Ginger Babies

Christmas Eve afternoon was spent with my goddaughter and her brothers. They were visiting from St. Louis for a few days, and we all met up for some cheesesteaks.

(myself and Adrienne)

(books for Ethan)

The newest baby, Lucah, was fascinated with my brothers and their facial hair. Just when you thought he had enough of one, he was distracted by another.

(One of these days, Alice! Bang! Zoom!)

And of course it would not be a proper visit without my sister:

Dressing the Goddaughter

Check out the adorable outfit I found in Maine for my goddaughter Adrienne. It makes me laugh. I hope she still fits into it when I see her next. 


I am also impressed that the people of New England have found so many different ways to fit the word "moose" into phrases and clothing and assorted other souvenirs. Some things are a tad corny, but most of them are pretty funny. Though I can totally do without something like a shot glass shaped like a moose hoof. 


That may be taking things too far.

And some socks for her new little brother Lucah (baby socks are freaking adorable):

But I also found a glow-in-the-dark shirt for Adrienne's big brother Ethan. Seriously. It glows in the dark. I almost want to keep it for myself.

St. Louis, Louis

I got back from a trip to St. Louis on Sunday night (late, late on Sunday night). I was in town for a few days to visit my goddaughter Adrienne, her brother Ethan, and her parents Dan and Miya.

However, when my cousin Dan tried to take me to the top of the Arch, we found a sad little sold out sign waiting for us. I was under the impression that to get to the top of the arch, one took an elevator, but this is not the case. Instead, they put five people in a little pod thing so it can tilt as it goes round the bend of the arch. Maybe it was a good thing it was sold out....I can fight my fear of heights, but my fear of tiny spaces is much worse. 

(At the base of the Arch, looking straight up)

Instead we went to the St. Louis Zoo (so clean! And the animal habitats seem so much nicer than what I remember from my childhood trips to the zoo), flew kites in the park, and had the perfect weather to be outside. It was so nice to visit them all and see where they live.

(watching the camels)

(Ethan and myself on the merry-go-round)

(Ethan flies a kite while wearing his cool hat)

(Ethan avec kite)

(Smiles!)

Sock Monkey!

For Christmas, I bought my goddaughter the Complete Adventures of Curious George (found at a book fair for something like 40% off!). She's only a year old, though, so I also wanted to get her something she could play with/chew on. In keeping with the monkey theme, I made her a sock monkey.

I cut up one red heel sock and kept the second for the body:

Even though I cut the socks according to the directions his ears kind of came out a bit too large for his face. You can see how thin he is too (despite my adding lots of stuffing), but I loved him anyway.  In a way, though, he sort of resembles Prince Charles (which is probably what I would've named him if he was my sock monkey to keep).

Because Adrienne is just one year old, I didn't want to add button eyes. So I embroidered the eyes instead (another alternative could be felt eyes, but I didn't have any felt bits).

The monkey looked pretty cold, so I knitted him a hat and scarf....after all, it's cold in Missouri too (where he was heading).

This morning I finished him up and curled him inside the box with the book about his monkey friend. I was genuinely sad to see him go; I got really attached to the wee man.

First Birthday

Yes, it's a bit belated, but happy birthday to my goddaughter Adrienne. She turned one Sunday past, and even if these birthday wishes are belated, it's okay. Because her actual presents got to her right on time. This was one of them (which I made and framed):

The others were books I thought she would like; one of them was cloth, and definitely teething-baby friendly. I am super excited to one day share my favourite Dr. Seuss book with her: Hop on Pop. My mom and I read that book so much that I still have most of it memorized ("My father can say big words too, like Constantinople and Timbuktu." I could go on....)

I know I'm a bit partial, but how many godchildren change their hair from dark brown to orange so they can match their godmother? This one did!

There's a baby in my jacket