On the needles: Striped Boatneck Sweater

I managed to finish this jumper for Jimmy, in time for his birthday!! It was fresh off the knitting needles 1 week before the big day, giving me a week to sew all the seams. Sewing seams is really satisfying. All it needs is to be blocked lightly and then we just have to wait until the seasons change, so that it's actually cool enough for Jimmy to wear it.

I'm really proud of how it's come out. The pattern is from a lovely book titled What To Knit When You're Expecting. I bought it in my 3rd trimester, which was a slight oversight on my part. Ah well... I cast-on the sleeping bag while in hospital but Jimmy grew very quickly, quicker than I could knit, so it's still unfinished...

Because of this, I was really worried that if I followed the pattern for the Striped Boatneck Sweater, it would be too small for Jimmy when it was needed, so I added a 2 stitches to every piece that was knitted. I had bought the yarn used in the book, it's lovely and light but it should be lovely and warm too, but I knit tightly so I had to check my gauge to see if I needed to go up 1 or 2 needle size. After checking my gauge, I went up 1 needle size, because the knitted swatch was too open, and then used instructions for the largest size. I figured that by going up 1 needle size and adding the extra stitches the sweater would be a little too large for a mid year winter but about the right size by New Years.

We were starting to pack up when I started the body of the sweater, and I finished the second body piece before leaving Australia. Once we were moved into our apartment I started on the sleeves and decided to knit both at the same time... It was slow going and some nights I didn't have the headspace for 4 balls of wool but it was worth it.

When it came to attaching the sleeves I couldn't use the measurements from the pattern, so I gently stretched out the sewn sleeves, measured the large opening, and pinned and sewed the side seams. Then I attached the sleeves. This seems to have worked and the sleeves sit well in the body.

While we're yet to see the sweater on Jimmy, it is nice and long, and roomy too. He's going to look so dapper!

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"a portrait of my son, once a week, every week in 2014"

Jimmy: driving around the living room, collecting toys and a balloon, in his new car.

We're constantly singing The Wiggles' "Toot, toot, chugga, chugga, big red car!", playing with Jimmy's new red car, or driving him around in his big brown car, making car noises, picking up friends for a ride, visiting the "library" to return and borrow books, and just generally doing car-y things. And all thanks to a few select presents, especially the presents that came in the box because it's the best box for being a car. Vroom!

The Swimmy Jimmy First Birthday Pool Party!

 

Well, it was organised and grandparents told to call in for the cake. Friends of ours would actually be there - this wasn't just going to be a virtual party where Michael, Jimmy, and I would eat all the cake. 

And we all had such a good time that no one thought to take a single photo. We were far too busy enjoying the pool, managing not to get sunburnt, Skyping and FaceTiming grandparents, and eating cake. That's right, one of the most photographed babies around was not photographed blowing out his first birthday candle. Crazy, right.

The cake: homemade sponge with cream, blueberries, and raspberries.

Did I mention we had lots of fun? And that we enjoyed sharing our Jimmy-bubba's first birthday with other first time parents and Jimmy's grandparents? Do I need to tell you that the pool was the perfect temperature and that the weather was perfect for a pool party? How about the fact that Jimmy seemed to have a really good time and really likes the presents he was given? But no photos of the actual event?

Ah well... Michael and I feel a little bit guilty about not taking a single photo for this momentous occasion, we do. Only time will tell if Jimmy forgives us for being more focused on his enjoyment, and the involvement of his grandparents, in the occasion. In the meantime, he's enjoying the wonders of a helium balloon and his very first (big red) car. 

All photos taken by Michael.

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"a portrait of my son, once a week, every week in 2014"

Jimmy: Mucking about with Dadee's hat, wearing his new top from Grandma, during our birthday picnic lunch with Dadee at K-State. 

Jimmy's belly is full of blueberries that he helped himself to, from the open container, because he could. He is full of confidence, this boy is, and calm too. And even if he gets unsettled around new people or in new places, he usually only requires a cuddle (and perhaps a little nursing), and then he's good to keep going. 

He's also hilarious. 

And he's one. He's a one year old. Oh gosh. Oh wow.

Photo credit: Michael

One

Opening Birthday presents from Grandma

Well, yes, that year went fast. I mean, wow.

And yet, as Michael puts it, it's been such a natural transition from being a couple to being parents. We actually hardly remember what we did before we had Jimmy. He fills our days with such light, laughter, and joy. Babies are amazing. Our Jimmy-bubba is amazing.

And he's one. And I can't quite believe that we've had him for a whole year. So, we celebrated Jimmy, our Winter baby, we celebrated him as best we could in the US Summer.

We started with presents from Grandma, Granny & Pop, and Auntie K. An excellent selection of clothes and bath toys, books and Wiggles CD's, and some very Finnish books, respectively. Plus a newly finished jumper and a yellow ball from Mumma and Dadee.

And then breakfast! My parents started a nice birthday tradition of letting the birthday child choose what they wanted for breakfast on their birthday, although I'm pretty sure pancakes were off the menu on school days... Now, Jimmy is a little too young to express what he wants to eat, unless it's right in front and he doesn't want it, so we did a little guess work and went with fruit:

Yummy summer fruit, because we could. And Jimmy ate everything except a few blackberries. We were all full once we'd finished our plates. At one point, the conversation took a serious turn...

Hmmmm... it's ok, because someone told a joke, and it was apparently a good one :)

There is a tinge of sadness in all the excitement, because Jimmy is growing up so fast and those top teeth are the end of a truly gummy smile, but they open up a whole new world of food for our bubba. I'm going to have to stop calling him bubba soon... ok, maybe by his second birthday...

Naps and lunch with Dada followed breakfast. Yay - lunch with Dadee! It might be a regular activity, but lunch with Dada this week involved oti (a ginger drink, more soon), half a punnet of blueberries, and a 'big' yellow ball. Not to mention a new giraffe top from Grandma (it's this week's photo for the 52 Project).

Jimmy and I had the afternoon to ourselves, listening to the Wiggles and eating (and throwing) bananas. Jimmy really likes bananas, because he says "ah nana" and we give him a quarter of a banana, skin and all (he likes biting the skin... it's a little odd, but he has worked out how to peel the skin, he only does it when he wants to).

Once Dadee returned from work, we went to the pool. Have I mentioned that Jimmy loves swimming? The water is usually the perfect temperature for how hot it this week has been, and that day was no exception. The yellow ball and a rubber frog joined us, but it was all about the diving and splashing and kicking.

Oh my Swimmy Jimmy!

Then we had dinner and "cake". But with a bubba who wasn't going to sleep after sleeping on the walk home from lunch with Dadee, things had to be simple, so (frozen) pizza and ginger bread dinosaurs it was! 

 

I had thought to make banana bread and then put a dinosaur on top, plus a candle, but we had no means of lighting the candle, so we just went with fruit and dinosaurs.

Spending time with Jimmy in the evening, instead of the constant stream of "out of the kitchen", "no, you can't be in here, it's not safe for bubba's", etc, was the main reason for keeping the evening simple. Jimmy is highly unlikely to remember particulars about this day, or the pool party we're having on the weekend, but hopefully he will always remember that his birthday is a special day, because Mumma and Dadee spent time with him on his birthday. And at this age, time is more valuable than nice cake or potato masala (what I had originally planned for dinner).