Paper Pie

Hello From Sunday

What did you do today?

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Amanda Soule 

Is It Really February?

I could tell when the sun was coming up this morning that it was going to be a beautiful day. On days such as these, I am itching all through breakfast just to get outside. The three of us headed out for a short walk before Ryan left for work. I love it when we do that, when we take a moment and start the day together. The weather has been nothing short of glorious the last few weeks, far nicer than our weather last summer. Really. By the time we returned from our walk it was hot. Not warm, or temperate, but hot. Rylie was in no way ready to head into the house, so we had some fun with a little bit of water. I gave all of our plants and fruit trees a drink. When Rylie tired of helping me, she made a small puddle in the yard and had a grand time running back and forth. She has three words for water that she uses quite specifically. Wa wa is for drinking water. Splash is for the bath and wash is for fountains, bodies of water and puddles (the latter she let me know just today.) Strange that just yesterday we were all about warm and cozy sweaters and today it is sunny water play.

I have noticed all the signs of spring so many weeks early this year. The birds are visiting our feeders, the few trees around these parts that do lose their leaves have buds already, and I spot flowering trees every time we are out. One of these days I will remember my clippers and get a cutting or two. I love the sunshine and it is hard to complain about an 80 degree day in February, but I hope that the farmer's are holding up ok with the drought. I worry about that. And I worry about what these strange weather patterns may mean in the larger context of the natural world. I know that most of the country has been experiencing above average temperatures this year, I just hope it is all cyclical and will balance out. I have faith in the wisdom of nature and hope that these weather patterns are not man made. I was on the phone with my mom the other day and she told me they had a thunderstorm one night last month. A January thunderstorm in Michigan? One thing I do know for sure is that is bizarre. And my sister (also in Michigan) said it has been in the 60s. Is it really February?

A Sweater For Rylie

I did it! I have successfully knit my very first sweater! I am definitely excited over here, can you tell? It took me a little longer than I had planned, and quite frankly, I was worried that either the baby would get too big or the weather would get too hot before I finished. But here it is, early Febraury and Rylie has her first mama-made sweater.

This is the garter stitch cardigan from Knitting For Baby by Melanie Falick and Kristin Nicholas. I used Cashsoft DK weight by Rowan in Cashew with vintage buttons from my stash. I love this book, it is really comprehensive and easy to use. It not only has timeless and adorable patterns for babies, but it is a nice guide for the novice knitter with very thorough directions.

I wasn't sure if I had a sweater in me, and I must admit, part of me thought if I ever did get it finished it wouldn't fit right, one arm would be longer than the other, and it would unravel upon Rylie's first touch. A sweater seems so daunting, so big and so . . . visible. But here it is - a sweater - finished! It fits my little babe well right now and I think she will be able to wear it for a while yet. Admittedly, it has a few issues here and there, but really I'm quite proud if I do say so. I started this project at the beginning of November and much of it was knitted in the car going here and here. The very best way to pass the time on a road trip, if I do say. This little sweater got put on the back burner to make way for all of our Christmas festivities. I love to knit and when I get on a roll I really can't put it down. If I do put it down for a few days, I get out of the rhythm and forget about it for a while, which sort of happened with this one. Once all of the pieces were knitted and only the seaming was left, the stalling kicked in to overdrive. I was so nervous about attaching the sleeves, but really it worked out better than I imagined. Once it was all sewn together, I had to pick up and knit an edge stitch around the entire garment. It took a while to figure out and this is the one place the book was a little unclear. This video saved me.

Rylie seems to like it and what is better for helping Daddy fill the bird feeder than a warm and cozy sweater knit by mama?


And guess what? I've already cast on my next project which is an adorable smocked dress for my girl from this book. Gotta keep the momentum, ya know? Especially with this little confidence boost I'm sporting today. What's next? A ravelry page? Oh dear, I hope so.

And for Ginny's Yarn Along, I am reading the chapter on feeding toddlers in The Baby Book by Dr. Sears. Rylie has become, shall we say, a bit more scrupulous with her food consumption these days. I found a great tip in here about preparing a nibble tray. Essentially, it is an ice cube tray filled with many different finger food options. Set out on a low table, little ones can nosh as they wish while running back and forth on their relentless explorations throughout the house. Toddlers are typically more into grazing at this age as opposed to sitting still during an entire meal at the table. This certainly describes my little one.

Grateful

Today, we are grateful for . . .

* fun things at the park like this huge abacus.

* friends to swap meals with.

* the very first birds to visit our new feeders.

*the look of pure bliss on a certain little one's face when she discovers those birdies.

* the kitty who loves to watch those birdies, too (albeit for slightly less innocent reasons.)

*the Learning Tower that we scored a sweet deal on second hand.

*the delicious fruits and veggies that our CSA program regularly drops on our doorstep.

* the loud machines that the gardeners use in the yard that keep my babe in rapt attention.

* being moments away from holding my very first FINISHED sweater in my hands.

* birthday parties . . .

* . . . especially when they are in honor of our cousin and niece.

*our cousin's toys.

* a daddy that doesn't flinch at getting in the bouncy house right alongside the little ones.

What is making your heart sing lately?

Hello From Sunday

What did you do today?

Links To Share

I hope your weekend is treating you well. Here is what has grabbed my attention as of late.

* Brilliant!

* I want a rug like this but a little bit larger

* We want to go here, here and here

* This article puts life in perspective

* Beautiful color photos from the Great Depression

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Amanda Soule 

Happy Birthday, Reagan Olivia!

Things We Do With Gram

Ryan's folks journeyed all the way from North Carolina to visit us last week. They had a wonderful and joyous time with Rylie and they like to let us know that Ryan and I are not half bad either. They make it out here at least once per year and we try our darndest to get East as well. This visit felt different and like we had reached an important marker, as Rylie really took to them. She was eager to leave me behind and head off to the park with them all by herself. This is the first time they were solo with her. During our visit this past summer at Lake Winola, Rylie was at the height of separation anxiety, cutting teeth and in the midst of a 2 week vacation away from home - a lot to handle for her at 12 months old. During that trip she did not want Ryan and I out of her sight. But this visit, this visit brought many delights.

Grandma Scott arrived with handmade goodies for Rylie's dollies.

and she came with crayons (she really knows the straightest route to Rylie's heart!)

There was drawing to be done . . .

and music to be made . . .

and stories to be read.

And when you are learning the concept of balance, who is a more patient assistant than Grams?

The role of grandparents in Rylie's life has increasingly been on my mind lately. I was extremely close with my own Grandma growing up, we spent countless days together coloring, playing games, cooking. It was valuable for me to have a close relationship with someone so wise and experienced and I want that for Rylie too. Still, not a day goes by that I am not reminded in even the smallest ways of my Gram. She was a very special person in my life. As was my G-Pa.

To watch Rylie bond in this way with her Grandparents was such a treat, and with the help of Skype, I know that she will remember them the next time. Ryan's brother and family live out here too, and I know that it is hard on the Grandparents to be so far away from all of us. As it is now, we have to travel great distances to get to each other. Ryan's folks are in Coastal North Carolina and my family is in West Michigan. Not easy trips in any direction. It is a struggle and one that we talk about a lot. Until we figure it all out, we cherish and relish in these visits and enjoy every last little bit becasue they are too few and much too far between.

Thanks for the visit Grandma and Grandpa Scott! We miss you already.

Paint!

We have gotten into the paint around here, oh yes, yes we have. The photos above are from a few weeks back when we used finger paints for the very first time. I had the table covered in craft paper and all of our tools and materials ready to go when Rylie woke from her nap. After a nibble on a snack, she was ready to go. She was hesitant at first, checking out the scene and examining all of this new stuff. We started with a small amount of paint in a pie tin. One thing I will do differently next time is keep the bottles of paint out of sight because they became a bit of a distraction for her. I had picked up a few fun things to experiment with along with the paints: combs, cookie cutters, straws, chopsticks. All of which are ideas that I got from this book.

This week we got out the brushes and a canvas I had on hand. After reading this post, I was inspired to let Rylie create her very first painting on a canvas that we could hang on the door to her new toy & art closet. To prepare the scene, I laid a drop cloth on an area of our living room with the most space and covered a low table with craft paper and set her up with three different colors of paint. These paints are easily washable so I had no reservations about her painting in such close proximity to our couch. Towards the end she did get bored with the canvas and began studying the surrounding area for other surfaces to paint upon. That's when I said, Rylie do you want to Splash (this is our saying for bath time) and her focus was shifted from painting on furniture to coloring on the walls in the tub. This was a fascinating exploration, and just like Meg, I snapped oodles of photos, more than I can count.



I was intrigued while watching her work through all of the different thoughts and ideas she was having about the whole experience. She would not be restrained to just the canvas. No way! She used her whole body.






And she is already exhibiting signs of a trained artist. Here she is summoning her muse:

Mixing paints to create the perfect avocado green:
And signing the back of her painting: I am eager with anticipation as we take the first steps on this art exploration together. As long as Rylie shows interest in creativity and making things, I will always be there to provide gentle encouragement. It is a true privelege to watch her personality and creative spirit emerge. I sit in rapt attention (when I'm not clicking away at my camera) to see what she will do at the next turn. Between the two of us there is oh so much learning going on.




Here is her lovely canvas now, dry and prominently displayed in our living room.