Our House in the Middle of Our Street

I am so lucky to hang out with some awesome ladies every Wed. night for my weekly knitting group; they threw me a baby shower this week (it was actually for the week before, but I gave birth before it could happen!) complete with handmade goodness. A few things for myself, too, which is always appreciated. :) Here the babe is posing in her newborn heart sweater made by Shawn. Here's a picture of just about everything (not shown: cute Gymboree outfit from Lisa, sweater, monkey shirt and pants with a monkey inside!). Handmade slippers, a teether that looks like a lollipop, a hedgehog ball for Lukka, a poncho, onsie, 2 bibs, kimono shirt, flower-topped hat, 2 pairs of booties, 2 blankets, a knitting book, pink newborn hat, and from Stefan's Oma, pink booties and hooded cardigan (on far right). I Love them!!! Now...onto the "thank you" cards..........!

A lot of people ask us where in the world we came up with our childrens' names. Well, I will tell you! Starting with the Bug, his full name is Lukka Karl Elijah Mast . Lukka No, I did not name my son for someone on ER (I've never even seen an episode!) or The Godfather, but it is originally an Italian name spelled Luca. It means "Light". I first heard the name while reading Audrey Hepburn's biography. She had a son named Luca and the moment I read that name, I adored it . I love the way it sounds! The reason I chose the "K"s instead of a "C" is first of all because I love the way Lukka looks, I love the "K" sound and knew that if I had a daughter (or another son!) I would have to have a name with a "K" in it! Karl Stefan's family heritage is German (of course, Canadian, too!) but the men on his side of the family have two middle names, so we wanted to stick with the tradition. Stefan's first middle name is also Karl,

He is totally taken with his daughter...already keeping her up past her bedtime! A bit tired, but hanging in there after a great delivery (this was around 1AM). Snuggled. The best big brother ever! He has been a great help and loves to look at the baby. He even knows her name, even if it is "Nanny" right now. Here he is putting on some more "blankets" to keep her warm.

Miss Anikka Julyn Sky Mast 2/17/09 10:19PM 7lb 0oz, 19 in. We're doing great here! She loves: swaddling and being warm, dislikes: diaper changing! There will be more pictures soon, my computer is having a few (ahem) issues. See you all soon.

A Map of the World by Ted Kooser One of the ancient maps of the world is heart-shaped, carefully drawn and once washed with bright colors, though the colors have faded as you might expect feelings to fade from a fragile old heart, the brown map of a life. But feeling is indelible, and longing infinite, a starburst compass pointing in all the directions two lovers might go, a fresh breeze swelling their sails, the future uncharted, still far from the edge where the sea pours into the stars. From his book, Valentines, 2008.

Here is a photo of my family's heirloom bassinet, the baby holder that gets passed around each time one of us has a baby. I don't know the exact aunt (or uncle) it was first used for, but I know it's been in the family a long time. The last time we used it for Lukka, he quickly grew out of it (hey, he was 10 lbs at 2 weeks!), but this time around, I had to make some new sheets for it. So I got out my sewing machine, a few scraps (mostly boys' fabric, whoops, she won't notice!), and of course, that chocolately reward for my hardwork waiting in the corner. I sewed 4 "sheets" that are basically just big bags or pillowcases. Two are cotton, two are flannel, and only one is very girly . Here's a picture of the 'girly' one--it's hard to see, but it is white fabric with very tiny lavendar printed flowers on it. From here it almost looks like polka dots! This is my favorite, and I never seem to run out of this fabric! These were super easy, an

This is a simple way to cheer up someone's day that Lukka and I decided to do after we got an awesome Valentine package from my mom (those stickers included). We made the cards, rounded the edges, stamped the front and envelopes, and Lukka decorated with the sparkly stickers. He loves putting stickers on things, and will even peel off the fruit stickers and attach them to his clothes if he gets the chance. I had wanted to try to do these , but realistically, I just don't have the time, and Lukka wouldn't have been involved, so I decided to go this route. This only took us about 30 minutes, and each card was written "from Lukka", hopefully the receivers will like them!

Good grief this little girl is sticking way out now! She is 'all in the front' as most people like to say. In comparision, Lukka was 'all in the hips', and although he was very high until the last week or so, she has laid low the entire pregnancy. I haven't had any shortness of breath of jabs in the ribs yet...although, with her being so low, I have to go to the bathroom all the time ! I've had a few nights of contactions, but they eventually go away after an hour, so I haven't been too anxious yet. Lots of posts coming this week, but hop over to the Bug's Blog to see the 'art' he's been working on.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls "I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a Dumpster" (Walls, 3). This was the first great book I've read this year, and I really needed that because the last 4 (from my booklist) were awful ! This is a memoir about a little girl who grew up all over the country, with hippie parents and three siblings (and a dog, Tinkle, and sometimes, even animals like buzzards and wild rats) and her drive to overcome her circumstances in poverty, starvation, and literally, garbage. I read this in about four days total, but today read 150 pages because I just couldn't put it down. The reader can't decide to hate the parents, or to just shake their head and feel sorry for the kids because the parents are so stubborn. Walls does an excellent job at telling the tale with humor, and, at times, heartbreaking poignancy. My book club had decided to read it for th

Phew! These last 8 weeks have been very busy for us at the Mast house. We've done any and all types of organization, cleaning, and fix up around the house because I know my abilities with a newborn and a busy toddler will be next to nothing. I also know that the last few weeks of my first pregnancy, I didn't want to do anything that involved me moving very far from the couch! I'm now at 25 days left and am feeling tired at almost every turn. I am so thankful I got my huge list done! It was great timing, too, since I'm kind of a baby about going outside when it's -10 degrees or driving in snow with a new car. Lukka helped me do a lot of the things, but mostly just played around while I was in the same room. Now that I can feel that my full-force nesting period is over, I can rest assured that my house is as clean as it's (probably ever) going to get, and I am feeling comfortable with whenever the timing of the new babe comes. A few things we did around the hous