, even if just a bit fuzzy and static-y.

from now on, i'll be going in every week for check-ups, and we're really feeling excited, knowing that we just have a few short weeks left!  i scheduled a 'sibling hospital tour' for adella and i to take in a few weeks, and i've been in super-nesting mode around here.

i know things have been quiet and a little boring on the blog-front lately, but it's just because i'm feeling a bit lazy and sort-of unexciting too.  after years of seeing the 'here we are at the playground' or 'well, it's thursday, so here we are at potluck again' posts, i'm feeling a little repetative and boring.  but things are going great, even if it doesn't show on the blog.  i've also been busily working on items for the shop, and i'm having a lot of fun getting things rolling.  today i purchased a spot on the 'main showcase' on etsy, so i'll be a featured seller one day next week (i'll let you know when the day comes, in case you want to take a peek).  sitg has been super-busy with work and playing lots of gigs, plus helping me with all the extra little projects around the house.  and adella is doing great, as always.  i'm just so proud of her lately - it's hard to believe how she can be becoming such a big girl, but will still, and always, be my baby.  i think she'll be a great big sister, and she is just so excited about it too.  it makes me sad to think of her not being my one and only for much longer, but i know that the love she'll give to and receive from her little brother will be the most wonderful thing.  my biggest hope is that we can all make this transition to being a family of four smoothly, peacefully, and happily.  i think we can do it.

tuesday news

we took a quick trip to the nature center this morning.  adella was all about touching and petting every one of the animals today.  they were all happy to oblige, except one bigger goat, who gently nudged adella away when he got tired of her enthusiastic petting.

glad to see the 'wilburs' have a nice cool place to take a dip (or a drink).  we also saw the pink pig using the water pan as a butt-scratcher.  hmmm... i guess a pig has to make due with what he's given.

*****

in other news, i just got back from my 30-week midwife check-up.  did you know i am already 30 weeks along?  30 weeks!  i can hardly believe it, myself.  everything is going just great, right on track.  i feel like i'm coming into the home stretch now.  if the next 2 months go as quickly as the past 7, we'll be holding our new baby boy in no time!

me and my babes

the three of us... taking a nice little nap in the afternoon.

baby has been kicking up a storm in the evenings lately - he must be practicing his break dancing or something.  the latest addition to bedtime/storytime is the three of us feeling the little kicks and watching my belly jump around.  adella is still confused about my belly button though - she thinks it's the baby's head poking out and she keep telling me, "oh, the baby is getting bigger and bigger mommy - look!  the baby is coming out!"

a bouncing baby...

you can't tell from these pictures, but we're having a boy!  a BOY!  i can't believe it - now we'll have one of each!  we're so lucky!  adella has been telling us all along that she's having a baby brother, and sure enough...

all of his little measurments and structures were perfectly formed and normal size for his 18 weeks, and he was very active during the ultrasound - looks like we are going to have a very busy boy on our hands soon!

mish-mash

today's post is just going to be a mish-mash of random things, because that's how i'm feeling today.

we've actually been quite busy the past few days.  after feeling very unproductive lately, i started making little lists of things i want to get done each day - little things, bigger things, whatever - laundry, finishing some knitting and sewing projects, dishes, groceries, calling the insurance company, mailing some things, etc.  anyway, it is working surprisingly well.  many days i somehow think that routine household-type things should just magically happen during the course of the day, and then i wander aimlessly through the day, not fully focused on  anything.  then when the day comes to an end, i realize that i haven't done any of the things i needed to do.  and i haven't done anything i wanted to get done either. 

so i started writing it all down, and it works!  things are getting done AND i can look at all the things i've crossed off my list and feel very productive.  and as far as the cleaning i've been avoiding, i set a timer for 15 minutes and go at it - amazingly, i can get a lot done in 15 minutes.

i know you probably don't care about any of this, but it's all i can think to write right now. 

*****

so yesterday was my 16-week check-up.  everything is right on track - my weight, measurements, and blood pressure are all normal, adella got to put the doppler on my belly to hear baby's heartbeat, and we scheduled the ultrasound for 2 weeks from now.  i need to have stig take a picture one of these days...

*****

i have a few projects that i want to post pictures of - some of mine, some of adella's - and i'll get those up sometime this week (i'll add it to the list).

*****

the weather has been perfect, and we've spent every day outside.  gardening, splashing in the pool, hanging on the porch, making sun tea, going to the playground, the library, and walking downtown, making some fun craft projects and planning more.  and stig has finished his courses at school, so he's been around more too, which is awesome.

everything has been really nice all around.      

and  i promise tomorrow's post will be more exciting.

i think we're just about better

okay.  i know, i've been neglecting you again.  i was sick most of last week and i just couldn't find the energy to post anything even remotely interesting.  i made a few half-hearted attempts to snap some pictures, but they never made it to the blog.

anyway, we're feeling much better now, aside from a few residual sniffles and coughs.  this week promises to be much more exciting and fun than last week (except one very interesting thing to note from last week - in case you haven't heard - i got to hear baby's heartbeat!!  VERY exciting!).  stig was home from work today due to the crazy weather we're (still) having - winds up to 60 mph today!  this kind of weather doesn't make it easy to paint a house at the top of a mountain.  so, he stayed home and played with me and adella.  we spent a good hour this morning having some intense family play-dough time:

we have plans to babysit rachel on wednesday, and today we watched finn for a few hours.  so adella is quickly making up for lost friend time from last week.  she and finn got along great together, and spent most of the time playing pirates - searching for buried treaure, burying it again, and then searching all over again - and shouting 'argh matey!' and 'ahoy there!' and 'land ho!' 

there was also some dancing

and playing dollhouse

and before long, it was time for finn to go home. 

now, i'm finally getting a few quiet moments to myself.  i'm going to catch up on some blog reading and internet surfing, and then sneak off to bed to read and fall asleep nice and early. 

*yawn*

update

i saw my midwife for my first prenatal appointment today.  not a very exciting visit really - mostly talking about family history, questions and concerns, etc.  it's still pretty early, but we tried anyway to listen to the baby's heartbeat wth the doppler - no luck.  jan said the earliest she has heard one is about 10 weeks (i'm right at 9 weeks now) so hopefully next time!  i made an appoinment for three weeks from now, which will be the big exam/bloodwork/lab test visit.

adella went with me and did pretty good.  she was very patient, considering she is three, and the whole appoinment lasted over an hour.  of course she didn't rememeber jan, but jan remembered adella's birth, so that was kind of exciting.  adella also requested that jan take her blood pressure and "listen to my heart and belly," and she checked out just fine.

the rest of our day was pretty restful and fun - an afternoon outing to the playground and for ice cream, and some arts and crafts a little later.

and these things are making me happy today:

this is the post where i ramble on and on and reveal some exciting news:

OK, folks.  i just might be coming back to regular posting soon.  i'm not sure yet, but we'll see how this goes.

first, i want to explain.  and let me say that i feel like a big dork explaining all of this, because really, it seems silly now.  one reason i've been waiting to come back to the blog is because with all my hinting and building up of my big 'super-secret crafting project', i had this big 'reveal' all planned out, and i wanted everything to be just perfect.  but somewhere along the way (i'll get to that part later) i got sidetracked and behind schedule and a little discouraged, and my big reveal didn't seem very exciting anymore.  so anyway, out with it already, right?

so, the super-secret project:  forever and ever i've been wanting to sell my crafted things.  you guys know i love to make things, and people are always saying "oh you could sell that!" and maybe they were just being nice, but i secretly always wanted to be able to sell some of the goodies that i have so much fun making, and i've gone back and forth about it all for years.  lots of back and forth, and never enough 'going for it'.  so anyway, i decided to go for it.  my plan was to make 20 things and open a little online Etsy shop by the end of february. 

in mid-february i found out about The Softie Awards and it seemed perfect for my plan: i'd open my shop, enter a few things in the contest, win the contest, and people everywhere would love my creations and the shop would sell out within minutes of every update.  okay, so that wasn't really my plan.  really, i was just hoping to have the shop open by the time i entered the contest so i might get a few more lookers at the shop. (again, i know, out with it already, right?)

well, also in mid-february, an exciting event occurred that totally threw my whole crafty plan off balance.  (and anyone who i've talked to recently probably already knows this, but,...) i'm pregnant!  yep - in late october another member of our family will come into the world, and we couldn't be more thrilled.  adella will be a big sister!  and i'll be a mama of two!  we're all very excited and happy, and well, you'll be hearing much more about all of this baby business in the next few months - i will most definitely be keeping everyone posted.  but let me get back to the story now before i forget where i was going...

besides being extremely happy and excited, being newly pregnant has also made me extremely tired, forgetful, and mostly very unmotivated.  and not only where crafting is concerned.  i'm basically unmotivated to do much of anything at all - cooking, cleaning, errands, showering - you know, even the necessities.  it took a little while, but after a few weeks of adjustment, i'm feeling better about it all now.  i needed to let go of some things that were piling up on me (oh yes - cleaning the house was first on the list to go) and accept that i just wasn't going to get everything done 'on time'.  so my february 28th deadline for opening the shop has been pushed back indefinitely.  it's still on the table (literally. everything is still piled on the kitchen table) but i'm going to let it go until the right time comes back around.  and i know in a few weeks i'll get my energy back, my brain back (i hope), and i'll have lots of new and fresh ideas brewing.

one thing i decided to go ahead with was to enter the softie awards, even with these less-than perfect pictures and no shop to visit.  so i entered three dolls and a blanket, all of which will be in the shop... someday.  with all the amazing softies entered (there are over 2000 -  check them out!) i certainly don't expect to win, but it is fun and exciting for me to put myself out there like that.  and today, one of my dolls made it to the front page of the softie awards blog!  the deadline for entries is march 9th, and then the judges will pick the top 5 in each category.  after that, voting opens to the public - that means you!  so i'll let you know when voting opens so you can vote for your favorites, okay?  in the meantime, check out the flickr pool and see all the wonderfully creative softies out there!

so, slowly, slowly, things are happening around here.  i'm trying my best to give the energy i have to adella, stig, and myself (and baby!), and the rest will have to wait.  it's been really nice to have some warm weather to inspire us to get out and play more, and i'm sure that the lovely spring days to come will inspire some new creative energy as well.  i'm looking forward to it all, and enjoying this time of change and growth.  i'll keep you posted as things develop, and i do plan to get back to regularly scheduled blogging soon.

**if you've made it this far and are still reading, pat yourself on the back - i didn't mean to be quite so rambling - but thanks for sticking with me!**