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!

In case you didn’t know, the talented artists on Etsy are fantastic and generous. I participated in the Fall 2009 Etsy Baby Shower this year, and today my first gift arrived. Check it out:

Zack with his Lovem, take 1 ...

Nancy from Lovems sent this to Zack, and it is amazing! It’s a two-sided minky blanket with a chocolate brown and baby blue polka dot pattern on one side and solid baby blue on the other. If you don’t know what minky fabric feels like, get thee to a fabric store and check it out. It’s amazingly soft and PERFECT for baby blankets! On the solid blue side she embroidered Zack’s name for us, which was a really sweet touch! The best part is that she has sewn a stuffed monkey to the blanket; head on one corner, legs on the other. It’s so cool, because now it’s a stuffed animal and a blanket all in one. Plus, the weight of the monkey helps the blanket stay where you put it, and gives Zack something to clutch.

... take 2 ...

I opened the box and gave Zack his Lovem right away, and he really took to it even though he hasn’t shown much interest in toys yet. He hung onto the monkey and blanket and snuggled to his little heart’s content. He even continued to hold it as he fell asleep. So cute! (Unfortunately the batteries died in my camera so I couldn’t take a picture of that one).

... take 3 ...

When Nancy found out I was the mom she’d be donating to, she let me pick any Lovem blankie I wanted from her shop, which was really sweet! She doesn’t just make monkeys – she makes almost anything you can think of. She has an adorable assortment of dogs, ducks, bears, and even an alligator! Plus she’ll combine them with any minky blanket fabrics/colors you like, and embroider them to personalize them with the child’s name, just like Zack’s.

... and take 4!

If you’re in the market for a baby gift, I cannot recommend Nancy’s shop enough. She is amazingly talented, her idea is unique and adorable, and her work is of the highest quality. Zack loves his new blankie, and so do I! And, as an added bonus, the animal makes the blanket into a weighted blanket for nursing moms; I can’t wait to try out that feature, too!

Thank you thank you to Nancy and the organizers of this Etsy Baby Shower. I am so lucky to be part of such an awesome community of artists and moms!

I’m having a great day because my package arrived from 5elementknitr for the Ravelry Halloween Vampire Swap today!

Check out all these awesome goodies:

A vampire lover's dream in a box!

I got a fold-up spooky tote bag, soap with a human heart inside, awesome vamp and zombie bookmarks, an Eric Northman stitch saver, chocolate covered candy corn, gummy vampire fangs, candy bones/hearts/skulls in a cute little coffin, amazing vampire crochet charts (which I may also try to do in cross stitch, we’ll see), and GORGEOUS yarn from skeindalous on Etsy! It’s called Drusilla, and it’s named for a succubus character in a web comic, which suits me just fine.

Here are the wicked cool charts:

Vampy hookin'!

Here’s a close-up of the beautiful yarn:

Drusilla, in all her succubus glory!

Just watch me ignore all my other WIPs and start hookin’ with this beauty!

Thank you so much to 5elementknitr for an amazing package!!!

I finally got around to writing up and publishing my pattern for a Windowpane Baby Blanket. Here’s the blanket:

Windowpane Baby Blanket

Here’s the link to the pattern. Enjoy, happy hookers!

So today I got the idea to try on some of the sweaters I’ve made for Zack. Some worked out better than others, but I’m inspired to keep crocheting until I find a pattern I really like. Here are the ones I’ve done so far:

Every Day is a New Sweater Day pattern

This first one was one of my favorites because I made it with some of Squibstitcher’s gorgeous sock yarn; unfortunately, it turned out to be way too small for my chunky monkey. That’s okay, though, b/c I’m signed up to donate an item to the Etsy baby shower this fall, so this will become my donated item.

Sunset Baby Sweater

This one is bright, and it actually fits, so that’s a bonus. It’s a little gender-neutral in the color scheme, so I’m going to try to mainly put it on him with masculine colors underneath.

Hunter Baby Sweater

This one fits well, but I think I”d prefer to put more buttons on it; I think the one-button look is a little feminine. So I’m going to probably add a few rows of edging to the front so I can sew in a few more buttons. Then it will be ready to go.