a special poem

i am making a little book at the moment to share with jess on her birthday next week.

its all about her first year... yes first year (i am a little behind on these things)

i have a photo from each of the first twelve months and i am working on writing a paragraph or so celebrating her achievements, growth or likes/dislikes for each of those months.

i have a page to include things like measurements, hair and eye colour, time and day from when she was born as well as the meanings of her name.

so it is sort of like a baby record book but a handmade version.

 the following poem is one which jess and i both love and i intend to include that too. we found it in a book from the library and have borrowed it many times.

all of this, i intend to bind together to make a special book that we can pull out each year on her birthday. this is a project that i have had in my mind for the past year... nothing like leaving it to the last moment...

i have also made a little pouch with some patchwork to keep it in... nearly finished with that... 

you are my, i love you

i am your parent,

you are my child

i am your quiet place,

you are my wild

i am your calm face,

you are my giggle

i am your wait,

you are my wiggle

i am your carriage ride,

you are my king

i am your push,

you are my swing

i am your audience,

you are my clown

i am your london bridge,

you are my falling down

i am your carrot sticks,

you are my licorice

i am your dandelion,

you are my first wish

i am your water wings,

you are my deep

i am your open arms,

you are my running leap

i am your way home,

you are my new path

i am your dry towel,

you are my wet bath

i am your dinner,

you are my chocolate cake

i am your bedtime,

you are my wide awake

i am your finish line,

you are my race

i am your praying hands,

you are my saying grace

i am you favourite  book,

you are my new lines

i am your night light,

you are my star shine

i am your lullaby,

you are my peekaboo

i am your good night kiss,

you are my, i love you.

the book i got this poem from is by maryann cusimano and illustrated by satomi ichikawa. such a  beautiful poem.

happy mail day

look what came in the mail today!

i love surprises and this one was delightful.

a belated birthday gift.

 hand warmers.

they were knitted by my friend rita of red pepper quilts and i had admired them on her blog a little while ago. i have also admired them and pinned them on pinterest. i recently admired some (different) hand warmers that my eldest daughter had bought on etsy. i really wanted some.

i love the colours. in fact i really love the colours! they are so me.

very happy.

thanks rita.

for little hands

our little friend zephyr is turning one.

i have put together a little home made gift for her.

some little peg gnomes for her to manipulate. i found the tutorial here. very simple.

i made a set for jess as well. they can be used as a hand eye co-ordination activity by slotting them on to the side of the tin but jess prefers to play with them as people and also to name the colours.

i added another hand eye coordination activity to the bag, which is to 'post' the sticks through the holes of the shaker's lid. i did one of these for jess some time ago and it was a real hit.

i made a little draw string bag to keep them all in and it acts as the wrapping.

i want to make most of the gifts that we give this year, especially for little friends birthdays, as it can get quite expensive having to buy a present, card and the wrapping every time there is a birthday to go to. home made is lovely in my opinion. after all it is the thought that counts.

happy birthday zephyr!