'Round here

Hello hello! It's a beautiful Thursday here in beautiful Traverse City and, as is the usual these days, I'm contemplating motherhood. I'm getting bigger each day and my belly changed shape (see left), which means the baby's in position for eventual birth. As you can imagine, for a first-timer like me, this is mostly awesome but somewhat terrifying. I still can't believe the little squirmy meatloaf in my stomach has to come out one way or another, though I am getting more used to the idea.

In other mom news: Last week I noticed a Robin couple trying out an already-built nest in the tree out our living room window and I'm happy to report they've moved in. When I pull up the shade in the morning, I'm either greeted by the top of the mama's head (one leering eye and an orange beak) or what you see above: a pert tail protruding from what I can only imagine is a snuggled in Ms. Bird. I really like her— the way she wiggles as she nestles in, her suspicion of me, and her commitment. I can't imagine sitting there for hours at a time with nothing to do but make sure you or your unhatched babes don't meet an untimely end. Bo-ring. At least I get to do stuff while our little one incubates.

Speaking of which, I completed my little play mat! It was my first attempt at quilting and, I must say, I found it surprisingly less intimidating than I had imagined it would be. For some reason, I thought I'd wind up with bloody fingers and a deep hatred of geometry by the time I was finished, but the actuality was quite the contrary. I mapped it out and made it relatively quickly and, for the most part, am pretty happy with the result. I was so enamored with the whole process that I've started cutting 4" x 4" squares out of scraps to eventually make a crazy quilt.

I've also been cleaning out our closets to make room for baby gear and rehabbing some treasures for the nursery. This adorable bear bank, for example, had a pretty hideous paint job, but he's now primed and ready for a nice coat of bright red acrylic and a home on the baby's shelf.

Overall, there's just a lot of nesting going on around here. I'll continue to make things and move stuff around until it's all just right and my neighbor, Ms. Robin, will sit and sit. Eventually we'll have babies to show for all of it, but for now, we bide our time.