Baby #2 Quilt Progress & Completion!

Most of the blocks done!

Disappearing 9 patch cut and sewed...

Doing more ironing...I never knew there was so much ironing required!!

All sewn together

Hmmm...realized I needed 4 more blocks...rats...

But those new blocks were somehow shorter than the rest!

See! A lot shorter!!!

Over it. And now it's quilted! (by me!)

Found a spot where the squares came apart. This was my fix.

Front and back, quilted.

I didn't like the polyester batting I used....so I had to unquilt the ENTIRE thing and start over! Here's the nice, new cotton batting I used instead. 

It was a little too short, so I butted the sides of it together and sewed it up. Worked perfectly!

Ended up having to buy new backing, too. I ripped holes in the old one when taking it apart. Here it is quilted, again!

Front and back, quilted time #2.

Now I'm pinning the binding on...

All pinned, ready to be sewn!

Done!

Completed, front.

Completed, back.

Peter's quilt back. Laying on top of the one I made; they are almost exactly the same size. Good!

Peter's quilt front. Isn't it cute? Great-grandma Ruth sure was a good quilter!

I'm now taking orders. :)

In His Hands

I always read my friends' blogs and think they are such good writers...and then I look at my blog and think mine is so boring! I was/am an English teacher, for heaven's sake! Maybe I just always write when I have run out of creativity for the day? I'm sure that's it...

I aspire to keep this thing updated far more frequently than I actually do...but somehow life always gets in the way and updating my blog for the memory of my family just gets pushed to the side. Hmmm...somehow when I put it that way, it makes me realize how important it is! I'll have to work on that.

Baby Update:

• I am 32...almost 33 weeks along and beginning to get tired more easily.
• I cannot sleep on my back anymore, even though I sure try (not sure why, pregnant ladies aren't supposed to do that!). The hips get pretty sore by morning most days and I feel an awful lot like a rotisserie chicken! :)
• Luke and I have still not decided on a name for this little boy. A teeny-tiny part of me thinks that maybe the ultrasound lady was wrong...maybe this is a girl and that's why we can't come up with a name? Ha! Well, if it does turn out to be a girl, we have a good name! Otherwise....we're working on it. 7+ more weeks to go...I'm sure we'll get it nailed down by then!
• His quilt was almost done until I decided that I did not like the batting I used to quilt it. So then, like the perfectionist that I can be sometimes, I had to undo the whole thing (argh!) and get new batting. Thanks to my friend Rachel who works at The Noble Quilter, I'm going to try a nice cotton batting. I will let you know how it works out! I think it should be much nicer and more blanket-like (less fat, stiff comforter-like), which is definitely what I'm looking for. I have to buy new backing material now, though. I poked a few holes through the old one when taking the stitches out...rats...
• He likes to stick his little rear-end out as far as he can. It's so funny and weird all at the same time.
• All is well so far...not too much longer and he'll be here!

Peter's Corner:

• Once again...oh, dear...will I remember everything I wanted to write?
• Peter got to go to the MN Zoo a couple weeks ago for the first time. When we got there, my excitement over this place called "zoo" had obviously bubbled over to him. He was pretty excited, even though he didn't know what it was all about! He was in love with running around everywhere and looking at some of the animals. Unfortunately, his personality changed drastically from the happy guy I normally see...and if he didn't get what he wanted, he turned into someone else's child (as mine would surely never throw tantrums at the zoo, right?)! It was exhausting!
• He definitely knows where his nose is.
• He also knows where his ears are and is working on eyes.
• He LOVES getting his ears cleaned out after a bath. Will sob if we forget.
• Folds his hands to pray whenever Luke or I sit down at the table with him. This sometimes can happen multiple times during a meal if I have to get up to get something. I love that he is so willing and eager to pray!
• When we sit down to eat a meal (or snack), Lucy has to lay down...otherwise she has a terrible habit of begging. We sometimes need to remind her with a "down!". Peter has recently picked up on this and now whenever he sees her he commands her to "dow!!"
• Our poor doggie also has had itchy skin troubles this past winter and itches incessantly sometimes. We often catch her leg with one of our feet and tell her "no". One night when she was itching and scratching, Peter walked over to her, stuck out his foot and shouted out a very firm "no!". Luke and I were just about on the floor laughing.
• Is working on his second eye tooth. Once it's in, he'll just have the bottom two to get and then his 2-year molars. Full mouth of teeth!
• Knows where the playroom is at church...and thinks that whenever we go there it must surely be time to play!
• Still loves to have books read to him. Would listen for hours if he found someone to read that long.
• Had a rough week last week. By Saturday afternoon, he had fallen and smacked/scraped his face three times in four places.
• Got to spend much of the day a couple Sundays ago with Daddy and Grandma/Grandpa Willing while Mommy went to Rochester for a wedding shower and to visit Eunice and her family. It sounds like they had a great time!
• I stopped working for my parents a bit earlier than originally planned and am at home all the time now! This, I think, is a bit of an adjustment for him (I'm sure for grandma, too!) to be just at home with me all the time. We're slowly working out a routine that will, I'm sure, be completely dumped when the baby comes! Not working for the spring/summer is definitely a blessing that I am just loving, but it also poses some unique opportunities for frugal living. I am also trying very hard to realize and be thankful for these opportunities!
• A few weekends ago, we went to my parents' cabin for the weekend and Luke helped my dad and mom put up part of the ceiling. If you don't know, they've been remodeling a cabin they bought last summer. It has been such a huge project that will be so nice and fun when it's done. We will certainly be blessed by the opportunities to spend time with family at the lake year round! That weekend, Peter and I kept everyone fed. That was our job...that and staying out of the way! :)
• While his vocabulary is actually slowly expanding, Peter still does not connect "mama" with me nor "dada" with Luke. I think the day he figures that out and starts calling us by our "names", I will drop everything and blog about it! :) Perhaps I'll even compose a poem...or maybe I'll spare you!
• Loves playing outside doing just about anything. Going for a walk, playing on the slide, playing fetch with Lucy, riding his little plastic yellow car, and dashing away from me as quickly as he can, laughing all the way, of course!
• Is starting to figure out what crayons and paper are for.
• I have decided to start incorporating part of my daily quiet time into Peter's day. So, at breakfast each morning, I have been reading 1 Psalm and 1 Proverb to him. Sometimes they get a little long and he gets restless, so I read a little faster :) and ultimately I cling to the promise the Lord makes to us that His Word "...is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) Part of being parents is working on training the attitudes of the heart...what better way to do that than to share God's Word?
• Makes Luke and I grateful EVERY DAY for the blessing of being a parent. There truly is nothing quite like it!

Pictures to come!

Spring Has Sprung, Maybe??

In all of my adult years (and child ones, too, for that matter), I cannot remember the month of March being so mild. That said, as today is only the 16th, I'm quite certain Mr. Murphy will see to it that the weather changes tomorrow. Or perhaps tonight. :) But, for now, most of the snow is gone, perennials are pushing up through the dirt - bulbs, rhubarb, etc. - and we have thrown off the winter coats. Could spring really be here already? Or is this a pretend Minnesota spring??? You know, the kind that hangs around just long enough to convince even the most skeptical and then disappears...leaving winter brutally in its wake. Sigh. I guess time will tell. For now, however, Luke, Peter, Lucy and I are loving the warmer weather!

But, before I get too far ahead of myself, I must write about how much my baby-turned-toddler is changing! Let me just make a list:

1. Most 15-month-olds would, I think, pick up a stray piece of dog food from the floor and shove it into their mouths. Peter, however, will carefully pick up that piece of dog food and gently place it into Lucy's dish. 
2. His words: Oooh!, Cool!, Go!, Yes (only sometimes), Whoa!, Uh-uh! (uh-oh),   Mmmmm!! Still no "mama" or "dada". Oh, well. 
3. He had, up until recent muddyness outside necessitated otherwise, solely worn Bobux shoes, which, by the way, he LOVES (and so do I!). They are soft, comfortable, leather shoes that were perfect for the long winter months. They kept his socks on and feet a little warmer! I think they're a little like wearing super comfortable leather slippers all the time. Now that he's a full-time walker, however, being outside in the mud was posing a problem with soft leather soles...so I had to get something else. At the advice of a friend, I went to Once Upon a Child, found some great, hardly (if ever) worn Nikes (for $6.50!) and brought them home. He hated them!!! He screamed and carried on like someone (namely me, I guess) was trying to torture him every time I put them on. Oh, dear me...now what? I guess it would be like going from those great slippers to a pair of heavy, not broken in steel-toed boots...fortunately, it only took a few days of trying them on...and he realized that he must wear them to walk around outside...and now he loves them! In fact, he will bring them to me to put them on when we are getting ready to go somewhere. Or if he just wants to go outside. :)
4. Despite his somewhat independent (and stubborn!) nature, Peter is really starting to show a definite tenderness, as well. Any time that he receives correction from Luke or I in any way, shape, or form, he throws himself into our arms and his attitude instantly changes from one of defiance to something sort of like: "Oh, mommy (or daddy), I'm so sorry! I will never, ever, scream at you and then throw that toy again! I love you so much! Please tell me that you love me still, too???" It is one of the most precious things I have yet to encounter as a parent...mainly because it is so sincere! That must be what it is like for the Lord when someone truly, truly repents. Precious.
5. He laughs whenever someone else laughs. Truly, he has quite the sense of humor!
6. He has dropped his morning nap.
7. Before bed, when we plop down (the further along I get in this next pregnancy, and holding a 23lb child, "plopping" is about all I can do!) into the recliner in his room to pray, he flings himself back so that his head is resting on the armrest and his body is stretched out across my lap. And then he silently lays there as I (or Luke) pray. Again, this is one of those precious moments I love as a parent!
8. He just figured out how to fold his hands when we pray before a meal. He is starting to figure out that this is a little time to be quiet...but as soon as that "Amen" is said, he's ready to eat!
9. The other night, the three of us went out for dinner. The waitress accidently brought me a glass of watered-down orange juice, so I decided to let Peter have some. He has not mastered drinking out of a glass without a lid yet, so I had to keep wiping him off. After a while, he started grabbing his own napkin (aka daddy's) to wipe off his face. When we were done eating, I pulled out a wet wipe to clean his hands and face, and what did he do? Grabbed that napkin again to help out. Pretty cute!
10. He likes to pretend he's putting on lotion. Rubs his hands together a little, then on his tummy and legs.
11. Gets crabby when he's hungry (just like me, unlike Luke who just gets hungry).
12. Doesn't like to get his hands dirty outside. 
13. If you ask him what an animal says (ANY animal), he will make a "roar" sound. Well, except for fish. We're working on that...
14. I think he knows where/what his nose is. I think.
15. Loves other kids his size! Actually, loves other kids of any size - he just loves other kids!
16. Was completely traumatized at the doctor's office this morning. An older child (5 or so?), was screaming bloody murder and refusing to be weighed, etc. This set Peter off and the rest of the visit was not much better...he finally calmed down when we left. Of course. He was a bit of a mess for the rest of the day, though. Climbing up the stairs, he somehow bit his lip and made it bleed profusely. And after dinner, he was lugging around a can (evaporated milk, maybe?), and smacked his face on it. As he was crying and walking towards me, he ran smack into the dining room table. Poor guy. What does a person do at that point? It had been a day...so I got him ready for bed and tucked him in. We'll start again fresh tomorrow! Great is God's faithfulness! His mercies are new every morning...

As spring begins (maybe?), bringing fresh, new life to the world again, we, too are making some changes. Since January, we have been looking for a new house. While apartment life has been good, with an active toddler, a 70-lb yellow lab, plus a new baby on the way, it is time to get a house again. And so we are looking. And hopefully we will have fun new house pictures to share soon! (Our lease is up in 2 1/2 months, so we're really hopeful!)

Picture time!

Peter and Luke (Ron in the background) as we were saying goodbye to Ron and Judy. We had a fun weekend with them - even if I was at a class all day on Saturday! :) 

What a ham! What more need I say?

I have decided to try my hand at making our new baby a quilt, since Luke's grandma Ruth, who made Peter's quilt (and one for us!) is no longer able. Here are the fabrics I have chosen.

Luke picked this one out. :) This will be the back as well as some of the squares on the front (and was the inspiration for all the other fabrics I chose!)

This is the practice square I made. I found the pattern idea here and fell in love with it. So simple and yet so fun! I had to try it out first to make sure I was capable. And so, with the help of Betsy, Sami, Rachel and many others, I'm sure, hopefully I will be able to actually make this thing before the baby comes!

Luke likes to make remote controlled airplanes and Peter LOVES to play with the remote.

Here is one of the many he has made. Fortunately they're made from cheap foam, and so whenever they crash and he needs to make a new one, it's not a big deal!

We went on a walk at a local state forest on Sunday afternoon with our friends Jeff and Lisa and their adorable daughter, Kaitlyn. It was a beautiful day!

Luke and Peter went out on the still frozen lake. Luke was pointing out the water or something?

Peter thought he should try eating this ice chunk. Yuck!

Kaitlyn. What a sweetie!

My favorite two men.

I like this picture. I look sort of slim. :)

Luke was making a parachute to drop from one of his planes...he and Jeff were testing it out.

Peter and Kaitlyn. They just stood there smiling at each other...and then they reached out and grabbed each other's hands. So sweet!

It's Been Awhile!

Well, since Peter hit the one-year-old mark, I've been pretty lax about updating my blog. Bad mommy! So many things keep happening that I think to myself, "I need to write that in my blog," but do you think I remember half of them? Of course not. And so, if it's true that parents typically record EVERYTHING for the first child and get progressively worse with each new child...ours are doomed! :)

I think I'll just stick with pictures and see where that takes me this time...

Peter and his friends Kristina and Marianna playing in Lucy's kennel. :)

Here we are in front of our tree at Christmastime! Can you tell it was a quick take a picture before we have to take down the tree shot? :)

This is one of Peter's many goofy smiles. :) We just love it! I caught him climbing into the cupboard one day, but didn't get the camera quite quickly enough...still cute, though!

Bath time is definitely a favorite!

One day he fell into a pot that he was playing with...

I scrambled to grab the camera, laughing really hard the whole time...

And he ended up thinking it was pretty funny, too!

Oh, man...this yogurt and granola is soooooo good!

My awesome, super good looking husband doing the dishes for me. :)

Peter and his friend Evie!

What can I say? His hands were cold! ;)

I love self-portraits. Luke does not so much. Peter just smiles whenever the camera comes out.

Peter was practicing driving and talking on the phone at the same time one day.

Apparently he got too frustrated and ripped the box. Doing two things at once is such a challenge sometimes! :)

More nerdy self-portraits. I definitely do not look 20 anymore!

And here was my chunky little monkey a year ago!

Two Quick Things

1. Peter decided to start walking yesterday! We knew he could do it, but I guess he just wanted to be sure he was good and able...he's definitely not off and running full speed ahead just yet, but I don't think it will be long!

2. We are having another boy! My 20 week ultrasound was yesterday. All looks great so far! Now to pick out a name...

Man, what a busy day...