As long as she does it herself.

So, despite my repeated attempts to stop Fenner from growing and developing she is growing like a weed. I want to sit and soak up every minute of her growing up before its gone. I think that they call it "Mother Love" without it I'm not sure anyone would survive that first month or so of culture shock.

As a breastmilk fascist, I'm pretty committed to keeping Fenner on the tit for as long as possible at the very minimum 6 months exclusive as per WHO recommendations and for the love of keeping life...well...transportable. As a women who loses everything at least once I have yet to lose my mammaries.

So it was with no small amount of dismay that I watched Fenner grab a piece of rye toast off of Sandi's plate and eat it. Like her mother the Sledgehammer, she skipped subtlety and went straight for the neon sign - I AM READY FOR SOLIDS YOU DELUDED MILK BAT.

And so, I give you the ballet that is dinner now - squash and apple sauce style yo! Note that she won't eat unless she's putting it in her mouth. I'm in deep shit.

Compulsive Knitting Disorder

Every since I started my life as a working mother, my knitting has slowed down pretty drastically. I still knit every day, but like blogging, I have 3 hours after work and they are spent cooking dinner with Jason and Fenner in our tiny kitchen, breastfeeding the pork bun with no timeline , and doing all of the home things that make our life and even division of labour.

This means that Jason gets time off to write and Fenner and I go for a walk.

Since we bought the house my energy level has skyrocketed. Is it wrong that my major goal is to have all my works in progress off the needle before we leave? Sure, I'll pack (a bit) and change our address (if I remember) but since we dropped the deposit I've been a knitting demon!

The Norwegian Baby Hat and a pair of Max's Springy Ring Socks from Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters Book 1

A baby surprise jacket in Mission Falls Cotton - I suspect it won't fit Fenner until the fall so it's at the Purple Purl as a sample.
Some more sweet Cat Bordhi action in Fleece Artist merino/sea silk colourway "Baadeck" which I bought on our Cape Breton vacation two years ago (!)

Still to finish: Daphne Capelet from Knit Two Together, Plain sock that rock socks, and the damnedable Mystery Stole. What do y'all think? Too ambitious?

Brunch with a pro

Thanks for all the congrats on the house. Man, we are *excited* to get out of our current living situation. It's freed up all sorts of energy for us now that the search is done.

My good friend, partner in crime and father of my pork bun is a bit of an introvert. He holds his cards close to his chest and has a very few select close friends. One of these friends is his old roommate and college friend Manel and her husband Denni Russell. They are those friends that we see once every two years and it's like we've seen them every month.

It's especially dramatic since they now have a beautiful 16 monther name Maddy - I guess at this stage our lives change more dramatically a lot less often than it did in our twenties.

We saw them for lunch today and here are a couple of shots that Denni took of the centre of my life right now. Fenner is so in love with other children that she was all sunshine and lollipops the whole time we were there.Handeating: the baby's international sign for "BFF"

This kid kills me every time. Help! I'm being held hostage by these cheeks!

Portrait of a Young Family

As I listen to the sounds of the nest of raccoons climbing across the ceiling and underneath our porch it brings me indescribably pleasure to introduce y'all to our new home. Owned by a couple moving out to the East Coast - one of whom is an artist who taught me rug hooking.

It's a small beautiful world.