The 'Firsts' continue around here. First blog post in ages included. We tried Eliot out on real food about a week and a half ago. He really liked it going in but I think in retrospect it is a bit too early. It was a charming moment to see his little face scrunch up and then delight in the new texture and taste. He was all smiles! Right now he is sitting in that chair with a towel jammed full force into his little mouth. The boy acts like I never feed him!

He is still very close to rolling over but not quite. He can lift his head high when he is on his tummy and likes to stand up and 'dance' a lot, with help of course. The fun continues.

Eliot was having a tough day today with the appearance of an eczema looking rash on his neck. It has been lingering for a while now and just started really seeming to bother him. I hope it is easy to solve. I am hoping it is not a food allergy but I am not totally ruling that out. I think I am going to do an elimination diet starting with wheat this week and see how it goes. We see the Dr. on Thursday so that should give us a better direction and confirm one way or another what it is. Poor guy!

Otherwise he is doing great. He is getting just so big! He loves this bear that makes Twinkle Twinkle noises. He latches right onto it.

Here he is today lounging in his new outfit I got for him. It seems he grew out of everything over night! Although, we hadn't done laundry in a while so it was slim pickings. I wish I had pants like these : )

I can't stop looking at this picture! It is a German Giant rabbit. I am just imagining a house rabbit of this size vs Dexter and all of his 6lbs. So cute! Probably not a good time for a new pet now though : ). I have started to reorganize our apartment. We have so little space I am feeling a little swamped by clutter. I started by organizing the bookshelf last night. I think this project is going to keep me busy for a while. I will probably get it in order and then we will be ready to move!

Camera is back in action! Eliot is getting bigger and bigger.. I am a little under the weather so this is breif. But..I won't leave you without a picture..

I think I may be at the bottom of the camera problem. I think it is the battery. Kevin has a friend who works at a local photo studio so we stopped in and he borrowed my battery for the weekend to test in his camera. Nada.. no juice aparently. So... I am now going to buy a new battery in hopes that it is not the charger or something else. I could use a back up anyway. In baby news Eliot is growing by leaps and bounds. He rolled onto his side with purpose today.. I don't think it is going to be too long before he rolls over. When we were at the studio they asked if they could call us if they needed a baby model! So funny, but as Kevin said a good way to get nice pro pictures of him. On other photo news I am taking pictures at a wedding this comming summer. That is great.. I want to buy a flash kit. My crafts are still taking a back seat at the moment but I am thinking about them a great deal. I think I need to give myself small goals.

Sorry for the lack of pictures.. the camera is still not fixed. Lots of changes afoot around here soon I think. As for me, working on trying to get my schedule worked out. I am trying to get down with some of the hats and mittens I keep talking about. Not as easily done when all I want to do is come home and veg out with the kiddo. We are starting to try and get down to business as far as wedding planning goes. That will be a big project in itself. Finding a location is our first task..any suggestions?? We are thinking something by the ocean..cheapish...fallish..bbqish...certainly casual. Two lights is a possibility..good picture taking options..

My camera still isn't fixed yet so I have been taking pictures with the new camera phone. They are so bad! Plus I can't download them w/o the 30$ software which I just can seem to get motivated to buy. That would probably cover my shipping to Canon to get the real camera fixed...sigh...I'm itching to use the new lens and I think I am going to buy the flash kit I want if I end up getting booked for a wedding next fall. I have a head shot to do for another person too which really can't be done on a camera phone..

All in all this has been a long, hard week for me. It was my first full week back to work. Even though it was part time it is still really hard to be away from Eliot. My gut just says it's not where I am supposed to be. It is hard to justify although having just bought a new car I really don't have much of a choice. Why can't I seem to make a living doing what I want to do? I wonder sometimes what would happen if I really put my mind to it...The next few weeks will be very telling as far as Kevin going back to school and babysitters.. I am trying not to be too stressed out about it. I think I might propose bringing him to work for a day to see how it goes. If it goes well maybe that will be a possibility. Then I could stay there longer days and let Kevin actually get some sleep and study time. I don't know if Eliot will cooperate with that plan!

Sorry I don't have any new pictures to show : (

Sorry for the lack of posting lately! Happy New Year everyone. I am bad at making resolutions but maybe posting more will be one of them? I would like to resolve to get more of my craft projects done but I think I have my hands full at the moment...

It has been busy around here. My camera is still not fixed yet but Kevin ran into a friend of his that works at a studio that uses Canons so they can check the battery for me before I send it off. I have also started back at work part time. I am very grateful that they are willing to be so flexible with me but Kevin and I are still having a hard time finding babysitters to cover the few hours a week when our schedules overlap. It is a little bit stressful at the moment!

Ahh well..here are a few pictures I took before the camera died. They are from the railroad tracks I like to walk in near my Mothers house... by they way the weather here is freakishly warm but a rather gorgeous 65 degrees today!

What a difference a good lens makes. My dad gave me an awesome wide angle lens for Christmas. It is amazing how much better the picture quality is. Unfortunately my camera is having problems. I thought it was the battery but it looks like it is a camera problem. I have to send it to New Jersey to have it fixed. It is like sending off my right arm. I have to do a little more research first but I think it is inevitable.

Here is the elf baby:

Merry Christmas.. I had a nice visit with my family and Kevin's family. Here is a picture of Eliot's first Christmas..he is being highly entertained by a couple of Grammies. Now it is time for me to start gearing up to go back to work and start working on the craft stuff I have been neglecting. I need to scour Craig's list for a new sewing table!

Finally ... a picture of a smile..

So I have a little cold..sore throat and stuffy nose. Here's hoping the boy doesn't get it. We went for our first walk today in the new stroller my cousin gave me. We wound up talking about how great it corners and what a smooth ride it is most of the time. We are trying to get into the new work routine so that when I go back there aren't any total melt downs on any of our parts. He is taking the bottle from Kevin pretty well and he slept pretty well last night in the new crib. I think a routine will be good for all of us if Kevin can get used to getting up early and going to bed before 2 am! Poor guy.

Some good crafting news. Edith and Edna want to sell some of my hats and mittens. I am excited because they get a lot of foot traffic. Now...how am I going to get anything done...

A photo intensive post.. We had our first real snow day the other day. It always feels cozy inside when it snows. This is a view from our bedroom window out to the street. This guy ended up having to push the truck to get it unstuck because of the ice.

Pistachios were the main component to a desert I made the other night. It involved lots of mirange and pastry cream. I haven't made anything that complicated in a while. It didn't turn out too bad!

This house was across the street from a Christmas party we attended. Eliot was so impressed he slept for a 6 hour stretch that night! Although, tonight he made up for it by taking over 2 hours to go down for the night. that is tiring.

Last, and certainly the cutest, are Simon and Eliot...the 'twins'. Born only 2 weeks apart. They don't want to have anything to do with each other just yet. In fact, I don't think they have any idea that the other exists even when they are facing each other. All they want to do is stare at Mom or Dad...very cute. It was fun to watch them wiggle next to each other. It will also be fun to embarrass them with these pictures in the future.

Directions for using the Bamboosteamer Cooker we got for a presant swap

Operation Instruction:

1. Please wash steam-cooker with water slightly before first time using.

2. This steam cooker made of nature bamboo. in first time, boiling water remains light-brown water color due nature bamboo, no harm health.

3. Please clean and dry it under sun or shadow after use.

4. If no clean, it will easy to be spoiled.

5. If no use for long time, please pack in plastic bag or paper to any dry place.

6. No any dyeing or materials problem, quality guaranteed.

Kevin has been busy making snowflakes again this year. They are quite elaborate. It is hard to take a good picture out a window..especially of a white object but you get the picture. The one in the upper right is my favorite so far. There are some other 'porn flakes' which are quite funny. He is very adept with scissors. I unfortunately can't seem to visualize the final product when my paper is all folded up. Quite a talent I tell you.

This is how the baby is carried around most of the time these days. He snuggles right in to the sling and is covered up by our winter coats. It is quite convenient and we know he is warm enough. Most of the time he gets a little too warm. It is a great way to knock him out if he just won't take a nap. I hope he takes to the stroller just as well for the sake of any future babysitters! We tried it the other day and he screamed the whole time. I think he was a little grumpy to begin with so round two will happen again fairly soon.

It is bathtime at the house right now so Mommy has a chance to blog for a brief moment.

This is our first Christmas tree! Two feet of silvery tinselly goodness. We did go on a search for a 'real' tree but a potted tree can only be in the house a few days before it dies. So...this was the solution.. Kitschy and silly but that is perfect for this family.

Kevin singing to the babe. Very sweet. The quilt in the background was my brothers quilt when he was little. It will be nice to bundle Eliot up in it over the winter.

Eliot got to meet his Great Grandmother this weekend. That was a nice treat . Child rearing has changed a lot since she raised her three girls. It is a little frustrating having to explain and stand up for my choice to breastfeed sometimes. I know he is getting enough to eat because I know! Ah well, times have changed.

This has been what I have been up to mostly. Having the energy to walk around town again in short bursts is great. Eliot has been sleeping a little better lately. He has graduated to the full sized crib which should be arriving tomorrow. I don't know where it is going to fit but I am sure we will find room! We also got our first family Christmas tree today. That will be another post! I hope everyone is having a nice Holiday season so far.

Thank you for the nice comments on my Whip Up entry. It is a good motivator.

This was the only way I could get Eliot to sleep yesterday. He was exercising his little lungs non stop until I slid him in the sling. As soon as he went in he passed right out! Today he has been a perfect little boy..taking lots of naps and eating well...maybe it was something I ate? Too much pie?

This is the awesome round baby blanket that Kirstin made for Eliot. It is so nice and bright. I have had it on him since she gave it to us. The colors seem a little off in this picture but once we get some decent light (sun) I will get a good picture with the boy wrapped up in it. You got me motivated to learn some more fancy knitting thank you!

We had a great Thanksgiving. We went to Kevins Aunt and Uncles house down in Cape Cod for the day. We took the train down on Wed. and came back on Fri. Eliot really enjoyed the train by sleeping the whole way. I was a little worried about taking the little guy away from home for so long but he did really well! We stayed in Boston for the night and had a nice time eating good food (cake!) and catching up with the family. Kevins cousin Kirstin (hope I am spelling that right?) knitted Eliot the most beautiful baby blanket. Once I get a good picture of it I will post it. I also started a new knitting project.. very small and simple to keep occupied when I have two hands free. I have also been brainstorming lots of different kinds of baby quilts. I think I may try to start making some to try and sell around town...we will see how that pans out.

Here is Mama and Baby on the train:

This is my Whip-Up entry for the category of Design. The topic 'alternative craft' got me thinking about what craft is and what is my definition of craft.

This project came to mind because it is not a traditional means of embroidery and drawing. The finished product is on a heavy paper with torn edges. The drawing is in graphite and loosely based on a photograph of me. I embellished the drawing with embroidery and then tea stained the lot to give it a little more depth. I definitely want to keep working like this and see where it goes. I would like to eventually incorporate the embroidery a little more with a little less symbolism but I am happy with this as a personal representation of the past few months!

The embroidery is obviously full of symbolism related to the family tree and pregnancy.

The following are a couple of details:


The is the drawing before I stained it and added the white lines by the face and torso:

I really like the texture the embroidery gives the flat paper. The sound of stitching in paper is fabulous!