There’s a great series of giveaways going on over at Jolly Mom and Go Graham Go, two blogs that I follow regularly. I get three extra entries in all of their giveaways if I blog about a favorite Christmas memory, so here goes:

My Christmas memories are strongly linked with food, which is probably one big reason I struggle with my weight. But anyhoo, my mother was a baker (as are my grandmother and my sister; I, on the other hand, missed that gene). So during the month or so leading up to Christmas, our house was filled with the smells of Christmas cookies. I can remember a ton of varieties of cookies we ate every year: wreaths and candy canes, lacey crisps filled with chocolate, cut-out sugar cookies, almond sliced cookies, gingerbread men, powdered sugar fried ones, sour cream twists, pastries filled with cherries, and bar cookies galore. I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting, too. My mom was serious about her Christmas baking. Plus, she always made homemade cinnamon rolls and “sticky buns” for Christmas morning.

Anyway, my specific memory is of one of Mom’s last Christmases with us (it may have been THE last, I can’t honestly remember). She invited my sister’s good friends Todd and Heidi to come over for cookie baking day, and Jodi and Heidi helped Mom with a lot of the baking. Todd and I, being baking-challenged and kitchen-inept, were given some of the easier tasks, like icing the sugar cookies and decorating the gingerbread men. Then Mom decided to let Todd roll the chocolate macaroons into balls before baking. It’s a simple task, really; just roll the dough into balls, then roll the balls into powdered sugar and put them on the cookie sheet. But here’s the thing: among his many loveable quirks, Todd has a higher-than-average body temperature. So when he started rolling these cookies in his overly-hot hands, they turned to mush. He continued to try his best to roll those darn cookies, but eventually he was left with two hands completely coated in cookie dough, and no hope of forming recognizeable balls out of that mess. So he called for my mom, in a voice that was both apologetic and pitiful, and she came out to the dining room to find the chocolate mess that was Todd. She didn’t get mad; my mom was a sucker for a lost cause. She just helped him clean up and then sent him off to her bedroom to take a nap, since he was in desperate need of recovering from the sugar shock of the day and the stress of his cookie-balling attempts.

I loved that about my mom; she was a mom to everyone. I didn’t mind sharing her, because I knew she was a great mom and that other kids (and, in this case, fully grown men) deserved to have a chance at having a mom like her once in a while. I wish my own kids could have known her, but I hope some day they know me as one of those great moms. It all starts with making Christmas memories together.

Well, things are bustling along well here in our household. We’re anxiously awaiting the arrival of Christmas – can you belive it’s only a month away now? Yikes! Mike and I did most of our shopping online this year, but we still have to pick up a few things (one more gift for Will and a few for Zack). We’re finding it difficult to shop for Zack, since he’s so small. I think we’ll end up getting him a few toys that he may be too small for now but will grow into soon. After all, it’s going to be a while until his birthday, so these will be things he can get use out of between now and then.

I’ve got to finish my handmade holiday gifts, too. I’m working on them and making good progress, but I still have a few things on my list. I’m going to be making stocking stuffers for the kiddos, which will be a big hassle to make only because I’ll have to hide from them while I do it. Will’s going to get a Pikmin toy,

This is the Yellow Pikmin from the Craftster link.

but Will’s will be red instead of yellow, which means it will have a nose instead of ears.

Jillian’s going to get a Ponyo, like this one:

This is the Ponyo made by agamerswife on Ravelry.

She loved that movie, even though I thought it was one of the weirder things I’d ever watched (and belive me, I’ve seen some weird things).

I’m thinking of making this for Zack:

This is the photo from the designer's blog.

I’d have to use yarn or felt to make the eyes and sew them on or embroider them, but I think it’s cute. I also like that the pattern requires very little seaming/assembling, which I hate doing. The legs are crocheted directly onto the body, so that will be handy. I’m thinking of making him in a variegated rainbow yarn, or something very bright at least.

In non-holiday news, Will has his first loose tooth! This was a failed attempt at photographing it for posterity:

Can you see it now, Mom?

He’s very excited for it to come out, so we’re all preparing for our first Tooth Fairy visit!

I finished another crochet project. Actually, I finished three and a half, but two and a half of those are holiday gifts, so I don’t want to post photos until the recipients receive them. So here’s the one I can post:

Baby Girl Sleeper Set from Crotiques

It’s a cute little set, and it was easy to make (top-down yoke style for the dress, then working in the round for the skirt portion). I bought a little purple and pink flowered top to go underneath it, and added pink flower buttons to the back of the dress and the sides of each shoe. It’s machine washable and dryable, so it will be easy on the new mommy. It took slightly less than one skein of Hobby Lobby’s I Love This Yarn to make the whole set, and for me to say it worked up quickly is really impressive, because I have very little time for crochet these days with Zack around.

I hope Mike’s coworker and his wife like it!

This is Percy the Owl.

Hello.

I test-crocheted him for JPWear on Ravelry. He’s really cute, and works up quickly. You should check out the pattern when she posts it if you’re looking for an easy but very cute gift for the holidays.

I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do with him yet, but for now I’m letting him hang out on my book shelf. He tends to prefer the Harry Potter books – go figure!

Zack received his fourth Etsy baby shower gift today, and it is adorable!

Happy Baby!

He got a blue and white teething giraffe and onesie from Suzi’s Shop, Starbright Baby! 

The teething giraffe will be ideal when he gets old enough to get teeth, because it’s the perfect size for little hands to hold, and soft yet durable all at once. I can toss it in the washing machine to clean it, and I don’t have to worry about lead poisoning or harmful plastics. Bonus!

I LOVE my new giraffe and onesie!

The onesie he got is super soft, and it fits him really well (with a little room to grow in). It has a cute little fish design, and it makes him look so cute (well, doesn’t everything?)!

Thank you, Suzi!

The quality in Suzi’s craftsmanship is amazing and professional, and her teething giraffes are so unique and colorful! She has a huge selection of patterns and colors in her shop, and even makes a larger size for older kids called Toddler Giraffes. check out Starbright Baby the next time you need an adorable, functional, and unique baby gift that’s sure to please. Thank you so much to Suzi at Starbright Baby for this amazing baby shower gift!

Zack has recently begun gracing us with his smiles, so today I took advantage of that and snapped some photos. It’s a rare occurrence, so I tried to capture it while I could. It helped that Jilly-Bean was nearby, because our little man always smiles at his older siblings (while Mike and I have to wait all day for a smile). Here are the results of today’s photo session:

This is the face he normally makes.

Sweet Smile

Big Sis wants in on the action? I'll pull her hair!

I grow tired of that flashy thing!

Jilly's Turn to Pose

All in all, it was a productive photo day!

Check out my new yarn swift! I ordered it Tuesday and it’s already here, and I’m so happy with it!

Medium Swift from the Knit Store

It only cost around $30 including shipping, and it works great! I love it!

So, my daughter Jillian is totally a hat person. She looks adorable in them, even when they’re ill-fitting (we got her a hat at the MTSU game we attended; it was too big but still super-cute). I think it’s a combination of her hair cut (good length for hats), her cute face, and her penchant for photo posing.

Here’s the hat I made for her this week:

Jilly's Sparkly White Hat

It’s kind of a flapper-esque pattern, with a cute little brim and a low cap. I added a flower and a sparkly button because a girl can never have too much sparkle (even the yarn is sparkly and ivory-colored, super feminine).  What a cutie!

If you’re in the market for an adorable hat pattern, you have to check out this blog. The hat I made for Jillian is called the “Blood and Dark Chocolate Beanie,” but she has several other super-cute patterns. I think I’m going to make th butterfly hat for Jilly next.

This weekend I also got a delivery from WigglyToothFactory on Etsy for my Etsy Baby Shower gift. Look at this cute stuff!

Teether Towel and Tooth Fairy Pillow

I have been thinking about the tooth fairy lately, because I figure Will is getting to that age where he’ll start to lose his teeth any day now. So this gift was perfect for our whole family.

Zack models with his new presents!

Megan, the store owner, makes these amazing Teether Towels which will be perfect for Zack in a few months when his teeth come in. You can hook a teether directly to the towel using the attached loop, and that way the baby can drool and have a towel handy to wipe it up with!

The tooth fairy pillow is also adorable; it has a ribbon for hanging on the bedpost or bedroom doorknob, and a built-in pocket for the tooth and the prize from the tooth fairy.

He likes his teether towel!

The stitching on these is perfect; the construction is solid. The fabric she chose is adorable, and I really love it; the colors and pattern are perfect! I know that Zack will get a lot of use out of the teether towel, and all 3 kids will use the tooth fairy pillow for years to come. Thank you so much to Megan from WigglyToothFactory for making me such an amazing and perfect baby gift!

Let’s call this post, “Another Reason Etsy Rocks.”

This weekend I got a delivery in the mail – the 2nd installment of my Etsy Baby Shower surprises. It was awesome!

Welcome Home Zack Plaque

Jen from ItzFitz made Zack this adorable monkey tile for his wall. She let me select it personally from her store, which has so many cute tiles it was hard to pick one!

Zack plays Vanna White.

All of Jen’s tiles are custom-made and hand-painted, and they are gorgeous! She makes them in a variety of sizes, and she also makes wooden letter displays, piggy banks, and more!

Here he is!

Jen worked with me to make sure the tile was right, and it arrived in one beautiful piece due to her careful packaging. I feel so lucky to have been matched up with ItzFitz; this tile is a keepsake we will cherish for Zack’s whole life!