quiet

One baby sleeping soundly + the smell of banana cake baking in the oven + one little girl being rather quiet + two scoops of flour, some sugar, a few cups of salt, half my container of cinnamon, and all the popcorn seeds = a pretty peaceful break for this mama.

smiley face

Have a happy weekend!

winky face

During an afternoon play-dough session yesterday I discovered that Avery can wink!  

It definitely takes a concentrated effort (with mixed results) ...

But she can wink.

My friend Erin posted this article recently (worth the read).  It was a great reminder to shed some of the unnecessary pressure of motherhood and soak up the little moments when the plodding clock seems to stop ticking and I find myself in Kairos time.  My goodness ... isn't she cute?

friday

Today was one of those draining, over-tired, fail of a days.  Popcorn and smoothies for lunch.  Avery in jammies until 3pm.  Frozen pizza for supper.  Couldn't keep my eyes open during any feeding time with Ella - except for the one where my Mom called, which was my mid-day highlight.  When I really can't stay awake, and my neck is hurting from snapping my head back up, we pull out the rescue remedy: Nigella on youtube.  The bonus is that Avery likes watching her too.  So we sit and get hungry and inspired together.  Avery goes off to her play kitchen and makes fancy meals - usually rice, beans and pork, but once she made a crème brûlée - and I come up with popcorn and frozen pizza.  Why do I feel like I can't get my act together?

Weekend, you are so welcome here.  Resolution #1 - get back on the meal planning train.

ella bella

I took the little one for a visit with the public health nurse yesterday.  We've done our own inaccurate weighing at home, but I was curious to find out how much she actually weighs now that she's closing in on 3 months old.  Her stats to date :: length - 23.25" and weight - 12 lb 7 oz.  Both measurements put her in the 85th percentile!  Way to go, fluffy baby!

This sweet blanket was made by my Mom.  She started it here at our house while she was here helping us out in October and finished it up by Christmas.  It's perfectly soft and cozy for our buttery little baby!

2011 book list

I managed to read 21 books in 2011.  One more than last year, so I've made progress!  The first half of my year-of-books seems a bit heavy on the unimpressive picks, but I ended up reading quite a few books that I really enjoyed through spring and summer.  Three were re-reads, and of course I threw in one token non-fiction since that seems to be the way I roll.  I'm not one to dish out written reviews with my yearly book lists, but it does seem too bare to just leave a list as it is when I'm just typing them out in order of when they were read, so I'll at least provide my own ranking that I use in my notebook.  Two stars for the ones I'd consider my top favorites of the year, one star for those I really did enjoy, and no star for those that I wouldn't recommend to anyone.  "And so, dear reader, here we go ..."

Snow Falling on Cedars - David Guterson *
The Postmistress - Sarah Blake *
Which Witch? - Eva Ibbotson
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
The Farming of Bones - Edwidge Danticat *
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen **
Who Has Seen the Wind - W.O. Mitchell
The Secret Scriptures - Sebastian Barry
A Handful of Time - Kit Pearson
Gift from the Sea - Anne Morrow Lindbergh **
Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie *
Cutting for Stone - Abraham Verghese **
New and Selected Poems: Volume One - Mary Oliver *
Follow Me - Joanna Scott
The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver **
Five Quarters of the Orange - Joanne Harris *
The Help - Kathryn Stockett **
Fire in the Blood - Irene Nemirovsky
September - Rosamunde Pilcher *
The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton **
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins **

Since we visited a bookstore or two (or four) while we were in Kelowna, we came home with a happy new stack of books for the new year.  It actually made me giddy realizing that I had several new books that really excite me to decide between now that I'm ready to move onto a new book.  2012's prospects are looking at a foody biography, an indian/parisian foody novel, the rest of the hunger games trilogy, a quirky youth fantasy ... maybe a little indian child bride, a mute boy, perhaps Jane Eyre?  Cheers to a new year of good reading!  I'd love to hear what you might have to recommend for me!  

christmas time

We're home from a holly jolly holiday away from home, but still very much at home, amidst our families in Kelowna.  It never feels like enough time and this year our ten days away seemed to fly by even quicker.  It just feels good to be there - familiar and comfortable and there's nothing better than having a reason to gather the family.

Papa and Avery

Christmas Eve was spent with our Simpson side of the family.  After going to church we settled in for a cozy night together to eat homemade pizza and open gifts.  We drew names for each other again and each bought just one gift for someone else, but the pile under the tree didn't necessarily reflect that since our two girlies were happily spoiled a little more than the rest of us!

Ella and her new kicks

Mom and Dad prepping for the feast

Rhonda and Avery getting all painty

Levi and Ian

Christmas Day was spent relaxing with Levi's family again.  Mom and Dad worked together preparing the feast for our dinner, we played a few board games, Avery got into some finger paints with Auntie Rhonda, and it was just a good mellow day.  Turkey dinner was amazing and a proper fog-inducing fill.  The others played a game in the evening while I cozied up on the couch to feed Ella and watch one of Avery's new Shirley Temple movies (pretty sure I was more pumped about Avery's gift than she was, but that's just because she hasn't met Shirley yet and I think they'll actually like each other quite a bit).

Nana and Avery

Oma and Ella

Ella, meet Petrenella.  We love that our girls have the special gift of knowing their Great Oma and experiencing her warmth and delight in their little lives.  We think it's pretty great that she's in Kelowna and we get to spend some of the holidays with her, too.

***

During the week we took advantage of willing grandparents and enjoyed plenty of dates out shopping for books or clothes, dining out at Cactus Club, playing games, watching movies, catching up with family and enjoying the break from everyday life.  It's always a holiday when there are many arms available to hold the baby and entertain Avery.

The Peters Family

On the second-to-last day of December we gathered with my side of the family.  We crammed all 19 of us into Terry and Karen's place and settled in for a boisterous but fun day together.  It was actually a lot less chaotic then we were anticipating it to be and plans went off as we'd hoped for a full day of exchanging gifts, playing games, visiting and feasting on a big spread of appies.  

The kids did a cousins exchange this year, each drawing a name and buying $5 worth of goodies and toys for whoever they picked.  They also got to open gifts from Gramma and Grampa - art supplies and kits all around and the surprise of pulling a mystery stuffed animal out of Santa's sack.  Santa actually made an appearance, which I'm sad I didn't get on camera, since our nephew Kaden got a Santa suit for Christmas (been on his wish list for 2 years now) and decided to surprise the others with it.

Karl and Lisa (no news here - that's our baby)

Terry, Ray, Mel and Dad

Evening was adult time and kids were sent to bed early or confined to the basement rec room for a movie.  Early bedtime was a bit of a joke as far as Avery was concerned.  She decided to be up and alert all evening.  We played our own gift exchange, much like last year, with a $10 gift for anyone that had to start with the letter "C" (for Christmas of course).  We draw numbers and pick from the pile and do the whole stealing thing.  Then we just sat back and relaxed, in between herding kids back downstairs, breaking up disputes and trying to wrangle the overexcited into their beds that is.

Sister-in-laws Karen and Lisa

Ray and Mel (no news here - that's our baby)

Sweet old lovebirds, Grampa and Gramma

Love spending time with family!  It was so good to be "home" for the holidays - especially good for my soul that misses being near family and the conveniences of a bigger town and being surrounded in the kind of beauty that makes me happy.  After a couple days of readjusting to being home bags are slowly being unpacked, gifts and books are being put in their new places, fridge is restocked, and laundry is ... getting there.  We're talking about aspirations for the new year and plans for our future and finding our groove again.

Happy New Year!