Her Blanket

I have a few obsessions in life.
Taking pictures of my kids is definitely one of them.
And another, that I've had since a college freshman
Is crochet.

I love to hold a hook and whip some yarn into something special.
Blankets are my most common creation.
How many have I made?
At least 50.

Baby blankets became my preoccupation.
At a time when I could not have babies,
Friends, coworkers and acquaintances could.
And rather than feel sorry for myself,
I kept busy.
If you knew me and you had a baby during about a 5 year period,
Okay closer to 10 years,
You got a blanket.

Then life changed and I found myself with much less crocheting time.
But I continued to make a few things.
Some booties,
Some hats,
Christmas tree ornaments,
The occasional scarf,
And baby blankets for special families.

Both of the times that I have learned I was pregnant,
One of my earliest thoughts has pointed to
The blanket that I would make my baby.

So Macie's blanket was started before we even knew she was a girl.
And put aside for a month or so.
And then finished in the hospital,
The day before her birth.

Finishing the blanket made it feel okay,
That she could be born.
Although so early,
The blanket meant that I could be ready.

I love her blanket.
Truly.
And that may sound silly,
But I do.

And so does she.

Before the blanket starts to pill,
And age,
I wanted to put up a couple of pictures.
Of my babe, asleep with her special handmade blankie.
I poured so much love into this blanket,
And I like to imagine that she can feel it wrapped around her as she sleeps.

Proof

They love each other,
And what's more important than that?

Do You Lego?

My kids do.
All three of them.
Sometimes the two big kids in our house do, too.
Here - some of our (mostly Duplo) work from the first part of this year.

Ephram Builds and Paints a Train

His first model building experience, went without a hitch.
(Except the stickers that wouldn't stick, but who cares about that.)
I think his favorite part was pouring glue into the wheel wells.

Their First Game

Rolling laughter.
That's what I heard as I was picking up the toys in the piano room.
The belly laugh of my Remy, that I know so well,
Joined with the tinkling giggle of my baby girl.

Again and again,
The laughter kept going.

I quietly crept through the kitchen and found them in the family room
Playing a game.

He would stand up,
Tall as he could,
Right in front of her.
(Practically on top of her.)

She'd let out the first laugh.

Then she'd reach out with both hands,
And touch them to his legs.

Then his laugh came in,
As he tumbled backwards to the floor,
My how strong the touch of a baby.
My how cute that he is already exaggerating to get her to laugh.

And my, oh my, how endearing these two are to me.

Ephram and the Piano

Santa brought Ephram his very own piano this year.
Ephram loves his little red piano.
He plays it all of the time and we've had some fantastic performances.

His piano came with a little book of songs and a color strip for the keys.
I figured in another 6 months to a year, I'd show Ephram how it works.
Turns out he didn't need me to show him at all.
He figured it out all on his own.
And was thrilled to be able to play Row, Row, Row Your Boat.

So what if he skips octaves every now and then?

Macie's Toys: The Ball Pit

Santa brought Macie a very cute ball pit.
The pit is actually a dinosaur.
He has all sorts of texture patches and crinkly materials all around him.
And a couple of mirrors and holes that your hands can reach into...
Or out of if he is unzipped and you are sitting inside.
And the inside!
It's filled with balls of many colors and two sizes.
This ball pit is great fun!

The Boys and the Bikes

I married a boy who loves his bike.

And his other bike.

And his other bike.

To be honest, I also really enjoy a good bike ride.

Except, now that I am old, I can't help but hope not to fall off.

The possibility of falling is always in my mind.

But I don't remember the last time I fell.

Isn't it funny how we think about these things the older that we get?

Well, my boys love their bikes.

Just like their dad.

And they don't think too much about falling.

In fact, when they fall,

They pop right back up,

Shake it off,

And get back on.

I should be more like them.

They know they're going to fall.

It just doesn't matter.

I love, love, love to watch them zip around the street!

(Macie loves to watch them, too.)