A Welsh Holiday

We spent the first week of 2011 on holiday! What a way to start a year!?

We had never been to Wales before and it's just so close and interesting that we decided to go for it. Our dearest friends made the long drive (long for the UK, that is) down from their home in Scotland, picked us up at the train station and then we continued on together to our final destination on the Hafod Estate. This was our home for an entire lovely week of good food, good music, good friends, good books, game nights, log fires, invigorating hikes, and stunning views. We had no schedule, no deadlines, no traffic, no phones, no TV, no internet, and no noise apart from the gurgling pond outside our front door, the breeze over the hills, the soft pitter patter of raindrops on the roof, the comforting sound of the crackling fire, and the occasional bleating of sheep or song of bird. Bliss.

Here's a little slideshow of some of our favorite shots (most are of the landscape…and there's a lot of them). Enjoy!

Deanna's 2010 Book List 
 --------------  (in no particular order)  ---------------

Out Stealing Horses  Per Petterson
The Help  Kathryn Stockett
Old Men at Midnight  Chaim Potok
The Bell Jar  Sylvia Plath
The Passport  Herta Müller
Parable of the Sower  Octavia Butler
A Walk in the Woods  Bill Bryson
The Kite Runner   Khaled Hosseini
The Time Traveler's Wife  Audrey Niffenegger
Cold Tangerines  Shauna Niequist
Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life  Amy Krouse               Rosenthal
In Dubious Battle  John Steinbeck
The Book of Lights  Chaim Potok

These are the ones I remember anyway.

I also tried to read a biography of Eglantyne Jebb called The Woman Who Saved the Children but it was so long and boringly written that I stopped reading about three quarters of the way through it despite the fact that I admire all that Eglantyne Jebb accomplished.

There are so many many more titles I wish I had found the time to get to this past year but alas, I can't spend ALL my time with my nose in a book.  There's a whole big world out there full of interesting people and places waiting to be explored too!  Not to mention my own sweet little girl that I can't get enough of!

What did you read?  Any recommendations for me for 2011??


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Vintage toys and cupcakes too!!! (But not vintage cupcakes... because that's just gross.)

Several weeks ago I found an old friend in one of Oxford's many thrift shops.   It was dirt cheap, surprisingly clean, and fully functioning.  The only thing missing was the salt and pepper shakers (which were once yellow and orange if I remember correctly.)  As soon as I saw that old stove a flood of memories came rushing into my head.  Carefree playtimes that I had long-since forgotten (and had replaced with grown-up worries) were clear and vivid once again.  I knew immediately that Nora's childhood would be exponentially more fulfilling and enriching with this toy.  In fact, I decided, she needed this toy.  So I forked over the pound fifty and bought it.  (Projecting much?!)

(My siblings and I also had the sink and some dishes that went with it.  Like this...  )

Anyone else out there remember enjoying these classics??   

Anyhow, I brought the stove home excitedly and although it was very hard not to give it to her immediately, I hid it (and the cute little apron I found at the same shop) away as a birthday present.  What fun it has been these past few days to see Nora enjoying a toy that I too spent countless hours playing with as a child!

Mmmm, raisin soup!

Taste-testing her creation.

Hmm, it seems she may have 'tasted' every last drop!!

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 We didn't throw a party on Nora's birthday this year because most of her little friends are currently stateside celebrating Christmas and the new year with their families.  But party or not, a birthday is hardly a birthday without cake, and Nora wanted cupcakes!  So after she had opened up a few gifts we decided to put her in her apron and let her help make them!  

Carefully measuring and pouring.

Helping to stir.

Working side by side.

Nora loves to help Momma in the kitchen!

Then off to bed for a nap while I baked and frosted them.

Nora chose the blue frosting and rainbow sprinkles herself.  

(Only I ran out of rainbow sprinkles so I ended up using a variety of others too.)

When she woke up we let her open a few more gifts then ordered some pizza (which we haven't done since we lived in Canada!) and set up a picnic on the living room floor.  We all watched Toy Story together - a special treat for Nora who doesn't normally watch anything except videos of herself or friends/cousins on blogposts - and ate our pizza and cupcakes.  (Side note:  We have a Toy Story book that someone gave us and Nora loves Buzz Lightyear and Woody.  Occasionally she blurts out something like, "Bus Liteyeeh to wescue!" or "I come n peas!"  or "Ewe can't fwyy!")

   

                               

Can we eat them yet??

Yumm!

Happy 2nd Birthday sweet little Noodle!  

You brighten our days with your smiles, songs, prayers, giggles, and imagination.  You are so smart and capable and loving and funny (and spunky and ornery too!)  You keep us on our toes and we wouldn't have it any other way!

xoxo - Momma and Daddy

2010 Christmas Greetings! (A tad overdue...)

A Snowy Friend

We have a very affable child.

Potty Training Me

I've been perusing bits of literature on potty training for about 6 months now.  You see, it was a little over 6 months ago that I found a ridiculously cheap little plastic potty at a shop downtown, decided to take advantage of the bargain and brought it home for Nora.  We put the little potty on the bathroom floor by our toilet and it sat there... mostly collecting dust for several months

To be fair, when I bought it I had no intention of potty training Nora right away.  After all, she was only 16 months old.  Nora had been on the later end of many of the major milestones.  She routinely fell and smacked her head from a sitting position until around 10 months and didn't even army crawl until 10.5 months (let alone actual crawling).  She didn't really walk until about 13.5 months and even then it didn't really take off.  She still preferred cruising for the next 2-3 months or so.  On the other hand, she's always been a little ahead of the game when it comes to fine motor skills and she started talking quite early on (and hasn't stopped!)  All that to say, I wasn't getting my hopes up about potty training early.

But the more I read, the more signs I saw that she was ready.  So I thought we might make it a summer project.  June was insanely busy for me at work, a good deal of July was spent traveling in the states, August was manic as we tried to find a place to live for the next year and pack and clean our old flat and in September we moved to a new house, new neighborhood, etc and quickly set to work on home improvement projects.  In October Ben went back to school and we adjusted to our new fall routine.

They say not to try potty training during times of transition so obviously it did not happen as a summer project... but I could sense  Nora was ready to begin.  This fall she was even occasionally telling me when she went potty in her diaper but I hadn't the time to sit her on her little throne so I said things like, "It's okay Nora, you can go in your diaper."  (Note:  This is like the opposite of potty training!  This is diaper training!)

November hit and I was determined, THIS was the month I was going to try to start this potty training thing.  But then Nora got sick and I got cold feet... what if it didn't work?  What if she wasn't really ready?  How do I do this?  What if she hates sitting on the potty?   And, the weeks ticked by.

Finally I decided to give it a go - Thanksgiving day.  After all, what's the worst that could happen?  She pees her pants for a few days, makes no progress, and then we go back to diapers for a few more months, right?  So what?

We have this great little book from the library called "Girls Potty Time" and while it has been great for Nora, I think it's also written for parents!  There is this great page that says, "Sometimes accidents can happen but really that's okay.  All potty stars need practice,  no one's perfect straight away."  Nora wasn't a potty star yet... and neither was I!  But that was okay.  A little patience and practice was in order.  It was certainly a learn-as-you-go sort of endeavor for both of us.

But I did it!  With the help of a bag of mini marshmallows I taught my daughter how to use the potty!  It's been about 3.5 weeks and she hasn't had a real accident since 3 or 4 days after we started.  Which is great!  We're so proud of her!  And if you can't tell, I'm kinda proud of me and Ben too!

Side note:  Don't let anyone tell you that having your kid all potty trained is all bliss though.  In some ways it has made life more difficult.  For instance, I have to map out where all the public bathrooms in the city are before we leave the house (and we're still working on the "hold and hover" technique in case we ever need to use one).  I have to pack extra sets of clothes for her too (just in case - although so far we haven't ever needed them) which I haven't had to do for over a year!

Unexpected Potty Training Bonus!!!  There is not a lot that is cuter than seeing your precious little baby's behind in some cute little undies as she waddles around the house with her sleepy little bunny tucked under her arm.  Seriously adorable.

She Sings

These are just two examples of the many songs in Nora's repertoire these days. She loves to sing and we love to listen. Maybe you will too.



She's actually been singing her ABCs for well over a month now! She's just really hard to catch in the act!

Next up: 'Mary had a Little Lamb'. Not her finest rendition but like we said, she's hard to catch on film! Note her smokey jazz stylings (thanks to a nasty cough she had at the time.)



Nora's favorite song is definitely 'Frosty the Snowman' followed by 'Mary had a Little Lamb' (all 4 verses). The most recent additions are 'London Bridge' (all 4 verses…did you even know there were 4 verses? I bet not) and 'Jingle Bells' (thanks to Avery Simpson for that one).