Ushering in fall + life lately

The last couple of weeks have been a flurry of activity, with visitors and 3-month appointments for Cooper and Costco trips and fun activities nestled in between. I've been itching to write here, but haven't had a moment until now. I'm writing with my room temp coffee (I'll take it;) and a baby napping in the other room. :)

Here are some of my favorite things happening as of late (in semi-list form, since I want to make sure to hit all the highlights) :

Our friends Clara and Jacob came to visit! They live in Texas, so every chance to see them is special. Cooper and I met them in a nearby town for sandwiches. It was so good to catch up about the last several months of life, and Cooper fell asleep in Clara's arms.

We celebrated Grandpa DeVries' 90th birthday! We went out to the farm for cake and coffee and I took a photo of four generations of DeVries men.

The weather took a turn for the better! (a matter of opinion, I concede). The mornings are now decidedly fall-like, even if most days warm up to summer temps by the afternoon. Some trees are just hinting that their leaves will brighten to gold or orange or red soon. And there were orange leaves on the ground like confetti on a walk I took with a friend. I'm wearing a sweatshirt or sweater whenever I can.

Cooper is three months old! (As of September 12, anyway). He is giggling and smiley and so fun. He's reaching for toys and our faces a little bit more and sleeping through the night most nights. He loves his little elephant and grasping blankets/burp cloths/anything we hand him. And he loves kicking and sticking his feet straight up into the air. He's wearing mostly 3 month or 3-6 month clothing, but some 3 month clothing is getting a bit small lengthwise. Taking some naps in his crib, sleeping in our room in the bassinet at night, and napping on me during the day sometimes (I don't mine the snuggles)! He gives the biggest smiles after a good nap or in the morning, and when Daddy gets home from work. Sometimes he smiles as big as he can and then sticks out his tongue a little bit. And he's perfecting the bashful smile. We still eat most meals on the floor next to our little guy. We love him more than words can say.

I finished my Tecumseh sweater! I still have some ends to weave in, but I blocked it yesterday and it's still drying. I am very excited to wear it, and of course, it will have it's own blog post once I manage to get some photos of me wearing it.

I'm still slipping outside in the early morning to catch the progression of sunrises. (Sunrises are a perk to 12-hour day shifts and motherhood).

We swapped out our kitchen benches for chairs! Much more comfortable, and we can always use the benches when we have the extra leaf in our table to allow for more seating.

Our cousins came to visit! So fun for them to meet Cooper for the first time.

My friend Jessica and her little six-month-old boy came to visit (more on that visit in a blog post of its own).

I'm enjoying listening to States by The Paper Kites, Enneagram by Sleeping at Last, and Front Porch by Joy Williams.

I added a fall wreath to our front door and a few hand-painted vases that I fell in love with (not fall-themed, but decor nonetheless).

I finished a pair of socks for Nicholas. Grey marled, simple vanilla socks that fit him just right. It feels so good to have a sock recipe that fits his foot well. And he's worn them several times since I finished them, which only makes me want to knit him more pairs of socks. :) Contrary to my previous assumptions, I've been more prolific with knitting since I had Cooper. Granted, my knitting time looks different. Most of it happens after bedtime, or if it's simple enough, it may happen while he's asleep on my chest.

Details

For more details, see my ravelry project page

Yarn: Paton's Kroy

Size: 68 stitches. If using a thinner sock yarn, I knit his socks with 72 stitches, but since Paton's Kroy is a bit sportweight-like, 68 works perfect.

Pattern: My own vanilla sock recipe, detailed on my ravelry page, using the rounded toe shaping from the Late Night Socks pattern ( a free pattern).

Needles: US 1, sized up from my usual US 0s to account for a "plumper" yarn

Specifics/modifications: See my ravelry page, but I basically knit these to fit Nicholas' feet perfectly.

And apart from that, life looks pretty normal, with laundry and cooking, a weekly baking project (usually timed so we have fun treats to snack on while watching The Great British Bake Off), planning for my upcoming birthday weekend, and walks around town. The days are long, but fast and full, and frequently wonderful.