Crafting On: Amelia's Spring Sweater

Joining up with Nicole at Frontier Dreams for Crafting On.  Check it out to see the amazing projects by some lovely ladies! :)  



 Right now I am working on a sweater for Amelia's birthday.  Its not until May but I know that if I don't get a big head start, I'll never get it done!  My to do list is longer than I am tall!

This sweater is from Little Lamby Knits , found here.  I actually discovered this pattern on Nicole's blog and I am so thankful I did!  I obsessed over it for quite a while as I saved my yarn budget to buy the wool!  I hope to do the blanket one day too...isn't it adorable?!  I'm doing the spring flowers since Amelia is born in the spring, obviously! :)  I am really enjoying this pattern!  Its my first time knitting a sweater from the bottom up.  I love the wave pattern!  I'm a little apprehensive about stitching on the flowers but I was looking for something different and a little challenging and this is perfect for me!  If all goes well, I will do one for each of the other kids as well, in their respective birth seasons! 

(sorry for the terrible pictures...we don't get good light at the best of times and with this crazy weather...well, you can see the result!)

Baby, its cold outside!

Winter has finally arrived!  I wondered when we would see the snow and ice!  Now we can call it a Canadian winter!  It is beautiful...especially from where I sit, curled up with a blanket and a book, warmed by the fire.

 

Hair cut.

Weston really needed a hair cut.  I do love shaggy hair on my little boy...but after picking scrambled egg out of it for the umpteenth time this week, I'd had enough.  So I decided to cut it for him.

He was extremely unimpressed with the result.

Sweet Sewing

B has repeatedly asked me to give her some sewing to do and I've always shied away from it.  I find myself trying to redirect her to something less...pointy.  While reading the Little House on the Prairie, she pointed out that Laura and Mary, who weren't much older than she was, were already working on patchwork quilts.  All she wanted to do was some simple embroidery [insert puppy dog eyes here].  As I tried to come up with new reasons as to why she should not be allowed to do it, I began to see the flaws in my arguments.  Why shouldn't she learn to sew?  What's the worst thing that could happen?  She could prick herself on the finger?  I do that many times a day (its a wonder all our blankets and clothing aren't blood stained!) and I like to think I'm still okay.  Besides, sewing is such a wonderful and therapeutic activity for me, shouldn't I want to share that with my daughter?  I want her to have as many outlets for expression and as many creative venues to explore as I can possibly give her.  Sewing is such a dynamic, practical and important skill; one that is getting lost among the internet, tv and consumerism.  There is something so beautiful about the gliding of a needle.  And lets face it, nothing beats the satisfaction and joy that comes with a completed project.

So after all this thought, I grabbed her some white cotton, an embroidery hoop, some floss and a needle and let her go at it.

 It was so sweet to watch her; brows furrowed in concentration, humming to herself as she emrboidered "trees" and "a cat".  As we sat together on the bed creating quietly, I felt completely at peace.  It made me think of all the mothers and daughters before us who did the same thing and how it was not only normal but expected for young girls to learn this skill.  And for good reason!

  I think we bonded more in those precious few minutes than we could have over hours in front of a tv.

And for the record, she didn't prick herself once.  Unfortunately, I can't say the same for myself...

My sweet boy turned 2!

I realize that I'm going backwards in time.  Its just easier to sort through my pictures and catch up this way! :)


Weston turned 2 at the end of December!  Two is such a bittersweet birthday for me.  It is such a wonderful age because they're learning and exploring and developing their little characters but its sad because they are leaving behind their baby-ness!  Thankfully, W still has those sweet, baby cherub cheeks.


We try to keep birthday celebrations very simple. We used to do the big party thing and it ended with over stimulated kids, an exhausted mama and a huge mess to clean up!  I see nothing wrong with parties (and I'm sure as the kids get older, we will do small ones for them at their request) but for now, I much prefer a small, family affair. The whole day (and bedtime the night before) is about the child and celebrating them!


The night before their birthday, we switch our story reading time from our room to the birthday child's. After we've finished our bedtime ryhthm, we recite a birthday poem.


When I've said my bedtime prayer
my clothes are folded on the chair
mom and dad turn out the light
I'll still be 1 year old tonight


But from the very break of day
Before the children rise and play
Before the darkness turns to gold
Tomorrow I'll be 2 years old!


2 kisses when I wake
2 candles on my cake


I'm not sure where this poem originates from.  If someone happens to know, I'd love to find out!


After the poem was finished, everyone gave Weston one kiss and off we went to bed!


While he was sleeping, Ryan and I set up the birthday stuff.  We put out his felt birthday crown that I finished exactly one day before his birthday (oops...), his cape (aka play silk) and gifts under his birthday banner along with his birthday "ring" (we were short on the budget...so hopefully we'll get a real ring in time for the next birthday) and a photo of him as a newborn.








I put out a trail of stars for him to follow from his bedroom.  I think B was much more excited than he was about this! 



When he woke up, he got dressed up in his birthday gear.  Everyone lined up to give him 2 kisses because now he was 2!  Then we followed the star trail to his gifts! 





He got to eat his special birthday breakfast and choose the activities for the day!  This is a little bit harder in the dead of winter on a weekday while daddy is gone but we made out okay!

 

He chose painting as his morning activity then promptly left to do something else.  Eleanor the cat was only too happy to take his place!

In the evening, we invite our family over for a birthday dinner and cake!  W's birthday is doubly special because my younger brother shares it with him!  They are exactly 20 years apart and oh so similar in looks and personality!  Next year I hope to have a birthday crown for Uncle Nathan as well (doesn't every 21 year old man want one?!) but I was just too far behind this year!  


 

Kung Fu enthuisiast Uncle Nathan was trying to teach Weston how to "punch" the flame out.

Weston tried it out for himself!

Eventually they gave up and resorted to the more traditional method.

Ryan made the cake this year and he did a wonderful job!  We're making a conscious effort to reduce (and hopefully eliminate) refined sugars from the kids' diet, hoping it will help their tummy issues and so we were a little nervous about this sugar-free cake!  It was delicious though!  The recipe can be found here.

And that is that!  It was a wonderful, simple and intimate birthday and I think W had a wonderful day being loved and cherished!  I know I enjoyed it!

Happy New Year!

I have to admit, I love celebrating the new year!  There is something so exciting and refreshing about a new start, a clean calendar, a chance to start all over again!  I love reflecting on the year that has past; all the things I've been blessed with, the hardships we encountered and how we've overcome them!

As with everything in our lives, we tried to keep our celebrations simple this year.  We didn't want the business to take away from the day itself.  We chose to stay home and make it an intimate family affair and I can honestly say, it was the best New Year's Eve ever!

We started the night off with a picnic on the living room floor, in front of the fire place.

We coloured party hats to wear for our (fake) countdown.  We did it at 8 o' clock as there is no way the kids could stay up that late.  And really, who am I kidding?  I was ready for bed too!

I love how they all worked together, giving daddy some pointers on how to improve his hat!

And of course, there were many kisses to go around!

One of the big things we hope to work on this year is to bloom right where we are planted.  We have this dream of being self sufficient but always put it off, saying it will happen when we buy a house.  As we were discussing our goals for this year, we realized that there are plenty of things that we could be doing now, that we should be doing!  We're going to work a lot harder at our vegetable garden this year (lasts years crop yielded 7 beans and 1 tiny tomato!).  I'm going to branch out in canning and preserving, attempting more than just jam!!

I am so glad that we rang in the new year with so much love.  I can only hope that its a sign of things to come!