Christmas in July...

My mom's sewing machine that I killed last week has been replaced, and I love it. I cannot believe how smooth a sewing machine can run and I was able to complete several tasks without stopping because my thread was jammed/tangled/locked/etc. I am a happy sewer. Pictures of the completed quiet book pages coming soon...

Timothy Update

TWO exciting things are going on in Timothy's world this week...

1. He has officially doubled his birth weight! With his weight check of 15 lbs, 2.5 oz this week, we have reached the new territory of 6-9 mo. clothing. Thank goodness Grandma Nies is here to help sort, launder, and fold an entire dresser of cuteness. :)

2. He has not one, but TWO teeth! I noticed the first one on Wednesday morning and at some point last night or this morning the second one popped through. Let the chewing on anything-I-can-put-in-my-mouth commence!

not that he realizes that these things are that important...he is busy just being a baby...

New Projects

Now that stacker toy is done, I can now move on to a new project...play food! I am really enjoying the randomness (not sure that is a real word) of this project because I can do whatever I want in whatever order. I have found a TON of free patterns on ravelry.com (If you crochet, knit, weave, or dye yarn you need to check it out) by some very creative people. They are easy, 1-2 hour projects that I can do while watching a TV show with Jared or while we are driving here and there (and seeing I do most of my grocery shopping 25 miles away, minimally, there is a lot of time in the car). So far I have a basket, apple, carrot, corn, lemon, and an ice cream cone. :) On the needle currently is a very bright purple eggplant.

I am also being inspired to copy some of my friends' works...strap covers for the carseat, courtesy of Gina (thanks for the link!)...

And a quiet book courtesy of my sister-in-law, Michelle. I would be a little farther if the above-pictured sewing machine had not died on me last night. However, that prompted me to do some research and discover that I can use my cricut to cut fabric! Ironing on Heat n' Bond, running fabric through the cricut, and ironing it on to backgrounds has been occupying me. I have four sides of pages done...we just need a sewing machine...thank goodness we have a trip coming up to Sioux Falls this week; I think I may be getting an early Christmas gift. Michelle, if you want to use the cricut to cut stuff for your book, let me know...I am thinking Timothy and I may have to road trip out there for a crafting weekend (or week days). :)

Timothy's current weight (as of Friday): 14 lbs, 11.5 oz

yes, those are thigh rolls :)

New Fun

While our cousin Eli was visiting with his mom and dad this weekend, we discovered the swings. Who knew that he would enjoy it this much? I see lots of trips to the park in our future...

Weight update: 14 lbs, 7 oz (as of Friday) :)

8 months

Timothy is eight months old today! We are so proud of how he is growing and we love him dearly. He is doing great at sitting up on his own and it is so fun to see him playing and figuring out things on his own. He like to give high fives, pet the cat (when she allows him to get close enough), read books, and cuddle up close. He has a wonderful smile and uses it to light up every room (and distract every woman behind us in church). :) We are truly blessed to have him in our lives.

cucumbers!

Hail Storm

Well, we might done gardening for the year. Last night, we had one heck of a storm roll through that produced DRIFTS of pea-sized hail. Thankfully, no damage was done to any buildings or vehicles, but I would be surprised if there was a tomato or vining plant left intact anywhere in town...here is the damage...

One thing that has really perplexed us is our cucumber plants. We have not had one cucumber. Lots of blooms and lots of little fruit the size of a fingernail, but soon after they just shrivel up and die. After doing some research, we figured that our soil just needed some amending and we went out and got some bone meal and were planning on working it in as a last ditched effort for this year at least.

Then, the hail came.

And then when I went out to inspect the damage today, I found this monster! All of the times that we have been inspecting and looking, we have totally missed this nutrient hog. :) If the plants survive the next couple of days, we might actually have cucumbers after all...I just wonder what it would look like a month from now if I hadn't seen it today!

this is a dinner plate...and one cucumber :)

Homemaker Day

I feel like I am slowing getting back into a daily/weekly rhythm again. I am always amazed that it takes this long after moving to really feel like I am settled.

Anyway, we took our weekly hike to get weighed (have I mentioned that our doctor's office is kiddy-corner behind us?) and Timothy came in at 14 pounds, 1.5 ounces! I am so proud of him! He is doing really well and with the benefit of some hy-tape (special, gentle tape for babies) that helps keep his tube from pulling on his tummy at night, he is no longer waking up in a puddle of formula that leaked out of his button hole. Now, if we can just stay sleeping all night, mommy and daddy will be really happy. It seems that our good sleeper...8-9 hours without-waking-up-baby is now stirring 2 or 3 times and needing some cuddling to settle back down. Not that I mind the cuddling, it is just not the thing I would like to be doing at 3 am. Oh well, hopefully this is just a phase and we will all be sleeping for long stints again soon. On a happy note, he is doing really well sitting up and is able to spend a few minutes at a time without falling over!

Besides getting weighed and running errands, I was also able to crank out 4 more loaves of bread and put 6 cups of shredded zucchini into the freezer for breads/muffins this winter. I was planning on using applesauce with this batch, but I found out that I didn't have any applesauce...not sure what happened to it to be honest, but that's ok. There are more zucchini still growing and our plants just burst out into another batch of blooms. :) I know what everyone is getting for Christmas from Jared and Sarah....

To top that off I also got a stacking toy for Timothy finished! I started it when we were still on vicarage, but with the move, teaching, and Timothy, I haven't had time to pull it out. It is a free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn that was a lot of fun to do...I did alter the colors and the dragonfly wings a little. I love it because it is washable too. :) I am also reupholstering our dining room chairs. We got a table and chairs from an older lady downsizing from her house into an apartment and they are in great shape, but the flowers aren't exactly us...

1 down, 7 to go...

Yummy...zucchini bread. Two loaves from one zucchini. Tomorrow we will experiment with a low-fat version that uses different ratios of the same ingredients and substitutes the oil with applesauce. We will see if Jared can tell the difference between the two and which one he prefers. :)

Mommy's helper

the new cook in town...

Ever since I met Jared, he has dreamed of a grill. So now that we are settled in the parsonage and the grills went on end-of-the-season clearance (even though the season is only half over), he finally got his grill. It is not a big fancy one, but adequate for our small family and gets him started. We are really happy that we went charcoal too...everything is has been tasty so far. He is quite proficient using it too...in the two weeks he has had it, we have already had pork chops, hamburgers twice, steak, and chicken, all of which were very yummy. We also have a new place to eat outside (thanks mom and dad) and two new trees (although not tall enough to shade us yet, they will be in a couple of years (thanks other mom and dad). :)

Eventually, these two trees will shade most of the yard from the afternoon sun...

for now, they might get your ankle. :)

thirteen ten

Our latest weight check-in was last Friday and Timothy came in at 13 pounds, 10 ounces. I feel like sometimes our lives revolve around his weight checks, but when you have a child sitting in the zero percentile for months, this is what happens. Our next one is Friday and I am kinda hoping we hit 14 pounds. Timothy turns 8 months on Monday and I would like to be able to skip the thirteens altogether in his baby book growth chart. :)

Besides growing, and sleeping a lot, he is working hard at sitting up and standing. He can go a few minutes all by himself, especially if he is playing with something. With standing, the therapist showed us how to sit with our legs out and wedge his feet between our legs so he is forced to keep them down on the ground and put pressure on them (this is what happens when you have an over sensitive child). We then would have to bounce him up and down and prep him to stand and then he would get the idea and allow his feet to stand the pressure of his weight to be on him. Now, as long as both feet are on the ground, he stands for several minutes at a time and is so proud in his new ability. :) We really only need to hold guide him for balance reasons. Now we really need to work on laying on our belly and building our upper body strength so we can crawl...not easy when you have a button in your belly and you don't like to lay on it...