hallowe'en at the zoo

We're not really Hallowe'en people.  Last year we kind of ignored or slept through any activities and Naiya Sophia was none the wiser. This year we thought would be much the same. I figured she still wouldn't really grasp the strange festivities bound to this holiday. But then we learned that the zoo was having a special weekend with treats and whatnot, so at the last minute (yesterday) Naiya and I set out to find her a costume (mommy feeling un-inspired to make one on her own). Apparently people really plan ahead for this occasion. Costumes were sold out everywhere. At our second stop I started explaining to Naiya what we were doing (as I often do...chatting away, primarily to myself, just to expose her to language all day). I told her that the next day we were going to go to the zoo where Hallowe'en was being celebrated early... That we were trying to find her a costume... I wasn't sure what. "What kind of Hallowe'en costume do you want, Naiya?" I asked her. (Obviously not expecting a reply...  I don't think she even knows what Hallowe'en is, let alone what a costume is.) To my shock, however, she replied, "Tiger!" "You want to be a tiger?" "Tiger! Tiger!" she repeated (again and again as we traveled to the third and finally the fourth store). There we found it. The prodigious, endangered two headed tiger. I wasn't too pleased but we were desperate. It was the best I could do. We brought it home and put it on and Oh My!! Who'd have thought this child could make such a bizarre creature look so incredibly cute?

labor of love

And here it is!  The (mostly) finished playhouse that daddy built for his little girl.  I am in awe of the man's skills.

pumpkin patch

We went to a fantastic pumpkin patch on Sauvie Island with a corn maze, a low hay maze (in which a toddler could run still supervised by her parents), a hay ride and pyramid and a beautiful patch o' pumpkins. 



(Ed. note:  This particular patch was only there for one year and is no longer offered on the island.)

man with a plan

According to Ryan, he has never built anything in his life.  In honor of Naiya's second birthday though, he has decided to construct for her a house in which to play.

Stay tuned...

second birthday

A party just isn't a party without the funny hats...

autumn color

We think she wanted to share her rolls and feed the flowers.

night scene on a foot stool

I saw a little felted stool in Anthropologie that was really cool. It was something like $280 so I came home and made my own.
Originally I had a day scene with a lake, a little cabin, some ducks and trees and whatnot. The background was made from a green wool sweater that I felted in the washing machine. I needle felted most of the flowers, trees and ducks but sewed on the little house. Apparently I didn’t “needle” enough. Within a few days, Naiya had pulled everything but the house from the stool. I decided that I’d rather make something that she could actually play with instead of something just pretty to look at, so I began again. This time I made the night scene and sewed everything on by hand. The background and skyline silhouette are again felted sweaters. The windows and stars are cut out of craft felt. (They just as easily could have been sweaters as well, but I didn’t have those colors.) It stands about 15 inches high and is pretty sturdy but not a very good stool. The styrofoam interior was intended for decor and not for sitting upon. Great to play with though. And one of my favorite creations so far.