Just popping in with a quick picture of Maisie and Lily in their matching Christmas sleepers. They were Maisie's idea and she picked the fabric (a cosy French terry). Maisie's sleeper was made with the Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop's Classic Zipper PJ pattern and Lily's with the Footie Coverall from Brindille & Twig. I can't believe I made sleepers and that they turned out so well. Both patterns are really nice to work from. I probably could have gone a size up for Lily's to get more use out of it before it gets too small but I'll just have to use it as much as I can while it fits.

This post was originally written in mid-November but owing to technical difficulties I couldn't get it to publish. I thought about removing it but I still like it so I'm just going to post it late. It kind of keeps with the original theme anyway  :)

---

Where does the time go?

More than six weeks have passed since I last posted. I know where the time has gone but somehow it feels it can’t be that long. We have settled into life with Lily. Maisie has started kindergarten (and I’m so happy with the teacher she has). The weather has changed and the last of our carrots and potatoes are frozen into the garden not to be unearthed until next spring. We’ve been pulling on hats and mittens when we head out for walks and I no longer see ducks when we go near the lake. I made a little bonnet for Lily in the hope it would stay put and keep the wind out of her ears. We tried our best to take a family photo for this year’s card; I think the outtakes are my favourite part. I’ve noticed a new type of sparrow at our feeder and spent some time finding out what it is called: a Harris’s Sparrow.

—

Where does time go indeed? I wrote the above a few weeks ago. Has it been another six already? We’re deep into winter now and Lily has winter rosy cheeks when we drop Maisie off at school. Our walks with Abby involve pulling on a few more layers and I am starting to miss my thick colourwork mittens that were so good at keeping out the wind. Lily has nearly outgrown her little flower bonnet. I need to hunt around and find the winter hat that Maisie wore. It must be about the right size now. Just over a month to go until Christmas. Maisie has been pointing out any lights or decorations she spots on the way home everyday and asking when we’ll put ours up. It should be pretty easy to do the outside decorating this year since I never got around to taking the lights down last spring. I just need to plug them in again and throw the last couple of strings in our trees. I usually wait until December 1st to turn them on but I might do it early this year. The dark, overcast days are weighing heavily and we could all use a little brightness.

We took a short trip to Toronto in October to see Rob’s sister get married. It was a really lovely wedding and we all had a good time. Maisie especially liked dressing up and dancing with her aunt. While in Toronto we also got to go to the aquarium, meet up with a cousin for lunch and take a transit adventure to The Workroom (which I shop from pretty regularly but have never been to in person before). The last day we were there was rainy and we discovered the PATH system that is basically a giant mall underneath downtown Toronto where you can find anything you need, and a whole bunch more that you probably don’t, without ever having to go outside. We found gelato and managed to have it for both lunch and an afternoon snack. Maisie and Lily were both great travellers, even when we hit Lily’s witching hour on the last leg of our flights home. It was nice to escape to warmer temperatures for a few days but nice to settle back into our usual rhythms at home again.

I love a sunny morning with a hard frost. I looked at the glittering grasses and leaves as I drove Maisie to school and hoped it would be cool enough for them to last until Lily, Abby and I could get out for a walk. It was and we headed out with the sunshine just lightening from it’s deep, morning gold to explorer along the trail. We even spotted, and were spotted by, a furry neighbour. I think I saw him before he saw us. There was a bit of movement behind the grass at the edge of the lake. I thought it was a bird. Then this fellow trotted around the corner. He stopped and looked at us and then turned to leave when Abby saw him and started to growl.