Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Things I Know (Poppy Edition)

Once upon a time, the Speck was still a somewhat unknown entity.  Now it is the Poppy's turn to be mysterious, and except for my one moment of insight, I am as much in the dark about who she is as I was with the Speck.  (Though I will say many of my Speck predictions did turn out because wow, he really loves cheese.)  But here are a few things I have figured out during the past 32 weeks:

--The Poppy moves all around, side to side and up and down, so I know she will be a very well-rounded person.

--The Poppy sometimes sticks her foot out my side so I know she will be into soccer.

--While it's settled down a bit in the last week, the heartburn has been pretty brutal at times, and so I know the Poppy will come out with luxurious hair down to her elbows.

--I know she will like cheese because, at this point, how could she not?  

--I've had more random crying episodes (spilled yogurt, anyone?) this time so I know she will be a bit, shall we say, tender-hearted (the yogurrrrrrrrt!). 

--Symptom-wise, this experience has been so similar to last time that I know she and the Speck will have a lot in common and be buddies forever. 

--I'm pretty sure she is head down now (see also: foot in ribs) so I know she is good at following procedure.  

(What I don't know is how babies can stand to be in that position for more than five minutes.  Doesn't the blood rush to their heads?  Or does that not happen when you're floating?  Mysteries!)

And, for good measure, here are a few things I really hope I know:

--The Speck is such a mellow, amenable little fellow that I know he will adjust well to having a baby move in. 

--The Poppy will take after the Speck and also be a mellow, amenable little thing.

--All of my organizing and planning beforehand will not be in vain and the transition from 1 to 2 will be as smooth as possible.  

I also know that pictures of Boo Boo make any blogpost better.  Here we see him facilitating a little inter-species romance with these kissing animals:


"Mmm-WAH!"

Friday, January 09, 2015

Crafty Christmas

As per usual, the craft bug hit me at Christmastime again this year.  It wasn't my most crafty year, but with a number of Poppy crafts on the horizon, it was a good idea to take it easy.  Anyway, here is what I came up with this year, starting with the year's holly ornaments:


The berries are jingle bells!  I had this idea a few years ago, and I like how they turned out.  If you look closely you can see a sixth sitting on the branches because I forgot to sew in the ribbon loop.  Oops.

When fall/winter arrived, I noticed that Boo Boo's room is a little chillier than the rest of the house so I fretted over if he was warm enough at night.  One day at Hobby Lobby I noticed that sewing patterns were $1.99 ($1.99!) and so I grabbed one for a sleep sack.  Fleece in hand, I went to work.

I had Boo Boo model it for me before he went to bed.  He decided to demonstrate his unimpeded mobility:




I think we both sleep better at night knowing he is cozy in his sleep sack.  I had to put in my first zipper, and it actually works!  Whew.  Maybe one day I will feel capable of making my oranges dress?

Anyway, the pattern included a variety of other cozy babywear, such as a hat.  I had just enough fleece leftover to make one:



He wears it and everything!  It's a good thing too because his Toothless hat is getting a bit small and his Yoda beanie has vanished :( :( :( :( :( :( 

(Has anyone seen a Boo Boo-sized Yoda beanie??)

This last item is not really a craft and not an idea I can take credit for either, but it is BRILLIANT.  What do you do with the Christmas cards you want to keep year to year?  Before, I would have said you put them all in the decorations box where they can float around in a mess.  But NOW I will say this: punch a hole in the corners and put them on a binder ring!  They're easy to look through without being a mess and you can keep them organized by year.


(I happened to have a binder ring leftover from the quiet book--which I finished but needs its own post.)

Thus concludes my Christmas craftiness this year.  Who knows what next Christmas will bring and what crafts the Poppy will inspire.  Maybe I will do some more matching jammies again next year?  Only time will tell.