ah wud do

Esme's vocabulary has begun sprouting off in all kinds of amazing ways. Just about every day she suddenly says a new word or begins using one to point out all the things she can see and hear ... I'm amazed by her as always, but this is so much fun. Sometimes Raph and I just look at each other and laugh as she lets loose with a rollicking ballad of crazy sounds and words. This girl is wonderful ...

Our mornings

:: Christmas morn' ::

sea bus

painting

Sometimes at night I go for a quick walk around the block before bed and I've discovered an apartment belonging to a painter into which I can see. It's amazing to look up and see him standing in front of his canvas pondering, sometimes moving his brush across the work. Just in the last two days I've seen a painting change right before me; new colours and shapes appear changing what I thought it might be at first.

The sharp cool night air and these stolen sights are lovely treats before bed.

'tis the season

So things have not gone according to my 30 days post ... I seemed to have posted once since then. Ah, the best laid plans of mice and mothers. Things have been whirling around me and mostly I have been watching from the outside feeling blue and a bit sad for myself. We have finally moved and have been settling into our new place for about two weeks now. It is phenomenal to have so much more space and to wake up to our lovely new view every day. Esme loves it and has taken to running up and down the hall, through the french doors and into the kitchen ... the openess of the space is really good for her and I feel so happy and motherly when I'm puttering in the kitchen and I can listen to her singing and talking to herself at her little table. We have finally been able to set up a little table for her to colour and read at ... a big, big hit. I can see how important it is for children to have things around them that are their own size; she loves to get on and off her chair and to pull her little wicker chair up to the window and look outside. I am so glad that we were able to find this house.

Last weekend we also went to choose a Christmas tree from the lot at a local high school - we had such fun. Esme loved all the trees and ran around touching all the branches, Raph dutifully carried it home for us and we all put the lights on it together. So far we haven't added any decorations .. I find that it looks so beautiful and simple with just the shimmer of the white lights. Almost like a fairy tree you would find deep in the enchanted forest. We have some sweet little decorations that perhaps we'll add on Christmas eve though.

I am struggling to get through my homemade gifts and am hoping to finish them up this weekend ... I don't know quite how other crafty moms do all the things they do. I seem to have such trouble finding even an hour to myself to work on things. Perhaps that says something about what our family needs to work on for the new year. I am finishing a bag for my sister and a cafe apron for my dad which doesn't seem like much, but I also recently saw a little scarflette that I would like to try making a version of and some other jewelery ideas I've had sacked away for a while. Aaah, we'll see how it goes. I'm looking forward to Esme moving into her own room so that I might eventually have a corner in which to set up my sewing machine and perhaps even a little inspiration board and some space of my own. Seeing that written out I realize how heavenly it would be ... ah the power of saying things aloud. What's that saying about things being realized by speaking them?

30 Days

Inspired by Little Birds I'm going to try a 30 Days of Living sequence myself. So images and probably not a lot of words for the next 30 days. Starting with today's downpour and a porridge breakfast.