saw it. pinned it. did it. ~ snowflake art

i came across this wicked series, saw it. pinned it. did it. via julie.  stephanie and katie hold it every week.  (go and checked them out)  it's given me some motivation to actually do some of the projects i've been pinning.  and with christmas fast approaching it was needed.  this year we are trying to create more meaningful gifts for liam's grandparents.  what do you get for the people who don't need anything?  why get more stuff?  having liam create something unique for each of them is way more meaningful than just stuff.  not to mention it was something we could do together.

original pin:

via

as soon as i saw this project i knew we'd have an absolute blast working on it.  liam loves anything to do with paint.  he practically vibrated his way to the kitchen table when he saw the paint and paint brushes come out.  we were able to stretch the activity out into three different painting sessions.  woo hoo!!  we also ate up some "activity" time by going to get the supplies.  i love how a trip to michaels is so exciting to a two year old.  

what you need:

art canvas, any size

paints, complimentary colours

paint brushes

masking tape

a lot of newspaper if your son likes to paint all over the table 

 we  had a great time doing these and they turned out great!

our first diy christmas project complete.

wordless{ish} wednesday ~ averie's photo shoot

way back at the beginning of october we went for some family pictures/averie's baby shoot.  we used the same photographer from our fall photo shoot last year.  rosie also did liam's baby pictures as well as my maternity pics.  she is freaking awesome.  not only did she get some great photos of averie, she was able to get some smiley ones from liam ... who of course was in a pouty "i'm afraid of strangers" kinda' mood that day.  there were a few times during the shoot that he absolutely refused to get in front of the camera, opting instead to play with the alphabet blocks or his dump truck.  whatev's, we got them anyway.

here are a few some of my fav's.

two things ~

one:  i love our little family of four!

and

 two:  when did liam start looking like such a big boy?  

life {lately} according to iphone ~ v.5

time for a photo dump.  i really like these posts.  i love going through all the photos on my phone and remembering "oh yeah.  we did that."  i often feel like we don't really do much monday to friday and that all the 'fun' happens when rob's with us.  my phone reminds me that we actually do quite a bit and that we do have a ton of fun.

on another note.  liam has turned into a a two year old terrorist and has basically held us hostage since saturday!  i'm talking major meltdown city, tantrums, pouting (which he likes to tell us he's doing) and tears, oh the tears.  and it's about everything and nothing.  he'll ask for something, get it and then immediately doesn't want it anymore.  particularly frustrating when it comes to eating something.  he'll cry about having to go to bed or for a nap and then wake up crying because he woke up.  i know it's just a phase, but seriously i've wanted to pull my hair out all weekend.  where did my awesome nice happy non-terrorist two year old go and when will he be returning?  this current two year old has worn out his welcome!!

happy monday

the weather outside is frightful

hello, two posts in one day.  what the what?  not going to be a regular thing, but i had to share our snowy view.  it's just way too pretty to keep all for ourselves.  we are currently under a snowfall warning here, 10 ~ 20 cm of the white stuff by tomorrow morning.  normally i would say "yuck!"  not today, everything seems peaceful and quiet outside with fluffy snow falling all around.  and we get to be super cozy inside.   making cookies, doing some crafting and drinking hot chaw-chit (chocolate as said by liam).

i love snow days.  sometimes.

oh,how pinteresting

happy wednesday!  not too much going on.  we've got a bit of christmas cheer around our place and mother nature is providing us with some scenic snowy winter.  linking up with michelle for: oh, how pinteresting.  it's fantatic!!

let's get rollin' ...

because it's awesome

Source: fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net via Mari-Jane on Pinterest

want this for the front porch

Source: ext.homedepot.com via Mari-Jane on Pinterest

how pretty is this bookcase

Source: myoldcountryhouse.blogspot.com via Mari-Jane on Pinterest

need a tree house in the yard just to make these seats

Source: itsy-bits-and-pieces.blogspot.com via Mari-Jane on Pinterest

wicked ideas!!  can't wait for "hermey" our elf to arrive

Source: clearlycandace.blogspot.com via Mari-Jane on Pinterest

to santa or not to santa?

last year we didn't bother to take liam to visit santa.  i didn't really want to have him completely meltdown and get super freaked out about the jolly old man in red.  i mean to an eighteen month old santa is a pretty scary dude.  we i made the executive decision to just not do the whole santa photo thing.  partly to spare liam the potential emotion torture and partly because i didn't want to stand in a weekend line up only to have a picture of a screaming child on santa's knee.  or worse, no picture at all and a kid with a santa complex.

this year, i think, could be a little different.  liam might still be a little freaked out and develop a fear of santa.   however we started talking about santa and what he's all about at the beginning of the month.  what he looks like.  who he is.  where he lives.  about his reindeer.  and of course the presents.  not sure he's putting two and two together, but he understands presents.  we've also been talking a lot about santa's elves.  very important because this year we're starting our elf on the shelf tradition and "hermey" will make his appearance in a couple weeks.  (yup he's named after the elf in rudolph the red nose reindeer claymation ... all time favourite christmas show)  can't wait for liam and i to go hunting for him each morning to see what crazy things he been up to.  but back to the jolly old elf.  even with all the prep about santa we could end up with the "my parents forced me to sit with this strange man and i'm going to scream about it" photo.  or we could have a lovely liam, averie and santa photo session.  wishful thinking?

how do you prep your little ones for a meet and greet with santa?

liam's first santa encounter

christmas 2010 ~ five months old

how much do i love that sweater and his comb over?

life {lately} according to iphone ~ v.4

it's cold and snowy here.  sixteen centimetres of the white stuff and more to follow.  mother nature seriously has a hate on for north america.  nothin' like a photo dump and an eggnog latte to warm ya up.  oh and it's friday too.  

hoping everyone out east is staying safe and warm.

cranberry scones

i feel like i'm all pumpkin'd out.  we definitely had our fill of pumpkin brownies, pumpkin bread and of course pumpkin pie.  so when liam and i decided we needed to bake something pumpkin was not in order.  we opted for the bag of frozen cranberries and this recipe from canada's style at home magazine.    it is such an easy recipe and takes no time at all.  and they are freaking delicious.  in fact i think these might become a staple for breakfast this winter.  they go very well with a bailey's latte on a saturday morning.

recipe

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

zest of one lemon

2/3 cup unsalted butter

1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 skim milk

1 egg

3/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1 egg beaten

raw sugar for garnish

~ preheat oven to 400 f.  whisk flour, oats, sugar, baking power, salt and lemon zest.  cut butter into small pieces and work into flour until resembles coarse meal.

~ in medium bowl mix together lemon juice and milk to create buttermilk.  let sit for five minutes and then whisk in egg.

~ pour buttermilk mixture into flour mixture and fold everything together until flour is moistened.  batter will be chunky.  add in cranberries and fold through.

~ pat out dough to about 1/2" thick and cut into rounds using cookie cutter or knife.

~ place scones on a non-stick baking sheet and brush with beaten egg.  sprinkle tops with raw sugar.  bake for eighteen minutes or until golden brown.

two months old

 averie is two months old today.  where did last month go?  didn't i just write about her turning a month old?  right, right.  this is what happens when you age.  time moves at super speed and before we know it we'll be at her wedding or something.  okay, well not quite, but seriously don't know what happened to october.?.?

averie is showing us bits and pieces of her personality and what she's all about.  i have to admit she is a bit high maintenance.  definitely gets that from her mama.  what can i say, sometimes we just need a little more attention.  i can already tell that she'll be a head strong girl and there may be some epic battle of the wills in our future.  karma is coming, i can feel it.  that being said she is finally a happy girl.  and i say finally because right around six weeks we took averie to see a chiropractor.  and i kid you not, when we left she was a different baby.  let me explain.

in the beginning averie seemed to be a pretty fussy baby.  this is in comparison to her brother, who was a totally laid back super easy non-fussy baby.  in reality she wasn't isn't all that fussy.  i just don't and didn't have a reference for fussiness.  i struggled a lot at the beginning with her.  a lot.  she wouldn't settle, particularly at night.  she was super gassy and would frequently spit up her meals throughout her night time feeds.  this would lead to a lot of crying, from both of us, and as a result both her and i weren't getting much sleep.  i was starting to turn into a meltdown mommy.  i never really thought about what could be causing her upset tummy, other than beginning to cut things out of my diet.  tomatoes do a number on her.  who knew that something like that could affect breast milk so drastically?  anyways, rob sees a chiropractor and has for years.  he mentioned what was going with averie and his chiropractor gave him a list of chiropractors that work with babies and children in the city.  i had never really thought about how could chiro help her?  why would i?  at this point i was willing to try anything.  and good thing i was.  got her in to see a very highly recommended doctor and found the cause for averie's unhappiness.  she was in discomfort.  i say discomfort because pain doesn't seem like the right word.  she had a very tight muscle on the right side of her neck and turns out this muscle has the nerve that regulates things in a person's body, like breathing and how much acid the stomach produces, etc.  once the dr. forrester massaged this area and released the muscle a bit averie was different.  she was calm.  she was smiling and cooing and giggling.  i hadn't really realized that these things weren't happening until they happened.  liam was doing all of them by about four weeks and i didn't clue in when averie didn't.  she is a happy, comfortable, smiling, giggling, talkative baby girl.  and i am no longer a meltdown mommy.

 along with going to a few chiro appointments averie's had a fairly busy month.  here are some of her highlights this month.

two month highlights

averie had her first photo shoot, she was five weeks old

 (can't wait to see the photos, hoping to get them this week)

weighed 9 lbs. 2 oz. at her six week check up

attended her second wedding, partied until midnight

caught her first cold, this one totally sucks!

wearing zero to three month clothing ... and they finally fit

doesn't like tummy time, but we do it anyway

smiles and watches liam all the time, she adores her big brother

loves being in her swing and would sleep there all day if i let her

loves it when i sing to her, especially the itsy bitsy spider

(also is the only thing that calms her down while getting into her car seat)

hates her car seat

hasn't lost any of her hair, i think it's going to stay ... and it's dark

she takes a bottle, bring on the pump

she is becoming more and more interactive with all of us

loves staring at the tree on her wall behind her crib

loves bath time and is starting to kick and splash

had her first seven hour sleep between feedings, has happened twice

has her two month vaccinations next week

(not looking forward to these)

i'm really looking forward to seeing the baby girl that emerges this month.  she's getting to a really fun stage of baby-ness.  i'm not all for the newborn stage.  i much prefer this stage and what lies ahead.  they just get so much more fun as they get older.

happy two months baby girl

we love you