Long Overdue Post

I know, what's happened to me, right? Where have I been and what have I been doing for a month??? Sorry I haven't posted for so long, but things have been extremely busy. So here's a run-down of what's going on in my life, for those of you who have actually stuck with me through my absence...

The Book: This is primarily the reason for no posts. I've immersed myself in working on my book. I have my photo shoot in about a month, so I need to have everything which needs photos prepared by then. So most of the art I've been working on lately has been in preparation for that, and thus, can't be shown here because it will be a project in the book. However, everything seems to be coming along nicely, and I hope it will make for a really informative and beautiful book! Here are some small snippets of pieces I've made, just to give you a sneak peek.

Other Art: I've done a couple pieces which won't be in the book, so I can show you those. First, I finished Riley's second book, and here is the cover.

Next, this is a piece for the Motherhood/Bird Collaborative for Amy's project.
And finally, this is what happens when you think you don't need to actually purchase a pattern to make a doll for Riley. I fell in love with Hillary's little Archie doll (check it out- so much cuter than mine!) and wanted to make one myself, but thought I could figure it out without buying the pattern. Well, as you can see, the proportions are all wrong, and he has a slight resemblance to E.T.! Oh well, I guess he's cute in his own right, and we've named him Sam. Hopefully, Riley won't mind his wonkiness. And, for the next Archie doll (I know I'll want to make another one!), I'm buying the pattern!

The Pregnancy: Things are going well on this front. I'm feeling pretty good, with the exception of my carpal tunnel and other arm issues (another reason for no posts). I'm 19 weeks, although I think I look at least 25 weeks. All of the sudden, my stomach has really popped! And the biggest news is that we found out the sex- another boy! I'm not quite sure why, but it just looks like it is not in the cards for me to have a girl for some reason. In all my dreams, I honestly never could have pictured my life without a daughter, but I guess I just have to trust that things happen for a reason. Oh well, maybe we'll try again in a few years... But, I just can't wait to see Riley interact with a little brother, and if he turns out anything like his big brother, I cannot complain a bit!

Riley: Riley's doing great. There are few pictures I took of him at the beach last month on my picturetrail site. He's crawling around like crazy, and walking around every piece of furniture he can find. He babbles away constantly, but still no actual intentional words. He turns one in a month (I can't believe it!), and the following week is when I leave for my photo shoot. It will be my first time away from him, and for a whole week, so I'm preparing myself for that...!

So, there you have it. That's what's been going on with me. I'll try (but I can't promise!) to update more frequently, but this book is only going to take even more time after the photo shoot, then comes the holidays, and then soon after, the baby is due! I hope you are all doing well, and thanks so much for sticking with me and checking in on me!