We spent all of Saturday outside. Morning at the park - Little A was fresh & awake, climbing, running, jumping, hanging, spinning… if only my energy could match his. Afternoon at the beach - i knit some and laid back soaking up some warming sunshine while he dug and raked. it really feels like Spring.

There have been so many playful days lately. i love seeing the imagination and games unfold. So often the little one comes to me saying “i don’t know what to do” and if i just give him time to be in those moments of unknowing or boredom he ends up coming up with these brilliantly creative ideas and he’s off playing for hours. i love it. it makes me feel even more sure about our lifestyle and decisions to limit or eliminate television from our days ( i admit that during my 3 o’clock crash time i have given into the tv about once a week).  i’m inspired by Kim John Payne. i was lucky to attend his lecture a couple weeks ago on Simplicity Parenting. i thought the lecture would save me having to read his book but now i want to devour it more than ever.

At the beach and in proper attire (especially those mitts!) he could play for hours. Grandma P collected stones (even found a crystal) and i knit (i’m so addicted);

The teepee is getting some great use these past weeks.  i hear him chatting away in there with his stuffed friends and there’s almost always some mess to tidy away at the end of the day.

The request for play dates is near daily and you have no idea how this thrills me. Seriously, i waited years for this time to come. He does well one on one or in small groups. We had such a fantastic afternoon with these guys the other day. i couldn’t help giggling along. i was so curious to watch them play together;

School can be challenging. There are rhythms that flow and then there are not. Little A told me, ” School could be really good if there were only 5 kids”. i get it. 14 kids during some of the transitions can be loud, overwhelming and sometimes disturbing. Outside is quite a different experience. There is a new water pump at the Waldorf school this year which gets used by most of the kids every single day.  Between that and the “cupcake shop” (sand box) it’s becoming increasingly difficult to end the day with his school buds.

We’re establishing a fine balance of active outdoor element play with the more quiet and thoughtful indoor play. While Willie was meant to be a special puppet brought to life by me only, the little one is smitten and so very curious to have a turn and so i let him sometimes. Grandma P is an attentive audience;

i’m trying to love this little guy up in our last few months before newbie arrives. i’m also happy to see him grow a little more independent leaving me with my own time and space. Things are pretty great right now.

so i’m quite certain that i am finished making my matryoshka dolls. They have been a load of fun to make and it’s been successful beyond what i anticipated but with the cost of wool from my local suppliers having more than doubled since i began stuffing, i am having a hard time charging what they’re currently worth.  i have about 20 gals remaining, some of whom are in the shop (sale until Feb 15th).

what’s next? i’m entertaining the idea of a pdf pattern some time in the future but don’t hold me to it as life is busy and ideas plenty. i have yet to finish the Waldorf style doll that i started a couple weeks ago at Miriam’s workshop (mine is the bald, armless one in the right photo);

the little one would like me to work on more puppets…?

i’m planning ahead for holidays. Valentine’s is pretty much covered;

Easter is in the works and i’m going to try and stockpile for all those May babies that i know.  i’ve got a number of bunting flags in the cutting stack and will set to work on those next.  my ideas are far more plentiful than my production at this point but i’m getting to it here and there.

when asked if he thought it would be a girl baby or a boy, little A replied,  “i think we should call it a she but i hope it’s a boy because i don’t want it to grow up and make more babies”. oh my.  he’s curious and finding his place in this birth/sibling planning thing. his friends have become older siblings but he’s not so sure what that all means or if he’s up for it. we all have our anxieties about stirring up the current threesome  - it’s an adventure to unfold for sure.

at first he thought i was saying ‘baby in the room’ and was asking a lot of questions about what it looked like so we each sat down to draw our own versions. his rocked!

a story he made up and had me write for him (it was one big long run on sentence - i had to sneak some periods in there somewhere);

his spelling by sounding out the words amazes me! “i drew the pictures of the book written by mommy”

so fun.

this belly is bursting @ 24 weeks;

much bigger, higher and wider than with little A at 26 weeks;

it’s true that every pregnancy is so very different -  the lessons and growing continue…

as with my first pregnancy, and even more so this time around, i have felt pretty quiet and to myself with my close group of friends about it in the beginning - that is until now -  you’ll probably see a lot more of the belly in the months to follow. Leanne snapped a few silly photos when we met for lunch the other day. Little A was into the dress up box and so we all were.

this little guys looks like nothing at all of what i imagined. in fact he’s so different that i feel like i’m staring at him in a similar way to when i first was meeting Little A out of the womb - i stared and searched for hours wondering, “what do you look like and who are you?” i realize the puppet reveals himself in the making. i’m not sure this is my medium but i have a deeper respect for some very special doll and puppet makers out there along with the great story tellers. i learned many wonderful things in this workshop re; language and speech with children, the dreaminess of vowel sounds as opposed to the awakening sound of the consonants, that a person’s larynx mimics a speakers vocal and energetic vibration (not the case in listening to a recording or tv). a reminder brought forth this weekend in regards to reading and telling stories to children is to’ give life and not emotion to the story’ - it’s a real art to capture a child’s wonder with a simple story and i think that in a person’s unknowing or discomfort that one might be more inclined to project themselves and their emotions into the story, becoming much more of an entertainer. there is absolutely no need for animation. a child’s wonder is pure.

there is so much to do with a puppet and this verse;

wee willie winky runs through the town

upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown

peeking in the windows, calling through the locks

‘are all the children in their beds?

for now it’s 8 o’clock’

Suzanne Down is a lovely woman and the director of Juniper Tree School of Puppetry Arts in Colorado.

We are in the midst of a post festive lull when we stay in our pjs most of the day. The little one is happy and into his projects and i’m sort of puttering, undecided which of many projects to get into. Soon, but not too soon, we will get into a groove of busy activities but for now good things are going on (mostly).

New additions to the Winter Wonderland from the elves at Jalu Toys;

good company, conversations and laughs, cozy fire, games, lots of cheeses, gherkins, ravioli, blueberry venison & apple pork sausages (which i did not try), halibut with chanterelles and other yummies.

another dinner gathering and Christmas all over again - this time duck (i ate shitakes instead), sage roast potatoes, brocolini, yellow beans, brussel sprouts and then apple tarts with vanilla bean ice cream.

i just keep eating and eating. mmm.

from 1 - 86, the little one picked the number 60.

Malka will be mailed within BC to Tai and her 2 boys over at Small Wonder. it’s been such a long time since i’ve spent time perusing blogs, linking here and there getting lost and led to further inspiring sites. From Tai’s own inspiring blog i’ve tucked away a link to Enki Education for future thought and reading, i signed up (finally) for a year’s subscription to Living Crafts and i discovered Molly’s super sweet and awesome beeswax acorn tutorial. i’m certain there’s much more to explore so thank you Tai. Please send me your mailing address (my contact info is on my “about” page).

ps. a little sweetness over breakfast;

if there couldn’t be snow then we had the best other option - thick, magical fog. i love that. so much.

papa’s back to work. the little one and i are into leftover ginger cookies and plan to bus out to the bookstore later to spend gift certificates.  the sun is shining. we’ll see where the day takes us. i hope you all continue to enjoy some cozy down time.