What's the world coming too?

I am sure you have heard me bemoan the fact in times past that Smudge will not let me put a barrette, clip or elastic in her hair for more than two seconds before ripping it out. Well, the other morning she came to me and said she was going to a party, and could she please have a pony tail in her hair.

After I picked myself up from the floor, we went into her room and found a pretty dress for her to wear to the party, and then picked out an elastic for her hair. She now has all sorts of short layers in her hair and I didn't know if a pony tail would work, but we would sure give it a try. I managed to gather as many ends together as I could and voila, she had a pony tail. She then wanted a picture so she could see it too. She posed quietly for me to get the perfect picture.

Back...
side...
overall view...
and last but not least, radiant front view.
The little girl is growing up. She was all ready for the party...more pictures to follow tomorrow. Stay tuned.

He's got style!

You just never know what JJ is going to come out of his bedroom wearing. He has a thing for hats these days, and he found this striking one in the toy box the other morning. As soon as I saw it I just had to run for my camera.
He helped sister fix her skipping rope...
...made sure it was OK, then toddled off to his room...
...to practice the piano.
Goodness he makes me smile!

Happy Valentine's Day

Ahh, this is the gift that warms my heart and brings me joy not only today, but every morning when I putter down the stairs to the kitchen for my morning coffee: a corner of my cozy nest all lit up in the morning sunlight.
Not only is the room full of sunlight, but bright memories too. I see my mom's dinning room set, AC's mom's teacup cabinet, silverware chest and Tiffany lamp; a treasured tea set from D2 and a cherished figurine from D1. Smudge's little tea set is all ready for her on the tea cart too.
Inside the china cabinet I can see special gifts received from friends over the years, and a china doll that once belonged to my Grandmother, given to me by a dear aunt. All gifts of the heart!

I hope you find gifts of the heart tucked into corners of your house today too, and you have a Happy Valentine's Day full of warm memories.

Fun in the snow

Beaming little faces having fun in the snow, just makes the day brighter.
JJ was more than willing to get to work clearing the snow...
but soon discovered the job was just too big for him and soon gave it up as a lost cause.
He sure had a good long nap that afternoon after just doing the little bit of work he did. Yep, Amma loves getting the kidlets out to play in the snow. It makes for such a good nap time!

Misty Morning

Oh the beauty of a winter morning.
I love this time of year!

Being silly in the "Reading Room"

There's never a dull moment at our house with these two around. Sister was in the "Reading Room" the other day, and decided to make a whole new fashion statement with the clean pull-up diaper she found on the counter.
JJ didn't want to be out-done in the fashion department, so Amma helped him put his own mark on the "world of fashion" with a pair or training pants that were also sitting on the counter.
What a pair!

Walk home

Every day I enjoy a fabulous walk home from the kid's place, and the other day I thought I would take my camera along so you could join me for the trip. The sky was brilliant blue, the snow fresh and clean and the woods were full of birdsong. Oh joy! I wasn't the first person to walk this path, so the snow was broken but fairly deep and was a bit of a challenge to plough through.
The route starts almost at the kid's back door, and takes me through forest areas...


and out into open fields.
Eventually the path leads back out to a subdivision which you can see in the distance in the pic below, and
the second half of my walk takes me along paved streets through the subdivision and into the centre of town. The hike through the woods is the favorite part of the trek home, but I enjoy every minute of the walk, and am more than ready for my cup of tea when I finally arrive at my warm and cozy house on the other side of town.

It's amazing what I notice when I walk along the streets. I know every house that needs a new roof, who has trouble with icicles, who needs to paint their woodwork, who has a beautiful front door, who has a knack with curtains, who needs to shovel their front walk, etc. I would never notice these things zipping along in the car.

If I change my route just a tiny bit I will walk right past a small bookstore that sells fabulous coffee. I think I might stop there on the way home when the weather gets nicer but not during these winter months when I am so bundled up I just want to make a b-line for home, and not stop along the way. In the warmer weather though I might venture around and change my route a bit so I can stop in for a coffee and check out the new books on display.

Small town living is great. I can walk from one end of it to the other in 40 minutes and take in all sorts of delights along the way.

JJ's Second Birthday Party

JJ turned two this past weekend, and we gathered to celebrate the event in grand style. From the picture below and what everyone is wearing you might imagine that the day was "blue", but actually it was quite rosy and a good time was had by all! Just after we arrived it was time to open the presents.
Big Sister was a great help...
and JJ was pleased to have Mommy and Daddy lend a hand too.
Once the wrapping was off the gifts it was time to get at them and play!
"Hmm, how do I get at the ball to go with this bat?"
"Can't seem to get into this box either."
Time for Biggest Sister, Molly, to come to the rescue and help JJ open the music set.
Thanks Molly...Sister and I will have fun with this music set, but this cardboard looks pretty interesting too.
Yep, boxes are great fun.
I am not sure what happened here, but Sister was having a melt down about something, so Mommy came to the rescue with a hug and a kiss...
and Amma was called on to read a quiet story to help Sister calm down a bit.
After a little break Sister was feeling better and ready to play quietly with the birthday Boy.
Ah, the smiles came back when it was time for the Birthday cake. What fun to sing, and then blow out the candles. The eating of the cake was secondary to that fun. While Mommy was lighting the candles JJ got to lick the icing off the cake decoration.
Sister looks on quietly.
JJ gets his dish of cake and ice cream with a spoon, but he prefers to use his finger. Tastes better that way I think.
How's your cake Sister?
MMMM good, thanks for asking Brother.
Oh, good. Now let me get back to mine!

Can I hitch a ride?

Sure JJ, hop on board.
Hang on tight. And away they went zooming around the kitchen table.
The next day JJ gave his sister a ride and look where her feet are. JJ is doing all the work

Think Spring

We are in the middle of a huge storm that dumped major amounts of snow on our region all day long. As the storm raged outside the kids helped Amma think thoughts of spring by getting up close and personal with the Hyacinth that Buppa bought at the grocery store the other day.
Ahhh, nothing says spring like the fragrance of a hyacinth.
"If you have two loaves of bread, sell one and buy a hyacinth to feed your soul."

Goldilocks

The other day JJ was busy trying to adjust his play camera to take a picture of sister, and I couldn't resist taking a picture of him...
and his golden locks ablaze in the sunshine.
Goldilocks indeed.

Ride'em Cowboy

The other day it was race cars that had JJ zooming around the kitchen. Today it was his faithful rocking horse.



What a cute little cowboy.