Aden Turned 5

Aden turned five last week and we were lucky enough to be invited to his celebratory bash. His party was held at an art studio in Livermore where the kids get to paint ceramics. The birthday boy was a great host and worked hard on his own project.

Aden showing his dad his great artistic ability.

Aden getting ready to blow out the candles in his yummy ice cream sandwich. Ainsley, Aden's future wife, will be helping Aden make 1,700 children together. Oh, and they are going to be our neighbors one day in a rainbow painted house. I hope the housing market has picked up a bit by the time they move in so Andrew and I can actually buy the house next to them.

Ainsley's sister, Devon, prepares for the blow out.

This is what a birthday is all about.

The sandwich was too big for Kyle to bite into so he had to scoop the ice cream out with his fingers.

It is always fun when the gift is as big as you are.

Kyle and I playing in the front of the studio.

Cheers until next year.

Blake's first mom-made sweater!

All of my friends post the fun things they knit or crochet on their blogs so I am going to start virtually displaying some of mine. Here is my first attempt at a crocheted baby sweater. It is so tiny so I hope I have enough energy to someday make a bigger one. I still need to attach a fastener.

3rd Trimester!

My friend just emailed me saying she wanted updated pictures of my pregnancy. I only have a good "bump" picture from Christmas time (the end of my second trimester). My pregnancy is going great right now and starting the third trimester has been exciting. As of last week, I have stopped working and am adjusting to my new schedule. I miss the boys terribly, but I get to see them this weekend because it is Aden's fifth birthday and he will be having his birthday party at a pottery studio where the kids will paint pottery.

My friend Skyla takes sewing classes at a local Hancock Fabric store so I butted my way in and signed up for four classes. I completed my first project and I am not sure I am going to attempt baby clothing ever again! I made a sleep sack and I can't believe how expensive it is to make a simple garment when everything is all said and done. My next sewing project will be to finish sewing the lining for my Moses basket and the edge liner for the bassinet. I ordered a new bassinet mattress and sheet so now I need to add the finishing touches. The picture below the sleep sack is of Skyla's son Aiden and our friends Peter and Danika's daughter Jocelyn. The picture was taken when we went Christmas tree hunting in Half Moon Bay together.

I have also done a fair share of crocheting lately. I am part of a crochet group that meets every other week and I love spending time with the girls. The latest project I just finished is a toddler poncho for my friend Carolyn's daughter Elaine June. Andrew and I will be visiting them in NY in a couple of weeks so I wanted to bring something for EJ since it will be the first time meeting her.

This is a picture of the view from Andrew's hotel room when he went to the Santa Cruz mountains for a Google management training course. Tough life, huh?

Oh, and here are some pictures of the nursery so far. It is a work in progress and I have to edge the curtains with blue and bows and I have only laid out the fabric in/around the crib so I still have to finish that. The peace baby letters will go on the wall and I am painting three canvasses of forest and gnomes above the crib. Right now I have the sketches above the crib on white paper so I could test out my idea. The bookshelf will definitely get cleaned and re-organized.

Blake's closet is slowly filling up.

Much love to you all and enjoy the wonderful rainy weather.

All set for the next party

For Christmas I set myself up with a kegerator. I bought the parts (see the previous post with the kegs :) and this past weekend I put it together.

Nothing coming out of it yet, I still need to brew the beer! But I've got some Oatmeal Stout bubbling away now in the carboys I got for Christmas as well... You can see the video here.

Below are some photos of the new kegerator set up. The one on the left is for fermentation (need to keep the temperature under control or it tastes too alcoholic), the one on the right for dispensing the finished beer.

Also I have a party tap so I'll be able to bring homebrew kegs to the next pool party up in Oakhurst.