what a difference a year makes

This afternoon we're busy packing up our little fam to ring in 2008 at our friends' house. I'm awestruck at the many blessings 2007 brought to us and how much things have changed, and while I'm a bit sad that it has gone so fast, I'm excited for all that lies ahead in 2008. It's incredible to think that this time last year Sara was tiny and curled up inside my belly as we had a quiet new year's eve at home eating and watching movies while other friends went out to a bar in Toronto (not the most pregnancy-friendly plans!) Quite honestly I'm really not a new year's person so that was perfect for me, but this year it will be special to celebrate with Sara. I'll probably head up to bed shortly after midnight though, because she'll be awake and chattering away by 7:30am!

Instead of resolutions, I'm working on a short list of things I want to accomplish in the remaining few months of my maternity leave - but it's not done yet. Sara, however, organized just like mom, has her first resolutions on the chalkboard in our kitchen:

1. Learn how to crawl (forwards - backwards is almost down)
2. Give lots of hugs
3. Say "Da-da"

Happy New Year!

merry

This Christmas was quite possibly my favourite holiday so far. We spent two days filled with family, love, laughter, food, a special present and many happy memories. After weeks of stocking practice (learning to pull things out of containers), Sara had lots of fun opening her stocking with Daddy after breakfast, wearing her Christmas jammies from Grandma and Grandpa. This little pink fish bath toy is one of her new favourite things.
... and then more fun ripping wrapping paper!
She loves her new car from Santa.
And Christmas dinner for 10 was a great success (phew!), with many thanks to everyone pitching in and helping. Honestly, I don't know how our mothers did it mostly alone! Sara was in great spirits all day and sat happily in her highchair at the head of the table. She even had her own bowl of turkey and mashed potatoes for dinner. She even popped a Christmas tooth!

What it's all about...
I'm now ready for a long winter's nap until the new year.... so until then, I hope that your holiday has been as merry as ours!

Sara's first boyfriend

Just a short photo post as I'm knee deep in cleaning, organizing, wrapping etc... oh yes, and eating. This is Sara's first boyfriend, an early Christmas gift from baby K. She's pretty enamoured with Ernie. Sara has started copying my actions sometimes, and when I showed her how to hug him and give him a kiss, she eagerly did her version!

She also learned how to wave this weekend, it's very cute! She's very close to crawling, and saying ma-ma all the time.... so sweet.

stepping out

I took Sara to a 'holiday snugglebugs' program run by the town, and enjoyed some holiday baby crafts and chatting with other moms. It turns out that two of them went to my high school. I was afraid the program would be a little too hearts and flowers crafty for my taste, but it was fun - and next week there will be food!!

We made this clay footprint for her daddy, and a photo tree ornament/card. We took turns making the ornaments, a few at a time while the rest of us socialized and kept an eye on the little ones. When my turn came, I was nervous to leave Sara with everyone and go across the room, but one of the other mommies was also in a program we did during the fall so I felt more comfortable with her nearby. So I left Sara with the other babies and moms and started my project... looking up every few seconds, half expecting her to burst into tears wanting me to come back. But.... nope, not my baby. She was fine. She played happily with the others and chattered louder than any of them. She even grinned at a little boy who got upset over a wet diaper and cried right in her face. Every once and a while she turned and looked at me, and a mom commented "it's like she's checking on YOU!" I laughed wistfully, and had to agree. My baby was doing just fine on her own, and while I was so proud of how much she enjoyed our afternoon, it was yet another sign that she is growing up... just a little too fast!

o christmas tree

We got our Christmas tree this past Saturday, Sara's 8 month birthday, and she's quite fascinated by this new green addition to the house with all its shiny lights and ornaments. I like the effect of turning off the flash on my camera...
It took her a while to actually reach out and touch anything, but today she did. She zoned in on one of the fabric ornaments that I sewed and hung at the bottom. She plucked it off and popped it into her mouth in one fell swoop, and gave it her sign of approval.

This week Sara has figured out how to push her bum right up in the air and rock back and forth (picture downward dog yoga pose, looking much easier than it actually is), so I think crawling is on the horizon! She is also babbling 'ma ma ma maa' constantly over the past few days. I'm not sure if she realizes what she's saying.... but it makes me almost burst with smiles. Does it count as "mama" yet?

We've been listening to a 'Sara's 1st Christmas' mix that I made, and she likes dancing to it with me. A true family CD, it has everything from U2 to the Muppets to Josh Groban (whose version of Silent Night, by the way, can bring on tears if you're at all sappy like me.) Have I mentioned how excited I am for Christmas this year...

P is for Poo

Ok, so it finally happened... our first exploding diaper. We got through 8 lovely months of contained poop, which I was very proud of, until tonight. Here's how it went down...

I gave Sara a lentil and veggie blend for dinner, followed by her bottle. I stood her up on my lap afterwards and she let out the longest fart ever... she laughed afterwards, and so did I. Then we sat together and read some books like we do every night before her bath.

I thought I could smell something "off", but chalked it up to some earlier spit up that I may have missed on her sweater (it was the first spit up in a couple of days!) We read for a while until Sara got squirmy, when I picked her up and carried her upstairs to get ready for the bath. I stopped to talk to Ian while holding her, and when my hand grazed the back of her pants it felt wet... uh oh. I made a face, and when Ian looked closer at my hand, he said the words I didn't want to hear: "Umm... it's dirty..."

OH GOD.

Never having dealt with this before, I wasn't sure what to do. Ian got a towel to lay on her change pad, and when I started taking clothes off, we saw the damage. There was poo everywhere. On her pants, her shirt, most of the way up her back. At a loss for what to do first, I just stripped her down while Ian poured the bath. I had heard that lentils can be a bit hard to digest at first, but come on!! I used about a million wipes and handed her over to daddy to get cleaned up. She happily splashed about in the tub while I dealt with the laundry.

Then I realized I had to inspect the couch for poo. Holding my breath, I found there was only a small spot to clean... phew.

Only a mom could turn poop into a life lesson, but I've been spending time lately reflecting on this past year and just watching Sara... thinking about how she has changed me already. I used to get wound up and fixated on things big and small, and wanted to maintain control over things. While we still try to have a big picture life plan, I've learned that the day to day just happens. The ordinary, unplanned moments are often the happiest. Yesterday Sara was happy to just sit and play with an empty laundry basket for a while. And I was happy to just sit and watch her. It really struck me. And exploding poop? Not exactly planned, but we dealt with it and even had a good laugh.

This time last year I wasn't dealing with exploding diapers, but it's kind of a metaphor for how much our lives have changed. My heart is bigger, my home warmer, and marriage more meaningful. Our family is closer, which I'm happy about, and some friendships have changed. Some have become stronger, while others have diminished - I've struggled to accept that, but I guess it's to be expected. My art has become more important, and while I don't have nearly as much down time, my free moments are more precious and I don't waste them. There are still times when I freak out over, you know, silly things... or wish someone else would magically clean/sort/put away/throw out/buy all the 'stuff'... but I have too many blessings to count, not the least of which is our beautiful baby and her clean bum.

Oh, and for the benefit of those who come over, the couch cushions have been washed. And we're now calling it the poo couch.

H is for Hibernation

There is a ridiculous amount of snow in our neighbourhood... here's a photo of the snow pile beside our tree. It's hard to tell how high it is, but my sore back from shovelling snow to the top of it is further proof!
H is also for Heat, and, the blower on our furnace.... well, it blew. Completely. We had to spend a gut-wrenching amount of money that we don't have to get it fixed today, which is all the more sweet just before Christmas. And to celebrate our newly warm house, I decided that we needed to go... outside.

I hadn't been out for a walk with Sara in days because we've either had howling winds, blowing snow, icy and snow encrusted sidewalks, freezing rain, or all of the above. Today it was cold but sunny and the winds were calm after an overnight snow dump, so I seized the opportunity. And well, let's just say that when people told me how much harder it would be to go out during the winter, they weren't kidding! I used to leave the stroller on our walkway, ready to go at a moment's notice, and I could just walk out the door with Sara, my shoes and keys. Here's how it goes these days...

First: Boots. She tried to eat one while I put on the other, and cried when I took it away. Then, mittens. Sara doesn't like losing control of her fingers, and started to shriek while I shimmied the first one on, so next came the soother. Then, the snowsuit. This is surprisingly the easiest part. Next, I had to figure out where to put her while I got my gear on, including my boots which were wet from shovelling the driveway. I wheeled her playpen over to the front door and put her in it. Sitting in her snowsuit is tough, even though it's designed to be thin, and she soon tipped backwards in a pink pouf with arms and legs sticking out. Not impressed and unable to get back up, she started to cry again while I got my boots on. Once we were ready, I scooped her up and finished with her hat and hood. Finally we were out the door, only to discover that the sun we'd had streaming through the windows all day was totally gone.

Next: Opened the garage, pulled out the stroller, and strapped her in. Easy. Then came the plastic wind shield with velcro tabs. Who designed this thing?? It doesn't go over the stroller easily, and I spent more time trying to keep the hard plastic from hitting Sara in the face while I wrestled it on. Finally we were ready to go, and I pushed the stroller onto the sidewalk. Things were going well, snow was falling softly, and Sara was content. Then, we hit the end of the street... and a wall of snow. Yes, the considerate snow and sidewalk plow drivers had built snow walls at every corner, so unless our stroller has hydraulic features I'm not aware of, we were trapped. I had to find fully shovelled driveways on each side of the streets, and cross where we could. But I must say, our Graco stroller handles the winter terrain very well!

It was great to get outside, but our walks won't be as frequent over the next few months.... although she does look so cute in her winter gear!
Every winter I wish I could just hibernate and go out on my own terms, and this year is going to be the closest we get. So we will decorate for the holidays, find some new indoor games, and I'll enjoy every moment at home with my favourite girl!

hung by the chimney with care

I finished making Sara's Christmas stocking last week and I'm quite proud of it! It will be so much fun to fill it up with little goodies for Sara to reach in and pull out on her first Christmas morning. We went shopping and picked up a bath toy, some blocks, a new finger puppet, some socks (woo hoo!) and her very first little doll! Her main gift from us will be this Fisher Price learning walker/ride-on car. The big day will be at our house for the first time this year, which is yet another indication that we really are parents now... I'm really looking forward to it, and just keeping my fingers crossed that the turkey doesn't come out Griswold style.

I dragged out the box of decorations last night, started some cards, and I'm using leftover stocking fabric to make some tree ornaments. Here's what our dining / crafting table looked like last week with everything in progress, with some hot tea and a peppermint chocolate brownie for energy!
When I was born my grandmother sewed some fabric ornaments that would be safe for my curious little hands, and we now have them in our collection. They've been on our tree every year since I was born, and even though the 70s floral fabric isn't exactly something you'd see in a holiday decor magazine spread, it's a tradition that I'm not parting with anytime soon. Now I'm adding ornaments made for my own little girl. This has me thinking about holiday traditions that I want Sara to grow up with, like her daddy's famous pancake/french toast breakfasts, family get togethers and games, baking with mommy when she's older.... and of course, I hope she'll appreciate all of the things I make for her. One existing tradition we'll introduce her to this year is for Boxing Day. We don't go shopping and come home exhausted and in debt... we stay in our pajamas, watch movies, and eat leftovers!

one of a kind finds

Yesterday at the One of Kind Show I tried to buy something for myself.... really. I tried. But it seems that even when I try to shop for myself these days, I end up buying things for Sara instead!

I picked up this cat puppet from Diabolo Puppets - it's so much fun and Muppet-like, I think she'll love it. It will be a gift for her first Christmas!
And it didn't exactly fit the budget, but I couldn't resist this adorable "Gorgeous Garden" caterpillar dress from Red Thread Designs. It's actually an investment (Ian would cringe to hear me say that...) because it will fit from now until Sara's about 4 years old - first as a dress, then as a tunic top. The colours and fabrics are amazing!

And for me? All the free food samples, and one jar of red pepper jelly to pour over goat cheese for a Christmas dinner appetizer.

sweet sounds

Sara has started babbling some consonant sounds this past week, and it's so adorable. Our conversations go a little something like this...

Me: Do you have a story to tell Mommy, Sara?

Sara: Baa baa bwaw ba waaa baba!

I love it. She also tried to put her beloved Sophie the Giraffe or soother in our mouths, which must mean she really loves us!

As for her night waking, I wish I could say that has been resolved. Our doctor seems sure it's behavioural based on what's been happening. She checks out fine, and if it was teething she wouldn't settle as soon as one of us picks her up... it's like she's waking up and wanting one of us, especially me. We had a couple of nights that were back to normal, then last night she woke up after only 20 minutes crying really hard. Ian was at work, so I waited a bit and then tried some Gripe Water solely for the purpose of ruling out any digestive discomfort. I've even started a food diary just to see if there's any correlation between sleep and meal size/combos (at dinner in particular.)

She was quiet, so I lay her back down and sat beside the crib. She started to cry again and pushed her hands and feet through the crib slats to reach for me... it went against every maternal piece of me to not pick her up and comfort her, so we almost had both of us in tears! She quieted down after a few minutes, and I slowly backed out of the room trying not to trip over anything or make unnecessary noise.... but I couldn't fool her. After another nearly half hour of intense crying alternating with snuffling as she tried to go back to sleep, I had to go back in. That's when I smelled poo in the air! I picked her up, changed her, held her for a minute and put her back into the crib, and she fell alseep immediately for the rest of the night. So... was it the poo that kept her awake, and I let her cry needlessly? Was the poo from crying so hard? Regardless, it was hard not to feel like an awful mom.

Tonight she has woken twice so far, the first time for about 10 minutes, and then for about 5. We haven't picked her up, just rubbed her tummy or rolled her to her favourite sleeping side. And there seems to be no connection to her diet today, which was 100% tried, tested and true. So confusing.... this is one phase that I can't wait to get past!

sunday night fever

On one of the warm days last week we went to the park - Sara loves the swings!
And here she is with her daddy, rocking her new pink Robeez winter boots. That's her Xmas stocking in progress in the background.
We had a stressful couple of weeks around our house, and poor Sara has been having some rough nights. Teething? Really NOT fun for the whole family. Then again, as much as I pretend to have the mommy instincts fully developed by now, I really have no idea whether we're dealing with teething again or something else.

During the day she seems fine and is napping well, but last week for 4 nights in a row she sobbed and screamed when we put her to bed. It's just so unlike her, she's normally a great sleeper. At first we tried picking her up and cuddling her, which didn't seem to help, so we thought hmmm.... another tooth (#3) coming, perhaps? We gave her Tempra starting on night 2, and eventually after an hour or so she fell asleep either from exhaustion or because it worked. Then, on Fri. and Sat. night she was back to normal. Actually, we took her to visit friends on Saturday and our intention was to leave after dinner to make sure she got to bed at a decent time. We weren't going to venture a sleepover after how the week had gone! But... sometimes us mommies need a break, and a "short dip" in the hot tub while the boys watched Sara turned into a 2-hour soak and girl talk session! When we came back in, not realizing how long we'd been outside, Sara was sprawled out sleeping on the couch with her books strewn behind her... I'll post the picture we took when I get it from them, it was hilarious. Anyway, we got her home and into bed just fine. We thought the weird phase had passed. Until last night...

I put her to bed without any issue at 7:30pm, and she woke up crying pretty hard at about 10pm. I made sure she had her soother, but she started screaming and arching her back... she was inconsolable until I picked her up, and then she buried her face in my neck and fell fast asleep. I put her back in the crib after about 15 mins, and ... well, it started all over again. We put her between us in our bed and she stopped crying but proceeded to babble and grab our faces like it was playtime. I tried cuddling again but the cycle continued when I put her down. I gave her a small bottle -- no help. Magical Tempra -- no help. Seeing if she'd just fall asleep -- no way. Finally we dug out the old standby, Gripe water, thinking maybe she had stomach pain, and after about 20 mins she went back to sleep. By this time it was 12:45am.

It's so unbelievably frustrating when you don't know what's wrong or how to fix it, and you begin to feel like none of you will ever sleep again! As much as I would like to assume it's just teething (although we can't feel or see a new tooth), I can't shake the feeling that maybe something else is wrong. I was even wondering if she looks more pale in the last few days. Maybe she has a bug, but she's really fine all day. Maybe I'm feeding her something she can't tolerate, although unless it's meat I can't think of what it would be. Moms excel at worrying, so our big outing for today will be to the doctor's office this afternoon.

In happier news, I finally got around to re-doing my web site... I love my new Mac. I was limited to the iLife software but it was so easy and I'll be able to update the site much more often. It looks ok on our computer, so here's hoping it does everywhere else too. If not, maybe don't tell me today... please and thanks :)

on Santa's good list

It's been a bit of a whirlwind around here, so until I get to a proper post, here are some photos of Sara in her spiffy 1st Christmas dress - in our family tartan, no less - SO cute. I can't bring myself to post it publicly, but there's also a great one where she's lifting the dress up over her head. It makes me laugh, but her daddy is mildly horrified by it.

Christmas will be so much fun this year!

RR's turkey meatloaf... oh my asiago gravy

First of all, I'm still getting over the shock of looking outside to see a coating of s-n-o-w all over our yard this morning... but my disappointment quickly turned to gratitude when I realized that for the first year in a long time, I wasn't going to be stuck in 2 hours of traffic during the first morning rush hour snowfall of the year! Joy! Instead, after Sara went down for her first nap, I curled up on the couch with my coffee to watch - gulp - Rachael Ray. Yes, I have been watching her lately... my co-workers will no doubt find this amusing, but really, she is surprisingly much more tolerable than Regis and Kelly at 9am.

Today she made a recipe that looks so good I have to share it, and it will be tried out in our house soon (without the tomatoes or quite as much garlic...) It's comfort food, it's healthy, and it fits our increasingly sad maternity leave budget!

Turkey Meatloaf With Creamy Asiago Gravy, Roasted Broccoli & Tomatoes

Ingredients

• 1 head of garlic left whole plus 2 cloves, grated
• Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
• 1 cup milk
• 1 slice (about 3 inches thick) of crusty bread or 6 slices of sandwich bread
• 2 pounds (1 package) ground lean turkey breast
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 4 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, to taste
• 6 shallots, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 large head broccoli or 2 small heads
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup milk
• 2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) good quality, shredded Asiago cheese

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Yields: 5-6 servings

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Preparation

Serve the meatloaf with roasted garlic cheese gravy and the roasted broccoli and tomatoes alongside.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Cut the top off the whole garlic bulb, drizzle with EVOO and rub into skin. Double wrap the garlic in foil and roast 20-25 minutes in the oven or toaster oven.

While the garlic is roasting, place the bread into medium size mixing bowl and pour the milk over it. Let it soak for 5-10 minutes.

In another medium-size mixing bowl, add the ground turkey. Make a deep well in the center by punching the meat with your fist and fill it with the 2 cloves of grated garlic, soaked bread, poultry seasoning, sage, nutmeg, shallots, Parmigiano-Reggiano and egg.

Mix the meatloaf ingredients together, form a long, thin, oval-shaped loaf and transfer it to a sheet pan. Drizzle the loaf liberally with EVOO, and roast for 45 minutes, until it reaches an internal temperature of 165ºF.

While the meatloaf is roasting, work on the broccoli and cherry tomatoes: Trim the very end off of the broccoli stems with a peeler or a paring knife, removing the thick fibrous outer layer of the broccoli stems. Cut the broccoli lengthwise into large spears that look like long, skinny trees and place them along with the cherry tomatoes onto a sheet pan. Drizzle everything with EVOO and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to the oven during the last 30 minutes that the meatloaf is cooking.

For the gravy, place a medium-size saucepot over medium heat with the butter. Mash the whole roasted garlic cloves until they are nice and smooth, and add to the butter. Once the butter melts, whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the chicken stock, then the milk. Allow the mixture to thicken, about 2 minutes, then stir in the Asiago cheese. Once the cheese has melted, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

1st Halloween

Sara's first Halloween costume was adorable, our little pumpkin looked so cute!
After getting dressed we had some tears because she's in the process of dropping her third nap, which used to be at 5pm, but she wouldn't take a catnap... so we just had quiet time before venturing out. When she was all smiles again, she played with Daddy.Then we headed out...
I took her across the street to visit her aunt and uncle, who gave her a cool toy phone, and then the neighbours, where she picked out some candy for mom and dad.... after dinner she enjoyed greeting some trick or treaters at our door. We got the ultimate compliment on Bert and Ernie - a little boy went to get his dad from the sidewalk and brought him back to look at our pumpkins.
Of course Sara spit up on her costume a few times, but her costume was fleece with big folds so it stayed relatively contained! Fortunately she saved this for the privacy of our house.

We didn't get as many trick or treaters as usual, so it looks like now I'll be spending a lot of time eating candy while Sara's napping... eating candy while Sara's playing....

Sara's first pumpkins

Yesterday Sara's aunt and I introduced her to the art of pumpkin carving - her role was to help scoop out the pumpkin guts! One is the pumpkin off our vine, which is tall and skinny... kind of like Bert, so it only seemed fitting to do a Bert and Ernie theme for our babe's first Halloween. Sara cautiously leaned in to touch the smooth, cold pumpkin that would become Ernie...
"What is this wet slimy stuff in my hands??"
The finished pumpkins! I added some of my paints to make the characters more 'obvious'.

friday photos

I haven't posted any pics of Sara this week, so here are some new ones to end the week. She looks so cute in this little cupcake shirt I just want to eat her up! The jeans, as you can see, are way too big though. They fell down when I was bouncing her on my knee.
And here she's wearing a dress I knit her, it has a ribbon tie at the back.
Have a great weekend! Tomorrow we're getting our new car seat checked by St. John Ambulance and visiting Sara's Grandpa for his birthday, and then Sunday is pumpkin carving day! I can't wait to see her get her hands (and likely mouth) into all the goo....

in the bag

I've been having a love/hate relationship with my diaper bag. It's one of the essential items of toting around a baby/toddler and all her stuff (not to mention your own stuff), and few moms I've talked to really love theirs. Function and style hold equal weight with me. I love the look of my bag, and it's messenger style is great for slinging on, but... now that I'm carrying Sara in and out instead of using an infant car seat, a shorter stiffer handle set would be much easier to pick up (especially off the floor). And, the magnetic flap that once seemed so ingenious when everything I put in there was, well, smaller, now means I can't close the bag at all. Why? Because, I after I cram it full of diapers, wipes, toys, play blanket, bibs, jacket, hat, shoes, meals, etc.... it just doesn't close most of the time. I think I need something a bit bigger.

Anyway, along came Etsy... sigh. A girl can spend hours on Etsy, can't she? And I found some beautifully made ones with great fabric, like these... 2 from Pockets of Sage


from Bliss By Heather
And then I found these by Midnight Creations. Large totes for a good price that have a life after being a diaper bag, and they come in my favourite Chocolate Lollipop fabrics by Anna Maria Horner! Happiness! I've contacted her to see if she has some of the other CL fabrics for a large tote with a zipper top.

The changing pad that came with my bag is too small for Sara now, so I took a quick peek for one of those too, just for fun.... honestly, do change pad manufacturers think babies are toilet trained at 3 months when they're still short? I like this blue/green one, this polka dot/paisley one, and this pink squares pad. And, this one is a bit short at 20", but it's so lovely...
Some other cute Etsy finds are these felted nesting bowls, and this hat from the Portland Beanie Company. There are several colour combinations, and matching Mary Jane slippers. I know, this DOES have Sara's name written all over it, doesn't it?

decisions, decisions

Things have been busy around here lately, but after my friend introduced me to this blog and I found this post about 'creative self-control', I had to take a deep breath and smile. This blogger/artist does a great job of articulating what she feels is a problem with her art -- a total inability to settle upon and stick to a definitive "style". YES! I really GET IT. I too suffer from MSD (multiple style disorder) and it has always made me feel like I'm really lacking something. Like I'm not really good at any one thing, not really an "artist". The post, and comments afterwards, were to me like someone offering me a big bowl of Ben & Jerry's Half Baked ice cream, with extra brownies and fudge sauce on top. What a comfort and relief!

Witness exhibit A ... these are recent pieces. I've had a thing for birds lately.... and combos of pink/brown/red/rust/teal. Please ignore my crappy art photography, the flash so often reflects on the paint and distorts the colours. I can't figure out how to stop this from happening, and no flash usually makes everything blurry.
And here's exhibit B... This is actually only about 3/4 done, but it shows my expressive 'kid' style. It's going to be for Sara's room and I'm having a lot of fun with it! I'll try to get a better photo of it when it's done.
I also have an expressive 'adult' style... and people seem to like my paper/paint mixed media, which looks quite different again. But, I don't see this as a problem anymore. It seems to be a quirky creative trait that so many of us share. I have too many ideas and inspirations rattling around in my head to pick just one! And maybe I just wouldn't be me if I didn't always have a myriad of painting/mixed media/knitting/quilting/sewing projects in the wings. And let's face it, like the other blogger, I have trouble making decisions in general. Anyone who has been to a restaurant with me can attest to my inability to pick one dish off the menu... and even when I have it narrowed to two choices, after I order I feel better if someone else at the table ordered my other choice. Just so I can see it and possibly try some.

My other issue? Before having a baby, I painted with the intent of selling or giving them away except for a few pieces that were made for a certain spot in our house. Now, I want to give everything to Sara!

new projects

I decided that I want to make Sara's Xmas stocking myself, and my goal is to have it done for her first Xmas this year... I found these fun fabrics, and will be doing a patchwork quilted front with the red chenille (left) as the back. I couldn't find a free pattern online, so I'm going to try tracing my own stocking and adding a seam allowance.
I also picked up some felt to applique a circle in the middle with her initial, and some rick rack so that it will look like an ornament hanging in the center. I'm still in the "ambitious beginner" level of sewing, so wish me luck!

And here's a stash of fabric I've started, that's waiting to become a patchwork quilt for Sara's bed when she's out of her crib. It's ages away, but that's how long it will take me to do it! Here's the little pile so far...
It's funny to be thinking about her next room already (I even have a binder to collect ideas!), but it's really important to me that it be as unique and individual as she is. I don't want it to be all matchy and straight out of a store... I want to find different pieces and make what I can. There's a new canvas on my easel today that I'm quite excited about too.

In some ways it's really hard to find time to be creative with a little one, but in other ways I'm more inspired and productive than ever. It's the less time = do more stuff effect. Making things, especially things for Sara, is a necessity for me. And sometimes being creative just more important than having a spotless house!

the tooth and sitting up fairies

It was a big week of milestones as Sara turned 6 months old. She rolls around constantly and is sitting on her own now for several minutes at a time! I guess all of the back arching when I sat her down before was because she didn't feel steady or ready to sit independently, and now she does. It amazes me how one day babies aren't able to do something, and the next day they are. I still keep a pillow behind her for now, just in case! Here is my rock star baby, sitting down doing her best Jimmie Page impression.
And, after 3 months of drooling and chewing on anything in sight, plus 3 sleepless nights this week, I was overjoyed to rub my finger on Sara's bottom gum yesterday... and feel a sharp little tooth poking through! With all the buildup, you'd think I would have been prepared for a painful process, but no... so when our babe who has slept through the night so well since she was 2 1/2 months old had three sleepless nights in a row, it was not pretty. I won't lie, it was a tough week. She wasn't upset the first two nights so we weren't sure what was going on. She was just awake and 'talking' loudly in her crib. She also lost her appetite, which was concerning and almost landed us at the doctor's office. On the third night she was crying inconsolably, which made my heart break for her, and Ian rocked her in the chair while I tried cold teethers. Finally a dose of Tempra helped her for a few hours, and the next morning, there was the tooth! Her appetite came back today too, thankfully, and she seems just as relieved about the whole thing as we are.

The funniest new trick is that she has figured out how to play Peekaboo. She does it with the cloth book I made for her, by holding it and then bringing it down into her lap fast and laughing after we say "Where's Sara?...." The best part is that she doesn't always cover her face with the book... most of the time she holds it on top of her head like a hat, so we can actually see her face the whole time!!

Oh, and the best new development? Sara gives hugs. They are the best hugs in the world, and make me oh so happy to be a mom.

the great pumpkin

We've been nurturing another baby this summer -- a pumpkin in our backyard -- and yesterday I introduced it to babe #1. I was simmering a pot of turkey stock on our stove with leftover turkey from the Thanksgiving dinner we hosted on Sunday (Sara's first big family holiday!), so we couldn't go far.... but after a rainy morning I still wanted to take her outside when the sun came out. So we sat on our front porch where I had proudly put our pumpkin on display, and I let her touch it. She immediately lurched forward in my lap and tried to eat it, like she does with everything these days! She was quite interested in this new smooth orange toy so we had a nice time outside listening to the birds and watching leaves fall from our trees. When we came back into the house we were greeted by the most awesome, warm turkey aromas from the kitchen. Finally, it's Fall!

Zoo and Markham Fair

I'm a little behind in posting, but here are a few photos from the Zoo and Markham Fair last week while Ian was on vacation... Sara was interested in some animals at the zoo, but apparently this friendly gorilla couldn't even catch her eye by banging on the glass!
Sara and Sophie meet the real giraffes!

I was so excited to bring her to Markham Fair, it's amazing to bring her to something I've attended every year since I was 8... first for the animals and rides, then for the beer tent, now with our daughter. Amazing! My diet for the day was coffee, apple cider, Tiny Tom donuts, fudge, and fries with gravy. Mmm.
like mother, like daughter...


These outings were the perfect kick-off to fall. I'm counting down the minutes to turkey, stuffing, gravy, and pumpkin pie... happy Thanksgiving everyone! I think it's obvious what I am most grateful for this year!

fun with baby food

So far Sara is loving her food - she leans to the spoon and squeals in between bites for more - and I really enjoy making her produce. There's something very rewarding about selecting local produce from a farm, preparing it and watching her happy face as she takes her first bites. She loves the rice and oatmeal cereals now, and sweet potatoes are a big hit.

Now we're trying butternut squash. I bought a BIG squash at the Markham Fair, and after cutting it (which is an art, and at some points I wished I had a saw) I quickly realized that it would make about 30 servings of baby food.... so, since I was making a casserole for dinner anyway, I came up with this recipe that would feed us and our babe. I was quite impressed with my domestic ingenuity :)

Roasted Vegetable Pasta and Butternut Squash Puree

1 large butternut squash
1 large red pepper
1 large yellow pepper
20-25 large cremini mushrooms
2 cups dried pasta (any medium pasta will do, I used macaroni)
Olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pkg Goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Peel and chop up the butternut squash. Reserve about 1/3 for the casserole, and start steaming the rest (takes 15-20 minutes in the steamer).

3. Cook pasta, until just al dente. It will soften further during baking.

4. Chop the other veggies into chunks, and place in bowl with reserved squash. Drizzle with olive oil and toss with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Spread veggies on a baking sheet and roast for 30-40 minutes, until slightly golden. Stir once or twice during roasting.

5. When the squash is cooked, reserve the steamer water in a measuring cup and place squash in food processor. Puree until smooth, adding cooking water as needed.

6. Fill baby food containers with puree, and let cool. I filled 8 2tbsp containers for freezing, plus one serving in a dish. Let cool before freezing.

7. Place pasta and vegetables in a large baking dish. Pour the remaining squash puree over top and stir.

8. I put the casserole in the fridge at this point, to bake just before supper at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, covered with foil. Remove foil and bake for 5-10 more minutes to brown the top. Otherwise, bake immediately for about 20 minutes at the same temperature.

9. Serve with goat cheese on top (I like a lot of goat cheese)... Yum!