...just what we've been waiting for...

You all know how much we have been anticipating the arrival of our first grandchild. Well, she decided that she was ready even though she really wasn't supposed to be her for another 4 weeks. On Thursday, August 12th, Erin had a doctor check up before she and Kris headed north to our house for the weekend. There was a baby shower planned for Erin on August 14th and after the shower she and Kris were headed to the cabin for a much needed vacation.

At the doctor's appointment she found out that she had started dilating and needed to have some blood work done. While waiting for the blood work to come back......her water broke. Needless to say, this changed all of their plans. Erin was admitted into the birthing suite and her labor proceeded along. Around 10:15 pm she was completely dilated and it was time to push. We waited, and waited, and waited and at 12:21 am on August 13th, Paytan Patricia Cook made her way into the world.

She weighed just 5 lbs, 6 ounces, she is 18 12 inches long and has beautiful blonde hair. She is small but mighty.

Erin had a bit of trouble with substantial blood loss during labor, but she is getting stronger with each passing day. With good luck, she and Paytan will be heading home tomorrow.

I could not be more proud of Erin and Kris. They are very calm and confident parents. It is truly amazing to watch them with Paytan. The love they have for this little girl can not possibly be measured.

As for me, I just keep looking at her little face and I marvel at the wonder that she is.

Erin said something to me on the morning after Paytan was born that sums this entire experience up. She said, "Mom, I never knew I could love something so much". I couldn't have said it any better.......

...6 visits and counting...

Another long, overdue post. No excuses, just way overdue. Summer is flying by and I can't believe that it has been almost a month since we were at the cabin. The husband and I arrived on July 1st and it was beautiful. We are so fortunate to have this cabin. It has been in the husband's family since the 50's and every time we go there we say "Boy, this place is so great.....we should come here more often."

We had a great time fishing, boating and relaxing. Just what the doctor ordered! The husband headed home on July 5th just as the knitters came rolling in for our 6th year of knitting at the cabin. I'm sure he was glad to get out of there before the thundering herd arrived.

They came armed with wine, yarn, food and as always laughter. We started the week as we always do: Bloody Marys. It's not always about the wine.

We usually have a movie theme for the week. Last year it was Meryl Streep, the year before Kevin Kline. This year was a little different. James Bond vs. GLEE. There are some of our group that are not exactly thrilled with the idea of musicals. When I broached the movie subject at a pre-cabin planning meeting one knitter was heard to say "I HATE musicals" (you know who you are....) So when we discussed it further and came up with the idea of Bond vs. GLEE same knitter said she'd give it a try as she likes James Bond and had never seen an episode of GLEE. (NEVER?.....really.......NEVER!)

We started with Season 1, Volume 1, Episode 1. After the first 15 minutes......she was hooked. What can I say, it's just plain GOOD! We watched the entire dvd.........

Another tradition we have adopted over the years is to have a group knitting project. The past projects have included everything from bath mats to sock monkeys (guess who's idea that was?) This year our project was Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket. What a great project! I had never knitted one and was really looking forward to it. In preparation for the trip we gathered patterns for everyone and each knitter selected her yarn. I also bought a copy of the Baby Surprise Jacket DVD. This dvd is outstanding. It's narrated by Meg Swansen and is done so that you feel like you are having a private chat with Meg while the two of you make this wonderful sweater together. Besides the knitting and construction of the jacket, there are also many tips and tricks that Meg shows. These are worth the price of the dvd alone!

We were a very productive group. Here is a sampling of the sweaters we worked on...

You can see that each sweater is as different as the knitter that made it. Yet, another successful group project!

We did do some other things while we were there.

That's Carol being pulled behind the boat! What a riot.

We also did a bit of fishing and were successful!

Carol caught 1, Leianne caught 2 and Heidi (who had never been fishing) caught 2 also! Who says that men are the best fishermen?

This group of women are very special to me. I love that I can share this beautiful place with them. Wonder what we'll come up with for next year?