the anniversary trip to NYC

for our 4 year anniversary, marco, mia and i all went to new york city together. it was sooo much fun! i've always wanted to go to NYC and this was such a great excuse. our main destination was the american museum of natural history, which i wanted to see because it is the type of museum i might want to work for after i'm done with school (whenever that is in the world's longest grad program). we stayed across the street from central park and the museum, and we were super close to the subway, too, so the location was awesome. i got to take lots of great pictures and even marco had a good time. mia definitely did, though! she took a lot of time seeing and examining things very closely, with lots of concentration as if she were trying to figure things out. she was such a doll, too, and didn't cry once the entire time we were in new york. it was so special, really, all three of us being out as a family, having a good time and enjoying each other. we even went to times square in the evening, checking stuff out, doing the touristy thing and generally being out and about. unfortunately, we only had two days in new york but we really hope to go again as we felt so comfortable and at home there. woo hoo manhattan! (for all our pics of our trip to ny and the american musuem, click here.)

hammy & the turtles

so i made a bunch of turtles for the shop the swap 5 on craftster! i thought they'd sell fast, but only two so far, the green ones, have been "sold" (really, they've been swapped). there is no love for funky colored turtles! oh well, i hope they go to good homes :)

i also made a little hamster, Hammy (original, huh?), only two inches tall, holding a pea ... he's super cute and went super fast! he's already on his way to his new hamster home :)

additionally, i made a star afghan for my friend leslie's son, logan, but i forgot to take a picture of it! DOH! i totally dropped the ball on that one... i hope she has time to send me an action shot! (hint hint) i know i swore i'd never make one again, but someone had the great idea to make it with super thick yarn and i totally jumped on that bandwagon. it came out pretty nice, too!

Two Turtles

i made two turtles in the last couple of weeks; i've been trying to make more but mia's been a handful and it's kinda hard to crochet with a sling on :-/ the blue one was for a swap ;) and the pink one was going to be for the shop the swap swap, but it was so cute and it was in her colors, so i decided to give it to mia. it isn't really to play with since its eyes are just glued on, but it makes a cute decoration and will be great for the shelves in her room :) i love these little guys and will be making at least three more for my shop the swap! also, i'll probably be making some octopi for that swap :) woo hoo for amigurumi!

slinging it

i don't usually post pics here of what i get in swaps (i'd be posting ALL the time and this blog would be five times as long) but i had to show you guys this cool baby sling i got in a swap from ptarmic wumpus at craftster! it's made of a gorgeous amy butler fabric and it's reversible (although i don't have a pic of the buttery soft brown it reverses to). it's possibly my most favorite thing i've received in a swap. it's super useful and beautiful.

i also wanted to show you guys this picture because it really shows my life these days. i've become one of those crazy moms carrying their kids all the time (even in the house). i guess the first step is to admit it: i'm a babywearing, breastfeeding co-sleeper (ahhh the co-sleeping thing has gotten to a whole new level too as we are now trying a bedside bassinet that only has three sides and opens to face the bed -- but that's another post).