Ryder is trying to figure out how to crawl!

Shot this cute video this evening of Ryder trying to figure out how to crawl. He is so cute!! he can get up on his hands and knees, but can't quite figure out how to get everything going in the right direction all at once!! Then he gets mad because he can't get moving to where he wants to go. He's getting better though--last week when he tried to get up on his knees he would end up scooting backwards!! It is amazing to watch him everyday learning new things. It seems like just yesterday that he was Lyllie's size...time just moves too quickly!! Like Aimee says--I will soon need to get serious about babyproofing the house!! Just look at those wheels turning in Ryder's head!!

Ryder & Lyllie's First Visit with Santa

The kids and I finally got the babies to the mall today to visit Santa. It was lots of fun! We got there while Santa was on a break to feed his reindeer, so there was no line. We had to wait for an hour for Santa to get back, but it worked out well. Lyllie ate while we were waiting, so she was sleeping for her visit. Ryder took a little nap, and woke up a very happy boy.
when Santa got back, Ryder was at first very intrigued by him, but then suddenly decided he was scared of him and started crying. Those pictures of him crying were just as cute though. We also got pics of both babies with Santa.
I could not believe as we were heading up to Santa's chair that I was there with my grandbabies!! Last year at this time, I had no idea of the joy that I was going to have this year at Christmastime with my two little blessings!! I can't put into words the joy I felt as we walked up the walkway with the babies. I still am feeling so very blessed!!
Oh-and by the way--Mr. Ryder has his first two teeth in now!! They are the bottom two. They are too little to get in a picture yet - but they are there!! Way to go, Ryder!! He hasn't even hardly been fussy about teething, so we were surprised when they popped through!!









Well-I'm signing off for now--want to go finish my monkey socks, and then am going to start a pair of Dancing Tulips with my Cherry Blossom Yarn which is pictured in an earlier post.

Finally some knitting inspiration!!

I've been in a knitting slump!! I did not think it could happen to me, but it did!! All weekend, I've been frogging one project after another. I've been looking for THE PERFECT yarn for a certain sock pattern I've been wanting to knit. I thought my CTH Cherry Blossom was going to be the yarn, and couldn't wait to get started. But the yarn did not work with the pattern. Tried a couple other CTH yarns, but they weren't going to work either. So all weekend, I got nothing accomplished:( Then today went back to my LYS to return a couple skeins that I knew I wasn't going to use. And as I was looking in the sock yarn room I found this...



It is Smooshy, Dream in Color in the "Beach Fog" colorway. Suddenly I felt inspired again as I pictured this beautiful, soft and yes, smooshy yarn knit up into Monkey Socks. I have not knit Monkey socks as of yet, but have seen thousands of Monkey sock projects on Ravelry, and here on some of the knitting blogs I read...so I found my inspiration, and exchanged a couple of other yarns for this, and now have my first pair of Monkeys on the needles. I am loving the yarn, and loving how it is knitting up. I also love how it feels in my hands as I knit with it. I see much more Smooshy yarn in my future!




So...what about the pattern I was trying to find the right yarn for? and what about my CTH Cherry Blossom yarn that I so love? For now, I have set them both aside...I know I will find the perfect yarn for the pattern, so will just wait until I find that yarn...it will probably happen when I am not even looking...and I know I will find the perfect pattern for my Cherry Blossom yarn. I do have a custom hand dyed yarn coming that I ordered that I think will be perfect for that pattern I want to knit. So I will just have to be patient and wait for that to come. In the meantime, I am going to enjoy these Monkeys and this Smooshy!!

Getting to know Lyllie

It has been such a joy getting to know this precious little girl here in the outside world. She is changing all ready in her looks from that scrunched up face newborn look!! She is a very content baby. Eats and sleeps, and has a couple of very wide awake periods throughout the day.

Breastfeeding however, did not go well. Poor Aimee. Lyllie was latching on about every 30 minutes and not getting satisfied, and Aimee was exhausted. for some reason, Lyllie was just not able to effectively bring Aimee's milk down. So she is now on formula. Aimee was sad about not being able to breastfeed, and she felt guilty about making the decision to put her on formula, but I told Aimee there are more ways to bond with her baby besides breastfeeding. It's not bonding when mom is exhausted and baby is crying all the time because she is hungry. Aimee is now much more able to enjoy Lyllie, and not be worried sick because the baby is crying and hungry all the time. also, Lyllie had lost over a pound from her birthweight, and was getting quite dehydrated, so this reassured Aimee that she made the right decision to switch to formula. I have taken an infant massage class, so Aimee is doing lots of infant massage which she and Lyllie love. Also lots of skin to skin holding. So there is plenty of bonding going on, and Lyllie loves all of ehr peaceful quiet time with her mama!!

Don't get me wrong--I am a HUGE proponent of breastfeeding, and we encourage all of our moms to pump and provide breastmilk for their babies until the babies are big enough and strong enough to go to breast, but I know and understand that it just doesn't always work, no matter what a mom does. Aimee was afraid however to suggest bottles because she was worried I wouldn't be supportive of her using bottles. I let her know that while I strongly encourage breastfeeding, I understood what she had been going through, and supported her decisions...after all, she has to decide what is right for her and her baby, not what she thinks I think is right. We have become very close through all of this, and I have learned to let go of my little girl and embrace the beautiful woman she has become, and I have let her know, I am here to support HER decisions for her and her baby, and to give guidance when she asks me for it.

So...on to the knitting front...I finished one of my Basketweave socks...



but haven't accomplished much else, other than a WHOLE LOT of frogging. I now have my own lily pad in the frog pond. I have been working with a couple of Cherry Tree Hill yarns and a particular pattern, but the color repeats of the CTH yarns are just too short to work with any of the patterns I wanted to use them for. So just made a trip to my LYS and picked up some Trekking, and by tonight, I will have at least one sock well on the way to being finished!!!!

This past Thursday I was off work, and my son and his fiance were off work, so I cooked a big Thanksgiving dinner finally, and spent a wonderful day with children and grandchildren. I have alot to give thanks for this year--being blessed with two healthy grandbabies who both had a safe entrance into this big wide world. Being a newborn intensive care nurse, I see way toomuch of the other side with the babies who aren't born healthy, or who don't have a safe entrance into the world, so I am very thankful for my grandbabies and I don't say that lightly.

Here are a few pics from the day...

Ryder looking like he is going to kiss Lyllie...



Ryder and his Daddy, my son, Zak...



and finally...I leave you all tonight with this very adorable pic of a very wide awake Lyllie!!



Hugzzzzz to all and I hope you are all having a joyous and blessed Christmas season!! Remember to slow down in the busyness of this time of year, and enjoy the peace of the season, and the love of family and friends!!