sweetest sleep

upstairs at this very moment...

me, on tiptoes

lucky enough to capture this forever.

favourites

This morning while I was sorting through some of Adelaide's birthday clothing, she got very excited about this little dress from one of our most favourite friends Mia. Adelaide carried the dress all around the house, trying to put in on over her head! It is the first time that I've ever seen her even remotely interested in what she wears. Looks like Mia and her have similar taste (yey!)

Here Addie is peeking out from behind a couple of large Ikea Ribba frames that I went and picked up last night for some posters I found and ordered. I am always on the look out for posters and prints to frame and hang up all over our house, but finding nice prints for children I've found rather difficult to come by. 

I've seen Japanese illustrator Shinzi Katoh's work before, and but when I found that he has posters available, it wasn't difficult to decide to try to locate some and order them for Addie's room. I found that Penelope's - a lovely Chicago store that actually I used to sell some of my goods to - had them available and if you email or call them they are happy to take your order and send them off to you. For $34 each , the posters are huge! (about 24 x 34")  There are several available, but I ordered the following two and I am looking forward to getting them up in Addie's room. And when she does outgrow them, I'll still be happy to have them up around the house mixed in with my other prints.

good things

I've admired the Good Things columns in all Martha Stewart publications for a long while now - there are always helpful hints and lovely ideas that I've found inspiring and useful - so it's very flattering to me that my address file has been featured in the latest issue of Weddings as a Good Thing. I especially like it that my address file is not shown as simply another item to buy, but shown rather as a useful way to put it to use that wouldn't ordinarily be considered. (by using it as a guest book.)

Speaking of address files, I very much want to thank all of you whole wrote such lovely comments and tips regarding my search for a woodworker. I very much appreciate all of your feedback! I am in the process of dealing with another source now, they will be getting back to me with samples and figures shortly, so - crossing fingers - hopefully I will have the files available again soon!

I am wondering, however, what is the proper etiquette on responding to blog comments? In the past I used livejournal, which has a nifty way to respond to comments directly, but using blogger for this journal I find this to be so limiting. I wish to respond to comments, so should I just do so via the blogging comment page and hope that somehow the person reads it eventually? A lot of the people who leave comments do not have direct contact information so I am not sure on the way to go about it. Any thoughts? 

Many other good things have been coming our way the past week or so too. The sunshine has returned - in fleeting days and moments, but here nevertheless! Every late winter / early spring Vancouverites get majorly moody. All the constant rain and grey of this place causes mopey, whiny, and grumpy residents... but when the sun comes out - look out! Someone might even give you a slight smile on the bus. Sunshine around here is a huge good thing.

The other good thing (the best thing that I heard of in a long while) is that our provincial government has finally approved funding for our elementary school! The school is planned to be  "state of the art" (what does that really mean anyways) and environmentally sustainable, and will mean so much to our fledgling community. And it also means that one day Addie will be able to walk to school, for it will be only steps from our door. 

One of the reasons that we decided to buy a home on the top of this mountain was the type of childhood Adelaide would have here. Here I can afford to stay at home and not have to put her in daycare. (but of course, if i ever have to do so, the daycare here is amazing and rated as one of - if not the - best in Canada) Here we have a enviromentally considerate sustainable community where there are forests to play in, the cleanest air, the sweetest neighbours, interesting scientists, professors, and authors strolling around all over, and we have run of the University. Here is o.k. to leave your stroller (or anything for that matter) outside overnight. No big-box shops allowed. And people passing you by actually smile, say hello, and stop to chat!

At first I was skeptical and concerned about leaving the harrowed ground which is Vancouver. There is such a stereotype here (is this the case in other cities??) that if you don't live in the city, you are a nobody! And I was used to living in the city, so I was feeling parinoid. But now, more and more, it feels like we really made an incredibly wise decision - since moving here to this peaceful place my stress levels have dropped almost completely. And when friends come to visit, they are always suprised at how beautiful our new home and neighbourhood is... "oh, I just assumed you lived across from some strip mall" is something I've heard many times! I love being here at our home. But if Addie and I ever wish, downtown is about 25 minutes away and the bus leaves every 4 minutes. Perfect.

13 1/2 months old

Adelaide is already 13 1/2 months old! We cannot get over how fast she is growing up. Already she is no longer a baby but a little girl.

These days Addie is beginning to run... she walks everywhere and hardly ever crawls anymore, except for when we are playing chase! Everyday she does something new. Today she kept going down on all four hands and feet, and then looking back under between her legs, laughing like a wild maniac child at us.

Adelaide also likes to pick up big things - such as cushions or the cats - and when she does so she makes these loud groaning noises! Poor Elliot, I dont think he knows what to do when she is trying to pick him up, groaning away... She hasn't managed to quite yet (he is about the same size as her!)

Lately Addie has also learned to stack and nest things. She loves playing with her stacking blocks that Sean and Fattie got her for her birthday. She gives a satisfying ahah! when she stacks the correct blocks in together.

Addie has these crazy little wild fingers and loves to use them. It's amazing to watch. She'll run up to my keyboard, take a breath, and then madly off her fingers go, chopping at the keys like wild. She is so funny.

I've also noticed that Addie is getting more and more into her books. She brings books to me and moans until we sit and read them together. Today I noticed that she began pointing at objects in the books and moaning until I would say it's name (ball, tree, sun, mouse) I have been trying to be a good example and have been reading a lot myself (for example, when nursing) and we have all sorts of books all over the house. Addie has been so entertaining that we rarely, if ever, turn the TV on anymore.

Adelaide very much loves sorting things. She will go from room to room moving objects about. For example, she will go to her room, open her dresser drawer, and one by one take out her pants and bring them to the other room where she will neatly pile them all together somewhere. She does this over and over. I also find her sorting through her clothes, she takes a shirt up, folds it all up, and then places it to the side. and then another, over and over. I believe that she is mimicking me as to when I fold the laundry. I think she mimics the things that I do a lot. She is very good at entertaining herself and she always has these little projects of hers going on, keeping herself busy. Its totally amazing to me to just sit back quietly and watch!

the best spot, and a winner!

I have spent the past several days a little bit overwhelmed from trying to sort out orders, running around picking up more mailing supplies and items from my storage space, and trying to be loving and considerate to my little Adelaide, who cracked 2 new teeth in the meantime.

So this morning when we woke to a sun-filled room, I set in my mind to try to have a regular day with a more laid-back pace of normal errands and activities. And clean up the house a bit! It's been getting pretty run down in my haste as of late.

A few weekends ago Charles and I moved another large Ikea Expedit shelf down from upstairs and placed it along with our other same shelf out from the wall in an "L" formation. SInce we did this, our living room has become more and more cozy, and it's so nice to have this little reading type of nook on the other side. But Jack has also found this to be quite cozy, and the little brat has been going about knocking my vintage globes off the top of the shelf, one by one, until a cozy space has been made for him, too. Sometimes when I'm puttering about I'll feel a bit strange, and then I realise that he is up there, peering down on me. He is a lion.

This afternoon while Addie naps, I have taken an opportunity to get my address file giveaway all set up. I wrote down all of the names on scraps of card stock and have tossed them in one of my old boxes. It has a small handle slit cut on the side, and so I will now shake shake shake the box until a card slips out...

and the winner is.... Carlene!

WELL. now I really wish that I had more address files to give out. I really have the urge to keep shaking this box and getting more winners out of it. sigh. I will be having more giveaways for sure. But in the meantime, Carlene please contact me if I don't get to you first!

And have I ever mentioned before how crazy in love I am with my daughter? No kidding! Oh, but now, she is becoming so fascinating for me to just sit back and watch. She's always got something going on, her little projects happening with her tiny fingers flying just like Edward Scissorhands. Yep, I'm in love.