Praise from Caesar!

Not, you know, the real Caesar, though. 

He's, um, dead.

And although this is just days before Halloween, it's not really a Halloween post.  But I am working frantically to finish a pair of orange and green socks I was knitting myself to wear.  Got one done, and the other halfway. . . there's still time!  I'm just going to be in the house with Baby Girl, so I figured some orange socks and a witch's hat would be festive enough this year.  Baby Girl has a Halloween onesie and socks and bib, also a pumpkin hat I've knit her, so she's good.

And Boy will be Buzz Lightyear!  he is beside himself with glee.

Anyway, the praise comes from two places.

One: Dragon Slippers was a finalist for the Utah Book Award.  Last week I got to dress fancy and go to an awards ceremony with the husband.  It was fun.  My sister had the kids out in the hall so that I could run out and feed the baby when it was all over.  My poor sister!  Normally good-natured, Baby Girl screamed the whole time and Boy conked his head!  But I sat with my "competition": Shannon Hale and Sara Zarr, and we were all rooting for each other.  Really.  Because we're all just that nice, and good friends, and genuinely supportive. 

Because kids lit rocks.

Also, we're all really hot.  True story.

The second instance of praise from on high comes from P.J. Lynch, one of the greatest illustrators ever.  His picture book of East o' the Sun, West o' the Moon was a huge inspiration to me when I was writing Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow.  He saw me mention his book during an online interview, and was intrigued enough to read it.  I was quite nervous about this: what if he hated it?! 

But no: he loved it, and was kind enough to blog about it, and you can read his blog here: pjlynchgallery.blogspot.com.  And check out his art while you're there.  He's done some wonderful illustrations of fairy tales as well as classics such as A Christmas Carol and E. Nesbit's Melisande.

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!

Yes, gentle readers, I have been keeping a secret from you.

A very big secret.

Of course, if you have had the good fortune to see me in person some time in the last few months, the secret was readily apparent. 

But now comes the big reveal:

On Tuesday, October 7th, I gave birth to a bouncing baby girl!

Eight pounds, eleven ounces, twenty-two inches long, and ten days early, if you can believe it.  Fat cheeks, and a serene expression like a very small, red-headed Buddha.  Yep, tons of red hair!

And now, for the purposes of this blog, she shall be known as Baby Girl. 

All hail Baby Girl!