mae's maize maze adventure

I'm pretty proud of that blog title. One could even say it's aMAZing.

So far this has been a very busy fall! Two weeks ago, we visited my family and attended a baby shower for my friends Courtney and Luke who are expecting a little boy in December. I realized earlier in the week that I didn't have a handmade gift for them... and that just wouldn't do! Tuesday evening I picked out a pattern (Elwood Cardigan), and Wednesday morning I popped into my local yarn shop for some Rowan pure wool superwash. It was a bit itchy, but softened nicely after washing. I finished the yoke Wednesday, the body and one sleeve Thursday, and the second sleeve and shawl collar Friday. I washed it Friday evening and sewed the buttons on Saturday. I omitted the stripes from the pattern (no time for stripes!) and only added 3 buttons (because I liked it better that way, not because I didn't have time for a 4th button). I love how it turned out... and I'm pretty proud of finishing a whole sweater in just three days! Details on my Ravelry page.

Dan, Mae, and I had lots of fun at the shower. One of the activities was making an alphabet book for the baby. Dan drew a Pumpkin for P, I drew a Koala, and Mae drew a Zig Zag (actually I was her pinch-illustrator). We enjoyed beautiful fall weather and visited with my high school friends who I haven't gotten to see in a while!

Sunday's weather turned out much drearier than expected but we still managed to make our annual trip to the corn maze! I led us through the Everest-themed maze as we collected all the clues (and as our shoes collected all the mud). Mae and Oliver enjoyed their first maze adventure, though they both fell asleep just a short way in!

Last weekend, Dan's mom came to visit for some quality time with Mae. Mae was so playful and cute all weekend and even drifted off to sleep while playing on GranE's lap, which was adorable.

On Saturday we went to the zoo for a couple hours and then met up with Courtney, Luke, and Zach who were in town for the day. Sunday we relaxed at home and went for a walk to look at some of the pretty homes nearby. GranE said her plan was to lay on the floor and play with Mae, and we certainly did lots of that this weekend... I call it a success!

georgetown cardigan

Usually I find my next knitting project by browsing patterns online until something catches my eye. Not this time! This time I knew exactly what I wanted: a shawl-collared, long-sleeved cardigan knit in a slightly variegated gray yarn. I finally settled on the Georgetown Cardigan pattern knit with madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in the colorway Great Grey Owl. Tosh Vintage is so squishy and wonderful, but luxury yarn comes with a luxury price tag. Fortunately I had some money from my birthday (thanks, Gramma and Grampa!) and justified the big purchase knowing how much use I will get from this sweater!

This project took exactly 6 weeks. The only thing I changed about the pattern was knitting the sleeves in-the-round instead of seaming them and adding a folded cuff at the wrists. I haven't worn it yet for the following 3 reasons:

1. It's been kinda hot until recently.
2. I'm trying to protect it from spit-up or other baby slime as long as possible. I know it won't be forever. Sigh.
3. A large part of my enjoyment of new clothes comes from looking at them before I wear them! Sometimes I hang them at the front of my closet for a couple weeks. This sweater has been sitting folded on top of our dresser since I finished it.

Soon it will be in heavy rotation in my wardrobe. I look forward to snuggling up in my cozy cardigan this winter!

five months of mae

Here's our baby girl... five months old already!

Mae's favorite activities this month included chatting to herself in the mirror, trying soooooo hard to crawl, and scratching her fingers on anything that makes noise (especially the wood paneling next to her changing table). She has all the building blocks for crawling (lifting her chest, scrunching her legs, pushing off with her feet), but hasn't quite put everything together yet. She can wiggle a few feet at a time, especially if her favorite toy radio is placed just out of reach. Not being able to crawl is currently her biggest frustration and part of the reason she hasn't been sleeping well, since she keeps trying to crawl in her sleep!

Mae is not particularly talkative around adults, but she meows and squeals as soon as she sees other babies or her own reflection! She loves being held in a standing position, bouncing to music, and watching her daddy's ridiculous dance moves. In the evening, she sits in her high chair while Dan and I eat dinner at the coffee table. Sometimes she fusses when we clip her into the chair, but she calms down as soon as we turn on Jeopardy!

Mae nurses to sleep consistently around 7:30 pm, and she WAS sleeping really well through the night until a couple weeks ago. When she wakes in the night, she always goes back to sleep after a short feed. We get her up for day care around 6:00 am and she is all smiles as soon as she sees us. She is still a terrible napper and has achieved unprecented levels of screaminess before she finally falls asleep for naps. Pacifiers work... sometimes. She takes her bottles like a champ at day care now, and she will be starting solid food soon. Her little teeth (which Dan nicknamed Chomper and Biter) are always looking for something to chew on!

We are excited to see what milestones come in month 6!