I have been SEW busy....

Ever since I have heard that Jonathan and Jill were expecting, my desire to sew for the new baby has been endless. This weekend I filled this basket with some of the things I have made for the baby, and I hope they will find it of great use!

There is the practical....burpies in every color of the rainbow.

A set of bibs....backed in a soft toweling and appliqued with fun designs.

There are the "just so darn cute" shoes! I think I will make a set to match each outfit. They are so fun and easy to make.

The softest of softest blankets. This one has "Nicey Jane" on one side and a chenille on the other to lull baby to sweet sleep!

.....and I finally finished one of the many baby quilts I have made. This one is backed in Minkie, which is a luxury this bitty baby will love.

Our sweet Mom to be loves butterflies....so I made sure to quilt them between all of the flowers and stems.

After a year of knitting lessons with my Mom I did manage to create a few knitted gifts too. This is "Baby's First Sweater" and a hat to match. Stylish...don't you think???

I thought I would share my first knitting experiment too. Quite far from perfect, but Oma crocheted a trim and made my first attempt worthy of gifting.

No worries that I am anywhere near done spoiling this little girl! I have been finding lots of inspiration...and dream of all the cute outfits I hope to make.

This Oma can hardly wait to hold this much anticipated and much loved baby. In the meantime I am keeping very busy.....SEW very busy!

Amen.....

Our First Retirement Trip.....

Brought us to Sequoia National Park where we saw some majestic mountains and lots of.....

SNOW!!!! We both took tons of photos and can't wait to visit again. The next time we hope the roads will be open all the way to the amazing Redwood trees!

Since Jim LOVES to drive, and I love the quiet time to knit, read and take naps, we went from the snow capped Sierra's to the beauty of the ocean shores.

We nestled into a favorite place for the night, and with a fireplace to keep us cozy, talked about ALL of the trips we hope to take.

If you were wondering if I get to pick any of the spots, I can only say OF COURSE I DO!!!

I spent some wonderful time in "Strawberry Patch" quilt shop in Kern County. Very sweet...and it certainly enticed me to add to my stash!

Yes....pink does seem to be a recurring theme, but NO surprise!!! Or maybe a HUGE surprise if our baby Clare turns out to NOT be a girl.

But I have assured Jonathan and Jill that I can just as easily sew with blue in mind!!! We are counting the days.....such joy!

So what do I think of retirement so far.....loving every minute.

The fun was in the details...

Our sweet "Mom to be" is a voracious reader....so Meghan is certain our new baby will be too! So what better theme to welcome baby than to choose children's literature...and then match it to all the goodies we ate at the shower!

The theme we chose was " A New Story Soon To Be Told".

Here is "Team Baby Shower" sharing a quiet hug with Jill before the party goers all arrived.

Meghan and I had lots of fun coordinating stories and treats. How about "Red Fish, Blue Fish" and fish crackers of all colors.

The "Hungry Hungry Caterpillar" sat next to our salad selections, both fruit and greens.

"How to Make A Jam Sandwich" ( a very cute and funny story) represented our tea sandwich selections.

Peter Rabbit watched over our other table of goodies.....these were bitty quiches ( vegetable OF COURSE)!!!

"Little Pea" is one of my favorites...and sat next to a tray of veggies and dips.

The dessert table was equally filled with fun selections for Baby's library. I had to have my all time favorite "Make Way For Ducklings", and the bitty duck soaps were gifts for the children who shared the party.

Do you know the story "The Carrot Seed"? It is just delightful, and so were the carrot cake cupcakes with marzipan carrots.

Jill has shared that one of her favorite stories is "Madeline", and Oma had just the perfect recipe to go with the story!

But I think this may just be my most favorite of all!!!!

Bitty Mice sitting on cookies....what could be more appropriate, or more tasty????

Of course the detail that most touched my heart are the chocolate booties that Oma made this past week. How dear she is, and how hard she worked to add this sweet contribution to a very fun day.

I do have to thank two special helpers....Wendy, who took my camera and became THE photographer, so I could rest and enjoy the party with everyone else.

....and my friend Linda who helped me to set up, serve and then clean up too. What a great friend and we couldn't have done it without her!

Two more sweet touches. This baby bassinet was filled with flowers and given as a gift when "I" was born. It has since been refilled when I had our children, and now will be refilled again for this next baby to come.

This sweet bouquet was sent by LaDona....Meghan's Mother in Law. She wanted to attend, but sadly the roads were closed ( she lives in Sacramento) so she sent these lovely flowers instead.

How blessed I am that both of our children have married families that they love and adore and I do too!

And finally a picture of Jonathan and Meghan. When the party ended, and things were cleaned up, Meghan held back tears and said "I can't believe my brother is going to be a Dad".

I have to admit, this is causing my heart much joy, but it is also a very emotional time. The weeks ahead will go quickly and soon there will be a baby to cuddle and hold in our arms. I am excited, and look forward to this huge blessing. How quickly the years have gone by.....how much I am looking forward to this new time in our lives.

Here was a shower we were all looking forward to.....

Finally a shower that didn't require an umbrella!!! Jill was glowing, the two Grandmothers to be were joyous and Meghan provided the cutest theme ever. More about the theme and the goodies we ate tomorrow...but here is a peek at one of the most happy days ever!

There was a luncheon that everyone seemed to really enjoy.

Oma's sweet cottage was filled with Jill's family and friends. We were certainly packed in as cozy as can be, but it just made it all the more fun.

There was an abundance of gifts to open.....

....which Jill did with a gracious and very sweet smile!

There were lots of cute and cuddly toys to hug.....

.....and darling clothes for the little princess to be.

Many gifts were made by hand.....

... and given from the heart. This sweet dress was made by Oma. It is just adorable!

My cousin Jacqueline made this lovely crocheted blanket.....

......and then was quite surprised to see that we also wrapped the equally lovely afghan that she had made for MY shower 33 years ago!!!! No doubt it will cuddle the next generation as joyfully as it did the first.

Our sweet niece Brianne and her Mom Denise drove all the way from the Central Coast to join the party.....

and Denise even gifted me with a "Grandmother's Brag" book which I will put to good use!!!

I gifted Jennifer with a quilt....after all we are sharing a lovely new Grandbaby and she will need quilts when she comes to visit!

The Dad to be came to share in the end of the festivities....and to help carry all the lovely gifts home. Here he gets a cuddle from his Oma. I still haven't processed that my baby is having a baby!!!

....and when it was time to say goodbye, Oma gifted each guest with a cute bag of chocolate booties wrapped in a ribbon and including a baby charm. Oma is certainly the hostess with the mostess!!!!

Check in tomorrow and I will share all the cute details. Now I am going to put my feet up and take a bit of a rest. It was a busy day, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I know our" Mom to Be" felt the same!