THAT mom...

Today, I was THAT mom. You know, the one who is a mess, running late, forgetting stuff, baby still in jammies in the middle of the day. Yes, I was THAT mom.

I got a call today at 1:10 p.m. As soon as I saw the school's name on the caller i.d., I realized I forgot that Silas was signed up for Kindergarten Round-up to start at 1:00. I tried to reschedule, but they had no room until the summer session, so I sucked it up, woke the baby up from a nap and went late.

Really late. Silas was still at preschool. Josiah has a little cold and didn't sleep well last night, so I arranged to have Silas stay in extended care to give me a bit more of a break. Nap time starts at 1:00, so when I showed up at 1:25, I felt terrible interrupting the stillness within. Oh, well. It had to be done.

I hurried Silas into the car, not even giving him time to buckle up before heading out. Yes, I was THAT mom. On the drive over, I quickly filled him in on what his crazy mom was up to, and reminded him that our neighbor, Noah, would be there too, so he was quite willing to cooperate. Whew! At least that was easy!

I parked as quickly as I could, behind a bunch of other cars in front of the school and scurried inside. Instead of arriving with my child in the classroom, allowing him to get comfortable with his surroundings before leaving him for a bit, I handed him off to a complete stranger in a hallway and was ushered into the library for the already in progress parent meeting.

I slipped into a seat in the back, hoping to quickly figure out what I had missed. Of course, the lady presenting paused when she noticed me, the new person, and said, "Oh, hi!" as in, "oh, a really, really late parent has joined us. That's weird. Who comes THIS late. Oh, she must be one of THOSE moms." And so the whole room now turned their attention to me. Nice.

I tried to smile as much as possible without looking simple. I guess my thinking was that if I laughed and acted relaxed about my ineptitude, that maybe no one would think this is the REAL me. I was fighting insecurities galore... "you're a stay-at-home mom. you're number one job is to tend to your children. This is a HUGELY important day in his academic career and you obviously have your priorities all wrong..."

If only Josiah was one of those teeny babies, they might have thought, "oh, she has a new baby. well, that's understandable." But no, he looks like a 9-month old, so instead I look even more like a loser.

Of course, Josiah wakes up with all the jostling around and wants to eat. So now I'm that hippy mom in the back breastfeeding her kid. And then he poops. And I'm thinking, "do I leave and change him? do I wait for a shift in speakers? Do I wait until it's over?" But then someone came in to announce that there were a number of vehicles parked out front that were blocking the bus lane and needed to be moved. Of course, I was parked out front. So now I have my arms full of poopy baby and I have to go back out into the crisp spring wind to move my car! I just laughed and bounced outside with the 7 other parents (at least I wasn't the only one!), and parked down the hill.

Returning to the library, I realized I need to stop trying to benefit from this meeting and hope that there was enough information in the multitude of handouts to fill me in on what is really important. But then I had to sign up for a reading assessment in the summer. Seriously? Like I can plan ahead to AUGUST right now. I put my name down for a specific date and time and then turned my attention to poor little Josiah, who was patiently waiting to be cleaned up. One of my neighbors who I was sitting by very graciously offered to write down the date and time of the reading assessment I had just committed to. She even wrote "reading assessment", in case I should forget entirely what I'm suppoedet to be doing when I see her note.

WHen did I become THAT mom? When did I lose my edge? Is it the second child, or did it happen a long time ago and I'm just now realizing it? When I was working, I was so busy, and yet, I was more on top of things. You know, they say if you want something to get down, ask a busy person to do it.

At least it didn't effect Silas at all. In fact, my laid back approach to the whole event kept him from any hint of anxiety, and he had a great time playing with his friends. THAT's the kind of mom I want to be - the one with the really secure, happy and well-adjusted child.

Silas is FIVE!!!

I am so happy to report that Silas did indeed have a better birthday! After a good night sleep, he stumbled out of bed and mumbled, "Happy Birthday to me!" It was such a sweet start to a lovely day. I was in the middle of changing his brother's diaper, so I stopped and gave him a "Happy Birthday" hug and kiss, which he was happy to receive.

We had to hurry a bit out the door to get to his 10:00 a.m. party at Chuck E. Cheese, so he quickly got dressed in his new birthday outfit we had purchased at the mall the day before (he actually LIKED shopping for new clothes - of course, these were not your ordinary clothes, but a glow in the dark shirt, a hoodie with flames on the sleeves, and new glow in the dark shoes.) On the way there we reviewed proper party behavior while he ate his breakfast (I told you he slept well - no time for a gourmet breakfast at home. Nope, this morning it was a Zone bar in the van, and he was thrilled to pieces about it.)

The party itself was just okay. One little boy's mom had not RSVP, so I was surprised when they showed up - all FIVE of them! I was somewhat prepared with an extra goodie bag, but still - who does that? (Obviously nobody who reads this blog, or else I wouldn't be writing that here.) And the night before a friend (who had been invited) called to see if we could invite another boy from school (who had not been invited) because his two brothers had strep throat and so his mom had had to cancel his birthday party (to which Silas had not been invited) which was the same day as Silas'. I was happy to include little Nick, but it was a bit awkward as neither had invited the other originally. It was only that I was TRYING to keep it small-ish.

Apparently Chuck E. Cheese is RAKING in the dough and the economy is really not as bad here in our neck of the woods because the place was absolutely packed!! There were 4 parties at 10:00 a.m. and they were booked solid every 90 minutes until 8:00 p.m.! And so there was a tremendous amount of chaos and background noise to compete with, as well as the distraction of video games to keep kids and parents from connecting in any meaningful way. Don't think we'll do that one again!

Silas, however, was completely satisfied with his birthday party, and that's all the really matters. It was such a full morning that we spent the rest of the day rather quietly. He played with his new toys, even having some quiet time upstairs alone as is our custom, and then we went out for dinner at Red Robin. He wanted to see Red, who wasn't working that night, and he really wanted me to tell our server that it was his birthday. I was thinking that maybe she would say something to me quietly about a dessert or something, so even I was surprised when everyone quickly showed up singing the RR Happy Birthday song. Silas looked terrified at first, and snapped back into the booth, clinging onto Daddy's arm, but after a few worried glances my direction to see my reassuring smile, he relaxed a bit and drank in the moment.

And so now my precious little boy is five. He dresses himself and wipes his own bottom. He can wash his own hair and brush his own teeth. He is almost ready to have his training wheels off his bike. Tonight we spent 45 minutes reading the unabridged version of Stuart Little by E.B. White. It was lovely.

Earlier, he compassionately patted Daddy's arm while praying at dinner because Steve pulled a muscle in his back. He loves to make his brother laugh and has learned that Josiah likes it when he says "T-T-T-T!" in a sweet baby voice.

When he accidently hurt his friend the other night, he was so upset that I actually felt worse for Silas than for his friend (who had fully recovered and was trying to get Silas to come out from behind the couch to see something). I no longer have to hover over him at play groups, wondering how long we can stay before someone gets hurt. He has learned to work things out with words, although he is also learning that not everyone follows the same rules all the time, and so he likes to correct others, young and old, if he thinks there has been some violation of one of his rules, which he thinks are universal.

I am blessed to be Silas' mommy. I thank God every night for bringing this little boy to us. He is a treasure.

Hoping for a better birthday...

Silas' birthday is coming up. Last year was a complete disaster. See the "I want to sell my birthday" post for details.

He wanted a Chuck E. Cheese party this year after attending a friend's party in the fall. He's talked of nothing else. We never told him he was going to have a party; Silas feels that he is entitled to one.

Steve and I have both struggled with the whole party thing. When he's invited to parties and his cousins have parties, it's hard for us to avoid having one for him. To do so would just seem mean to him. And so we conceded and have planned (very last minute), a Chuck E. Cheese birthday party.

And then there is the issue of gifts. He already has way more than he really needs, and so the idea of inviting a bunch of friends and having them show up with gifts just about sends me over the edge. I tried to have a "no gifts, please" party, but when I informed Silas, he got very upset (naturally), and I just felt like the meanest mommy ever. I realized that I was asking for my child to be more mature than he is, wanting him to be 15, not 5.

So tonight we talked about party etiquette, what to say when opening a gift from someone and how to handle duplicates. I"m trying very hard NOT to raise a monster. I want my little boy to always be sweet, always use good manners, and always have clean fingernails. Is that asking too much?

Brothers in Florida...

Neti Pot and other stuff...

Steve is sick AGAIN. I wonder if everyone in healthcare gets as sick as my dear husband...

Yesterday he stopped at the drug store and came home with a neti pot. I am so excited about this. A neti pot is used for nasal irrigation with a saline solution. According to Wikipedia, it is very common in South Asia and is even part of daily personal maintenance, like brushing one's teeth.

So he's using it to clear out his congested sinuses, but what I'm so excited about is how natural it is!!! No harsh chemicals coursing through his veins, manipulating the delicate balance within, just treating the source of the problem, with great results!

And here is the best part: he was going into detail tonight at small group, telling a few friends there about it! I guess it makes me happy because I'm always the one telling others about some new "out-there" thing that I'm into. For him to be sharing something like this just make me feel like we're on the same team. I wonder what our team would be called... perhaps the "Go Naturals".

Speaking of small group... I am so excited that after 5 years of attending our mega church, we are FINALLY plugged into an awesome small group!! It's like the fog is clearing in our grown-up spiritual lives as a couple and as a family, and I am finding myself in a lovely meadow, blinking at the bright morning sun. Can you hear the birds chirping? Sigh.

This has been a prayer for a long time, and to be blessed with friendship as a couple after so many years is so wonderful...

And so tonight I am thankful. I have put my trust in God and He has once again shown himself to be trustworthy and faithful.

Sleep

Josiah is four months old now and many people are asking me about his sleep habits at night. I have mostly stopped nursing him in the night, but he still is far from soothing himself back to sleep on his own. In fact, I had to stop to go give him his pacifier after typing that first sentence!

I'm not sure what to do from here. Part of me is willing to accept constant sleep interruptions because I know it won't last forever. It was so much harder to cope when Silas was not sleeping through the night. I think part of it was that I was working and so needed to be sharp in the morning as my day would start early whether I was rested or not. And part of it was my selfishness from being so used to life on MY terms - it was very challenging for me to give up my routines and comforts to tend to the demands of a small child. I thought things would be so different when I had children - i thought it would be easier.

But now that I've matured a bit and grown into motherhood, I'm much more equipped to handle the sleepless nights. And so my attitude is not one of self-pity but rather of acceptance. I've always been a realist and now I have perspective which gives me surprising grace to function on so little sleep.

On the other hand, I do realize that he is four months old and that perhaps I'm not doing anyone any favors if I never let him learn to self-soothe. Now that we are home from vacation, I'll probably experiment a little on some sleep training. If nothing else, it would be nice for him to take a bottle so that I can leave him with a sitter for more than 2 hours.

(Returning again from replacing "foofoo"...)

And so I will try moving him to the car seat or the swing. I may try letting him cry some. I will give up my attempts repeatedly, I'm sure, and bring him back into bed with me for cuddles. I would just continue to sleep with him if it didn't hurt my back so.

Patience is a virtue. I will work on cultivating more patience.

Josiah's Thumb

Josiah really works on his hands and has been successful a few times in finding his thumb. Here is one of those times.

My Labor Story...

I LOVE this picture. It was taken at the exact moment of Josiah's birth. Can't you see the joy and excitement?

I had a really great labor experience, a 9 out of 10, really. It didn't go exactly according to plan, but I felt so much peace that it was going to go exactly as it SHOULD go. I had prayed that I would have a pain-free labor - a very bold prayer, I know.

My water broke at 4:00 a.m., and at first I was discouraged. I did NOT want to have Pitocin, and if my contractions didn't start on their own within 8 hours, I would have to get the dreaded Pit-drip. So after a brief moment of tears, I gave it to God and we started for the hosipital.

Upon arrival, I was ordered to change into a drafty hospital gown, which I politely refused. Instead, I wore a tank top and skirt which allowed everyone access to whatever they needed to get to, and at the same time, I was able to maintain my dignity. It was so nice to walk the halls in REAL clothes! I felt like I was just there visiting someone, instead of being a patient myself. I highly recommend staying in your own clothes!!!

And to get the contractions going we did a LOT of walking! We made laps, stopping a bit every hour for the nurses to hook me back up to the monitors and to check my progress. I came in at about 3 cm and every time the checked me I dialated another centimeter or so, so they let me keep doing things my way. As long as I progressed, I wouldn't have to have pitocin. I DID NOT WANT PITOCIN!

By about 1:00 p.m., my water was really gushing when I moved, so I no longer felt comfortable outside of the room, but I still didn't want to labor in that bed if I didn't have to, so I sat on the birthing ball. Steve sat on the corner of the bed and held my hands and provided stability; Kylene, my doula, sat on a chair behind me, rubbing my back and providing counter pressure. They were the perfect team!

And having a doula was the way to go! A doula is a labor coach, someone was is there to assist the mother with her birth. And Kylene was so great! She provided us with so much confidence and peace. I didn't feel the need to take a refresher class in childbirth because I had read plenty and I knew if we had a question, we could just ask Kylene! She didn't impose her opinions on us, but did gently provide information if there was a question, or she would make small suggestions that were so helpful! Her help was so non-invasive that my mom (who was also present for the delivery) commented that she didn't think the doula did much of anything. Didn't do anything?!? I couldn't have done it without her!!!

The nurses assigned to me were an interesting pair. We got off to a bad start when the pretty rookie nurse tried to start my IV and infiltrated the vein. I told her it didn't feel right and she checked it, insisted that she had it in there right, but offered that she would change it if I wanted her to. Not wanting to be difficult, I tried to grin and bear it, but after they started the antibiotics, it became apparent that I was right about it not feeling normal when my whole forearm became swollen and painfully immobile. So that was when the slightly more senior nurse started my IV on my other arm and the tension between the two nurses mounted.

In hindsight, I wish I had been a little difficult and asked for different nurses. The competition that seemed to be going on between them interferred with the calm labor I was trying to have. They were biased against a natural labor and planted the seed of fear that if I waited too long to ask for an epidural, I might not be able to get one. And every time they came into the room, they would offer pain relief. I was a bit dumbfounded - I was barely in pain, let alone so much pain that I couldn't handle it! I would look at Steve and reflect that I wasn't having difficulty getting through the contractions at that point, so why would I want to mess it up with an epidural. I was not opposed to getting one, I just didn't want to get it too early and then be confined to the bed.

After 12 hours of labor, the contractions were becoming my main focus. I wasn't able to chat in between them. Unfortuately, the princess nurse was so out of touch that she continually talked to me DURING contractions... "now when this contraction is over we're going to..." HELLO!!! Wait until the contraction is over to tell me what you're going to do, would you please!!! It was obvious that she preferred women to be numb to the pain so she didn't have to be considerate. This girl thinks she's a great nurse, but in time she'll be lucky to be a "good" one.

My doctor ordered another round of anti-biotics, but unfortuately, my IV had dried up or something because the nurse had to hold my arm and press the tubing a certain way to get the medicine to flow. It was either that, or start a new IV. Um, no thanks. So chubby senior nurse held my arm for 15 minutes and with that, I was ready for my epidural. My ability to cope on my own was weakened and the fear that I might not be able to do it on my own overwhelmed me. 

The epidural was actually the worst part of my labor. For some reason, my blood pressure fell to 70 over something and my lovely, peaceful, labor turned into a scene of multiple medical interventions. Steve and Kylene were pushed out of the way to make room for multiple medical personnel who were working to bring my blood pressure back up. I don't know what all happened as I might have black-out for a bit, but as I came back around, I asked for Steve and he was allowed to pop his head back in for a moment. I asked if everything was okay and he very convincingly told me that it was, so I relaxed. Later he told me that at the moment everything was NOT okay and that he was very upset by how it was being handled. Well, he did a good job of making me feel better at least.

Once I was stable again, it was time to push and so my legs were lifted into the stirrups (a HUGE negative to having the epidural - this is the only position available for pushing), and princess nurse began calling my labor. I was too excited to care about that, and so Kylene became the photographer capturing this wonderful expression of joy.

Josiah was born at 6:28 p.m., after 14 1/2 hours of labor. That sounds like a long time, but really it wasn't bad at all. I wish now that I had not gotten the epidural, and that I'd asked for different nurses, but that is really all that I would change about my labor. I would still give it a 9 out of 10; Steve gives it a 3 out of 10. The doctor in him just can't get over the whole epidural thing.

Josiah's Swing Friends

Josiah hangs out in the swing in the kitchen when I'm cooking or eating (or when I just need to put him down for a minute.) He has recently started noticing the giraffe and bear that are attached to the swing and has even started "talking" to them.

Playing School

It's cold and snowy here. Many of the schools were closed or on delay. For some reason, Silas school was scheduled to begin as usual and I didn't feel like braving the bad weather first thing in the morning, so I let Silas stay home from school. I was probably just going to let him watch TV or play video games all day - I'm such a good mom. But when I mentioned letting him stay home, Steve asked if I didn't want to take him just so I could have a break for 3 hours. For some weird reason, that motivated me to not only keep him home, but to plan a full day of activities with him.

So today we played school. I was the teacher and Silas was my student. I kept to the schedule that he is used to and we had a wonderful day together. Everything became a learning activity just by giving it a different name. We had circle time by sitting on a blanket on the floor. We discussed the calendar and the weather. I introduced telling time using a clock puzzle he has played with for a year. I realized he will have to master the concept of counting by "fives" before he will be successful, but at least he's been introduced. And Silas set up "centers" with various puzzles and games.

After circle time, we had snack. And since I am the teacher, I chose the snack and he came to the table and ate what he wanted (the orange) and not the rest (organic string cheese is not very string-y). He didn't argue about what was for snack because I had taken control and made the decision. Why don't I just make those descisions more often and just tell him how it's going to be? Why am I constantly giving away control and setting us up for a battle? I guess I learned something today too!

We practiced writing the letter "K", which is the letter of the week at school. And then I did an activity with him to discuss "stranger danger". I got the idea out of the book Kitchen Table Play and Learn. I cut out pictures of people from magazines, some sinister and some not, and we pasted them on a poster board under the titles "safe" or "danger" and discussed why. I also talked to him about what to do if he's lost in a crowd (which happened two weeks ago at the local children's science museum we frequent), how to choose a stranger to ask for help (a grandma type or a parent with little children) and who would NOT be as good of a choice (a man by himself). Then we talked about what he should do if someone tried to take him from our backyard, that it's okay to hit (and he added kick or bite), and that it's not okay for ANYONE to touch him wear his bathing suit belongs. Oh, that's an awful conversation to have, but a necessary one.

For "Art Time" I introduced modeling clay. During G'ym Time" we kicked a soccer ball around the basement. "Music Time" involved a turtle shaped whistle I brought back as a soverneir from Mexico. And Home Living we learned how to give a baby a bath - Josiah was kind enough to play the role of the baby.

All in all it was a lovely day, one that I wished we had more of.

josiah smiles

The Big Brother

Silas has really impressed us in his role as a big brother... We weren't sure we would have such a smooth transition. I've recently starting using the term "high needs child" when referring to Silas - it seems like there are fewer negative connotations to that over "strong willed child".

Silas is a GREAT kid, and I wouldn't trade him for the world. We have learned that we have to be extremely intentional with him and that the smallest things are hard for him to overcome. What works for some parents hasn't worked for us and so we have learned to adjust our tactics - which some people interpret as "walking on egg shells" around him or catering to him. Well, he's our son and we're doing the best we can.

Anyway, we weren't sure what it would be like for him to have to share mom and dad, especially mom. Would he be jealous? Impatient? Would he ask us to take the baby back to the hospital? All of these thoughts ran through our heads and became part of our prayers as we prepared for the birth of number 2.

Thankfully, it has been such an easy transition that we are silently holding our breath still. Silas is a FANTASTIC big brother. He hasn't shown any signs of jealousy and really seems to enjoy the cute little baby that belongs to our family. And I think the ownership aspect has been key. Whenever I'm busy with Josiah and can't get to Silas right away, I tell him that I'm helping "his brother" at the moment, but will be with him as soon as I'm finished. And one of Silas' newest nicknames is "Big Brother" (other nicknames include Vern, Bubba, Siley, and Chief).

And Silas has become much more affectionate since we've brought Josiah home. I used to go days without unsolicited affection, but now we get lots of hugs, kisses and "I love you's". I said all along that Silas really needed a sibling and apparently, I was right. Seeing this loving little boy emerge is very gratifying.

I am so blessed to have two wonderful boys, and I am even more thankful that the expansion of our family is off to a great start.

Smile for mama...

Today Josiah gave me his first real "because-you're-my-mama" smile. I was holding him while drinking my morning tea and when I looked down at him, he gave me a bright smile! It was precious!

He is a very smiley baby, with lots of contented grins and smiles (there was even a faint chuckle the other day), but he is just in the last few days started focusing on faces and so to see his mouth curl up when I turned to him was just priceless. And what was even cuter was that he had been studying my face from the side before I looked down at him... I just love this kid!

Finally HOME!!!

We are rejoicing that Josiah is FINALLY HOME!!! We got in about 6:00 p.m. last night and had a lovely evening with our little family. His first night went great - he ate through most of it, which given his issues with his bilirubin, is a good thing.

He still looks pretty yellow, and his bili numbers might still be climbing, so please continue to pray. We will have them checked again tomorrow and then continue to have them checked a couple times a week for the next few months. We also have to watch his hemocrits (?), to make sure he doesn't develop anemia. I had to really make a fuss to go home yesterday - he went from 14.1 to 14.7 in 12 hours, which is a slower rate of increase, but still an increase. We don't have to do phototherapy unless he gets to 18.

We aren't totally out of the woods yet, but we can see a clearing in the distance. By the time he is 3 or 4 months old, this should all be behind us.

Day 3 in the NICU

Here are a couple days worth of updates. It's hard to find time to finish my thoughts...

Monday:
Josiah is still in the NICU. He was off the billi lights last night and his bilirubin levels went up to 15.8 over 17 hours. We're disappointed to not be able to bring him home, but we are so thankful that this is a very treatable problem and we will have a great time with him at home soon. Thankfully, he is nursing great and having lots of wet and dirty diapers, all good things to help flush the bad stuff from his blood stream.

Tuesday:
We're ready to bring him home, but unfortunately, he is not. It looks like it's still going to be a couple days. His billi level only came down to 13.7 after 19 hours under the billi lights. We're bummed, but spending time in the NICU really brings perspective. His problem is dangerous if untreated, but with treatment, he should have no lasting effects. That's not true about many of the other babies there. So when you pray for Josiah, pray for all the premies that he
currently rooms with too. Many of them are quite literally fighting for their lives.

I'l be spending some time with him this morning while Silas is in school. I've been able to do 3 out of 4 day feedings and then bring in breast milk for his night feedings. It's weird being home without him, but we want to keep things more consistent for Silas, so this is best for now.

Do they look alike?

Many people have asked me if Josiah looks like Silas did as a baby, so I'll put their pictures up and let you be the judge:

Baby Silas...


Baby Josiah...

Do they look alike?

Still in the NICU

We had an amazing first day with baby Josiah - he is such a good baby! He was eating well and sleeping great. Because of the antibodies that I developed last fall after the miscarriage, we knew we would have to watch Josiah more carefully for jaundice as he is at a higher risk.

Unfortunately, his bilirubin levels increased quickly during the night, and he had to be transferred to the NICU. Since starting treatment, his levels haven't increased, but they aren't coming down yet either, so he may been in there a couple days. And the bilirubin is making him sleepy, so he's pretty tired and doesn't want to wake up much to nurse.

We are doing okay here, and feel confident that he will be just fine soon, but we'd really like to be done and take our baby home. Silas is hanging out with my parents for now, but we'd like to reunite the brothers again as soon as we can. He might come by this afternoon to visit again.

Silas' Big Boy Room

I've been feeling like all the attention has been on baby preparations and just recently I realized that Silas' room has been neglected. We had it painted the same time we did the nursery, but hadn't really done anything besides that. I chose a light gray color to be a neutral background for all the bright blues and greens I planned on incorporatiing, so the room was looking really drab.

This weekend, my dear sister-in-law, Amy, spent the afternoon helping me get everything wrapped up. She is just amazing when it comes to decorating and I am so thankful for her help! Silas really likes his new room - he says "it's really cool!"


Jumping on the numbers rug with his cousin, Bella...


Posing with one of his art creations. (This one is supposed to be an alien with 4 eyes, but it looks more like a cute little boy to me).

Brave Knight...

We don't do Halloween, but thankfully, we have a great church that offers an amazing Harvest Bash in which the community is invited in for a night of candy, games and fun. Once again, it was amazing. All the good of the holiday: dressing up and candy; none of the bad.

And as you can tell from the pictures, Silas thoroughly enjoyed being a brave knight. (Please notice the absence of a sword - I think four is a little young for a weapon.)

Knitting for my boys...

I haven't posted any recent pictures of my latest knitting projects because they have been taking forever to finish! Rather than wait until they are completely done, I will post what is done and what is mostly done, and then hope for grace to get those last few loose ends tied up... literally!

Matching sweaters for Silas and his baby brother, Josiah... (Silas wants buttons on his, so I still have to find some that I like. And I may put patch pockets in green on the front of each sweater, but I'm not sure yet as it will change the look pretty dramatically.)


Baby Josiah's sweater with matching jester hat... (still have to finish the pom-poms. I made them too small.)


My first experiment with switching yarns to create a striped pattern...

I wanted to make a hat for Silas, and thought a candy cane striped hat would be cute, but I think it's looking a bit more like the Cat in the Hat... we'll see when it's finished...