The 5th Anniversary of My 29th Birthday

Celebrate with me, get 34% off pattern purchases in my Ravelry shop through Saturday at midnight with the code BIRTHDAY.

If you need me, I'll be watching all 8 seasons of That 70s Show--a great birthday gift from Oliver.

Happy Birthday, JJ!

My sweet little peanut turned 1 on Sunday!

I can't really wrap my brain around it--an entire year has gone by, and he's becoming a real little person. He's not talking yet, but he understands a lot. If you ask him for a kiss, he'll give you one (well, ok, he'll kinda gum the side of your face--close enough). When his annoying toy Scout says "I love you," he gives him a kiss too. He spends most of the day bringing me books to read to him. When I sing the Winnie the Pooh song, he'll crawl over to his giant Pooh bear and bop him on the head. He's walking more and more, feeding himself, jabbering nonsense all day long.

We celebrated on his birthday with a big party, lots of family and friends. Despite the fact that I nearly forgot to give out the favor bags I put together, and did forget to set up the "Pin the Nose on the Lion" game I bought for the kids, I remembered this important Polish 1st birthday tradition:

You present baby with a shot glass, a rosary, and a coin, and see which one he picks. He made a grab for the rosary, but changed his mind at the last second and went for the money.

Apparently the shot glass was his second choice, he seemed more interested in that than the cake.

(For the record, my parents cannot remember which my sister and I picked.)

He was really unsure about cake. I made him his own smash cake, but very little smashing happened.

Though he did briefly consider this option.

And he got more toys than any baby needs. We actually put a few away--with a birthday right after Christmas, it's a toy deluge, and then a toy drought for the rest of the year, so we plan to spread them out a bit. At least until he's old enough to catch on.

JJ wanted to share the fun, so he advised me to put the Javi sweater pattern on sale in honor of his birthday.

So until February15, you can pick it up for just $2.99. No coupon code needed, the discount will be added automatically after you put it in your cart. Enjoy!

Birthday Recap: No Yarn in Sight

My birthday has come and gone, and if you can believe it, I didn't get any yarn.

Well, ok.

I didn't get any yarn from anyone else.

I may have purchased a few skeins of Tanis Fiber Arts' new Cosmic Blue Label for myself.

Possibly.

But what I did get is a freshly painted studio!

I hope this calming blue green shade will be inspirational.

And now, with fresh paint in place and old nails, hooks and holes gone, I can finally start decorating my walls.

Ideas?

The studio paint was CP's gift, but JJ didn't forget about me either!

I just adore Calvin and Hobbes, and I hope JJ will get a kick out of these when he's older too.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Well, technically, my birthday is tomorrow, but CP has to work tomorrow, so we're celebrating today.

I got breakfast in bed, a picnic lunch:

and I'm eagerly awaiting sushi and roasted pumpkin ice cream for dinner.

And to top it all off, CP had my studio/office/craft room painted yesterday! Once we move the furniture back in, I'll get a pic to share with you guys. It looks great, a calming shade of pale green/blue. Just perfect.

I've also gotten in some knitting time this weekend, so my Hugo is slowly, slowly progressing:

I'm knitting this up in Knit Picks Andes del Campo, which I just love, a soft but sturdy aran weight. I'm sure CP is going to look great in this sweater . . . someday.

I also got some exciting news to start my birthday weekend--one of my designs is going to be published in a magazine! I can't tell you which one, yet, or when, exactly, but a pretty popular one, next year! I can't wait to get started!

I don't want to keep all the birthday fun to myself, so I'm offering a special deal in my Ravelry shop this week--33% off pattern purchases. Just use the code BIRTHDAY, good through October 20th.

And I'm off!

The design is done. Pattern submitted. Sample sent to the yarn company.

Knitting bag is packed:

(Can you guess what I'm working on now?)

CP's birthday gift is wrapped:

 (Er, ignore that pile of unloved Orioles bobbleheads in the bottom corner--they're looking for a home.)

And we're off to the beach for a week!

Keep up with our beachy fun via twitter: @mediaperuana.