The Big 6

Aaron turned 6 today. I will write more later, but I have to jot this classic down. As Aaron was opening up his last gift (from Grandma and Grandpa), he saw what was in there (a $25 gift card) and carefully sounded out the words on the card: "Toys R Us - 25% off coupon." "Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!" It was so cute.

Why 2 Yr Olds Shouldn't Play with Scissors

Were you expecting a picture of Ginny with her hair cut? Nope, although she has done that, too. But, yarn (unlike hair) does not grow back...

Here is the "before" shot of a beautiful scarf I knit for my mother-in-law for Christmas:



And, an "after" shot of some of the million ends just waiting to unravel:



Although my first reaction was utter dismay, my second reaction was "Wow, Ginny has really great manual dexterity!"

The Line

Chardy had her Christmas play tonight and we were all eagerly awaiting her one line...the opening line to the Christmas story. So, without further ado, the famous line:


P.S.Chardy was playing the role of a "senior citizen", thus the gray hair, glasses, and shawl.

Wishing for Snow

Did you know if you wear your clothes inside out and backwards and sleep upside down in your bed, it will snow that night??


Apparently, it's true.

Love this Scarf

I'm not normally a scarf person, but I had the most fun making this Christmas present. Here's hoping the recipient has as much fun wearing it...

Zig Zag Rib - Free Pattern

This started out as a simple diagonal rib scarf for a Christmas present, but when I noticed the colors were coincidentally changing just as the diagonal repeat was ending, I thought I'd see what would happen if I switched directions. Sure enough, the colors for the most part changed with every diagonal change, so the result is a very cool zig zag rib. Enjoy!



ZIG ZAG RIB

Materials Needed:

Size 9 needles
1 skein Debbie Mumm Traditions (148.73 yds/136m) Pine Needles (Noro Kureyon would also be nice for this)
Tapestry needle
Measuring tape

Gauge (not particularly important, but here are the measurements for the first 16 rows and 24 sts):
24sts = 4.5''
16 rows= 3"

Using long-tail method (or other loose cast-on) CO 24 sts.
(Note: If you prefer a wider scarf, simply CO additional stitches in multiples of 4.)

Zig Zag pattern:

Zigging Right (with RS facing)
Row 1: (K2, P2) across
Row 2: (K2, P2) across
Row 3: K1, (P2, K2) across, ending with P2, K1
Row 4: P1, (K2, P2) across, ending with K2, P1
Row 5: (P2, K2) across
Row 6: (P2, K2) across
Row 7: P1, (K2, P2) across, ending with K2, P1
Row 8: K1, (P2, K2) across, ending with P2, K1
Repeat these 8 rows once.

Zagging Left (with RS facing)
Row 9: (K2, P2) across
Row 10: (K2, P2) across
Row 11: P1, (K2, P2) across, ending with K2, P1
Row 12: K1, (P2, K2) across, ending with P2, K1
Row 13: (P2, K2) across
Row 14: (P2, K2) across
Row 15: K1, (P2, K2) across, ending with P2, K1
Row 16: P1, (K2, P2) across, ending with K2, P1
Repeat these 8 rows once.

Repeat Zigging and Zagging until desired length is reached.

Ginny Turns Two!

After weeks of insisting that she was 2, 3, or 4, Ginny really turned 2 today! I woke up at 4:15am and thought for a few minutes about 2 years ago when Ginny arrived at 4:25am (then, I went back to sleep!).

Ginny's day started off with everyone singing Happy Birthday to her as we changed her diaper. At that early hour, she actually wasn't too thrilled about the whole birthday thing, but once we explained that birthdays meant cake, cookies, and toys, she perked right up!

She had her first party of the day at Amanda's, where she helped decorate cupcakes with sprinkles (and a few germs...poor thing has a cold). She got a lovely set of puppets that she has had fun playing with.







Then, it was off to her second party at home with the family. We had cake of course,



and lots of presents.


The birthday girl eating her cake with a spatula (who needs a fork anyway?!):



Aaron gave Ginny his set of legos and Chardy gave Ginny the first hat she knit on her new knitting loom.



Most importantly, we celebrated and gave thanks for having such a vibrant, sweet, and funny girl as part of our family.







The big Two Year Old:

Gingerbread Fun

In the midst of decorating our Gingerbread House, Alli takes a break to down some frosting straight from the tube... This on the same day that they had just received a lecture on the perils of sugar...I guess it really sunk in!

Some other pics from the fun:

Hugs and (Candy) Kisses

Alli and Chardy have been making each other's lunches this week, and tonight I overheard Alli say to Chardy that she left a note in her lunch stating, "This lunch is going to cost you 2 pieces of candy." Then, she and Chardy started giggling, because Chardy's note to Alli the day before had been that her packed lunch was going to cost Alli "5 hugs". And, apparently Chardy was chasing Alli all around the playground trying to collect her hugs yesterday.

Is that the cutest sister thing, or what?

A Few More Hats

After realizing that I could make about 10 hats in the time it takes to make one stinkin' pair of socks (no pun intended), I have been on a hat-making craze for the past few weeks. Here are some of them (in addition to the ones I posted earlier):

Aaron's First...

Crocheted Hat. That he made! (or at least the brim)



He said he wanted to learn "knitting, but not with the pokey needles." After a few attempts of showing him how to use the crochet hook, we decided finger crocheting was the best place to start. So, he crocheted the entire brim and custom fit it to his head size. I took over from there, and he oversaw the design.

All in all a good team effort!