Knittens

haircut

haircut, originally uploaded by megfahren.

I guess my hair is curly after all :)

Where has it all gone?

Sometimes I'm surprised by how quickly time goes by.  Wednesday was Thaya's 2 month mark.  2 months?  It seems as though there has been more and less time gone by than that at the same time.  How is that possible? 

On her birthday:

1 month old:

2 months old:

I can't believe how many changes have taken place.  She  has become much more social and loves it as much as we do.  She has a favorite blanket which works like magic at nap time.  She is smiling, cooing, gurgling, and loves to kick her legs.  She always stands up when at a certain angle on our chest.  She has gained close to 3 more pounds, and can no longer fit into the bolero I never finished.  She also has 2 new friends...

I've cleverly named them Bunny and FooFoo.  They are the cutest baby slippers around.

And I cut my hair.

But more on that later.  I have a busy day and an even busier weekend coming up so I need to get Miss 2 Months down for a nap so I can shower (and put my new haircut to the test).

And, I may just have some knitting time to look forward to this weekend!

A few things.

I am getting my haircut on Friday, but I'm undecided whether I want to chop it, or just get a trim.  If I get a trim, my hair will probably continue to stay about this length...

The only issue is that my hair is naturally curly/wavey (see shower pics) and so it takes awhile to style it.  If i just "let it go" and be itself, it just puffs up.  Also, my hair is thick.  Well, actually it is thin but there is a lot of it making it hard to manage sometimes, and hot.  So, usually I just end up pulling it up in a messy bun.  It takes a good half hour to wear it curly or straight, and as you know (or will find out) when you have a new baby, there is about 30 seconds of shower time and then a mad scramble to get dressed.  Putting on a bra is a higher priority right now than doing my hair.

My other option is to cut it short.  I've worn my hair short many times, and I like it!  I just also happen to like change.  I've gone this short...

But I don't know if I want to chop it again.  And I know for a fact that I'm not going to color it because if I can't find the time to even wash it, when am I going to find the time to get it touched up?  NEVER.  So, this is more along the lines of what I was thinking...

Honeymoon - Day 2
Originally uploaded by megfahren

Or, if I don't want to go THAT short, I could do this...

Which also has the option of being worn like this...

Seriously, the choices seem endless.  I don't know.  Tell me what you think.  Trim, Ultra Short, Honeymoon Short, or In-between.

I haven't been knitting, but I have been doing knitting related activities.  I've been continuing to catalog my stash in anticipation of my invitation to Ravelry.  I hope my invitation comes soon, or else I'm going to knit up all my yarn before I have a chance to post it.  Ok, we all know that's not true.

I've also decided to dedicate myself to getting back into shape.  After looking through pictures of past haircuts, I was shocked by how flat my stomach was and how toned my arms were and how flab free my legs were, and how my butt was virtually non-existant on our honeymoon.  I worked really hard to get into that shape at the time, but once I was there, it was easy to maintain.  It took me a year to get in shape, and I'm going to give myself the same amount of time to get back (just in time to have another baby... perfect).  So, day 1 started today.  I read some articles on FitPregnancy and decided to do the walking routine and the exercise ball on my own time.  Then I signed up for "baby & me" fitness classes at the gym.  I signed up for the double session, so Tuesdays and Thursdays for 8 weeks.  I think this will give me a good balance of time alone with Thaya, and also give me a chance to get out of the neighborhood and meet some other new moms.

So, today I plopped Thaya in the baby bjorn and headed out.  I walked for about an hour, I couldn't believe it.  I walked through some of the farm-land and turned down a dead end street I'd never been on.  It was really pleasant.  I think I went about a mile to a mile and a half, maybe.  Either way, we both had fun, and that's what counts!

In other news, Thaya is really starting to babble an coo.  Check it out!

Fantastic!

This post will attempt three things:

1) To explain why suckers (you know, pacifiers), swings, and swaddles are a lethal combination

2) To use "me likey hokey pokey" in a sentence

and

3) Talk about knitting (because, again, as I like to point out, this IS a knitting blog, after all).

Onward!

Please note Exhibit A
Swing, Sucker, and Swaddle

Now, examine Exhibit B
Sleeping Baby

This, my friends, is why the Swing, Sucker, and Swaddle are a lethal combination!

The swing is amazing.  We got it as a hand-me-down, and were a little skeptical at first.  I have, however, abandoned many of the virtues that I started out with as a new mom.  The swing boycott was one of them.  When we first put her in it, I didn't really know how to use the swing.  Only the music would play!  Then we realized the batteries were low (duh!).  It took me about 2 weeks to get some batteries (because that's how long it'd been since I went to the food store.  I went to LYSs, sure, no problem, but couldn't food shop.  Don't judge me.), and when we did - something amazing happened!  But not without some trial and error.  First, we had the swing on high and the music on loud.  Too much for our dear Thaya Rose.  It was a few days before we tried again.  We figured out how the use the low setting, quiet the music, and boom!  Down goes Thaya Rose!  The music is great, too!  We've got You are my Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, The Hokey Pokey (me likey Hokey Pokey!!), and others.  Fantastic!

Knitting has been going well, though, again I have no knitting pictures to share.  This is because I'm lazy.  There is no other excuse.  I don't have any pictures of the sweater because I honestly doubt that you want to see the 4 inches or progress I've made in St St.  Boooo-ring.  I do, however, have some huge additions to my stash.  My mom's LYS (Knit-a-Bit) is having a huge sale to make room for their Fall inventory.  I love these guys.  They always know just the right time to have a big sale.  My mom and I took this opportunity to get some yarn for gifts, and some yarn for ourselves :)

Before I go, make sure you stop by Cass's blog, Shut Up I'm Counting.  She is having a contest of sorts, and you should join in :)

And, as usual, Thaya's blog has been updated.  Go see her smiling at a mirror :)

Bug-Eyes and Smush-Face

or, the Big Sleep Update

Now, when it comes to our Princess, the problem is not sleeping through the night.  Once we get her down, she usually goes about 6 hours.  She then wakes up, gets changed and fed, and can even be put back down without being rocked, walked, etc.

Once we get her down, that is.

Let me tell you about Thursday.  On Thursday, she screamed for 3 hours.  We didn't understand.  She was up for 2 hours, then we started the "go to sleep" routine.  "She's tired," we kept saying, "Why doesn't she just go to sleep?"  Because, she was TOO tired.  It is unreal, but it makes sense.  Her brain just hasn't developed enough to know how to turn herself off.  She doesn't know the signs.

We didn't know the signs either, until we started reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child.  I am usually incredibly skeptical when it comes to books like this.  I have a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies, and a lot of hours were spent breaking down "research" and figuring out what to believe.

Whether or not I agree with the "opinion" of this book, it does have a lot of facts, and one of those facts is that you have a window of opportunity to put a baby down, and if you miss it, you are in for it.

We kept missing it.

Aparantly 1 - 2 hours awake from when they wake up is all a healthy, happy baby can stand.   We were waiting for two hours to be up before we started helping her go down.  Aparantely she relaxes much better if we dont stick to a time and we just look for her first yawn.

Yesterday I spent ALL DAY watching her, trying to read her signs.  The first yawn... that is when we have to start.  Swaddle her up, stick in her suckie, and start rocking.  She may wimper once or twice, but for the majority of the time, she just relaxes. 

It may still take about 3 hours to get to go to sleep, but DH and I can now spend these three hours sipping water and reading while we rock.  It is much more enjoyable.

I also learned the less sleep she gets during the day, the worst she is to put down at night.  Yesterday she had a 4 hour nap (with a feeding in the middle) and a 3 hour nap.  Each time she woke up she was happy, she was easy to get back down, and she slept GREAT at night.  On Thursday her naps were all over the place and I don't think she slept for more than an hour and a half at any point.

So, know the signs and sleep = sleep.  Amazing.

In other baby news:

Meet Bug-Eyes.  Bug-Eyes comes out during her quiet alert state.  It usually leads to her active alert.

We love Bug-Eyes.  That is why I post so many Bug-Eye pictures.  It cracks us up.

We know when she has Bug-Eyes, she is trying to take in every possible thing that she can.   She is learning and growing.  You can almost see the little connections being made in her brain.  Bug-Eyes can also be seen when she is startled or is unsure about something.  In these instances, a little reassurance is all it takes to make the Startled Bug-Eyes go away.

We also have something called The Smush-Face Scale

Smush-Face can be seen in varying degrees during sleep time.  This is about a 4 on the Smush-Face Scale.  The best we have seen is about an 8.  Even if she is sleeping and has no Smush-Face, we know it is only a matter or time for her to change position.  She could go from 0 to 10 on the Smush-Face Scale in mere seconds!   It also works in reverse.  It is very easy to miss Smush-Face because the smallest movement can dramatically decrease the degree of Smush-Face.

We love our Bug-Eyed Smush-Face!

In Knitting News, I've knit 2 rows on the sweater since I've last posted.  Time sure flies when you have a 2 month old!

Growth Spurt

 
She may look all cute and innocent laying on her Boppy without a care in the world.  Don't be fooled, it is all apart of her plan to destroy any possible moment of rest.  She has managed to wittle away at entire mornings with her light sleep state.  One false move and she is wide awake, demanding to be fed.  Night time sleep has gone from 4 to 5 hour blocks down to 1 to 2 hour blocks.  She is fussy and cranky, and isn't afraid to tell you about it.  It is now a 3 + hour ritual to get her to drift off into slumberland (a state that she will quickly leave if you dare take your eye from her little cherry nose for just an instant).

Her name is Thaya, and she is having a growth spurt.

I love motherhood.  I am in no way being sarcastic.  I love how just when you think you have them all figured out, they shake it up and keep you guessing.  I know that this is a routine that will continue on for the rest of her life, no doubtably getting more and more hair raising with age (and her growing experience and expertise of making me crazy).  I have managed to sprout 4 new gray hairs in the past 6 weeks and 3 days.  I will not pull these out... oh no, these are battle scars reflective of all the projectile body functions that can now be found on all of my shirts, and my eardrums that are still throbbing from banshee-car seat-screams (thaya waits until we are in a confined area to let out her wails, to ensure that the greatest level of contained pitch and volume can be reached.)

But, as I've been saying, these are some fantastic life moments that I am thrilled to be experiencing.  Its the faces like this
















that make it worth it.  For every moan and groan that we've had, we've had tenfold in laughs, smiles, and applause.  She is magnificent.



In other news, I've actually been knitting.  DH has been kind enough to entertain the munchkin during some awake periods so that I could get some much needed fiber therapy going.

I found a sweater in the RYC Classic Cafe (Book 1) that I really like.  I am using Cashsoft Baby DK in Chicory to make it, I love how soft this yarn is!





In other OTHER news,  Project Stash Organization 2007 is making progress.  Slowly,  but progress none the less. May had the brilliant idea to use 2.5 gallon bags, so brilliant that I am doing the same in hopes to get my yarn and projects to be more manageable and accessible.  The idea is, I've got a lot of yarn and a lot of books, and this wonderful state of being should mean more finished items and less yarn purchases. Thats what it should mean, alright.  We'll see what happens.

Anyway... So I went out and bought 4 boxes of 12 bags.  48 bags.  DH says "I bet you won't even go through 24 of those".  This is a testament to how good the bins really do hide my yarn bulk.  I wish they made jeans that did the same to my thighs.  Anyway.  I bet I'll need more, I've already gone through 36 of the bags and only 2 of 4 bins.  Oh boy.




























And, just so you know, knitting books have a tendency to multiply if left to their own devices.


Mine have so much so, they now have their own shelf and have nearly taken over the yarn closet-under-the-stairs.  That's right, my yarn now lives in the same place that Harry Potter once called home.

I promise, if my yarn every threatens me with magic, I will give it back its bedroom upstairs. 

I hope there is enough room for my yarn...

Anyway, I hope to get my yarn cataloged soon.  Right now they are just finding comfy little homes in plastic bags via my own crazy organization system.  It's ok that it is crazy... it'll stop other knitters from coming in and taking over my yarn!!







Hope you had a great weekend!  :)  Check out Thaya's site, there is a new video up!