a few of his favorite things

On Monday the youngest member of our family turned 4.  When one is the youngest I think it is often the case that you do lots of things for others.  Waiting around for others, parties for others, activities based on the interests of others... so over the weekend we tried to do things that were just for the birthday boy.  And here are a few of Elliott's favorite things:

Lego Anakin Skywalker birthday cake

Pony rides

 Corn

Strawberry ice cream

Happy Birthday to a boy who knows what he likes. :)

Fair November

What a stunning month November was this year.  The thing about my birth month is that most people find it wet, cold and depressing.  Which I try not to take personally really.  I mean, there is little I can do to redeem it for anyone...it is what it is.  Except when it is not.  Like this year when it was sunny almost every afternoon and that sun streams down like a gift to those of us that are usually huddling under umbrellas and feeling pale and gloomy by mid month.  The above photo is of two bald eagles on the edge of the Harrison river.  This was their moment to feed on the salmon as they return to lay their eggs and die in the process.  Such a fascinating life cycle and such a delicate balance that we were privileged to witness this year. 

On the right in the above photo lies the Harrison Hot Springs Resort & Spa where we luxuriated in the healing waters for a lovely weekend.  It was the highlight of the month for me.  So relaxing after a busy month of soccer games, gatherings, school, cleaning...you get the picture. A mini vacation it was and a grateful person am I.

And just cause I want to share a lovely poem I found about November that gives it a nice sentiment rather than the gloomy one that is often associated with the 11th month.

November comes

and November goes,

with the last red berries

and the first white snows.

with night coming early, 

and dawn coming late,

and ice in a bucket, 

and frost by the gate.

the fires burn

and the kettles sing,

and earth sinks to rest

until next spring.

-Clyde Watson

Art of the month: pink & purple

Early this month I had the fun of making a little girl gift.  Picking out pink fabric was fun too.  So much fun that I decided to make the apron double sided.  One print was for a 4 year old palette with the required purple and pink and some food references.  Along with the hand embroidered name on the pocket.

 Fabric is Having a baby style#1201071 for Camelot Cottons

  The other print was for me, cause I love it.  Because when she is 8 she will still be able to wear the apron but may tire of the cutesy baby print and prefer the more grown up one that I chose.

Fabric two is sherbet pips by Aneela Hoey for Moda

Aren't the little girls swinging adorable?  Some of the trees have apples and some cherries.  I bought more than I needed for the apron of course and plan a few other projects with both of them.  And since there is no shortage of little girls around us I will get to plan other fun birthday sewing projects in the future.  I used an apron that Kyan has as the template and it came together really quickly which is lucky for me since sewing time is at a premium around here.  Next up: a few other gifts, a clothespin apron for me and I must get Kyan's quilt finished before he doesn't like trains anymore.  Must get more sewing done around here!  

Elliott's Birth Story

On the morning (early morning) that Elliott decided to arrive we were not...er...how should I say it...prepared?  I mean we had diapers and supplies, etc. but the household was under the weather.  Dave had just started antibiotics for Bronchitis, Kyan was getting over a cold and I was fine other than being very pregnant.  Oh, and to top it all off Dave had just started (and I mean days here) the training period for a new job.  All of these things set the stage for me dubbing 2011 the year of bad timing....but as all babies do Elliott picked his perfect time and we just had to deal with it.  And deal with it we did.
For a week before E's birth I had some false starts.  They felt like the "rushes" that Ina May and the gang talk about in Spiritual Midwifery.  They made me wonder if I had forgotten what contractions felt like.  But they faded and so I just kept on with my days and waited for something concrete to happen.
In the early hours of March 16th Kyan called out in his sleep.  As far as I remember it was 4 a.m.  I walked into his bedroom and had my first contraction.  Immediately I said to myself: this is what they feel like.  And I knew this was it for sure.  I laid down in the bed for a few minutes and had two or three more and decided I had to wake Dave.  My first labour was 7 hours and it was established with the midwives and all friends and family that my second labour would be faster than that.  I was not prepared for how fast that was.
We called the midwife first.  She talked to me on the phone.  When I said that I had talked through a contraction she said that if they were still manageable to that degree then it was too early for her to come.  She said to take a shower and they would either subside or intensify.  And she assured me that she'd start gathering her things and prepare to leave regardless.
I jumped in the shower and within minutes the contractions became overwhelming.  As I'm moaning to Dave to call the midwife again, Kyan called out and woke up.  Dave somehow managed to call the midwife just before Kyan began throwing up in the sink.  Seriously?  What the...any way.  Dave also called Heidi Joy, my best friend who is also a Doula and his mother who was to hang out with Kyan while we took care of business.  In a matter of minutes we set out the birth area in our bedroom, put on music, lit a candle and I tried not to panic.  I remember having no concept of time but knowing that things were moving fast.  And I needed the support people there now.  I have a distinct memory of being on my hands and knees on the floor pounding it with my fist through the contractions.  Saying when will they get here, when will they get here.

And then Heidi arrived.  And then my mother-in-law arrived.  I felt more relaxed then but the contractions were not letting up at all.  After Dave admonished the midwife to "haul ass" a term she had never had directed at her before in her career..lol....she too arrived.  With everyone there I felt safe and had my most peaceful moment of the birthing stage when my water broke.  With my first birth I had been on the toilet when my water broke and so I felt nothing but a pop.  With E I was laying on my side on the floor and the water gushed in what felt to me like waves.  Fluid, rhythmic waves.  And after that the midwife was telling me it was time to push.  Push! I say, I've only just begun labour.  It's time to push though everyone tried to convince me.  And then my labour clouded brain relayed to me, push you silly and then this will all be over.  You'll be done.  Get going.  So in a very few pushes out came Elliott.  And he screamed for 20 minutes straight despite my best efforts to soothe him.

  The midwife (the wonderful Yarra) said he was the healthiest baby she had seen born in a long time.  Oh, and did I mention that he was born at 5:30?  Yah.  An hour and a half.  In an hour and a half 7 pounds and 14 ounces of sunshine was born and made our family complete.  So here is to my Pisces, curly haired, blue-eyed baby boy who is now almost 14 months old and is full of mischief.

  He honours several ancestors with his names and also decided to honour one more by being born on my Grandmother Mary's birth date.   So out of all of the crazy bad timing of 2011 the date he picked to be born was the most perfect day to be born into our family.

Spring birthday

Despite the fact that I was reminded that Elliott is in fact a Winter baby since he was born before the Equinox,  his birth's proximity to the date still makes him my Spring baby.  And here are some celebration pictures from a day of cupcakes, lunch and Peter Rabbit.

Just like his brother before him E took a mid-party nap.  There were several of us big kids that would have loved to have a nap too.

The nap was helpful in that it gave him lots of energy for cake eating.  Cupcakes are so cute for the first taste since they fit nicely in the hand.

So my spring baby is now 1.  I want to thank everyone who helped us with the party and who came to celebrate.  It means so much to be surrounded by love from near and far on these special days.

Elliott's eleven

Well here we are, my baby is one today.  All the celebration part will be shared later on as the party is tomorrow.  Today is about his eleventh month which held some big stuff for such a little guy.  On the day he turned eleven months we were at Emergency getting an x-ray and prodding and poking to find out what was making him so ill.  We did get some answers and he was on the mend soon after.
The big news of the month was taking his first steps and by today becoming a walker!  He will still crawl sometimes but is using walking as his primary transport method.  I love the pride in his face, along with the joyful smile when he walks toward me.  Priceless.

This will be the last of E's months updates and I feel lucky that my little guy will be able to look back on these posts someday to see his first year's progress.  It has literally flown by and I marvel at the pace that humans grow even though it is slow compared to many other mammals.
Eventually I'll post his birth story as well.  All in good time.  For now I must get back to food prep, and sharing the day with my two sons who are growing up right before my eyes at such a crazy pace.
Have a lovely weekend.

Art of the month: gifting

There was a good amount of sewing that went into this year's festivities.  Beginning in November with birthdays I was making for my loved ones.  There was of course more on the list than got finished (one of the things that was nixed was Elliott's stocking, despite working on it right up to the last minute.  We used a fill in one for this year.)  I was happy to have at least made what I did this year and I know that as I vow each year I'll try and start earlier in 2012 and have more gifts ready earlier...we'll see how that goes.
For my sister's birthday I made my fourth birthday banner. 

This one was done in blues and greens and I modified the top to have the ribbon included rather than sewn over the top of each triangle as I did previously.  And I also decided that after several years of using a banner myself it definitely needed it's own drawstring bag.

The next birthday gift was for my nephew's first birthday.  Another area that I had worked on before my bibs.   I have given bibs to several little people on their first birthdays because it is just about the time that big eating messes seem to happen.

Four bibs and a carry bag for two wooden puzzles.  This fabric was found while thrifting and I still have some left over.  Such a great pattern for little ones.
And my gift for Heidi Joy was a clothes pin apron based on this tutorial.  If you look closely you'll notice where I deviated from the directions.  But it was well received and I hope to make one for myself in the spring. 

Our family was gifted some lovely handmades as well this Yule.  I certainly feel blessed to have such crafty ladies in my circles of family and friends.  I hope your holidays were full of thoughtful gifts as well.

four-orange

a little boy turned four around here. 

I would rather like to stop the pace of these years in many ways.  It seems like just yesterday that this and this happened.  This year brought a true understanding of the scope of a Christmas birthday...presents, cakes, parties and repeat.  And this carol singing, Santa loving, big brother is just getting smarter and more himself each day.  Love you Ky.  Happy fourth birthday.

10 years come and gone

Two days ago I turned 34.  In the first month that I moved to the west coast of Canada I turned 24.  10 years I have been here now.  This rainy, lush rain forest of mountains, beaches and whole living goodness is where my heart found its home.
Looking back on the young woman I was when I moved here: a somewhat reluctant adventurer, naive to her dependence on others, full of dreams without much of an idea of how to manifest them, that person is still inside me.  She is now combined with a 34 year old married mother of two, staring out from (hopefully) wiser eyes.  There are days when that young thing takes a hold and says: What are you doing here?  Can't we just make art, sing, go dancing somewhere....and the answer is usually no.  I'm not the kid anymore, I have kids now.  The kid in me does manifest with my children, I'm not completely without fun but there is responsibility and nurturing that comes first.  So much has changed in these last 10 years...I've grown up, become an adult.  Building a life, setting down roots and manifesting my vision of how life should be. 
Some part of my soul knew that I had to let go of every known thing and fly across the country 10 years ago to meet my destiny.  The universe pulled me here pretty much against my will.  I remember crying with fear and my mother comforting me, neither of us knowing then that I would not be moving back east.  I have learned in my 10 years here that doing the thing that your soul says to do is often not easy.  It is scary, and you second guess your decisions in your fear.  But that thing, what ever it is, pulls on you none-the-less and if you don't listen the first time it will just keep pulling at you anyway.  And so here I sit, far from my family but nestled in the family that the universe manifested for me.  Always missing them but secure that the 24 year old who followed her heart here was wise to put her fears aside and buy a one way ticket.  And the 34 year old who hugs her boys and wonders at the spark of love that created her family here thanks her and everyone else who helped her along the way. 

last week we...

 searched for frogs in overflowing brooks

 buried two placentas in a sugar maple grove

 became re-acquainted with a certain loved cow

 recorded for posterity the simple beauty around us

 celebrated birthdays and blessings with family

met with old friends and family and made some new ones too

it was over far too quickly but sometimes memories are made that way.  i vow to stay longer next time and have more time to soak in the love.

our weekend

Happy Solstice to you all.  I wanted to share some snippets of our weekend.  Ky had his birthday bash a week early so that he could have a party like the real kids born on the other 364 days of the year.  I will drop in this week with photos from our days of making, both merry and gifts.  We have our special family of three dinner and gift exchange tonight.  This will be the first year that hopefully begins to instill this day as a tradition that we will carry with us throughout our family time together.  

more to come soon friends.  hope you are all having a merry week.