NY, NY

Andrew and I are living it up in the Big Apple. Andrew is working from the NY Google office and I get to explore all this city has to offer. It is super cold here and was only 11 degrees when we woke up this morning. Along with the cold temperature, there were 30 mph winds that made the wind chill factor feel like it was -4 degrees outside.

Today I:
* visited the Guggenheim museum
* braved Times Square

*HERE'S THE M&Ms STORE I VISITED*

* shopped in SOHO

When I was shopping, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart called me letting me know Andrew and I were in the drawing for studio audience tickets. I had signed up online a few weeks ago, but didn't hear back from them so I assumed we wouldn't be able to get tickets. I told them I was eight months pregnant and they ended up giving us VIP tickets and moved us to the front of the line. We showed up around 4:30pm and by 7:15pm the show was completed. Jon Stewart came out to start filming at 6pm and was an excellent host. That man has his routine down pat. I am glad that Andrew's "surprise" Jon Stewart tickets actually panned out because we had a great time.

Stay up and watch the show and listen for our laughing!

I added a bit of COLOR!

I went to a very chic quilting shop in Los Gatos yesterday to buy some fabric for the rest of the nursery. I really thought I was going to coordinate baby prints, but I ended up choosing some bright prints. I started this project last night at my last sewing class. Maybe this is where ADHD starts in kids, who knows? I hope Blake enjoys being stimulated in his Moses basket.

More Soft Goodies

Today, I finished another round of sewing projects. We had another prenatal appointment on Friday which went well. I have round ligament pain in my right leg, but besides that everything is how it should be. My midwife and her assistant felt around trying to see if they could feel the head versus the rump. I guess Blake has a few more weeks of growing before they can really tell. He sure tried to get away from the probing hands by hiding near my back. That wasn't very comfortable! Since we hit the 30 week mark we will now start having prenatal appointments every two weeks. We talked about getting all of our layette supplies handy and my midwife's assistant said that I could buy a few yards of soft, cotton flannel at the fabric store and sew the edges instead of buying expensive receiving blankets. For $6 total, I now have three new receiving blankets ready to swaddle Blake in on his first days.

My crochet group had a yarn swap the other evening and I acquired some brown, fluffy yarn. I didn't know what to do with it so I just started crocheting a big square. When I ran out of yarn I figured I could buy some blanket binding and sew and edge on it for a lap blankie. Here is the finished product.

I know my poor child is going to be sick of brown, cream, green, and blue by day two. I have some adorable, colorful fabric coming in the mail soon that I am going to use for his Moses basket. I am still holding out for just the right fabric to make the bumpers for the bassinet.

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.