Your Opinion?

So. I mentioned last post that I was knitting a pair of bootees for the baby of a friend.  Well. They are coming on well, and I'm really pleased with how they look.  BUT. They are for a little girl, and I'm wondering if they are just too boyish. What do you think?!

Pottering away in the sun

Hasn't the weather been beautiful these past few weeks? I've been so enjoying hanging my washing out in the garden, and taking walks to the park with the little ones.  Last weekend my parents came to stay, and much got done in the garden (which I'm afraid I have been neglecting of late!).

I love watching E and the cat play in the garden together, and my favourite pictures are the ones which capture a little of the mischief that they get up to....

A little craft project of these past few weeks that is nearly finished is a little mouse from the latest Debbie Bliss book.  This has been a fun little project, although perhaps a little too much sewing up for my liking!  Still, he is all finished now, and I'm currently putting the finishing touches on a tank top for him, before sewing him a little pair of trousers!

It's a little gift for a good friend's son who has just been christened- his nickname is "Little Mouse" so I figured it was appropriate.

Another small project on the go (from the same lovely book) is a pair of booties for the new baby of another friend.  I'm knitting it with some lovely Simply Recycled Sirdar yarn- it's lovely, and makes a change from some of the other yarns I've been knitting with recently.

Right. I must go and do my job, i.e. feed a hungry baby.  Who could resist a face like this?!

Happy Easter, friends.

C x

Serendipitous Days

Do you ever have days where lots of lovely things conspire to make you happy?  We've had a few days like that this week.  The sun has definitely helped.  As you can see, my flip flops have come out again after being away for a good many months!

We had a lovely visit from a friend and her boyfriend from London- they bought us a fabulous lunch (including some carrot and cinnamon muffins with a sparkly icing- see below, though the photo doesn't do them justice, and home made quiche!) and we enjoyed several hours sitting in the garden, with silly games being bought out (involving throwing a slightly heavier ball into a paddling pool full of balls...!)

We took a lovely walk to a local park, and I just loved watching how much more confident my boy is getting at running around and clambering on all of the apparatus...

P is starting to be a little more settled when she is put down, and yesterday she had a lovely sleep in her little bouncy chair in the garden whilst we enjoyed the fresh air, and today she had a lovely long sleep in her pram allowing me to do a spot of knitting in the garden- what a luxury!  (I only hope she doesn't decide to do too much of her 'awake time' during the middle of the night though!)

Oh so comfortable!

Actually pausing to talk about crafty things, I am making a little gift for a friend (above), but I'm doing it on my 2.5mm bamboo needles, as I only have 2.75mm in metal (my preferred working material!).  I'm finding it is going a little slower this way as the bamboo ones are a little bendy given how thin they are... A little frustrating!

Oh well! I'm still making steady progress!

I hope you are having some lovely weather wherever you are, and I leave you with a card we were given today to celebrate P's birth- I think it's one of my favourites so far....

It says it all, doesn't it?!

C x

A different pace.

Life is going along at rather a different pace at the moment.  In some ways it is incredibly busy- family life with two little ones is rather more hectic than with one! and in addition, we had E's second birthday to celebrate last week (I know that a 2 year old wouldn't have noticed if we'd let his birthday slip by without noticing it much, but I think I needed to make a big deal of it for my own sanity!).  So, on Saturday whilst E was having a morning with Grandparents, Al and I made a train cake...!

Admittedly the colours are a little unconventional and it lacks a certain finesse, but we were quite pleased with our efforts 1 week post-natal, and E loved it!

Thinking back to how I felt a week post-natal last time, it is a totally different ball game the second time round (helped immeasurably by a speedy birth!) as it was a rather tiring feat to host a little tea party, but fun was had by everyone, and E's 2nd birthday did not slip by unnoticed!

As well as going by in a bustle, life is also passing at rather a relaxed pace at the moment- I rather love having my Husband off work- E loves the constant opportunity to play and draw with him, and I enjoy the company and the help around the house.  A lot of my days are currently spent feeding P at the moment- something which I am having to learn how to do on-the-move whilst helping to supervise E!  I might not get started today on the wonders of breastfeeding, as I'm sure I'll not be able to stop, but, suffice to say I am a true devotee.  E fed happily until he was about 20 months or so, and the benefits are so many fold.  The thing I notice most though, is that there is really inadequate support for women who desperately want to feed, and the fact that life is so much less community-centred means that people who'd previously be learning from older and wiser women who went through it all before are now trying to navigate it on their own!

Luckily in Oxford we are immensely rich in breastfeeding support and help with the Baby Cafe in locations all over the city Monday-Friday, and a clinic in the hospital for 2 days a week too.  If you (or someone you know is in the situation of wanting to feed, but struggling to, then I urge you to check out their website as they are in locations all over the country!).  Two other amazing resources are the fabulous book "The food of love" by Kate Evans, and the website Kellymom!  Right.  Enough said for now!

So, yesterday I mastered the art of knitting whilst feeding!  Admittedly it was a little slow, but still, it felt nice to be doing something crafty at the same time! (Obviously she's not actually feeding in the picture below!)

Other lovely slow paced things I've been enjoying are Tea and Crosswords with Al...

... And being very blessed by several weeks of wonderful meals-on-wheels provided on the post-natal meal rota that people do at my church!

Our wonderful dinner tonight, cooked by Vicki!

I hope you are having a lovely week.

C x