Knitting Christmas Stocking for Baby and Preparations for Christmas

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. I have been getting ready for Christmas by buying gifts, knitting a stocking, and we took our family photo for our Christmas cards last week. I received them in the mail now and I will be mailing them out this week.

I have been knitting a Christmas stocking for my son Evan. I am following the pattern Classic Christmas Stocking by Betty Lai on Ravelry. I knitted one of these stockings for Millie a couple of years ago. I liked the pattern. The cuff was a bit tight and didn't stretch as well but I have an idea to see if it will be more stretchy.

This time I am knitting the letters onto the stocking using the duplicate stitch. I am using a knitting letter chart and going to be doing all capital letters.

Millie has been really busy lately she was climbing the tree and biting the branches again this year. She isn't doing it as much as time goes on. Evan was so interested in the tree too and he liked pulling some soft ornaments down at the beginning mid-November. He isn't pulling them as much now and he still likes to look at the tree.

I have been enjoying Silk peppermint mocha creamer in my coffee in the morning. I love using the holiday mugs I got last year from work Ellen DeGeneres brand. I have been reading It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover. I stopped for awhile but I picked it up again recently to hopefully finish it before the New Year. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I can't believe we are only 15 days away from Christmas now. I really want to make the most of it and watch Christmas movies and enjoy all of the Christmas traditions. How are your knitting and reading going?

Have a great day!

Finished Knitting Toddler Mittens

Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. It has been a busy time of the year! We just celebrated my son Evan's first birthday this past weekend. We had such wonderful parties with our families and they showed us and him so much love and support. They have helped us so much through this year. I am getting more into Christmas now and we have decorated our Christmas tree. We will be taking some family photos by the tree tomorrow to send out cards. Looking forward to seeing them when they are done. It is such a wonderful time of the year!

I have finished knitting the toddler mittens. I have been using them for Evan on our stroller walks and they are keeping his hands warm. I also knitted an I-cord to keep them together in his jacket. The first two photos the cuff is unfolded and this is how we have been putting them on Evan so they stay on well. The last two are folded up. The I-cord will keep them from falling off and getting lost and easier to keep them in his jacket.

Baby and Toddler Mittens

Pattern: Baby and Toddler Mittens by Julie Taylor

Needles: US 3  (3.25 mm) and US 6 (4 mm) (knitted on straight needles and then sewed the seam)

Yarn: Snuggly Wuggly Yarn by Loops & Threads colorway pale blue

Notes: on Ravelry here.

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I hope you have a good week ahead.

Have a good day!

Knitting Toddler Mittens and Reading On

 Hello Friends,

I hope you are doing well. This month is really flying by! This past Friday marks one year since I have been on maternity leave. I have really loved my time off work with Evan. I have another 6 months to go and really so grateful for this time with him watching him learn and grow and just being able to be there for him. I have Evan's birthday on my mind now because it is at the end of the month November 30th. He will be one years old, I can't believe it! We have some family parties planned to celebrate him and looking forward to it. I will share some photos afterwards of the décor. I am going to be doing a teddy bear theme and I bought a sign that says Evan's Beary First Birthday. I bought him a couple of gifts so far and gave ideas to family. I will buy maybe a few more and have some ideas for gifts for Christmas too. 

I have been knitting toddler mittens for Evan. I decided to knit the toddler mittens with the thumb because he is so close to being a toddler now and will get more wear out of them.  I am using the pattern Baby and Toddler Mittens  by Julie Taylor on Ravelry. I have knitted one mitten and have started knitting the second and just finished the cuff. I am using up the left over yarn form the baby blanket the Snuggly Wuggly yarn by Loops & Threads and knitting on size US 3 3.25 mm for the cuff, then I switched over to size US 6 4 mm for the rest of the mitten. I plan to knit an I-cord to connect the two mittens to weave into his jacket arms so we don't lose them and they are easier to put on. I plan to knit a matching hat soon to make a set.

I am reading the book It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover. This is the sequel to It Ends with Us. I haven't gotten into it yet and it hasn't hooked me right away like the first book. I will read more of it today. I am also still reading Self-Care for Moms by Sara Robinson It has lots of ideas and I read a few pages before bed each night. It is a nice way to wind down before bed too and it feels like self-care reading it. 

Photo source 

Photo source

Millie is keeping us busy along with Evan. She is doing well and loves her brushes in the morning once Evan is napping.

Thank you for visiting my blog today! I hope that you are enjoying your weekend and have a good week ahead! I am going to be putting up my Christmas tree hopefully next weekend and also going to spend some time decorating my parent's Christmas tree next weekend and have lunch and festive treats. I am also looking forward to when the radio station CHFI (98.1) starts their christmas music this week. They announced it would be sometime this week in their email, so I will be looking out for that! 

Have a great day!