A visit and trip to Yellowstone

My oldest sister, Dana came up from Kansas for a weekend. It is so awesome :D We went to Yellowstone yesterday. Here are a few pictures. She has more and Joe has some in his camera which i will try to get from them.

For Michelle

Granola Threads. The last one is taken on the washing machine because he got a ton of poop on it within the hour i put it on. Good times. Cute little Annie-Go-Fannie fitteds.

New Jammies and the BIG 26

Ahhhh, my littles got new jammies. Issy's and Isaac's are from Grammie and we got Liam some new ones because he didn't have very many.

So, today is my 26th birthday. It's been good so far! I decided that i am going to write a list of 26 things i would like to do/accomplish in the next year. Here she goes:

1) Smile more often.
2) Try to see the positives even in the most bleak-looking days.
3) Hug my babies more.
4) Try to be a more patient person.
5) Pray more.
6) Enjoy my kids and realize that they truly do grow up very very fast.
7) Try to put myself in Joe's shoes and be a more loving and patient wife.
8) Be a more inventive cook.
9) Start up my knitting business.
10) Finish what i start.
11) Become accredited as a La Leche League leader
12) Lose 25 lbs by exercising and eating well.
13) Take up yoga.
14) Be a fearless knitter.
15) Be a better housekeeper.
16) Get more involved in Church.
17) Be more outgoing and make friends.
18) Learn to crochet.
19) Be a good steward of the things God has given me.
20) Keep in contact with people better.
21) Let the kids and Joe know every day how much i cherish them.
22) Embrace life here instead of wishing i were somewhere else.
23) Work on my doula certification.
24) Don't procrastinate.
25) Don't waste time.
26) Live each day as though it was my last.

Finished Curly Purly and some new projects

I actually finished this Curly Purly soaker a couple of weeks back but just now got around to taking pictures of it. It is knitted in BFL in the Chili Peppers colorway by WWBN. It is so yummy, i love it!

Some Fleece Artist Yarn in a Basketweave pattern. Michelle finds all the best patterns and i do my best to copy her :)

The yarn and start of my fingerless gloves that will have a mitten flap. I am so excited about these!

The start of my very first knitted blanket. I have ten skeins of Suri Alpaca by Knitpicks and am using the Fan and Feathers Pattern. I didn't like how it looked on the suggested size 8 needles since it is a super bulky yarn so i sized up to 10 1/2. I didn't alter my cast on number though, so the blanket is going to be shorter and wider, which is okay because i think if i don't decide to gift it, i am going to use it for the back of the couch. The yarn is really weird. I think i like the look of it, but i don't really like to knit with it. Hmmmm, it should be interesting doing an entire blanket with it.

The beginnings of Joe's Swell hat by Knitty. I already goofed up and i haven't even gotten past the earflaps. Oh well, it shouldn't be too hard to fix

Some yarn i got at the LYS in Wichita. I have been wanting to do the Twinkletoes pattern by Knitty for Issy but i didn't know what yarn to use. They had the suggested yarn at Twist so i bought some. She'll love them!

Some Peace Fleece earmarked for some longies for Liam. Probably a soaker too since i just washed one of his with the diapers and felted it :P

FAMILY!

I just got back from a week in Kansas. The circumstances of my trip were sad (my uncle passed away) but it was so very very nice to see my family and friends.

Sleepy little Liam on Aunt Dana

Isaac getting a ride from his buddy Anna

We had a BBQ at Michelle's house and the kids were out in full force! 12 kids under the same roof surely seems like a lot. I love the last picture. My nieces were giving Issy a hug. A little Issy sandwich. The first picture is really cute too... my 15 nephew Robert is so good with the little ones.

A trip to the zoo. Liam fell asleep about 10 minutes before it was time to go, little goof. He looked super adorable though.

My two favorite knitters! They were trying on Liam's longies to see what each yarn felt like on the legs. We all decided we wanted BFL longies for ourselves.

The Exhausting Five. Michelle and i decided that they all got really active and more tiring in the last three months. A whole week under the same roof really proved that. It was great though. They are all such beautiful, special babies.

'Kay, now i am satisfied

You say, "But Erin, you already posted this. It's been done for days." True, but i wasn't quite satisfied with it. In my hurry to get it done, i did a rather sloppy job on the waistband. I was using 24" circulars on a decidedly not 24" waistband and so the ribbing was very wide and unpretty. So i took advantage of the one good nap that my little son has taken in recent memory and i ripped out the waistband, added a couple rows of rise and redid the waistband on size 16" circulars. Much better. I can carry on with other projects guilt-free now :)

Check out that close-up... much better!

Warm Heart Woolies Trim Soaker (and WALKING!)

So i started (and finished) a Warm Heart Woolies Trim Soaker yesterday for Liam to wear under his clothes this winter when he isn't wearing longies. I knit some BFL from Wooly Wonders by Nada in the Wild Kingdom colorway and i looooove it. This yarn is totally droolworthy. And i am quite sure that BFL is my new favorite kind of yarn.

AND HE WALKS! The last couple of days he has really been trying to toddle around. My theory was correct... the reason he chose not to walk was because crawling was more efficient and he is all about fast. BUT he realized that there is a benefit to being able to walk that you don't get with crawling... carrying things. So now that it is worth his while, he has been working on it.

Watch out world.

Jackson Lake and no more SSS!

We went to Jackson Lake and rented a boat. It was so beautiful! By the time we got there and in the boat, Liam was really really sleepy, so he slept most of the time we were out there. He had to wear a life jacket so i tied him in the wrap on me, but it was still a little awkward (but very very cute). When he woke up, Joe let me try my hand at driving a boat. Um, i am not very good. Issy had a great time and Isaac said he had a good time, but he seemed very very dubious the whole time. When Liam was awake, he seemed to enjoy himself. Liam has also started to try to walk a little more lately!

We found this little moosey on our way home. He didn't seem to want him picture taken very much, he kept his backside to us. So if you have ever wondered what the backside of a moose looks like, this is it!

I bit the bullet and did the second sock. Honestly, once i just worked on it, it didn't take me that long (two evenings worth of knitting). The second one striped up differently than the first, but i think it is part of the charm :D Or at least that is what i will tell myself ;)