my lover, Sean

This is going to be pretty photo-intensive...just 'cause.
Here is the giant sock, all knitted up:


I was trying to get a shot of the babe with the stocking as a size comparison. This was last week, pre-crawling, but he kept getting away from me, even when I stuck him inside it.

Is that baby bottom in handknit not the cutest thing? I really should have him in wool soakers all the time.

Now for the detail. The loop that I added:



The heal:


The toe:



And the end result after felting:



Most importantly, it's big enough to hold all the loot I expect Santa to drag down the chimney. Happy, happy!

We've got mobility!

I've been so busy chasing baby that I feel like I am way overdue in posting about this momentous occasion! Last weekend, Finn started crawling...and at the same time...pulling up to stand wherever he can. Here he is trying to get his new stocking!



The babe's already got a fondness for the handknits! And I must say that I am very happy for BabyLegs - his poor little legs get all red without them.

So, we're pretty unprepared for this mobile creature. There really should be some kind of warning. It didn't take too long before I decided to put up a baby gate, which we just happened to have gotten on Saturday morning, pre-mobility. Maybe that's it...buy a gate and the kid starts to move. In any case, he loves being a caged animal:

Still kicking...

Yeah...I know. I've been slacking on the blogging. Just been too busy otherwise to publish a proper post. So... here's a quick rundown of recent developments.

Fourth of July was fairly uneventful...stayed home and watched fireworks through the front window from the couch. Finn slept through the big display, but was a little bothered by the neighbor kids and their shenanigans.

The Sean stocking is a hanging loop away from being completed and I will be sharing it soon.

Finn's new talent is clicking his tongue, which I find to be so, so adorable.

No crawling...he just rolls all the way across the room. Then he gets peeved when he reaches a wall or closed door and can't go any further.

7.5 months and no teeth.

In the kitchen...last week was birthday cake for R, but since then the kitchen has entered a state of redo. It is finally getting some updates in the hopes that it will become much more user friendly. This makes me infinitely happy and a tiny bit sad that it wasn't done earlier.

I don't have any relevant photos prepared, so I just picked one of the babe to share here.



This is Finn reaching out to say, "Don't leave, loyal readers! Mama promises to keep posting."

How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways...



I love your delicious green colors...

I love your fuzzy, soft alpaca yarn...

I love you because you're for my baby...

I love that you are big enough to encompass my baby...

I love that you are going to be worthy of hanging from my 19th century mantle...

I love that you are giving me confidence to take on larger projects like I've never knitted before...

I love that I can work on you while baby is attempting to make mischief of one kind and another...

I love that you are really just a gigantic sock and probably the only size sock I will ever be found knitting.

This is how I love my current knitting project...the hopefully soon to be completed and felted Sean stocking.

Fresh Donuts

Whenever we head in and out of town via the West End, we see this house-turned-doughnut shop. It looks like a business that functioned years ago and has sat untouched. It looks like a dump. Except that this place is still going and receives plenty of rush hour business as people head to town for work. What attracts me (actual doughnuts aside) is the crappy cool homemade sign on the pink sided exterior.


The paint is cracked and peeling, the building is dirty, yet there is something about the lingering vibrance of this sign's design, simple as it may be. It called to me. One weekend morning we decided to finally check this place out. Behind the failing paint, dirt, and rust, we found a thriving family business with friendly service and a variety of fresh donuts. Hooray for homemade.

updates, updates...

...because I know you've been wondering. There are a few past blog items on which I wanted to provide some updates, in no particular order.

- I discovered that the giraffes at the Pittsburgh zoo died, I believe earlier this year, from old age. Very sad, but they lived long lives. Two yearlings will be joining the zoo this summer. Wondering what happens to zoo animals when they die? I was. After picturing a giraffe-sized grave being dug into the ground in Highland Park, I googled and found that the animals are most commonly cremated, sometimes after tissue and/or blood samples have been taken. Guess that makes more sense, huh?

- I shared a photo a while back showing storm drain markings popping up around my neighborhood. I've since learned that they are the Eagle Scout project for a local teen. I think his name is Josh and he'll be stenciling all of our drains. Way to go, Josh...I dig the fish.

- I also had a little vent relating to finding non-super low-rise jeans. I'm happy to report that I was able to end my search at Eddie Bauer where I found well-fitting jeans at a reasonable price and...the best ever handicapped/stroller accessible fitting room. Finn does not like to hang out in little rooms while I play dress-up, but he does like to look into mirrors with me. This fitting room was huge and had a full wall mirror, so I could park the stroller next to me facing the mirror and had plenty of room to move around. Perfect. I don't frequent the mall, but this is a huge plus if ever I have to goes clothes shopping with the tot in tow.

And...I must now edit this to add that I just ate the lone berry. Mmmm.

Dad's Day at the zoo

We went to the zoo yesterday for R's first Father's Day. Finn and I had gone earlier in the year, but this was the first time for the whole family. It was hot, but not too hot, and crowded, but bearable. What I was not happy about was the lack of giraffes. The giraffe is my favorite animal and we didn't see them on either visit this year. This really bummed me out. Actually, it made me a little mad, to tell you the truth. But then I thought that maybe the giraffes are just tired of being on display and decided to roam out of sight. If that's the case...good for them. Gorillas were present, but definitely avoiding the gawking humans - they're too smart for my viewing pleasure. Also, not a single orangutan. It was an exhausting day, not seeing animals.

If only we all could have taken a nap in the stroller.