Birthday Boy

The long-awaited, much-anticipated day has arrived – today is Tyler’s 4^th birthday. Gone are the days of his blissful ignorance about the occasion, where all he did was show up and look cute, make a mess of a piece of cake and rip some paper. Now he is fully, completely, and almost painfully aware of his birthday and what it entails – a party, decorations, cake, presents. Especially presents. And waiting for all of that fun stuff to finally happen has been an almost-four-year-old’s version of torture. But as of this morning – no more torture, just joy.

I think I enjoy his birthday almost as much as he does. How could I not, seeing him so happy? But for me his birthdays can’t help but be bittersweet, because with each year that passes, he grows up, and grows just a little bit farther away from me. Of course, that’s what kids do. I know that, we all know that. And if you’re a good and responsible and loving parent, that’s exactly what you want to have happen – you want your child to grow and develop and become an independent person, able to take care of himself in the big wide world. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less when you see it happening before your very eyes.

For those of you who haven’t gotten to witness it every day like I have, here’s a quick recap –

That's Tyler on his birth day, in the literal sense. I went into labor at about 2:00 a.m. on October 4. I was admitted to the hospital just before midnight on October 6. He was born at 7:25 p.m. on October 7. He weighed 9 lbs., 13 oz. To say it was a long and difficult labor would be putting it mildly. To say it was all worth it would be an understatement. Carrying and delivering a baby was quite simply the most amazing thing I've ever done.

One year old. That would be the aforementioned piece of cake he made a mess of. I should scan a picture of me with chocolate cake on my face on my first birthday....I think you'd see a resemblance.

Two years old. All boy. We did a construction theme for his birthday party, and every single gift he received had wheels.

Three years old. The boy who's lived his whole life in the suburbs of Seattle wanted a John Deere tractor party, so that's what he got.

And here he is today, four years old.

As clichéd as it sounds, I can’t believe how grown up he is. And I’m amazingly proud of all that he has become, all that he’s learned and become capable of doing in just four years. He’s got a vocabulary well beyond his years (I’m guessing not many 4-year-olds understand and use words like “spelunking” and “antibodies” and “magma,” nor do they name their goldfish Phobos and Deimos after the moons of Mars). That little baby that once couldn’t even roll over, let alone crawl, can now run, jump and climb like a monkey. He’s got a vivid imagination, a penchant for singing and telling stories and a terrific sense of humor. He’s also a talented designer and engineer. Put those talents together and you get some pretty amazing adventures with Lego creations, which entertain me to no end.

But for my own selfish reasons, I’m choosing on this occasion to focus on the ways in which he’s still just a little boy. His blankie and his left thumb, which he still sucks. His collection of stuffed animals that he loves to snuggle with. The angelic look about him when he’s sleeping. I just happened to get a picture the other day that captures all of these.

Happy Birthday, my sweet boy. I love you.

She held my sock!

Need I say more?

Well, I suppose for those of you who might not be knitters, I should. This is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka The Yarn Harlot. Actor Greg Kinnear was on Late Night with Conan O'Brien the other night and referred to her as "the Michael Jordan of knitting." She's an amazing knitter and writer. Her blog has won all sorts of awards, including Best Canadian Blog. She's written half a dozen books, all but one of which I've read (only because I just got it tonight!).

I've been lucky enough to see her twice this year at Third Place Books (my absolute favorite local bookstore and frequent hangout spot), and both times the place was packed - standing room only. Last time I didn't have the time or the gumption to stand in line to meet her, but this time I did. Maybe that had something to do with the selection Stephanie read from her new book, Free Range Knitter. What she said about how the seemingly small accomplishments of knitting can spill over into the rest of life, about how knitting can silence - or at least muffle - the voice of our inner critic, really resonated with me. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that I'm a better person for being a knitter. Yes, it relaxes me, it gives me a creative outlet, it challenges me, it connects me to other people - all good things. But the essay Stephanie read tonight captured another whole aspect of this business that others see as nothing but sticks and string. I can't wait to read the rest.

20 Down, 30 To Go

Make yours @ BigHugeLabs.com

No, this is not a map of states predicted to vote Democratic in the upcoming election (Idaho would obviously not be included if it were!). It's a map showing which states I've been to (not counting ones where I merely had an airport layover). I would have thought I'd visited at least half, but not quite. Looks like a trip to New England is a must, and I should probably head down south at some point, too. There's also a pretty big void smack dab in Middle America.

Where have you been? Just click on the link above to make your own map. You can do it for various parts of the world, in addition to the U.S.

Thanks to my friend Ellen, whose blog I copied this from!

A Few Things I Think Are Just Great

I’m guessing Oprah won’t mind if I copy her idea and share a few things I’ve come across recently that I think are great. Just don’t expect to see any $800 shoes or handbags here.

The first is Pandora. This is seriously the coolest thing since sliced bread. I can’t believe I didn’t find it sooner. The folks at the Pandora site can give you the details on how it works, but basically it’s a website that lets you create your own radio stations, which play music geared to your particular tastes. Simply enter a singer, composer or even a particular song, and it will play a collection of tunes that have similar qualities. The mixes aren’t always perfect, but you have the option of giving each song a thumbs up or thumbs down to help it figure out what your likes and dislikes are. To me, this is the perfect compromise between real radio (which always plays too many songs I don’t like along with only a few that I do) and a mix tape (which always plays songs I like, because I’ve chosen the songs, but is always the same). For those of you who have iPods (which I understand is just about everyone in the world except me), this is probably no big deal, as you can get the same thing by shuffling your tunes, but for poor, iPodless folks like me, this rocks.

Next up – YouTube. Of course, this is nothing new. I’m sure just about everyone has gone to YouTube to watch funny videos that circulate via email, to see video of a friend’s new baby or a relative’s graduation, be it from preschool or college. All of that stuff is there, and then some. But I only recently discovered that YouTube can also provide glimpses of our collective and personal histories, and by that, I mean scenes from particular movies or TV shows we all remember, defining moments in sports or politics, music videos from the days when that’s what MTV actually showed. I’ve been able to take my own trips down memory lane and view a few things that were meaningful to me, and apparently meaningful enough to someone else to put them up.

For example, Brian Boitano’s gold medal performance in men’s figure skating at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. Say what you will about figure skating (and having been a skater myself, and a fan of the sport for most of my life, I’ve heard just about all of it), but in these four and a half minutes, you see a dream realized. You see a person achieve what he has devoted his time, energy and spirit to for a decade or more. You see an athletic and artistic performance that is about as close to perfection as it comes. You see laser-like focus and determination in his face at the start of the program, and you see unbounded joy and pride at the end. Just watch. For an equally passionate and perhaps even more beautiful performance, check out Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean’s performance of their famous “Bolero” free dance at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo. They received perfect 6.0’s from all 9 judges for this one, and with good reason. (As an added bonus, for those of you who are skating afficianados like me, you’ll enjoy the commentary of the one-and-only Dick Button on both clips.)

Finally, a movie and a book that I think are worth mentioning, as I’d love to see both of them get a wider audience. I rarely have time to see a movie that isn’t animated these days, nor do I get around to reading many novels (which is a shame, since before I became a crazy knitting fool, I was a crazy reading fool). The movie is Swing Vote, starring Kevin Costner, who also bankrolled the film. I understand the movie has gotten mixed reviews, and I can see why, as it’s a bit hard to suspend disbelief enough to buy into the premise, which is that a glitch with an electronic voting machine leaves the decision as to who will be the next president of the United States up to a single individual. Plausible? Not really, although the events of the election in 2000 make this closer to reality than any of us ever thought it could be. In any case, I think the movie does a great job of showing what’s wrong with politics in America, and what’s going on with the electorate. I saw it before the addition of Sarah Palin to the Republican ticket, and I think it’s even more telling in light of all the insanity that has followed (don’t even get me started on my thoughts about that). More importantly, though, the movie made me laugh, it made me cry, and it made me think, and to me, those three things are what make a movie worth watching.

The book is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. You may have seen it at your local Starbucks recently, as they were featuring it as one of their literary picks. That’s how I found out about it – I picked it up and read the jacket while waiting for my coffee. Again, a very implausible premise – the main character and narrator of the book is a dog. The book also prominently features auto racing, of which I am most definitely not a fan. In my mind, those were two pretty big strikes against it, but something also seemed appealing to me, so I requested it from the library, and just finished reading it a couple of days ago. This, too, passes the laugh/cry/think test, especially the cry test (Rob found me a sobbing mess on the couch when I read the ending). The storyline is a bit predictable, many of the characters are stereotyped, and it’s got its share of sentimentality. But the narrator Enzo is so wonderfully crafted. For those of us who are dog people, it’s like finally getting to find out what’s going on inside those furry little heads, and it indulges my secret belief that our four-legged companions understand and feel much more than they’re usually given credit for.

Transitions

Yesterday was Tyler’s first day in the Pre-K classroom - he's officially one of the "big kids" at school. That was actually evident when we took him shopping for school clothes over the weekend and discovered that he no longer wears toddler sizes, so we now have to shop in the boys department. It’s more than just bigger sizes – the styles change when you move up to big kids’ clothes. No more fire trucks, dinosaurs and cutesy slogans on the t-shirts. Instead, it’s all sports, with a few monster trucks thrown in. And the poor guy was quite disappointed to learn that his favorite tennis shoes, the ones with a space shuttle that lights up, on't come in his current size. Growing up is tough…for all of us. But I’m happy to report the first day of school went well. He got to be line leader, and also got to take his nap in the loft - it doesn't get much better than that when you're in Pre-K.

And it turns out Tyler’s not the only Blomquist who will be in the classroom this fall. Rob found out today that he’s been accepted into the University of Washington’s GIS Certificate Program. This is great news, as he’s been looking to change careers and this is a great fit for his skills and interests. He’ll be attending classes two evenings a week, starting in October, and will finish the program in the spring.

As for me, the only class I’ll be in is my usual Tuesday night Build Your Skills class at my local yarn shop, Village Yarn and Tea. I first signed up for this class a year ago, when I decided to get back into knitting, and I’ve learned a great deal and have really grown as a knitter in the year that I’ve been in the class. Right now I’m not really working on anything new that requires learning new skills or building on old ones – I mainly need to focus on finishing up all the projects I’ve started! But I keep going to class every week, because it gives me two hours of uninterrupted time to knit, with a knowledgeable instructor on hand to answer any questions or solve any problems that come up. And best of all, I get to enjoy the company of my classmates, who have become friends I look forward to seeing and talking with every week. These are a couple of pictures of our group from the farewell party we had for our teacher, Ellen.

The last thing I need is to start another project, but in order to make the most of the class, I’m toying with the idea of starting this lace scarf pattern and adding lacework to my skill set, or maybe doing a pair of these fingerless gloves, which my classmate Julie is currently working on.

Finally, as promised, here are photos of current WIPs. First, the glow worm socks, which are now done. Tyler got a real kick out of seeing them glow under the covers! (Unfortunately I haven't figured out how to take a picture of them glowing). Also pictured below is the baby blanket I'm working on. I've knitted another repeat of the pattern since taking the photo, so it's now 3-4 inches longer than in the picture.

Last but not least is a pair of socks, which a certain someone is hoping to receive for her birthday next week. They were intended to be a Mother’s Day present, and she’s waited patiently for them all summer. They’re now at the top of my list, since I don’t know how much longer I can expect that patience to last!

Labor Day Weekend

After getting hooked on reading blogs, and seeing just how many people have them, I've decided to take the plunge and enter the blogosphere. It's a little crazy and pretty intimidating to think about sending my ideas, thoughts, photos, and other bits and pieces of myself out into the big wide world for all to see (or perhaps for no one to see, as I have to wonder who's really interested), but what the heck.

So, Labor Day Weekend is almost here. In fact, my office is closing early today, so for me, it officially starts in 3 minutes. What's on the agenda? A visit to the Evergreen State Fair, where Tyler will no doubt spend hours sitting on tractors and is guaranteed to eat at least one corn dog. Here's a picture of him there last year:
Rob and I will no doubt spend a ridiculous amount of money on balloon darts and equally silly games trying to win a chintzy made-in-China stuffed animal for Tyler. And perhaps trying to win another goldfish to join Nemo, the one we won there last year (who is the healthiest, most robust goldfish I've ever seen).

Despite my apparent cynicism, I am looking forward to it, especially seeing the animals (the goats and cows are my favorites). Going to the fair was a tradition in my family. As a kid, we went to the Spokane County Fair every year. When I lived in Sandpoint, Idaho, we always went to the Bonner County Fair, where I saw my friends compete in 4-H and worked as a waitress in the Methodist Church food booth serving homemade pie and other goodies to my teachers, neighbors and friends. In a town the size of Sandpoint, just about everyone you saw at the fair was someone you knew - it's a real Lake Wobegon kind of place.

Last year we were in eastern Washington in August and had the chance to attend the Pend Oreille County Fair in Cusick, which is a true small-town fair. Here's a picture of Ty at that fair (sitting on another tractor, of course).

This year I had hoped to enter some of my knitting in the fair, in particular, the baby sweater below. But unfortunately, I didn't get it finished in time (having had to rip back the neck band and re-knit it 4 times), so the blue ribbon and the whopping $3 first prize will go to someone else this year. But I'm already thinking about what to make for next year, so I'm sure I'll have another chance at fame and glory.

Apart from the fair, it will be a pretty normal weekend with the usual stuff - a BBQ with my folks, errands, shopping for new clothes for Ty (who appears to have grown several inches since the last time he wore long pants, which was only a few months ago), and of course, knitting.

I can't even count how many projects I have on the needles right now, but I'm trying to focus on just one or two so I can actually finish something for a change. So this weekend I'll mainly be trying to finish up the Glow Worm Socks (a simple pair of ribbed socks for Tyler, made out of glow-in-the-dark yarn) and making progress on the cabled baby blanket I'm knitting for a friend who had a baby earlier this month. With any luck, I'll get a chance this weekend to take pictures of both and share them in my next post.

In closing, I want to at least mention the efforts of American labor unions, who not only brought us this three-day weekend, but also fought for basic rights and protections for American workers, and I also want to mention the efforts of a terrific charity that is often associated with Labor Day - the Muscular Dystrophy Association. I wish you all a safe and happy Labor Day!