Monday, December 16, 2013

Nesting

I'd never pick winter as my favorite season. I love the outdoors, the garden, and the sunshine. But there is something special about being holed up in a warm house watching the snow fly outside.

 

We have had far more snow than usual for December in this area. It is not often that we have a white Christmas.

The last weeks we have been enjoying some extra family time.

 

Baking cookies.

 

A day trip to a battlefield to coordinate with our school study of the Civil War.



Lots of messy art projects.

In between, the nesting urge has hit me hard. My energy level is not high these days but every day I'm trying to accomplish one extra project - even if it is something very small. Maybe making an extra casserole or two for the freezer, or a special cleaning project. I know that our baby can arrive without my filing cabinet organized or the stove scrubbed. But some of these projects I've put off for months or even years and I might as well take advantage of the unusual burst of motivation to hit some forgotten corners!

I've also spent a lot of time with my sewing machine. Sewing is one occupation that doesn't take too much energy yet produces results! Besides sewing some Christmas gifts and several dresses for my daughters, I've enjoyed some baby crafting.

I enjoy making a baby quilt for each of my children. I usually make a gender neutral baby quilt. But for our last baby (nearly five years ago) I made two quilts, one for a boy and one for a girl. Since the boy quilt has been in storage since then, I only had to make a girl quilt. This was such a fun project!

 

And here is the boy quilt.



And no, we don't know the gender of our baby. I love to be surprised. If you give me a birthday gift and tell me to wait a week to open it, I'll relish the build-up of anticipation. So I always love to wait until the birth to find out our babies gender. In fact, I like the surprise so much that I always am disappointed when friends tell me if they are having a boy or girl. Even if they don't want surprised, I feel cheated to not have the surprise myself!

Feel free to think I'm weird.

But back to nesting projects...

This summer I found a whole bag full of baby yarn at a yard sale. I found a pattern for some adorable baby hats online. It has been at least ten years since I crocheted and it was a challenge to read a crochet pattern. I may not have done it correctly and these hats may not fit any baby, but they sure were fun!

 

When we were expecting our first baby, my sister-in-law gave us a tiny pair of baby shoes. I sat them on my bedside table and when I heaved myself out of bed on those multiple night trips to the bathroom, those little shoes were a reminder that it would all be worthwhile some day. So I sat these two tiny hats beside my bed to keep company with the name book.

Sitting on the couch in the evening with a ball of yarn was so relaxing, I might have to find another crochet project this winter.

Or maybe I'll just spend the rest of the winter cuddling a baby. Yes, I think that sounds better than crocheting!




14 comments :

  1. You're not weird! I love the anticipation of finding out, too. And I don't like to know what my friends are having, either - I like those kinds of surprises.

    Let us know when it happens! And what the gender of the baby is! :)

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  2. Oh, I love your family photos and baby projects!

    Merry Christmas to you and your family.

    :)Vicki

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  3. The quilts are beautiful and the hats are adorable. You've done a wonderful job on them. Since I won't be cuddling any babies this winter I am hoping to start a new yarn project right after Christmas. I'm past due for a fun crochet project. Wish you well in your final stage of pregnancy. Take care.

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  4. Sounds like the best way to spend cozy winter days :) Praying for you! ♥

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  5. Hi Gina,
    i just want to wish you all the best for the upcoming birth of your new baby. Your quilts are beautiful, I am afraid have no talent what so ever with a sewing machine or crochet hook, I was always too spoilt by my lovely mum with her talents in those areas.
    I also love the fact that you arn't finding out the sex of your baby, I think the surprise is wonderful, just how it was always meant to be. !
    Take care,
    Jane
    http://ouraussieoffgridheaven.blogspot.com.au/

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  6. Hi, just wanted to say I love reading your blog. Also, I don't think you're weird for wanting your baby's gender to be a surprise! I am from New Zealand and I don't think it's quite as common here to find out as in the States (about 50:50 find out/don't find out I'd guess). We didn't find out for our two children and I'm glad - it's one of the few surprises left in life!

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  7. Beautiful quilts and the hats are too cute. Have a wonderful Christmas!

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  8. I just adore the beautiful quilts you have made! And the hats are adorable! My oldest son learned to crochet in high school because his teacher had everyone crochet blankets for the missionaries to give away. I keep wanting him to teach me how to crochet because it's such a beautiful art. I never found out the gender of any of my five children. Some people didn't understand it, others would get downright mad! I never regretted not finding out. Best wishes at this glorious season and many prayers as you get ready to deliver.

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  9. You are not weird in waiting until birth to find out the baby's gender! We waited as well. This Christmas season we are cuddling our newest. I am thankful there is not a great reason to be outdoors and I can rock our baby! I also felt like to find out the gender was setting a beautiful Christmas package under the tree and having to wait to open it. For me it helped get through labor knowing I had a great surprise waiting at the end. I trust all will be well with your labor, delivery and family adjustment to a new little one.
    Lorinda

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  10. You inspire me to try some new crafting ideas - oh how I would love to be able to quilt or crochet. Maybe I'll have to take that up and start learning over my Christmas holidays from teaching!

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  11. Those are lovely quilts. I don't think you're odd for not finding out the baby's gender. Dh and I always say, there are so few surprises in life anymore, and this is one of the best, so why would I want to spoil it? I just found out a couple weeks ago that we're having number 10 in July/Aug. I'm looking forward to meeting that little surprise. Blessings to you and Merry Christmas.

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  12. Happy nesting, enjoy the snow. We've had snow since before Thanksgiving and I might not always enjoy driving in it, I do enjoy the loveliness of it and the way snow makes everything more quiet.

    We never knew ahead of time any of our 5 ...will either be a boy or girl and they're all wonderful gifts.

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  13. Dear Gina, Sounds wonderful and cozy. I really loved the Baby blanket.
    Have a wonderful Christmas! I bet the kids loved playing in the snow :)
    Nesting was always so fun, because I got so much done.
    Blessings, Roxy

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  14. I agree on feeling cheated when someone tells the gender of a soon-to-arrive baby. Not much is a surprise anymore-have we gotten so impatient that we can't wait a few months to know! We didn't find out with any of our three so to me you are very normal! :)

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