It finally arrived!

No, not baby.

Baby is still happy and snug in mummy's tummy. We are at the end of 39 weeks and the obstetrician has told us everything is ready to go, it is just a waiting game now. But, oh, how excited we are getting to meet this little person!
Our Stokke Crib finally arrived (and thankfully beat baby, who would have been sleeping in a draw if it came early). Adam set it up last night. We think it is so pretty and can't stop staring at it! Most of the bedding comes from Natures Purest which makes beautiful, soft and natural products. The bamboo blanket is so soft, it makes me want to curl up in the crib for a nap.



I also finally finished this little bath robe I started sewing quite a while ago. It is the first baby item I have sewn using a pattern and I am quite proud of the end result.

Now I have a few more projects that need finishing and a bit more cleaning that needs doing before baby makes its arrival. I just need to find the energy!

handmade toys

baby activity gym. I saw some wooden play gyms like these that I loved but they were all quite pricey. The solution? Take 1 good friend who teaches woodwork and is willing to spend free class time making up a frame for me. Add a little bit of op-shopping for some wooden toys. Finish off by reusing some wooden beads and the ribbon that baby presents have come wrapped in. And all this equals an excellent and very nice looking baby gym.

Then I just add our lovely big sheepskin that we bought in New Zealand and a few little toys and we have a great baby play area. I might look for a little baby friendly mirror to tie to one of the legs next.

And while I am posting I have to add this for the avid pony collector in the family, Mum. In my new issue of Frankie there is an article with a Finnish artist who customises My Little Ponies into pop culture icons. `
The artists name is Mari Kasurinen and you can see her ponies here.

38 weeks

38 weeks pregnant. Feeling much bigger then 6 weeks ago. I don't think the photo does the size of the bump justice...it feels a lot bigger then it looks in this photo

:: Still feeling that I have had quite an easy pregnancy and thankful for that. 

:: Only had a couple of sleepless nights recently. A combination of a yucky cold and a big belly resulted in these restless nights. 

:: Have had two really good night sleeps since and feel like a new person. 

:: Baby is facing down in the right position and I am having quite a few pre-labour contractions. So far so good. 

::Baby is stilling moving around a lot and jabbing its little foot into my side.

I had a fun time at a little baby party thrown by some good friends on friday night. It was a very eclectic mix of people; from 20 year old girls who baked cupcakes, and sewed sock monkeys, to 60 year old men who brought the home brew (non-alcoholic ginger beer for me!). We got lots of cute outfits given to us which was very sweet. We also got this lovely present on our doorstep today from aunty-to-be Stacey. It is a very cute nappy cake. We feel very lucky to have so many special and thoughtful people thinking of us and the bump. 

A lot has been happening

But I haven't been blogging! I blame the millions of photos I have that make loading any new ones onto my computer a slow and tedious process. However yesterday I spent a few hours cleaning my computer of old files and storing some of the photos on disc and now the computer is running a little better, so no excuses! I need to prepare for the millions of baby photos which I am sure will soon grace the blog!

Things are starting to look ready for a baby around here. We have bought everything we can think of needing for now and have started organising and cleaning in preparation. We are just waiting on the crib we ordered to come in. I definitely have the nesting bug and am forever finding new things to scrub, even the doorknobs haven't escaped my frenzy!

The spare room/ baby room has an amazing bed in it for guests. See the stripy box, it has a bed folded up inside it. What a great invention! So we are ready for all the guests coming from Queensland to meet the new addition.
I have also been doing a lot of sewing, knitting and painting.I can't stop making things for baby, it is so much fun to create and dream of the little person I am making it for. I made this quick little quilt one cold Saturday. It has an op-shopped fleece blanket on the back and was sewn up quickly with minimal measuring. So we will call it a modern baby quilt, not following any strict rules.

While I am mentioning op-shopping I have to show these shoes I got the other day for $1. I think they are the cutest thing in the world! I hope they will be the right size for when baby starts walking.

And lastly, me and the bump at 35 weeks pregnant. Feeling very full of baby. We think he/she will be great on the monkey bars because it feels like it is constantly swinging on my ribs.


Well there you go, a random post, with a lot of rambling! I will have to try and get back in the habit so my posts are more succinct. Hope you enjoyed the hapazard update. Maybe it is just showing how my pregnant brain is operating at the moment!

32 weeks

Feeling bigger
Thankful I am not too uncomfortable
Still fitting regular jeans (just!)

toys

The other day Adam and I were out on a baby gear hunting expedition and stumbled across the most beautiful toy shop. It was filled with gorgeous wooden and natural toys, the whole place felt magical and got me very inspired for all the imaginative play our baby will be doing soon. After lusting over the wooden baby toys and gorgeous wooden music box I managed to resist buying anything. We still have to spend money on the essentials!

However I had no good reason not to create some of my own.
So without further ado, let me introduce you
to Mister Cow; and Misses Piggy.

The pattern comes from a magazine called "Irresistible Gifts to Knit" by Allen Dart. I love so many of the toys in this magazine and they are very satisfying to knit because they can be completed in one evening (although not so good for all my other, more ambitious, knitting projects which get pushed deeper down in the knitting basket- out of sight out of mind!). They are made from 100% Merino Wool- Patons Merino Totem, bought on sale because they are discontinued colours.
Now I have to get on and knit the rest of the barnyard crew.

Moments

"Life is a succession of moments. To live each one is to succeed." - Corita Kent
I am 30 weeks pregnant and amazed at how quickly time has been flying! How is it that we are already in the third trimester? I am guessing that time will continue to fly by when the little one joins us on the outside. With that in mind I am trying to remember to take moments to block out all the 'noise' and take time to enjoy the moments of pregnancy. I am finding time everyday to block out the books, advice (even the bank teller was telling me what I should have done before I got pregnant!), and any stress that can overwhelm and overtake my day. In these moments I try to just be with my baby and relax.

Some new developments I have been enjoying:
* The baby moving, not just poking and kicking. I can feel the limbs gliding across my inside.
* Adam and I talking to it nightly. Adam trying to whisper fatherly secrets and advice to it.
* People recognising that I am pregnant. I am showing enough now that strangers are willing to give up seats for me and students are bold enough to ask what the due date is.
* Continuing to go to regular yoga classes with a friend despite the fact that my movements are no longer very fluid.
*Rubbing my big round belly without even realising it.

The baby is:
* Loving this song. I turn it on and sing along and baby seems to dance along with me. (At least I like to think that baby is enjoying it and not trying to poke me to be quiet!)

Oh Baby

A quick update on our little baby while I am at it.

Growing on the outside:

And growing on the inside:


27 weeks now and getting very excited about meeting the little one, who is stretching and yawning and rolling inside!

more knitting

It is official I have the knitting bug. Being able to read a pattern has opened up a whole new world! And I am eager to improve and take on more challenging projects. I found the cutest pair of baby pants which I just had to try. The pattern is called Baby Bell Bottoms by Alison Hansel. She generously has the pattern for free on her blog.





























I didn't have too many problems. There are a few little mistakes, but that is the point of hand made isn't it? I have three other projects cast on. I will have to make sure they all get finished so that I do not have 101 unfinished projects! It really is lucky that my child is due in the Winter.