Two for two!

With exactly four months to go, I'm done with two of my four attendant shawls. This one is hung from the Christmas lights on our fire escape for your viewing pleasure.


Seeing as I finished the first one a month ago, that's not a bad pace. While the first was the Simple Yet Effective shawl, this is the Easy Triangle Shawl. (Simple? Easy? See where we are going here?) I must admit that this was more fun to knit than the last one -- totally memorizable but also varied enough to keep my mind engaged. I'm using Plymouth Encore because September might be too muggy for pure wool. (I also really dug this color.)

Anyone want to recommend triangular shawl number three?

Jon's mom stayed with us for Memorial Day, and her visit inspired me to gussy up our beloved fire escape. Such enthusiastic hydrangeas!

And what a charming, um, whatever this plant is!


Oh, and by the time you read this, I'll have turned 32. It's already a great birthday -- my mom sent me one of her patented, fabulous care packages, which I opened a few hours early. (With her on the phone, of course.) How many moms can pick out the perfect fitted jacket?

baby care-baby massage

Baby massage
Massaging your new baby is a great way to get to know them and to create a loving, trusting bond between yourself and your child. Research has proven that there are numerous benefits to regularly massaging your baby including better sleeping and settling habits. And the great news is — baby massage is simple to learn and do.
When to start
You can start to massage your baby from any age but wait until you are comfortable handling your little one and start off with small sessions with a few simple stokes, say five minutes, if they are very young and work up to longer times. Go with your baby and massage for as little or as long as they enjoy it.
Benefits of baby massage
There are many benefits to infant massage including:
Promotes a strong bond between parent and baby
Helps baby to feel loved and secure
Parents start to become familiar with their baby's visual cues
Increases parental confidence in handling their baby
Decreases stress and tension for parents and child
Relaxes baby and helps with sleep and settling
Encourages development of flexibility and co-ordination
Promotes stimulation of immune, circulatory and digestive systems
Can help to relieve wind, constipation and colic
Learning the right techniques
Most massage experts advise that you begin by massaging the legs. This is because the legs are touched constantly while changing nappies and babies will be familiar with this type of touch. Be sure to use long firm strokes. Light, feathery touch will irritate a lot of babies; however, some newborns may prefer a lighter touch, it's best to experiment and see. It's very important to maintain eye contact with your baby throughout the massage. You can start by massaging with the
baby's clothes on if you wish or have the baby undressed, including their nappy.

Me! Me! Me!

That's it, I'm done knitting for other people. Done, I tell you! It's the return of the selfish knitter, at least for a day or two.

I'm making the Gallery Jacket from Webs. Cute, right? And finally I can use the Brooks Farms Four Play that's been burning a hole in my stash for months and months. And since my love for this yarn is well documented, you know that it's been difficult to leave it unused.

Must dust windowsill.

I wish I had more to show for myself, but we went away for the weekend, and I get nauseated when I knit in cars. Boo.

Anyway, while I realize this totally, completely, irreparably breaks my "narcissism free" vow, I've created a little offshoot wedding blog called How Engaging! (I know, the word play must stop.) I just figure I spend so much time mulling wedding issues, I might as well mull them online.

Baby care-Baby growth chart

Baby care

During the first two years human

Being grows and develops rapidly,

A six -week-old baby is helpless and

Must have everything done for it,but by the age of two years the baby can walk, talk, and feed it self.

6weeks

Held or fed and cries when

Distressed she can fellow objects with her eyes an listen to a person talking

6 months

baby can crawl rapidly pull her self up to a standing position, point to and pick up objects. She says her first words

8 months

The baby can sit up by her self will try to crawl and can stand if supported. She turns

towards sound of familiar voice, can imitate simple sound.

10 months

baby can crawl rapidly pull her self up to a standing position, point to and pick up objects. She says her first words