dinner with friends

this weekend we had our friends, richard and karen, over for dinner. of course, they also brought their adorable 1 year old son, oliver as well. it was neat to be able to observe a 1 year old. what interests him (aaron's face, balls of yarn, a pumpkin), how he behaves when tired, etc. we had beer cheddar soup, and they brought a delicious salad. karen also brought over some spare baby things they didn't use...so we officially have our first baby things (well, that weren't knitted). i can't believe we are going to have someone that can fit into those clothes soon. it doesn't seem real.

it will be here sooner than we think, i'm sure. especially because the holidays have a tendency to fly by here, particularly with agu around the corner.

wee cardi

finished the cardigan for our little guy. the pattern is by kelly brooker, called newborn vertebrae. i used knitpicks stroll handpainted yarn in the color thunderhead. i loved the pattern, it was super easy to follow and did quite a bit of tv knitting with it. she also has a baby, child, and adult sized versions of the pattern for sale as well. here is my project page on ravelry. 

week 22

do you know what the definition of crazy is? taking your own photo, with a timer and tripod, outside in 20 degree weather, in alaska, in a dress. that is nuts.

possibly the least flattering of the bump photos!

aaron is in austin, texas giving a seminar this week, so i had to take my own photo. notice that there is still no snow on the ground? it's weird - i really wish it would snow soon.

this week i'm really noticing the kicks. it's very reassuring that nothing is wrong with the little guy. but then again, if i don't feel any kicks for a whole day then i worry about that. i suppose that's the beginning of the parental worrying, right?

with aaron not being here, i have had a lot of time for crafting. i'm almost done with a wee cardigan. photos will follow. then i'm going to finish the quilt that has been in progress since august. i also watched the 3 hour hbo miniseries on bonnie and clyde. it was woefully inaccurate, but entertaining nonetheless.

Gender reveal

happy halloween!

we finally got around to carving our pumpkins on halloween day. we procrastinated a little due to aaron being away at a workshop. so after our sonogram on friday we went home and did a little carving to get them ready before our first trick-or-treaters arrived. see if you can guess who carve which one...

i like that every aspect of our pumpkin carving technique/design is different. 

i, of course, saved all the seeds an roasted them to salty perfection. the secret to the perfect seed is to brine them first. i soaked the seeds in a solution of 3 cups water with 1/2 fine sea salt and let them sit for 3 hours. drained them, patted them mostly dry and mixed 1-2 T olive oil and sprinkled a little more salt. then roasted them at 350 degrees for 40 minutes total, flipping once during the halfway point.

stay tuned for the big gender reveal. you have to wait a bit, because i want to tell my folks first. and, besides, you like the anticipation, right?