Someone Take Away the Hot Glue Gun!

I have a confession to make. Most people who know me well, know that one thing I am not is a girlie girl. I can't ever recall a day when I went out of my way to buy something in the colour of pink. It wasn't until I was older that I even enjoyed wearing dresses. I think I went through most of my youth in sweatpants. In summer it was shorts and I accented my attire with grazed knees from falling off my bike an calluses on my hands from climbing and swinging from my favourite climbing tree. These are all things I look forward to doing with Lachlan, though hope his first bike attempts are painless ones.

When I found out I was having a daughter, I was surprised. I never imagined having a little girl. I hoped of course that she would be a child that would feel confident being herself. I have to admit though, a small part of me hopes that she'll me a little tomboy like I was. I think part of me is afraid that if she isn't I won't be able to relate. Perhaps sounds strange, I'm sure. Afterall we both are girls!

I was excited to have a girl in the house. One more double X chromosone to equal our house out. Someone hopefully to be my allie in times of war against the testosterones. The girls department is also always about 3 times larger than the boys so shopping would also be more fun. I just hoped that she wouldn't have a wardrobe entirely of pink and free from those dreaded baby hair accessories- yuck!

Well, something has happened to me. I find the colour pink growing on me. I actually don't mind it and think my little girl looks adorable in it. I do however love her in blues and reds and wish it wasn't so darn hard to find them from newborns. Really, people? Can't our kids be exposed to other colours! But that aside, I will admit that I no longer hate pink. We have become friends.

The most shocking thing that has happened occured last week. A photographer came to the hosue to shoot some baby photos. I grimaced as she began to pull out a pair of nappy covers with lime green and hot pink ruffles. I've come a long way, but I'm not quite to hot pink ruffles yet. Thankfully Noelle's legs were too cubby for them so it saved me from hurting the lady's feelings as she made the covers herself. Next, out of the bag came a headband with a flower. Inside my head, I was thinking, "give me a break, lady!" I obviously hadn't made my distaste for hair accessories on babies clear. Afterall, what is the purpose? They don't keep their heads warm and half the time the bubs don't even have hair. I cringe when I see bubs with no hair but have a bow on their head. Someone please tell me how the bow is attached? Is it glued, taped, stapled? Is this another purpose for blue tac? I just think it is all a bit silly. I'm sure some people are desperate to make sure people know their child is a girl and not a boy. I'm sorry for parents who feel the need to do that, but it is their choice and if it helps ease some sort of paranoia or combats potential embarassment then so be it.

As the photographer approached Noelle to place this headband on her head, I didn't know what to do. Do I save my little bub from having to look like some primadonna or do I let it happen. Well, I let it happen. Afterall part of wanting androgynous children is to let them like both sides of things. Keeping her from girlie things is just as bad as keeping her from toy trucks so this mommy had to do a reality check. Once I finished the battle in my head, I came to and looked at my little angel. There she laid with a headband on and nothing else. She was all smiles, giggling and cooing. She even seemed to pose for the camera. Then a strange thing happened. It was as if I had an out of body experience. I could here a woman ooo-ing and ahh-ing, saying, "isn't she sooooo cute! how adorable." The voice sounded familiar. I then realised that woman was me!

What in the heck happened? How could I go from being a hairband nazi to this? I found myself rationalizing the situation: well, it is a flower, not a bow. It is crocheted and made from natural fibres, not something plasticy and synthetic. Noelle seems to like it. Ohhhhh, look she's smiling....

So what was I doing the next day? I was at my local craft store finding some wool yarn and elastic. I got out my felt and began creating a flower. Before I knew it I was cuting and rolling and hot gluing felt like crazy. The entire time the angels and demons were sounding off in my head. "What are you doing?!"...."Oh, but it will be so darn cute!"...."Seriously, step away from the glue gun!!"...."Oh, it's just flowers and they are blue flowers, that's not too over the top girlie..)In the end the demons won and I crocheted a headband with a flower for my daughter. When I looked at the finished process I realised that it wasn't the demons, it was an archangel that won this match because it was too stinkin' cute to come from anywhere else and my little girl would look divine in it!

So there ya have it. I've hit the deep end. Now if I start blogging tutorials for big pink bows, do please plan an intervention! It is a cute little headband, the flowers though are too big for her head, they need to be shorter so I'll have to make another one...watch out glue gun!

A Magical Day

Yesterday was winter solstice. It was a big day at our Steiner playgroup as we have been preparing for this day for the last few weeks. Lachlan and I worked hard creating his rainbow lantern. He had been looking forward to carrying it through the spriraly walkway he had been told about and having his lantern lit.

When we arrived to playgroup that day we were all asked to wait outside until all our friends arrived. Our play group leader was busy inside preparing the surprise festivities for the children. We all anxiously awaited outside with a special food we brought to share in celebrtion of the shortest day/longet night of the year. Lachlan and I brought our favourite pumpkin pie; an American tradition, usually made for Thanksgiving. It was the perfect food for us to bring as it represented a part of our american culture. The pie was also made from one of our garden pumpkins which Lachlan and I have been tending to all autumn, weekly inspecting them to see how much they had grown.

When we were finally allowed to enter the building, the children were asked to walk in silently. The room was dark, except for a few candles that glowed around the room. The room was decorated as a night sky with stars on the walls and a spiral made from tree branches and leaves on the ground. In the middle stood a tall candle with a flickering flame. All the children were silent as thye walked in. Lachlan was the last to enter and as he saw the lovely display he let out this loud, "Whooooaaa!" which broke the silence. He was so excited to see the candles glowing, he couldn't contain himself. I think everything must have looked so magical to him. He and I sat down with his baby sister and watched as each of his friends one by one took their lanterns from a table and walked around the spiral to the lit candle. We all sang a special song as they did so. When it was Lachlan's turn he was so excited. He seemed so grown up, holding his little lantern so delicatley and making the softest steps through the spiral. When he reached the little flame his teacher lit his lantern and he smiled; his face lit up as much as his lantern.

Later our teacher told us a beautiful story about two children who walked through the night with their lantern and found a crystal cave. There a gnome gave them a bag of seeds and magical crystals. The teacher then gave each of the children a little sachet with special treasures inside. I tucked it away for Lachlan to open at home.

The next day (today), I could tell that Lachlan needed a lot of my attention. He had been a little bit clingy the last few days and seemed a bit jealous of his sister. Today I decided that I would give him my undivided attention the whole morning. No phone, computer or housework- it could all wait. My little man needed me. He needed me to be present with him. The last few weeks had been busy for our family and although I'm always with him everyday, I'm not always "present." My mind has been elsewhere thinking about work, family and close friends who have been ill. I'm certain Lachlan picked up on this; so now the day was about just him and me and Noelle tagged along like the good sister she is, sleeping most of the time.

Today was a gorgeous day. I had to spend this day with Lachlan outside, the sun was calling us to come out and play and we obeyed eagerly. In the garage I found a bucket of landscaping pebbles which I had been digging out of our garden for the last year. I brought them up to our front porch, hoping to entice Lachlan. I took out about 6 rocks and began to make a half circle. Lachlan was intrigued and began taking rocks and adding to the ones I put on the ground. I sat back and watched where he'd go with it. He was amazing! He kept adding pebble next to pebble and before I knew it, he had made a beautiful spiral. Just like the one from our winter festival! He then began to branch off of the spiral, stopping for a moment and then saying, "Mommy, it's a 'Q!" and indeed it was. It looked just like the letter Q. Lachlan continued to add to his creation and by the end he had a lovely pebble design on our porch. We went inside and got a little gnome his teacher had given him a few months ago for his brithday and also grabbed a little toy puppy dog. "Let's take these guys on an adventure, shall we?" "Oh, yes!" Lachlan replied and off we went, setting out on what would be a magical adventure. I was the gnome and Lachlan was the puppy (of course!) We hoppd along the pebbles and Lachlan suggested that we follow the path through the spiral. We went back and forth playing with our characters and having a lot of fun. I then realised that I had Lachlan's little sachet from playgroup that he hadn't opened yet. I ran inside and brought it out, placing it on one end of the pebble path. "Look, treasure!" Our little gnome and puppy discovered the treasure and Lachlan untied the string to unveil the surprise. From inside a bunch of tiny stars, seeds and precious stones fell out. Lachlan was amazed. He especially loved the tiny stones. He picked each one up with his small fingers and added them to the end of the path. Next, he had the puppy eat the seeds.

It had been awhile since I had really sat and enjoyed Lachlan use his imagination, uninfluenced by me. He has really been absorbed into trains the last year and for months that has been all he'll play with. I was eager to see him branch back out into other creative modes. The pebbles did the trick I guess. I love watching Lachlan work. Everything he does serves a purpose. You can see it in his face as his eyes concentrate so intently.His hands and fingers always move with such precision. You can tell that his mind already has something mapped out and they follow his lead like it has been rehearsed a hundred times. If Lachlan accidently drops or bumps something in the process, frustration will be released. He doesn't like anything to disturb the process and seems to want the image in his head to be replicated perfectly. These are the moments when I know it is my role to step back an let him create. When we wants to involve me he will. My cue is generally a "your turn, mommy!" or "next one, please!" And when it is my turn, I just pray I do what is expected of me! If not, we have a grumpy gus on our hands!

After lunch, Lachlan asked to go right back outside and play with his magical pebbles, as we call them now. We continued to role play. He even had the idea of using the string from the sachet as a snake, which he slithered through the pebbles and up a tree which we made with a stick. I could have played all day to tell you the truth. We had so much fun!

Later we took a break and went for a walk to the park. The day was still gorgeous and the sun felt wonderful on our faces. However, the sun began to sink lower and lower behind the trees as the afternoon grew shorter. We ran around the open playing field chasing each other and chasing our dog, Maxwell. On one end of the park is a steep ravine. He stood at the edge and looked down. From the ravine grew tall gum trees which the leafy tops where at our eye level. As we admired them, we noticed our shadows dancing in the leaves. We waved, jumped, danced and giggled as our shadows followed our lead. We then ran up a hill and rolled down, something I hadn't done in a long time! Lachlan laughed as we stood up, shaking all the grass off our clothes and out of our hair. The sun began to hide even more behind the trees and I knew that was our signal to head home. Neither of us wanted the day to end. We had so much fun. It was a spontaneous, special day just for us. I wanted to breathe it in as long as I could: breathe in the smell of the fresh cut grass, the sound of the fairy wrens singing in the distance and the youth of my son; so innocent and beautiful. I wanted all moments to be like this one and I hoped that he would remember this moment in years to come. I know he most likey won't, but I will treasure it in my heart for the both of us.

We walked home, ate dinner, lit his special lantern and I read him his books and tucked him into bed. As always, I prayed for angels to watch over him and to keep him safe until the morning light. I blew out the candle in his lantern and kissed his forehead. I could see his lips curl up in a smile as he closed his eyes and I thought, I'm the luckiest mommy in the world; my precious, sweet boy.

So our magical day is done, but tomorow will be a new one. One where I will remember to be not just physically present with my children, but emotionally and spiritually. When we do this an amazing thing happens; we can be children again! We can see things the way our children do, the way we used to before we got all grown up and sucked into the hustle and bustle of life.So go today and "be present" with your child. I hope something magical happens. xx

Hi-ho, Hi-ho! It's Back to Work I Go!

Hi-ho, Hi-ho, indeed! Last week it was back to work for me. I've had the last several months off as we welcomed Noelle to the family. I wasn't planning on working so soon after her birth but I had an opportunity come up that I didn't want to miss and since I own my own business, I can for the most part make my own schedule. If something doesn't suit my family, I don't do it. It is a luxury of owning your own business and also being able to work because you love it, not because you have to. In that regard I'm very blessed. Besides, I'm only working a few hours every fortnight (bi-weekly for my fellow Americans) so it isn't taking me away for too long. My hubby is also staying home during that time, otherwise I would not do it. Although we have an amazing woman who watches Lachlan when I need her, I'm not at the place yet to leave Noelle with anyone for a lengthy time unless it is my husband.

I did figure out the one upside to leaving your precious newbie for the first time, you are more nervous about how she is going to do, then how you'll preform at work! I was heading off to a brand new client which has potential of giving me a lot of on-going business. Generally I would be a bit nervous about this and not sleep much the night before as my mind would be racing. Instead, the sleep that I did get was good quality- the tiredness of being a mommy does wonders in the realm of sleep sometimes. Instead of worrying about what might go wrong on my drive to the city, I was worrying if Noelle would drink my breast milk from the bottle and if not would she be very upset. If she was upset would she find enough comfort in her daddy's arms? Fortunatley I was able to swith this worry off as soon as I reached my destination and parked the car. From then on I was in work mode...well, almost. My boobs start filling up with milk and became completley engorged like ballons ready to burst; but after that subsided a bit I was then ready to step out of the car as a working mommy again, praying I wouldn't let anyone down that day but most importantly that my breast pads wouldn't let me down! And speaking of 'let down' I have hyperlactation so when it does come down, it comes down like a high pressure elephant hose! It has embarassmet potential written all over it. Trust me, I know from experience!

Fortunatley work went off without a hitch (or waterworks!). I trained a lovely bunch of women on literacy development in young children. The best part is that the first half of training I got to talk about Lachlan and his literacy journey as he was my 'research subject' for the first portion of the workshop that involved development in 0-2 year olds. It was as if he was in the room. I don't generally use my children as examples in my work, but for those of you who have followed Lachlan these last two years, you know that there couldn't be a better subject then him regarding literacy. The child just loves to read and write and demonstrates this with various modes and media.

I left the workshop feeling very confident. I had excellent feedback and many of the participants waited in line afterwards to tell me how much they appreciated the information and the way it was presented. It made me feel really good as it reminded me of why I do what I do: to get parents and professionals excited about supporting childrens' development. It makes leaving my children to work so worth it, to know that I might have made a difference in the way a caregiver thinks about children and in turn, that caregiver will make a difference in the life of a child. Perhaps one day my child or your child.

So onwards and upwards! I've begun the great task of juggling it all. Somehow I seem to manage quite well--or so people tell me. Many friends ask me how I do it and I'm always surprised with this question. I just figure we all do it! I will try though to give some tips that might be helpful to others in my next blog entry; but honestly I believe most of the credit goes to the good temperment of my children and a supportive husband. I don't declare to be a supermom or domestic diva but if one trick of the trade helps ease the tension of another parent then I'm happy to help. Until next time..

.

Introducing Noelle and a Big Brother!

Big Brother and Little Sister

Sweet Angel, Noelle

Yes. I know, I know. I have been completley slack about blogging. I've been keeping most everyone informed via facebook these days. I've had a good excuse for my blog laziness. The arrival of our sweet little girl Noelle. She graced us with her presence in April. Since then our little world has been filled with a little bit more joy-I didn't even think that was possible! Children have a way of doing that though and she makes it very easy. She's a great sleeper and as content as can be. She's made her place in our family and all of us have welcomed her with much love; especially Lachlan.

Lachlan has been an amazing little brother. If his sister cries he tells me that he has to "check on Noelle." He returns and always tells me she "needs mummy's milk." It seems as soon as toddlers learn the ropes of becoming a big brother, they also become parenting experts as well. Lachlan loves to direct and correct me regarding my parenting skills. If Noelle cries and I think she needs a burp, Lachlan will say, "No, mummy. Noelle needs mummy's milk!" He definitley thinks we are doing things all wrong in the parent department. When Noelle first came home from the hospital I put her a little bouncy seat. The seat swallowed her up and she could't move out of it as she was so small with no strength to move around so I didn't even both strapping her in. I was sitting next to her on the floor and there was no change of her wiggling her way out. Lachlan of course called me out. He runs over and shouts with urgency, "Click, clack, Mummy! Click, clack Noelle!" He was right. We should always, "buckle up" what kind example was I setting and certainly what kind of parent am I? I'm sure this is what was running through Lachie's head. From then on he insisted on supervising me when ever I put Noelle in her seat. Most of the time insisting that he 'click-clack' her in himself. I'm sure he thought I'd muck it up. He'd lost all trust in me!

So with a second on our lives have changed but definitely for the better. I thought it would be a lot more busy in the house, but surprisingly not much has changed. I believe this is because Noelle is very content. She has really become even more comfortable as part of our family of the last few weeks, wanting to be held less and happy sitting or lying around watching her parents and big brother. She's just taking everything in now where as before she was happy but she did like to snuggle a lot. She's a sweet snuggly baby and won't disappoint you when she's in your arms. She'll flash you a beautiful smile and delight you with many coos and gah-gahs.

A bonus about having a bub in the house is that it actually makes me slow down. Sound strange? It isn't when you think about it. A bub needs to be feed at least every four hours and that means that every four hours at least I need to slow down, sit down and focus on feeding my daughter. I breastfeed so it makes the time even more intimate as we develop a special bond. I use this time to also have a snuggle with Lachlan. To make sure he's not left out I always ask him if he'd like to come and have a snuggle with me while I feed Noelle or if he'd like me to read a book to him. He'll hold the book and turn the pages. He won't want to sit with me all the time and if he does it won't last more than ten minutes as he'll want to go off and do something else, but I let him know that the option is always open and he need not feel shy about joining in with my special time with his sister. After all there are plenty of feeds in the day that Noelle and I just enjoy our one-on-one company so no one misses out.

I've also eased the brotherhood transition for Lachlan by making sure he is an 'involved family member.' I emphasise this because I think that it isn't just important to talk about a sibling being a big brother or a big sister, although this is important but to help them see the bigger picture: we are are family. Family means that we ALL love each other and we ALL help each other out in times of need. We are a family unit and each person is as important as the other, no matter how big or small.

I explained to Lachlan that when Noelle cries she doesn't just need a nappy change or fed, she needs "help." This is a word that many toddlers understand and if not we explain it by our actions. In the beginning, if Noelle cried I told Lachlan that she needs our help. "Let's go see what she needs. Can you help me figure out what she wants?" As Lachlan has always been a 'thinker' this technique is fun for him. It presents a challenge; a problem to solve and of course helps develop those very important problem-solving skills; all great for cognitive and emotional development. When we figure out what is wrong, I ask Lachlan if he'd like to help me. If it is a nappy change he'll hand me the clean nappy, wipes and fasten the nappy as well. Sometimes he likes to help, but other times he is satisfied with determining the solution and could care less if he's involved in the rest of the process; that's alright too. I also use this technique when Lachlan is upset. I say to Noelle, "What's wrong with your brother? Let's go see if we can help him." Lachaln then understands that this help thing is a two-way street. Again, we are family and our job is to help one another, love one another and work together. I just love the fact now that when ever his sister gets upset, the first thing that pops to his mind now is to check on her.

So the time is come where I think I'm ready to write on this blog more regularly again. I had taken a break not because I was actually too busy, but because I knew that my family needed more time with me. I wanted to make sure that these first couple months, Lachlan had all the love and attention he needed from me as we all settled into our new family. He certainly didn't need a blog to compete with. It seems now that we are all confident and content with our new roles and the new dynamic of this family and there is a bit moe wiggle room for this mummy to have a bit of writing fun.  As always, until next time, Happy Parenting!

Eggcelent Felt Fun

Our felt eggs thus far...

Easter is right around the corner! There are so many great activities to do at Easter time as we prep for this very special religious holiday. Ironically, Lachlan has been picking up his toddler Bible from the shelf a lot more this week so we have been reading quite a few stories about Jesus. I have to laugh when my husband reads him these incredible shorten versions of the stories and says, "these stories just don't make any sense!" To an adult they are so simplistic with no beginning or end really just a little clip from the middle. You don't know how someone got somewhere or where they went after! Lachlan particularly likes looking at the Garden of Eden because there are a lot of animals and of course the snake which his his favourite. He just doesn't get that the snake isn't the 'good guy' in the story!

As you might know, we've been getting pretty crafty in our household latley; especially in the area of felting. Certainly not a felt master by any means but we enjoy experimenting and getting ideas from the real pros--you know, the ones that have these amazing blogs showcasing all their felting creations. I am truly inspired by them!

Fun splashing in the soapy water

Adding a bit more soap

It always seems that whenever there are holiday festivities for children there is candy involved. We don't do candy in our house as my hubby is in the teeth business.(Well, the candy we do 'do' I have to sneak and eat in secret, shoving the wrappers to the bottom of the bin hoping they go unnoticed!) For a lot of families, holiday treats are easy: they just pick up a bag of chocolate eggs and a few chocolate bunnies and the are good to go. We certainly aren't hard core sweet nazis so we don't mind a little piece of chocolate on a special occasion but we certainly don't want to hand over a whole basket full of sugar and caffeine to our toddler. Really, doesn't that just sound crazy on so many levels? You are really asking for it! Plus, I've seen so many children go into melt down when presented with their very own basket of sweets only to be told they can only have one piece now and the rest will have to be saved for later. I mean, REALLY?? How many children whose eyes are aglow over their basket of goodies are going to agree so easily and say, "Of course, mom. It is better to pace myself..."...Uh...not many! It is like dangling a smelly, juicy sausage in front of a dog and setting it on the table and telling him he can't have it until tomorrow. Way too much temptation! I would suggest just keeping the sweets to a minimum. If you have extras, store them so your child doesn't know you have them and take them out as a nice surprise when they are allowed to have a special treat. You just might avoid a lot of begging and sneaking around.

Rolling egg on bamboo mat

So on to my point...I really wanted to make something fun for Lachlan this year for his basket. We aren't into too many sweets and I'm not big on plastic eggs so I wanted to avoid filling his basket with those items. My cousin sent me the most wonderful link: www.weefolkart.com , which has so many amazing Steiner inspired craft projects you'll fill up a whole 'to do' craft list with them. There was an idea for felt eggs and I thought that it would be just perfect for Lachlan. I had made him some felt balls which have been his favourite around the house and I thought he'd like these as well. We also went to our local Show/Fair last weekend where he saw baby chicks, roosters and ducks; some which laid eggs so he's been quite fascinated with the whole idea. You can go on to the above website for directions on how to felt. It is very easy. I decided to make these eggs using some Styrofoam eggs I picked up from the $2 shop. I used those eggs as my core and then felted around them. Yesterday morning Lachlan and I drove out to our local wool works farm to buy some more roving and dyed wool. I asked Lachlan what colours he wanted and he was very set on pink and black. He was delighted to see how many shades there were to choose from. We left with an overflowing bag of various wool colours and another bag of carded wool. We of course could not leave until we said hello and good-bye to the sheep.

I really like felting because it is something very creative to do with your children that exercise a whole host of developmental skills. Mostly, it works on sensory development; the texture of wool, splashing of water, slippery soap. Children can feel how the texture of the wool changes, starting very soft and fluffy, turning into a slippery ball while the soap suds form and then eventually as the friction does its work, the wool tightens up and soon you have a beautifully formed creation. It also helps with motor skill as you roll the ball in your hands and on the bamboo mat. Another important lesson that is taught is sequencing as we follow a series of steps in a particular order to achieve the desired result. All of these wonderful things are learned by the child while at the same time having heaps of fun. Better yet, at the end of this learning session the child has a wonderful work of art which he has created!

Showing off one of his marble eggs

Lachlan and I are still in the process of making our eggs for Easter but I thought I'd share a few that we have finished thus far in hopes to inspire you to get creative with your little ones. Whether it is felting, cutting or drawing eggs I hope you'll find a way to share in the Easter fun!

Getting Crafty

In February, Lachlan and I joined a Steiner playgroup. Although I don't plan on sending Lachlan to our local Steiner school, the playgroup has been invaluable for both Lachlan and me. The wonderful thing about Steiner playgroups, is that the focus is completely on the child and on the parent to be fully present with the child during the hours of playgroup. The environment is relaxing (though the lavender oil helps this!) and all of the toys and materials are made from natural fibers. The children are encouraged to do a lot of work with their hands; they knead their own bio-dynamic-organic brown bread rolls which are baked for morning tea time. There is also an organic vegetable garden where the children can pick fresh veggies and herbs to go with their bread. My favourite time has been craft where the parents begin the project of making a toy for their children. Older children can help in the process and if the children are too young, the adult makes the toy on their own. All of the chidlren whether they assist or not enjoy watching their parents at work and are very excited when they can hold the finished project and explore all of its endless capabilities.

The playgroup has been such a blessing for me. I have been able to interact with other like-minded parents; those who the use of natural materials, organics, sustainability and who also actively work at having a very connected relationship with their children. I have always loved to use my creative thinking abilities when I've had the time but I haven't done a lot of toy-making when it comes to craft; most of my craft involves household decoration or entertaining table pieces. The thought of making something for Lachlan that he might treasure always sounded appealing but I suppose I never really new where to start or found my inspiration. Well....now I am inspired! Ever since our new playgroup, I have been crafting away all of my free time! I've been taking all the techniques I've learned at our weekly playgroups and expanding upon them at home. So far I have felted, sewed and even done some woodwork. I am addicted!

Felt Balls

Thanks to my dear cousin, whose daughter attends a Steiner school in the U.S. I have been exposed to numerous blogs involving Steiner-inspired arts and crafts. It has been a lot of fun reading through them and gaining more motivation to make something special for Lachlan. I first started out making felt balls. I made a small one and then also a larger one with a bell inside that jingles. I have been amazed at how much Lachlan loves these simple felt balls. He has made up his own games with them and we have both had a blast chasing them around the house. Since the are felt, I don't have to worry about anyone getting hurt or anything breaking.

My next project was to make a felt shape from a cookie cutter. This was something very easy and that Lachlan could help me with as well. It was time consuming but we were both pleased with the end result--a steam train! Of course this made my inspiring train engineer very happy as trains are all the talk in our house! I added some detail to the train with a blanket-stitch around the edge.

Sporting his crown

Our little Prince

Earlier this week, I decided to make a crown for Lachlan using some left over felt I had from a Thanksgiving project where I made turkey finger puppets--okay, so I guess I do craft a few kids things now and again...I made this crown not thinking Lachlan would actually wear it as he doesn't typically like to put things on his head; however I was motivated to practice my blanket-stitching and a crown is easy to do. I pulled out some brown felt and stitched it into a crown and dug up some old buttons to act as jewels. To my surprise, Lachlan has just loved this crown! He loves to wear it while playing at home and for the last two nights he has insisted on sleeping with it. A true sleeping beauty, I tell you!

Wooden Sail Boat

At play group my current projects have been a felted fish, heart ornament and most recently completed, a wooden sail boat. Lachlan was particularly excited about the sail boat. He's enjoyed playing with it in the bathtub and also in our pretend ocean that he and I made out of a blue towel spread out on the living room floor. We through in some sea shells, sea animals and our felt fish (of course!). Lachlan also came up with the idea of building a ferry so that his matchbox cars could go across the sea.

Noelle's Doll

Lastly, I have just finished this evening my first doll! I'm very excited because I wanted to buy a similar doll for Lachlan when he was a bub but never did. Now I have hand-made one for baby Noelle who is due in just 3 weeks time. It is a very simple, teething blanket doll; inspired by some blogs I've read and by the Kathe Kruse collection of organic teething dolls which I have been interested in.I was a bit nervous to tackle it, even though it is a simple doll. Sewing is something that I've just been recently doing and I'm not that great but I'm slowly getting the hang of it and with each project I learn something new from my mistakes which makes the next goal I tackle a little bit more successful than the previous.

I hope you enjoy the pics of my latest crafting adventures but most importantly I post them because I hope they will inspire you to make something special for your child. There is no greater gift than watching your little one play with something you made from love. They don't care about the imperfections, they just treasure what was made especially for them from someone they love so dearly.

One with the Animals

I know, I know. It has been a really long time since I've been blogging. I have been tracking Lachie's development as usual- taking the normal 100 photos a week lol! I've been very slack about getting on the computer and putting those thoughts into cyberspace. As you can imagine things have been busy in the house with Lachlan well into his toddler days and his new sister to arrive in less than six weeks. We've been focusing a lot on that transition and making sure our house, Lachlan and mommy and dad are all ready. Exciting days ahead.

I have a lot of catching up to do with this blog but I thought I would start with sharing something simple as my creative juices are a bit stagnant these days due to of mommy brain, baby brain and sleep deprivation: a dangerous concoction. It's amazing how quickly one can go from coming across as a seemingly intelligent and evolved person to a clueless neanderthal. I have found myself scratching my head one too many times looking for something that is so obviously right in front of me!

I suppose since I have been stuck in a bit of 'primitive' thinking mode, it might have lead to the desire to spend a lot of time around those closer to my recent simplistic way of thinking. What could be better than becoming a Zoo Friend! Yes, we did. We bought an annual pass for our city zoo, which is actually run by the conservation society so it is non-profit and all research based; that is something to feel good about- otherwise, nothing makes me feel good about going to the zoo; being the ex-wildlife biologist major I have issues with the majority of zoos but that is not what this blog is about so let's move on to the happy stuff...like giraffes!

Giraffes. They are the most fascinating animals to Lachlan at the zoo (at the moment). They were actually one of the first animals that he recognised visually as a baby because there was a picture of a giraffe in numerous of his infant cloth books and I always emphasised the giraffe as having a "loooong neck." They really are beautiful and amazing creatures with lovely patches and a unique gait. At the zoo they come up very close to the fence where they feed. It is a nice surprise for Lachlan to catch them during feeding time. We've been to the zoo twice this year and a visit to the giraffe enclosure is a must for Lachie. He insists on it. The idea is for us to go and relax and take ourtime walking around and just see a few parts of the zoo each visit. We do this but we must always rush over to see the giraffes before we leave for the day. Of course the giraffes have to be at the top of the very hilly zoo--but I'm pregnant and need the exercise I suppose so I shouldn't complain.

Wading pool

The zoo is a fun place for children and if it is a good quality zoo which has a focus on educating the public, there will be a lot of opportunities to learn a few things; whether it be hands-on encounters, interactive screens or basic literature posted. Be sure to read this information and interpret it back to your child in a way that they can understand. Use the excursion as a way for them to also make connections; such as: "look at the giraffes. they are the same as in your story book" or " the platypus has a bill and webbed fit like a duck but it has fur instead of feathers!" All of this exciting information allows them to piece their surrounding together and to think about what they are hearing and seeing. Before you know it your child will be asking "why?" You might not know the answer which is okay. Be honest. If you don't know why a platypus has fur say so. Encourage more problem-solving skills for your child by using provocation. "I don't know why. How do you think we could find out?" Your child might respond with numerous answers: maybe there is a sign, we could ask the zoo keeper, look on the internet, go to the library, ask daddy, etc. Asking your child how to go about getting answers is an excellent way to assist them in problem-solving an invaluable component to not only cognitive development but also emotional intelligence.

I'm wet! Now what?

One thing that we never do in our house is to 'leave learning' at the place of origin. Your child of course has learned something and will carry that with him; the best gift of all. As parents, it is important that we help them expand on what they have learned for the day; especially if they show an interest. Lachlan loves animals so it is obvious for us that when we get home we will discuss more about the animals that we saw, particularly the ones that we couldn't pull him away from. Our last trip to the zoo, it was the giraffes, zebras and the leopard seal. When we got home I asked him if he'd like to look at some pictures of what we saw today. He was very eager. Now this is where all those zoo handouts you would normally chuck in the recycle bin come in handy. Save them and cut out the animals to make a collage. Let your child practice cutting if he is able or  he can try tearing around the animal. If he needs help then assist him. Talk about the animals; what sounds they make, their features and where they live. Glue them onto a piece of paper. If your child likes to work with letters like Lachlan, find the words of the animals or letters that begin with the animals' names and glue them on the paper as well. When completed let your child hang up the collage in the house where he can refer back to it for reference. We had our collage up for about two weeks, where Lachlan continually pointed to the animals and shared a thought.

Jungle Scene

I Spy the letter C!

Another animal idea...Last week my brother-in-law got married and we were sent home with a huge floral table arrangement which had various tropical leaves. Before I throw anything out I always look at it and think about what I could use to integrate into Lachlan's day. I came up with the idea of making a jungle scene for Lachie using the leaves. I grabbed a tray for easy portability, stuck the stems of the leaves and branches into some play dough and created a little jungle. I grabbed some of Lachlan's animals, called him over and he was delighted at what he saw. Right away he began walking his animals through the trees. He even made the giraffe, frog and zebra much on the leaves. Eventually he told me that they needed water. I asked him what we could make water with? We opened our art cabinet and found some scraps of blue paper, placed them in a lid and created a water hole; just like the one in so many of his favourite African story books. We had more of a jungle going on with 'savannah' animals but who cares? It is a time for imagination not specifics; speaking of which, our jungle eventually ended up with a choo-choo train, a boom gate and the letter 'C' which Lachlan created out of a red pipe cleaner. He had fun on and off for about a day and a half with the scene; adding new components.

So always think twice before you toss something--I always say the best things for your children are in your recycling bin! I'll try to post more soon and definitely something about my little man's birthday as he is two years old today! Where does the time go? We had an exciting time yesterday on the ferry and train and woke up this morning a few gifts and a special breakfast. We'll look forward to doing more fun things after naptime and sharing a birthday brunch party with family this coming weekend.