baby it's cold outside

It has been cold here. Really really cold. Mostly too cold to get outside at all, and when we do it feels sort of panicky, like our skin might crack off on the way to the car. So we have been staying in mostly, and having some warm and cozy days by the woodstove. The bench by the window has been a good place to read library books in the sunshine.
And there has been time for lots and lots of very serious art making. I finished a pair of wooly babylegs for Ari today. They are Alpaca, so they are very warm and super soft. I was making up the pattern as I went along (they are just a tube, after all) and I changed a few things I didn't like in the first one- making the second one a few rows wider, and a slightly different stripe pattern. If I was a perfectionist I would take out the first one and match it up, but I most certainly am not. And my baby has cold legs, so that is a good excuse to just pull them on his little legs and listen to him marvel "knittinknittin, mama." That sweet voice keeps this heart cozy warm in the coldest of weather.
I hope everyone is keeping warm out there!

ETA: anyone have any idea what might be making my header dissapear? My troubleshooting minutes are rather scarce right now and I can't figure it out. I have been dreaming about a move to typepad for awhile now- soon perhaps.

snow baby

A day outside building a snow baby. This was the first day it was warm enough to form snow into snow balls and was also Ari's first snowman experience. He grew pretty attached to this little guy, regularly climbing up to see say hi through the window after we'd headed back indoors.

This morning he looked out and said "snow baby hidin'" and sure enough the little snowy fellow was hiding- under a blanket of new fluffy snow. Looking lonely too. He'll need some family members built up beside him next time the temperature rises a little.

small hands

A package recently arrived from Ari's aunt and uncle filled with wonderful treasures. Ari was seriously excited by the kid sized real tools that were inside, and each item now has the prefix "Lala" which is what he calls my sister. So this is his "Lala cup." It is so wonderfully teensy and sturdy. All liquids must now be consumed from this mug. The fact that we have two adult sized blue mugs that match is a coincidence that is not lost on the wee lad.There was also a sweet kid sized broom in the package that is getting a good deal of use. Not particularly helpful use I might add, but I am told the day will come. He likes to use all available tools at the same time. Next he'll have the feather duster between his toes. There were several other treasures in the box, which I'm sure will turn up on these pages over time. There is a baby sized sifter that is about as cute as it gets. And the gardening tools are waiting for the snow to melt to show themselves (the new wooden floors can't stand up to that solid metal rake!) So thank you so much Lala and Doreen:) We love your treats over here.

I completed another doll a few days ago, this one for Ari's dear friend C who has just become a big sister. I was just trimming the last threads when I got the call that my friend was in labour and we cared for C while her new little sister was being born. I got the honour of bringing her to see the new baby, and see her myself for a moment. She was so beautiful and fresh and the room was filled with that wonderful post birth blissfulness. I send little C home with this doll who has been named Hollydolly. I didn't get a chance to take any pictures in the daylight, so I'll have to steal her away at some points for some better shots.

The dolly body is made from an old wool sweater and she is wearing a little smock with a happy cloud print because little C has a thing for happy faces. She seemed pretty pleased with her new friend and it was really fun to make. I made something for the new baby too, but I haven't photographed that either. More to come, now I have to scurry off home to bed. Goodnight.

of potties and baby toys

Oh dear potty bear, make room for us, we all have sore tummies and need that spot rather often (okay, us big folks use the larger version. And the baby who was nearly potty trained before this, now rarely makes it to this spot. But you should keep it clear just in case.) Our lab results will be back in a few days, but the doctor says water borne illness. We are not particularly surprised given that our water comes straight from a nearby creek but we are mad at ourselves for not taking better care with what passes our lips- especially the baby's lips. When we told the doctor how we had been treating our water- by bringing it to a boil- he said "oh, you were just warming up the bugs." Hmm.

We had been hauling our water from town, but started getting freaked out about it sitting in plastic for so long, and so we started boiling our creek water. We are back to hauling it, but found glass water jugs at the local U-Brew, and a ceramic dispenser and now our water is plastic and bacteria free. Our guts are mostly bacteria free too by now after a few days of natural remedies prescribed by our naturopath. We are hoping to avoid the antibiotics if we can, but getting the nasty tasting grapefruit seed extract into Ari is a little challenging. Today's attempt was mixing it with honey and cinnamon on toast which went down pretty well. He's got to wonder why his parents have got from hard-core sweet avoiders to cheering on the eating of honey and drinking of juice, but he's not arguing.

And he's doing some cooking of his own, these wooden eggs from my hardware store find are a great hit. They cook up nicely and roll well across the kitchen floor.
The gnomes, whose wooden forms came from the same store, are also played with a bunch. I got the idea for dressing them from Amanda, and they turned out super cute. We've got tons on the go right now- finishing up our porch, the ongoing sorting and unpacking and lots of crafty projects for the newest crop of new babies and their older siblings. But this computer is still in the big house and the camera has been neglected, so blogging isn't top priority right now. But once the computer is settled over at the "new" house- oh what a good blogger I will be then!

Catching up

The busy season seems to have slowed down a little finally- we spent our first day fully at home yesterday, perhaps since we moved back in. When we come home Ari says "home!" and "happy!" and we know we need to spend more time just being here. And home is good. There are still many projects on the go- yesterday we grouted the entryway tiles and installed a ceiling fan and there are corners of the house that still look like construction zones (the bathtub is as likely to have a bucket of mortar inside it as it is to hold bath toys.) But we are settling in slowly, and feeling pretty excited to have this beautiful new space to call our own. Above is a small corner of it, the green wall and the Charlie Brown tree to compliment the sparse space. And Ari got some new digs for Christmas too, that barnhouse (as he calls it) was his big present from many of his loved ones. He especially likes sliding the animals down the roof- "weeeee!"
We spent a few days at a little cabin on a lake after Christmas with my side of the family. It was a lovely little getaway, and the cabins were great (though that outhouse seat was rather chilly!) and my mom brought enough food to feed a few armies. Luckily the cabin owners showed up to shuttle some things over the 2.5km trail or we might have been a little less excited by all the trifles and fondue pots and homemade perogies.

We were able to partake in another sleigh ride this year too, this time with a few other friends with toddlers. Ari loved it and it really is a magical trip. The huge horses pull the sleigh through the snow-covered trees to a little cabin with a outdoor fire and cider waiting. A good holiday tradition to continue.

Ari has been playing with his wooden horses since the ride, galloping them around saying "pullin' pullin'" and "horsey eat." While we were sitting and drinking cider Ari and his buddy made a beeline for the horses feet, scaring their mamas half to death.

This picture looks an awful lot like this one from last year. He's wearing the same snowsuit -only this year he has boots instead of elastic bands holding the feet closed! I wonder if we'll be able to get another years sleigh ride picture out of the suit?

Perry and I celebrated New Years separately this year. He took Ari to a toddler-friendly fondue party at some friends and I went out to a dance with my sister. We all had lots of fun at our respective shindigs, and spent much of the next day having family naps and hanging out in our PJ's which is a good way to start the year I think.

And now, off to do laundry and wipe the tile grout out of the bathtub. Happy New Year!

ETA: Thank you all for the lovely comments about Sammy and our move back in. It's sort of like having my own personal cheering section with all your sweet words. I appreciate it a great deal. Cheers!