Playing Catch-up

My goodness.  Where do I begin?  My poor little blog has been neglected for quite some time now.  The last time I posted was October!  Yikes!  Lots has happened since then…our sweet little girl has celebrated two holidays, has started crawling (legit crawling, not the army crawl she has been doing since a little before October), has has her first case of hives,  has had a nine month check-up, I’ve celebrated my 30th birthday (still can’t believe I’m 30!), CJ has completed another semester of grad school, we’ve taken our little one on her first big out of town shopping excursion…it’s been quite a ride.  I’ve been too busy experiencing life to take the time to sit down and write about it.  So as Baby Bug naps, I decided to take the time share what’s been going on.

 

PS:  This post is probably going to be a mile long.

 

First off…Haylen’s First Halloween!

I know you are all probably wondering what we dressed her up as.  I hate to disappoint, but little one did not have a costume.  Since she was too little to go trick-or-treating, we decided against a full blown costume.  Oh, but don’t worry, I sure did get her a super cute Halloween outfit.  Our Halloween evening was spent taking our girl to the Pumpkin Patch for the first time (Mommy had to get Halloween pictures and the Pumpkin Patch was the perfect place for a photo shoot) and handing out candy at our house.  She LOVED the pumpkins and had so much fun helping me answer the door to hand out candy!  Words cannot describe the feeling of watching her experience new things for the first time.  If only we could all experience the world through a child’s eyes. 

   

   

 

 

First Case of Hives

Little one came down with a cold and ended up getting hives, as well.  She went to the doctor with a fever and snotty nose on a Friday and on Sunday came down with a crazy case of hives.  So needless to say, that Monday we were back at the doctor’s office.  Doc said more than likely the cold virus she had caused the hives.  Benadryl worked wonders on them and she was back to normal by that Wednesday.

   

 

 

Election Day aka Crawling Day

Haylen started crawling for real, I’m talking on all fours, on Election Day.  Now don’t get me wrong, this child has been mobile for quite some time now.  The thing is, she had this army crawl going on.  She would use her elbows and her legs to crawl/drag herself across the floor.  She used this method for quite some time because quite frankly, she was really good at it.  It got her where she need to go and got her there rather quickly I might add.  But on Election Day, she started crawling on her hands and knees and has been going ever since.  By the way, she’s even faster now.  We can’t turn our backs for 2 seconds.  She. Is. EVERYWHERE.  Take a look…

 

Haylen crawling for the first time on Election Day 2012

 

 

November16th – Nine Month Check-up

Mommy and Daddy both took the day off to take her to the doctor.  The check-up went well and Baby Bug is growing and developing right on track.  She had her finger pricked for the first time so that they could take some blood (all checked out great!) and she did get one shot while she was there, the second part of her flu vaccine, but she took it all like a champ…only cried a bit. 

Her Stats:

Weight:  17lbs 5oz.   (35th  percentile)

Height:  28 in.  (66th percentile)

                                                         I’m 9 months old now!!!

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

It was Thanksgiving at our house.  Normally, we head back to our hometown for the holidays, but since we had just traveled down for Granny Lou’s 90th birthday…Yup, something else we need to add to our “have done since last post” list.  Haylen’s great grandma celebrated her 90th birthday and we just could not miss that!  Haylen even got to meet her cousin for the first time that day. 

 

To Be Continued…

 

 

Well, this post will have to be continued later.  Little Bug just woke up, and CJ just left to go pick us up some lunch.  Yes, I know it’s almost 2:00.  Don’t judge.  It’s been a lazy Saturday in the Havlik household…slept late, late breakfast, and now a late lunch.  We’re about to get it into gear though, because this afternoon we are headed out to do some Christmas shopping and we’ve got LOTS to do.  Wish us luck!

Dallas

On October 8th, our sweet little family was able to pack up and head off to Dallas for a few days.  CJ had a conference to attend and Haylen and I came along for the ride.  This is by far the longest roadtrip and not to mention, the first hotel stay for our sweet little girl.  Quite the adventure for a 7 (almost 8) month old!!! 

We rolled out of town pretty late, but little one had a full tummy and we were armed with Geoffrey, her favorite stuffed giraffe, and her night night music, so our Baby Bug slept pretty much the whole way there. 

I was quite excited when we got to the hotel…we had a suite!  Yup, no being cooped up in a cramped hotel room with no space for my little crawler to move around.  That’s right!  We had a living room and a bedroom.  It was perfect!  Once we moved the coffee table out of the middle of the living room, it gave us so much extra space in the room to do activities! (LOL! Please excuse the Step Brothers quote…gotta love Will Ferrell!) 


Haylen had a blast crawling around and playing!  I had a blast just having 2 days off to relax and spend time with my sweet little family. It was perfect…rest, relaxation, good food, quality family time, and extra snuggles with my little cuddle bug!


Lazy mornings in the hotel, just hanging out in our jammies!



Daddy came up to the room to see us on each of his breaks.  It was so good to see him during the day!



Mommy just couldn’t resist a little mini photo shoot. 



Playing in the living room of our hotel.


         
Haylen had more fun playing with the baby in the mirror.  It seriously could have kept her entertained for hours!  It kinda made me think a wall of mirrors in our house might not be a bad idea! Lol!


         
Haylen’s first trip to Pappadeaux.



Dinner at Texas de Brazil…so good! 

This trip was such a great little getaway!

Six Months, Cereal, and Sweet Potatoes…Oh My!

Okay, I know its been a bit since my last post.  What can I say…life happens!  With getting ready to start a new school year, blogging kinda took a backseat.  Well, better late than never, so here goes…

August 16th our sweet little girl turned 6 months old.  My Goodness!!!  Where in the world has time gone!?!  In the blink of an eye, our baby is half a year old!  She had a fabulous 6 month check up, even though we didn’t get to see our pediatrician (she was on maternity leave).  The pediatrician we saw was great and said Haylen was doing fantastic.  She now weighs 14 pounds 14 ounces and is 26 1/4 inches long. Our sweet little Bug had more fun crinkling the paper on the exam table while we were there.  She ended up making a little mountain of crumpled up paper while waiting on the nurse to come give her her 6 month shots.  I really wish I had snapped a picture of it with my phone!  It was pretty impressive!  Just like her last round of shots, she cried when she got stuck but was fine 10 seconds later when she realized she was all done!  This time it was Bugs Bunny band-aids on those cute little legs!



August 16th was a big day for our girl, not only did she go to the doctor for her check-up, she tried rice cereal for the first time for dinner that night.  At the recommendation of our pediatrician, she had strictly been fed by mommy for the first 6 months.  I have to say that was the best advice because when she tried solids, she was ready.  She had no problems eating at all.  Heck, she even thought she could feed herself!  She kept grabbing the spoon and helping me put it in her mouth.  It was too cute!!! Here take a look…

Let’s just say, cereal was a big hit!  She loved it and I loved watching her eat from a spoon for the first time.  Seeing her experience new things is just simply amazing to watch!


I just LOVE that face, all covered with cereal!

Since trying cereal, we have moved on to veggies. We tried carrots first…


I think I might like this!  It’s pretty yummy!

Then squash…

           
I’m getting the hang of this now!  What’s next?

Now for green beans…


I sure do like these!  Bring me some more!

Next we tried peas…


While not my favorite, I still ate them…although, as you can see more ended up on my bib. 

My next veggie was sweet potatoes…


Now we’re talking!!! These are AWESOME!!!

I have to say our sweet girl has been a fantastic eater!  She loves sitting in her high chair, and it’s been so fun watching her explore new foods.  It’s amazing how this sweet little thing is growing up right before our eyes!

Room 350

Last week our little family went up to the hospital for the birth of our friends, Nikki and Vic's son.  The last time we were there was for the birth of our sweet little girl.  When we arrived on the 3rd floor early that Tuesday morning, little guy was already in the nursery while his mommy was still in recovery after her scheduled c-section.  As they took the little guy from the nursery to be with his mommy, we went to hang out in the waiting room until they moved them to her room.  While we were waiting, my husband went to scope out where we had stayed, Room 350, since it was right by the waiting room...you know, for old times sake.  The door was open and he could tell it was vacant, so obviously curiosity got the best of him and he went in to check it out.  When he came back, he let me know that it was prepped and ready to go for a new patient.  He and I kinda chuckled and wondered if Nikki would get this room.  Would she?  Really...what are the odds!?!  See, the thing is, our other great friends/next door neighbors/godparents to our child had a little girl one week to the day before Haylen was born.  They also had their little one at this hospital.  Want to take a guess at what room they had?  You got it!  Room 350.  Thinking back to February, we thought that coincidence was kinda crazy.  Each of us staying in the same room with our little ones just one week apart...with all the rooms in the maternity ward we got the same one!  Now fast forward to July, would it happen again?  Yup!  It sure did.  They wheeled Nikki right into Room 350.  Now, talk about coincidence!  All three of us got the exact same room!

Talk about bringing back memories.  Just watching her in the room with her little one took me right back to February 16th.  It seemed like just yesterday, that we were meeting our baby for the first time.  Listening to her first cry...best sound in the world!  I'll never forget it!  That first glimpse of our girl...

My heart melted.  From that moment on, I knew I would never look at things in the same way.  I was a mommy...we were parents...nothing compares to the birth of your child...nothing compares to the love you feel...

Nothing.

I Will Survive!!!

Well, we're rolling...again!  Our sweet baby Haylen has now mastered rolling from her back to her tummy.  She figured it out about 8 o'clock last night.  Five months and one day, and she is rolling both ways!

She's a resourceful little bugger.  The first time she did it, she totally cheated.  She's been so close to making it over, yet she seemed to keep getting stuck on her side.  Well last night while she was on her blanket, she decided she was determined to make it all the way over, no matter what it took.  If you notice in the video, her play place is right beside her.  Well, she decided to use it.  She rolled to her side and then grabbed on her play mat and pulled with all her might.  And, By Golly!!! It worked!!!  She proceeded to pull herself all the way over!  CJ and I were both so excited, but were wondering if she could do it all on her own, without any help.  So, I scooted her over, just so the play mat was out of reach, and she rolled herself right on over! And has been rolling ever since.  Its really quite hilarious!  She now barrel rolls until she can't roll anymore (because something, usually her play place, stopped her).  Back to tummy, tummy to back, and right back over again.  She has figured out how to move from one place to another, and boy is she on the move now! Watch out!!!

While I was so excited she reached another milestone, I have to be honest, another part of me was bracing myself for what was to come next...BEDTIME!  Why bedtime, you might ask?  Well, this is what Haylen looks like when she's ready for bed...

Our sweet little girl loves to be swaddled.  Each night she sleeps in her baby straight jacket.  Yup, you read right.  I said it...baby straight jacket...well technically its official name is a SwaddleMe.  It seriously reminds me of a straight jacket, so that's what I lovingly named it!  Either way, she is used to being as snug as a bug in a rug when she sleeps..that's how she got her nickname, Bug!  Our sweet little thing has been sleeping through the night since Easter.  Well, now that she's rolling, it is no longer safe to swaddle her.  Now I'm not completely crazy.  We have been working on sleeping without being swaddled for several weeks now.  We've just been working on it at naptime though.  Lets just say, naptime doesn't last very long without her swaddle.  She has gotten much better, but there is a definite difference in the length of the nap.  So, needless to say, I was a little worried about how last night would go.

Well the night started off just like always.  She ate, I changed her, and she went right to sleep like the sweet little angel she is.  Then right when I had finally dozed off, I couldn't have been asleep more than 30 minutes, she woke up crying.  We were up from midnight until about 2:50am.  She just could not settle down.  Every time I put her to sleep in her bed she would move and then wake right up and start crying all over again.  She was so tired, but she knew something was different and she just couldn't go to sleep. It broke my heart seeing her so upset!!!  Last night was a little rough!  Finally, right before 3 o'clock, I laid her in her bed and turned on her stuffed bear (she has a bear that plays a lullaby when you wind it up).  She laid there listening to the bear and kept rubbing its foot.  It took me winding it up about 3 times before she finally drifted off to sleep.  After that, she slept straight until about 5:50am.  I'm hoping last night was the worst of it.  The first night of something new is always the worst, right?!

Well my little princess is currently sleeping soundly in her bed without her baby straight jacket again.  Going to bed was smooth sailing...lets hope the rest of the night goes just as smoothly!!!  Wish us well!!!

Happy 4th...On the 9th!

Happy 4th of July everyone!  I know I'm a little behind on this one, but better late than never, right?

This was our first 4th of July as a family of 3 with our sweet little girl (well, technically, a family of 4 if you count our 4 legged furry daughter).  And one of the joys of having a precious little girl is being able to dress her up for each and every holiday!  The evening of the 3rd was spent finding her the perfect little outfit.  For those of you who know me, I never do anything ahead of time...I work better under pressure..so, shopping for a new outfit at 8 o'clock the night before is just how I roll!  My mission was definitely accomplished. Haylen got two new outfits, 2 onesies, and a pair of Polo shoes.  The only thing I didn't find was a bow to match.  A little side note here...I may have a slight problem...I kinda have a thing for hair bows!  My child never leaves the house without one.  Her outfit is not complete unless she has a bow to match. :-)  So, the morning of the 4th I just had to go to Michael's to buy ribbons to match her new clothes.  I have now learned  how to make hair bows which has really just added to my addiction.  Oh, well!  It could be worse, right!?!  Either way, her outfit was complete!

Our first 4th of July together was really uneventful...no big parades, no fireworks, no traveling; however, anytime spent with my little family is precious to me no matter how uneventful it may be! 

And We're Rolling!

Our precious baby girl hit a milestone...she is now rolling!  While playing in her crib yesterday morning, she rolled from her tummy to her back.  CJ and I were both there cheering her on like she was competing in some Olympic event.  After rolling over, her face was priceless.  I don't know if it was from the sheer fact that she finally got herself out of tummy time (she isn't always such a big fan), or because her parents were carrying on like a bunch of crazy fanatics.  Either way, she knew she accomplished something big!  I turned into a big blubbering mess after she rolled over.  Okay, maybe big blubbering mess is a bit of a stretch, but it sure did bring tears to my eyes.  My baby girl is growing up and learning to do new things.  That's kinda an emotional thing for this Mommy, so just let me have my moment! After I composed myself, I grabbed my phone and was able to capture her rolling over on video.  She was more than happy to show off her new move.

Watch out tummy time...Haylen is now in charge of how long you two hang out, and I have a feeling there's gonna be a whole lot of rolling going on!

Here's to many more milestones to come!

Hot Dogs, Milkshakes, and a 4 Month Check-up

Random title, I know, but it pretty much sums it all up!  Last Friday, our sweet little girl went to the pediatrician for her 4 month check up.  When we walked into the office, we were already in the danger zone...she hadn't taken a morning nap and it was about 30 minutes until her next feeding.  Tired and hungry don't always equal happy camper, if you know what I mean.  Now if you add in being stripped naked, weighed, temp taken (rectally I might add), head measured, heart listened to, nose, mouth, and eyes checked, and throw in 4 shots to top it all off, we could have had a nuclear meltdown on our hands at any moment.  Despite having the cards stacked against us, she was amazing during her exam!  She only fussed a little when the nurse took her temperature, but then again, if someone shoved a thermometer up my rear end, I'd probably fuss a whole heck of a lot more than she did!  Everything checked out great and the doc said Haylen was growing and progressing wonderfully.  She is now 12 pounds 14 ounces and 25 inches long...long and lean. :-)  When it came time for her shots, both CJ and I were holding our breath.  The last time she got shots, she introduced us to a cry we had not heard before.  It wasn't her I'm hurt cry.  She gave us that when the nurse initially stuck her with the needle.  This cry came after the shots were done.  It came out as a high pitched shriek.  It was an "I am SERIOUSLY TICKED OFF cry, more like a "why in the world would y'all think sticking me in the leg FOUR times was a good idea" kind of cry.  I would calm her down and then it was like the moment she would even think about what had just happened to her, she would let us have it again!  Needless to say, it took a little while for her to "get over" her first round of shots.  So, this time I braced myself, fully expecting her to let us have a piece of her mind again.  But, boy did she surprise us!  Haylen was a CHAMP!  She cried for about 15 seconds after being poked and then looked around like "Oh I guess we're done" and was fine!  She walked away with 2 Daffy Duck band-aids to show off her day at the doctor.

Now on to the hot dogs.  Tuesday, when CJ and I were trying to figure out what to eat for lunch, we decided to try out a new little restaurant that we had recently heard of, Harold's Hot Dogs and Ice Cream.  We're always talking about how we wished there was a good place to get a hot dog around here...watching reruns of Hot Dog Paradise on the Travel Channel tends to bring up these kind of conversations.  So, I sent my sweet husband out in the rain to go fetch us some hot dogs.  He returned with a New York dog, a Chicago dog, a chili cheese dog, and a bratwurst.  My oh my, was the trip in the rain well worth it!  It was so well worth it that we had hot dogs for lunch yesterday as well!  I decided to take a few pictures of our hot dogs to share with you...

Don't they look good!?!  Kinda makes me want another hot dog!  My loving husband may have to go to hot dog eaters anonymous because he had Harold's for dinner as well!  (Don't judge...those hot dogs are really good!)

Ok, now for a little backstory on the milkshakes.  We used to have an awesome little ice cream shop by where we live called Maggie Moo's.  My goodness, they had the best milkshakes!  I swear, we were in that place all the time...usually right before closing!  Nothing like a late night milkshake run to top off the tank before bed!  We were both so sad when they closed!  It's not like there aren't other ice cream places in this town, but they just aren't the same, not to mention, they're located nowhere near our house, which made late night ice cream runs rather inconvenient!  I guess Maggie Moo's closing wasn't such a bad thing during my pregnancy.  With the way I was craving sweets, I would have gained about 500 pounds on strawberry milkshakes alone!  Ok, I may be exaggerating a little, 500 pounds is a bit unrealistic...it probably would have been more like 275!  Well, this brings us back to ol' Harold's Hot Dogs.  Guess who owns it!?!  That's right, the old owners of Maggie Moo's!  And yes, Harold's serves Maggie Moo's ice cream (made fresh daily!)  We went for milkshakes last night.  Oh, how I have missed my strawberry shake!  But we've now been reunited...not really sure this is a good find for post-pregnancy.  Oh well.  Who cares!  Bring on the shakes!!!

Week in Review

This has been a really busy week in the Havlik household!  For one, it was our first week of summer vacation!  Woohoo!!! (just go ahead and picture me doing my happy dance right about now. LOL!)  I love that CJ and I both have our summers off, especially now since we have our precious little girl!  I'm just soaking up every minute with her!  Honestly, I could ramble on about her forever, but I won't.  I'll get back to the post at hand!

Our week started off with CJ and I celebrating our one year wedding anniversary on Monday.  I can't believe its been a year already...and what a busy year it has been!  Our really great friend Nicole watched Haylen so that CJ and I could go out for dinner at the Republic, one of our all time favorite restaurants, to celebrate.



Our dinner was out of this world, but then again the food is always remarkable there!  We started off with drinks.  I had my first glass of wine in a year! Ahh! It was wonderful!!!  Why haven't I had a glass of wine is a whole year?  Well, its called Haylen Sophie Havlik...first pregnancy, then feeding.  It was pump and dump on Monday night (all you moms out there know exactly what I'm talking about ;-) )  For our starters, I had their tomato soup while CJ had their steakhouse wedge salad.  The soup was by far the best tomato soup I've ever had.  It was creamy and delectable while not being too heavy or overly rich...the perfect starter in my opinion.  For our entrees we each had one of The Republic's mouthwatering steaks, I, the New York Strip and CJ, the Bone-in Ribeye, accompanied by creamed spinach and steak fries.  Our favorite waiter, Todd, waited on us, and we let him know that we were celebrating our anniversary.  He made my evening when he brought out our dessert...

I'm such a sucker for messages written on dessert plates in chocolate!  We ended our meal with their Apple French Toast and 2 cups of coffee.  I must say, I loved our evening out!

This past Thursday, our precious little girl turned 16 weeks old...4 MONTHS!  My goodness I wish time would just slow down!  She has developed such a cute little personality!  I think she's going to be quite the little character! She still loves to snuggle with her Snugabunny and play with her toes!  Anytime you lay her down, those toes are in her hands and then go straight to her mouth!  She is reaching out and grabbing what she wants with so much more accuracy now!  While she has always been a talker, Saturday she found her voice...boy did she find it.  She has been "talking" rather loudly and then she will just grin and giggle at the sounds she makes.  It is the cutest thing EVER!  She also started making what we call her "monster noises".  Its this "Aaaagh" sound that reminds me of our friends' daughter Kayla.  When Kayla was about 2, she would pretend to be a monster to "scare" CJ and her brother Beau.  She would put both her little hands out in front of her and make this noise while chasing the boys down the hall.  I swear that is exactly what Haylen's new sound reminds me of! :-) Oh, memories!!! Before we know it, our little girl will be chasing her Daddy making the same sound!  Here is a picture I took of her on Friday.  I love having mini photo sessions with my girl!

Yesterday, we went to a family reunion in Ellinger, TX.  Yet another road trip for our sweet little family.  Haylen is awesome when riding in the car!  I hope that never changes because it makes traveling anywhere so much easier! Haylen is really a laid back child.  She is usually really happy any place we take her...shopping, restaurants...Well we found out she draws the line at family reunions! LOL!  Don't get me wrong she wasn't a cranky pants; however, she was not her happy go lucky self.  I really think it was the microphone that she didn't like.  We got there in time for the family meeting and the live auction.  I have to be honest the talking on the microphone was bothering me!  It was really loud.  So we went back to the kitchen area of the hall and set up camp there.  It was much quieter and she got to play with her play place and her bouncer that we brought (I felt like I was packing to go away for a week with all the stuff we took for our one afternoon outing...oh, the joys of traveling with a baby!).  At the reunion, Haylen won the prize for being the "Youngest Baby Girl" there.  As you can see from the picture she was just a little unsure of all the noise!

All in all, it wasn't a bad trip.  It was a really good trip if you count the two packages of kolaches we brought back with us!

Yum!!! You just can't beat fresh kolaches!

Well, as you can see it's been a busy week for us Havliks and I think I'm finally done with my mile long post! Until next time...

What a Difference a Year Can Make

A little over a year ago was the last time we went to Round Top.  We had been telling our good friends about Royers and what a great place it was to eat and about how awesome their pies were.  So, we really didn't have to twist their arms when we decided to take a little day trip to go eat there.

We really love this little cafe.  It's quaint, quirky, and just an awesome place to visit.

We had such a great time on our trip!  We ate lunch at Royers and spent the rest of the afternoon checking out the shops around town and taking pictures.  Here's one of the ones we took...

I just loved that yellow bench!  Why am I telling you about our little trip last summer you may ask... Well, I vividly remember that trip because I couldn't keep my eyes open on our drive home and when we finally got home, I passed out on the couch...sitting up I might add.  For those of you who know me, I don't nap on the couch, I just can't get comfortable there.  If I want to nap, I go to the bed where it's nice and comfy.  But I was SO TIRED it didn't matter where I was.  This was one of the first signs that I knew something was up.  A week later I found out I was pregnant with our sweet little girl!

Well yesterday, we took our first family road trip back to Round Top.  Its amazing how thing have changed so much in just one year!

Here's our little family pic outside of Royers.

And another one of me and Haylen on the porch of the cafe.  The sweet people at Royers even gave her a free Royers onesie that says "I'm a Cutie Pie!".  She was so good on our trip!  She slept while we ate lunch which meant I got to eat while my food was actually hot! LOL!  After lunch we went to check out the new shops they added in Henkel Square.  She was just taking it all in and was just a smiling and talking to everyone who stopped to say hi to her!  We had such a great time!

And The Tradition Lives On

Every time there was a new child born into our family my grandmother, Gran, as I called her, would always crochet a baby blanket for them.  I vividly remember sitting on the couch next to her as she crocheted in her chair.  It used to fascinate me what she could do with a needle and yarn.  As a child, she made me baby blankets for my dolls, and I always took it for granted that one day, when I became a mommy, she would crochet my little one a special blanket.  Well, I'm now a mommy and my beloved Gran passed away two years ago.  My baby girl never got her blanket from her Great Gran.  I must be honest tears are slowly running down my cheeks as I write this.  My Gran meant the world to me and I would have loved for her to meet her precious great grandbaby.  But I cannot be sad.  I know that she is looking down on us right now...and always.  I cannot help but think that she beamed with pride upon finding out that our sweet little girl shares her middle name.  She may be gone, but her spirit definitely lives on!

After our baby girl was born, we got a package from my Aunt Doris (Gran's only daughter).  She had sent a gift for Haylen.  When I opened up that box, words could not express what I felt.  Folded up neatly was this...

a BEAUTIFUL hand crocheted blanket made special for my baby girl! 

The detail and the time that went into this blanket are amazing!  But most importantly...the love!  

Every time Haylen lays on this blanket I cannot help but think...She got her blanket after all!!!  Aunt Doris is carrying on the tradition.  I don't think she'll ever know, quite frankly I don't know if I can express with words, just how much this sweet blanket she made means to me.  Aunt Doris, thank you for the blanket and for keeping Gran close to our hearts!