Enough love?

Having only had one child (a girl),and then having 1 grandchild (a girl), I always wondered if you could love a second child as much as the first. And then…knowing that the baby was going to be a boy…well, that really threw me for a loop. What would I do with a boy? I only know girls! Well, along came Mr. Mason to show me that my worries were completely unfounded. He completely grabbed my heart strings and never let them go. He is the sweetest, easiest , mellowest (is that a word?) baby ever born. (Hmm, sounds like a proud Grammy, huh?). I don’t think he had a fussy spell (for no reason) the entire 2 weeks I was helping out. I didn’t get many good pictures of him because I had my camera on the wrong setting but here are a few. I’ll take you on a little trip that lasted 2 whole weeks.

He was a big baby when he was born and continued eating the whole time I was there. LOL.

Emma did really well with him. Only threw things at him a couple of times. Tee Hee.

He only cried once while being bathed. Check out Emma in the background. She was drinking water out of one of his bottles with…a straw!

I think Mommy has had enough of Emma’s help right here.

That’s okay…Daddy’s cell phone is a lot more fun!

So, I told you that I was taking a shuttle from Bend to Portland. Here we are at a potty stop.

And then I took Amtrak from Portland to Seattle.

I like taking the train. It’s much more relaxing than a plane and the seats are bigger too. YaHoo.

The day after I arrived we took Emma for a haircut. Whenever her Mommy told her that Grammy was coming, she’d then say, “and then I can get a haircut?”.

Before…

And… after.

The weather was absolutely perfect while I was there so we got to play outside. Not always something you can do in Seattle.

And all the while….Mason slept!

Remember the “tapes” (capes)? Well, I let Emma choose which one she wanted. She decided immediately that she wanted the lavender one. That meant that the glittery butterfly one was going to Kayden. Guess what? After Kayden got hers….Emma decided she wanted the glittery one after all. Hmm…what to do? NOTHING! We ignored her. LOL

She loved playing with Kayden’s dress up clothes tho.

Loves shoes…just like her Mommy!

And here’s Kayden wondering if those shoes are staying or going?

Another day we went to the beach near their house and Emma and her Daddy did their favorite thing…throw rocks.

And find the ickiest things in the sand. (cigarette butts and gawd knows what else).

The little princess teaching a class!

And eating her veggies!

So, all in all, I had a great visit. Obviously there are more pictures of Emma since she “does things”. LOL There’s no doubt in my mind now that my heart is big enough for 2 wonderful grandchildren…even a boy!

*A note to all of you who commented on my posts while I was away. I had some real issues with my e-mail and couldn’t reply. I finally figured it out when I got home, but I want you all to know that I read and appreciated all your wonderful comments and thoughts.*

Hugs, Anne

Sample Spree surprise

As you might know, I wasn’t able to go to Quilt Market in Pittsburgh this year because Mason was due the day before we were supposed to leave.   One of the most fun things to do when there is to go to Sample Spree and I was really sad to know I was missing it.

Well, I got a phone call the night of Sample Spree from Anne telling me that I needn’t have worried about it (which made me think that maybe there wasn’t anything there I would have wanted – Horrors!). Oh no, that wasn’t it at all.   She shopped for ME, mailed the package from the convention center and I got it just as they were all coming home from another successful market.   Now…  how’s that for having a great friend?  

This is what she picked up for me. 

All the new Jo Morton fat packs (sitting on a Moda bag, LOL)

Lecien’s new line of Civil War fabrics  

4 great new books  

and a pack of Carol Hopkins’ Civil War Legacies patterns.  

Thanks, Anne.   There isn’t one thing that I wouldn’t have bought if I’d been there.   It was ALMOST as good as going but…not quite.  

Another tape…I mean cape

When I made the cape for Emma, I also made one for her friend, Kayden, who just became a big sis to Madelyn a week after Mason was born.   Hopefully, I can get a picture of the two little girls wearing them.  

I wonder if Emma will want this one instead.  Hmmmm. 

A Goodbye gift

When I lived in Walnut Creek, Ca, I was part of a wonderful group called “The Wednesday Group” at ThimbleCreek Quilt Shop.  The group consisted of enormously talented gals who were always willing to share their talents and knowledge with everyone.  I knew when we made the decision to leave Calif that I would really miss them.

On my last Wednesday there, they surprised me with a luncheon and these gorgeous friendship blocks.  

Anne Sutton and Verna Mosquera organized the party and the block instructions which were:  Blocks should be red/green applique’d hearts. 

These are a few of them.   

Both of these were made by Anne before she started designing.   Looks like she’s always had that talent. 

  Verna made this one.   She taught me how to applique and I certainly thank her for that.  She’s a fabulous teacher and her work is absolutely beautiful. 

This one was made by Denise Sheehan.    Again, another friend who has since become a published designer.   (Looks like I wasn’t drinking the same water they were! LOL)

Margaret Peters, who has since passed away from breast cancer, made this one.   She and Anne published a book together, “Country Quilts for Friends”.

And here are a few more blocks.  

Made by Kris Schneiders.

Lynne Todoroff

Shirley May

Shari Maldonado

and Bobbie Ball. 

And here’s how I put it all together.

It was hard to get a good picture because of where I have it hanging, but you can see all the beautiful blocks and how great they all look when put together.   Thanks ladies,  I think of you all often. 

I’m leavin on a….

So, how does Shuttle/Van and Train sound? Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it that the ol jet plane does, huh? But, they will get me to Seattle just the same and maybe even a bit more relaxing!

Just wanted to show you what I got so I can stay in touch with you all while I’m gone.

It’s a new little 10 inch Netbook. So cute! I first saw one on Candace’s and Pam’s blogs (see her post for 5/14) and my little brain just started processing like mad. Hmmm, I could use one of those. After emailing back and forth with both of them, I decided this was the one for me.

It has wireless built in so I just need to find a connection and wa-la….I will be connected to all my favorite blogs and websites and can email too.

Now…do you think I’ll have time? If you don’t hear from me you can blame it on Emma and Mason. I refuse to take responsibility! LOL.

In the meantime I’ll schedule a couple of posts so you won’t forget about me! See ya in a couple of weeks.

Hugs, Anne

P.S. oops, I left out Darlene. She got hers for Christmas! Sorry Darlene, I bet I didn't even know what a Netbook was then. LOL

We’re half way there

Can you believe we’ve already finished 5 blocks and are now moving on to Block #6 of A Tisket a Tasket?   My how time flies when you’re having fun, right?  

Isn’t this a cute block?   I’m amazed at how Anne just keeps coming up with these darling blocks.  I know you’re probably tired of hearing about how easy they are, but, trust me, they really are!   If you haven’t started, you can be caught up in no time at all.   Prepare a block in an evening and then, the next day,  sit outside in the nice weather and stitch away!

Lookin good!  Thanks Bunny Hill.

A special little gift

A couple of weeks ago, I answered the phone and this little voice said “Grammy, will you make me a tape”? After translating, I realized that Emma was asking me to make her a CAPE! (her personal dictionary told me that since tookie = cookie and tacker = cracker, therefore, tape = cape). Grammys are smart, aren’t they? LOL

She loves all things girly, so I knew I had to find the perfect fabric. As soon as I saw the rainbow effect with the sparkle butterflies, the search for what to make it out of was over.

Some sparkle trim and a glitzy button finished it off.

Here’s the back and it even has a hood!

And the finished tape…oops, I mean CAPE! I’ll be taking it up to her next week when I go to help out with the baby. I’m sure I’ll have pictures to share. I hope it isn’t gigantic on her. But then I guess that’ll give her lots of years of wear, right?

(Note: I wrote this post in Windows Live Writer but when it transferred into my blog, I lost the right side of the picture borders. Does anyone know what I did wrong or how to correct it? I can't seem to fix it. )