Bird Watching

Our backyard has been alive with birds this year. They seem to like our vegetation as well as the occasional birdseed and crumbs provided by us. We heard about a study on urban birds through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. We decided to participate. It was very interesting. The first day we only saw a pair of Mourning Doves. We knew we have House Finches and Sparrows sometimes. We hypothesized that it was the time of day or the absence of food. We filled the bird feeders the next day and waited. We saw a few more birds. We then changed from afternoon to morning and voila more birds. Apparently the birds like the early morning or early evening in our yard.

Try it for yourself: Celebrate Urban Birds

Great Bike Chase

Dave and Eamon participated in this year's Great Bike Chase. They met at Margaret T Hance park and pedaled their way to Chase Field to see a Diamondbacks game. They had a great time and look forward to doing it again next year.

Casa Grande, Florence and Coolidge

Dave and the kids went for another day trip. This time visiting the Casa Grande ruins, Coolidge and Florence. The day ended at the park to play and ride bikes.

Rocket Kite

Dave and Eamon were able to get the "rocket" kite to fly. It drove and flew quite well on such a blustery day.

Finally some FOs...

With Dave home post birth, I have been able to get a few projects completed. Most have been accomplished while holding the baby, nursing or having the baby in the Moby wrap. The main projects were birthday gifts. The other two were based on found patterns and new ideas.

The first is a little shirt for my niece Kailana's 1st birthday. It is the Katja pattern from Knitty.com. It is the 12 month size knit with 2nd Time Around Cotton. I think it turned out cute. I wanted to sew some linen pants as a coordinate, but life got in the way.I found a cute hat pattern to use up some of my yarn stash. It is called the Amanda Hat. It was on Ravelry. I am loving that site right now. It is a great resource for knitters, crocheters, spinners, weavers, etc. I can search by pattern or yarn and see finished objects left and right. There are also forums to ask questions about anything fiber related. The hat is knit in Malabrigo worsted weight in the Brownberries colorway.When I bought the linen for Kai's pants that were never made, I saw some green and a cute print. I snatched them and turned them into an outfit for Aine. I used Simplicity 4206 for the shirt and pants. I kept fudging with the pattern, but it worked.


Realizing how cute Aine's outfit was, I decided to make one for the second birthday. It is for a friend who is turning four. I appliqued a 4 on the front (my sister's idea). I used some quilting cotton I had on hand. It is fraught with errors, but I did my best with a fussy babe in the wrap. He was tired of the sewing!
I hope everyone likes their gifts.

New Wheels

We went to pick out a new bike for Eamon. We bought a Diamondback RM20. It is his birthday gift a bit early. We wanted to get it while Dave was still off of work. He was ecstatic. He calls it his "compactor" (it is a compact frame). He loves his new bike and wants to ride all the time. Dave and Eamon tested it out on a four mile bike ride with no problems. They plan on riding on Sunday with the Great Bike Chase.

Ani Difranco & Birth

I came across a reference to this interview on a blog I read. The following excerpt sums up a lot of what I think about birth.

Ani Difranco -

I would definitely choose a homebirth again despite the fear mongering of this patriarchal society, which convinces women that they are incapable of having babies without the intervention of men and their machines. I look at societies where women are marginalized and oppressed their whole lives (even covered head to toe in tarps!) but are still in control of birthing practice, in a whole new way now. I mean, who is really more advanced? To take birthing out of women’s hands and deny us the continuum of eons of wisdom and experience is to eject us from the very seat of our power. I believe that women in hospitals are prevented from being able to have normal, healthy birthing experiences because of the intimidation of being on the clock, being pressured to take drugs to make it quicker, being inhibited in their movement and activities, and alienated by a sterile, fluorescent lit, feet-in-the-air type environment. You know the classic “performance anxiety” of not being able to pee or poo because somebody’s watching you? Multiply that by a million! A cervix is a sphincter after all! Then to add tragic insult to injury women are numbed through their great moment of revelation. I believe the act of giving birth to be the single most miraculous thing a human being can do and it is surely the moment when a lot of women finally understand the depth of their power and connection to all of nature. You think it can’t possibly be done, you think you can’t possibly take the pain, and then you do — and afterward you look at yourself in a whole new way. If you can do that, you can do anything. Check out the books on this subject by Ina May Gaskin. She’s one of my great heroes. [...] The memory of pain always recedes. The memory of triumph does not.

Treasures

Benton's umbilical cord stump fell off during the night. Eamon & Aine were enthralled with the "new" belly button. Aine wanted to examine the stump. She declared that she was keeping it, "It is my treasure".

Paint Fun

Eamon painting a picture of his brother's birth.

Aine adding finishing touches to her design

There's a Mouse About the House

Eamon donned ears and a tail today to become a mouse. He then decided he needed whiskers. Initially he taped black chenille stems to his face. The "whiskers" kept falling off. With a little assistance from Dave, he drew whiskers on tape and put that on his cheeks.

Squeak! Squeak!

One Week

Riding around in the sling with mama.

Grapes of Life

Dave, Eamon and Aine planted grapevines in our garden today. These are special grapevines as each one is commemorative of them. Eamon has hair cuttings from his first haircut with his grapevine. Aine and Benton have their placentas buried in the roots of their grapevines. Each was VERY excited to plant their vine - helping dig the holes, refilling, adding compost and watering.

Irish Dance

Eamon and Aine are taking an Irish Dance class through the City of Chandler park department. They really enjoy going to class and dancing. Aine can often be found skipping at home with her hands on her waist or doing her "up, tap, feet to feet" moves. Eamon is a bit more reticent in his dancing at home. He prefers the anonymity of the classroom. Every four weeks they give a short performance for the parents. Here is Aine dancing (Eamon preferred to sit this one out).

Sweet Baby Dreams