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I've been thinking about making a hobby horse for Lu. She's been galloping around on an old wrapping paper tube. Here are a few cute ones with patterns and pictures: Hettie the Horse from a Melly & Me pattern One from RusticHorse Shoe on Etsy And one from Woman's Day I really should make two, since by the time I finish Emmie will be asking for one!

For the most part, we're ready. The Christmas tree is up. Lucy helped with some of the ornaments. Little gingerbread village has survived the snackers. Stockings are hung by the fireplace with care. (This was a project three years in the making! I've had the fabric forever.) Christmas cards are in the mail. (Photography by Katherine Wallin , design from minted.com , love their skinny labels !) Neighbor gifts have been delivered. ( Recipe for peppermint bark from allrecipes.com ) Teacher gifts have been given. ( Marble magnets "how-to" on not martha .) The one thing left on my list is to finish Emmie's quilt. This is how it looked in October. This is how it looked in November. This is how it looked yesterday. It is not a hard quilt. It has just taken the back burner, but no longer! I intend to give it to my baby daughter on Christmas and it SHALL be finished. That will be my greatest accomplishment this month. Merry Christmas to all, especially to all you out there...

Lucy had to get special x-rays taken at Primary Children's Hospital yesterday. (It is called VCUG if you want all the details .) It is something we have to do every year to check up on a urinary tract abnormality she has. The procedure is fairly quick and easy but can be traumatic none-the-less. This year, they gave Lucy a "hospital buddy" which I thought was the most brilliant thing every. It's a simple muslin doll that someone has sewn and donated. The doll is nondescript except for the hospital gown. The children can personalize it with markers or bandaids and are even encouraged to stick it with needles. . . it helps them deal with anxiety and feel more comfortable with what is going on. Lucy took to hers immediately. Even though we brought several of her favorite dolls and stuffed animals with us, they were left in the bag and "Birdie" (yes, that's what she named her) got all the attention. Here is a nice article talking about some amazing kids th...

Lucy likes to do things together. Whatever she's doing, she wants me to be right there doing it with her. And whatever I'm doing, she has to be doing. Lately, if I have the camera out and want to take some pictures, she wants a turn too. So I put the strap around her neck and let her shoot whatever she wants. So you end up with unusual camera angles and unique perspectives and, even more rare, pictures of me! I took this one of Emmie, but its too cute not to post.

Confession: I have only made one thing for my little Emmie. But at least its a good one. . . a receiving blanket. We use it all the time. It's light, but warm. It's a swaddler and a carseat blanket. It soaks up spit up and washes well. And it looks good. This one I did for a friend. They're so fun to make and, um, extremely easy too. Materials: You just need 1 yard solid color flannel (I almost always just use white or off-white, flannel colors tend to be too saturated for my taste), 1 yard of a beautiful print (both of these happen to be Amy Butler designs , you can't go wrong with her stuff), and 1 1/4 yard contrasting or harmonizing fabric for bias binding. . . oh, and I like to add on a little fabric tag (the bears and hearts are both some that I've designed and printed at Spoonflower but you can cut a little piece out of whatever fabric you like, like I did here .) Instructions: Pre-wash all fabrics, and then iron them flat. Place flannel and print right-...

Although I totally covet the little play kitchen from Ikea, we just don't have space for it. I made this little stovetop to go with all the cute cooking and food toys we've assembled. We pull it out to play and then stick it back in the toy box when we're done. I used permanent markers, a sheet of craft foam and some buttons. C'est tout.

If you were a bug on the wall at our house today, here is a little conversation you would have heard at the lunch counter: LUCY (looking at my Diet Coke with Lime) why can't kids drink that all gone with their mouths? ME (pointing to my Diet Coke can) This? It's just for grown ups because there is caffeine in it which makes kids wild. LUCY (after a pause) Does that say "Wild Kids" or not? (pointing to the large Diet Coke logo on the can)

Here's a design principle. . . repetition adds significance to images. Another design tip. . . odd numbers are pleasing to the eye, so arrange things in 3 or 5, etc.

Mini Elvis and Minnie Mouse!

This was an impromptu project, Lucy's idea. She wanted to make ghosts for a little Halloween project. I was just thinking of using construction paper and glue, but she definitely wanted something white to drape over something else. So we came up with these little puppets. Ghost Puppets Materials needed: Kleenex wide popsicle sticks glue stick markers For some really fun toddler and kid projects and activities, you've got to check out my friend Janelle's blog, Where are my Mary Jane's? She updates frequently and has fantastic ideas. She'll also try other people's projects and let you know the reality of how it goes with the little ones. Cute stuff.

The other day we drove by a kid in the neighborhood sitting on on his porch step with a sign that said "Silly Bandz for Sale." Always suckers for an enterprising kid trying to earn a buck, we stopped to get a handful of the popular bracelets for Lucy. She and I were sorting through trying to find which ones we wanted to get, and I kept getting them wrong. The 8 year old actually laughed out loud at me. Here is what I saw: Here is what they really are: Oops.

Guess who is two months old today?