Little Acorn

A Dolly

I had so much fun getting into my studio to make this custom doll in a so-Valentiney pink/red/green colour scheme. It was ordered for a little one who is currently in China and who will be joining her forever family soon. I just love all the amazing stories that my dolls would have to tell if we couId get them all together for a reunion someday. I really need to find more time. Okay. That's not true. There's no way to find more time...I just need to make better choices about how to use the little bit of free time I have in a week. But sometimes bad television, random web surfing, Pinterest, knitting and sitting on the sofa with the lights dimmed so I can't see the mess is just so tempting.

Let's Talk About Posing

I HATE big fake smiles in photos of children. I HATE "say cheese". I hate that moment when children go from just "being" in front of the camera to "posing" and the self conciousness and self awareness that comes with that. I hate that many children come to a point of not wanting their picture taken because they hate being asked to stand still and smile. I could rant on, oh yes I could... but let's let pictures tell the story.

The other day the light was decent for February and Adeline was happy and for once I'd done something with her hair, so I thought I'd try taking some pictures of my beautiful girl.

Adeline wasn't into it, and here she is giving her "I'm barely tolerating you, Mother" smile and hoping that I will be satisfied and leave her alone. Yes, she's learned to fake smile because that's what the world expects of children - that they will learn to stop what they're doing, look at the camera and approximate a happy face.

Now I admit - this isn't a bad picture. Most people would be very satisfied to have a picture of their child making eye contact and looking pleasant. Many people would have put their camera away after this picture, but since Adeline wasn't saying "no" to pictures (which she is always free to do) I decided to keep at it. I told her that she doesn't have to smile, she doesn't have to sit still and that I'm just going to hang out with her...and keep taking pictures. If I had stopped after Adeline "said cheese" I would have missed this shot, which was the one taken immediately after the smily one. It shows how she's really feeling...

And who says a solemn picture isn't a "good" picture? Certainly no child goes around grinning every minute of the day and I want to remember all Adeline's faces - sad, mad, bad, serious, silly, solemn, laughing, crying...all of them.

After a minute she starts to forget the camera is there and just gets goofy.

I ask Adeline to please keep her stinky feet out of the picture, and I get this picture - how Adeline looks when she is laughing as hard as she can laugh. Now there's a face I want to remember!

Then it's time to move! If I'd put my camera away then because the posing was done I would have missed Adeline's pony-tails swinging as she ran in from the kitchen...

Or her looking as graceful as a ballerina as she practiced her spins.

And then there was the moment when Adeline put her head down and said "Time to come sit on the sofa with me Mama".

And the best part was, because picture taking was fun for her and just a time to hang out with Mama, after her nap she asked to do "More stinky feet pictures, please!" and in just a few minutes I took these pictures of my lovely girl...

Now that's how Adeline looks when she's smiling! She's relaxed and smiling with her whole body - such a difference from her stiff fake smile.

I know Adeline is going to continue to "smile for the camera" and even "say cheese" because when anyone but us takes her picture that's what's expected and that our philosphy means that sometimes we miss getting a photo of that special occasion or special outfit because Adeline would rather do something else than take pictures, but for us it's worth it. So far Adeline is able to continue to be herself in front of the camera and we hope it will always be that way. Only twice has she ever come right out and asked me to stop taking photos and of course I did it right away as I never want that to become a power struggle and to have her decide she doesn't want her picture taken at all anymore. I know she's still very little, but if we can continue to have picture making be a fun activity or have her just be able to ignore the camera and just do what she's doing while I take photos, then we'll be very happy! Adeline is very interested in photography and is eager to be behind the camera - if only I could be as natural and un-self-concious in front of the camera as she is!

And even if you love a good cheesy grin, for goodness sakes keep your cameras out and keep clicking, because you never know what you'll capture.

Daddy's Valentine

Adeline has been excited for DAYS about the prospect of making a cake for her Daddy for Valentine's Day and today was finally the day! We had to start right after Daddy left in the morning and we didn't finish until four o'clock! It was a big job...

First we had to bake the cakes...

Then we made the frosting...licking the paddle was "So tasty!"

 

Then after nap time it was finally time to decorate! When using a piping bag with little bakers, always tape the end shut. ALWAYS. I've learned this from experience.

Of course no Valentine's Day cake is complete without a whack of candy. My "no food colouring" rule is relaxed a few times a year and today was definitely one of them! A LOT of those disgusting cheery gummy hearts ended up in Adeline, no matter how many times I reminded her that they were for the cake and that they were Daddy's favourite.

Adeline was proud of all her hard work and showed it with this creepy strained fake smile big grin. She was also ready to eat cake RIGHT THEN. It was hard to wait until Daddy got home and we'd eaten our supper.

Daddy's Valentine's treat would probably have been naked by the time he got home from work if clever Mama hadn't put the dome on top of the cake. Once Adeline realized she couldn't lift the lid, she just spent a lot of time looking into it wistfully.

As soon as David walked in the door Adeline started yelling "Happy Valentine's Day! I love you! You have cake!". David was VERY impressed with the cake and with all the work his girl had done. We finally got to have a piece after supper and it was SWEET. So sweet...but not as sweet as the tiny pastry chef who wanted to show her Daddy how much she loved him!

Bunny Hat

The world welcomed a brand new baby cousin for Adeline in January and of course what better excuse is there for me to knit my very favourite thing in the world - a super cute baby hat. Not just any hat, but a bunny hat, using the same pattern from "Itty Bitty Hats" that I used for Adeline's 2 years ago although this one I made with a much chunkier yarn, which made it a very fast project. It was about this time in 2010 that we were waiting anxiously to be invited back to Vietnam and my nerves were being (oh so slightly) calmed by knitting hat after hat for my baby girl. Adeline has outgrown all those baby hats now and certainly would have stretched this one all out of shape, so one of our balls had to model...

Adeline was excited that I was making a hat for "Baby Cousin Annie" and wanted to help. Every little while she would ask me if I needed any yarn unrolled and would take some off the ball for me. A few times Adeline stood in front of me and I put my hands over hers and talked her through making the stitches while she concentrated carefully on what she was doing. There were a lot of happy wishes knit into this wee hat.

Adeline wanted me to find her bunny hat when I told her that's what I was making for the baby, and she's been wearing it stretched tight over her ever growing head for the last few days. My sweet little bunny needs a bunny hat, so without even letting my needles get cold I've cast on for a "big girl" bunny hat.