Dots and stripes

[You can see by the scrapes on her nose she is getting more mobile,
and has finally started some tentative walking!]
Lavinia seems to have inherited Douglas' fair complexion, which means I worry a bit more about protecting her from the sun. My mom came to the rescue recently by sewing her a cute little navy and white polka-dotted hat. To make it festive for Independence Day, I handmade a little patriotic rosette for decoration, basically following this technique for the red rose (I didn't have fabric glue, so I hand-sewed it together). The striped fabric is simply a straight scrap gathered and attached to the back of the rose.


She'll at least tolerate the hat for a little while before attempting to remove it.

Nursery rhymes

I've kept a book journal since 2007, writing down all the books I read and the dates I finish them. Somehow I managed to keep up a good pace when Edmund was born, but since Lavinia entered the picture, my yearly average has plummeted - though in all fairness, it's not that I'm not reading every day, it's just that these books don't have, ahem, chapters. I've decided to embrace this stage and share more of the gems I find to read with my children.


Every child's library should have some nursery rhymes in it. I've found two beautiful but out-of-print books by famous illustrators that are a joy to look at -- A Pocket Full of Posies: A Merry Mother Goose by Marguerite de Angeli (author of The Door in the Wall, a wonderful children's book I'm looking forward to sharing with Edmund in a few years) and Kate Greenaway's Nursery Rhyme Classics.


Marguerite de Angeli's book has a variety of rhymes on one side of the page, and then a full-page illustration on the opposite side, with small pencil illustrations scattered throughout the text. Since there is not a picture for every rhyme, this one may be best for older toddlers who have a longer attention span and enjoy listening to meter and rhyme.


The Kate Greenaway book has a picture and a rhyme on every page. Babies will enjoy the shorter rhymes, even if it is being read upside down. :) If you are fond of her illustrations, I recommend seeking out this book! Then find a soft old quilt and spread out under the shade of a maple tree to enjoy reading time with your children.