like i said...

lots of jars. lots of towers. this was a new record actually, ten jars, before the daddy intercepted.

random

apparently the animals needed a little sun too. i often come into the room to things like this. or random towers (blocks, baby jars, toilet paper, etc) here and there. it's all very mysterious.

flashback friday

how 'bout a little flashback friday? sounds good to me too. these are pictures taken when the little one was quite tiny... about two weeks old. it was her first trip to the Grill and as you can see, she thoroughly enjoyed herself. maybe not as much as mommy, daddy, and nanny though. there were beers all around, as we celebrated surviving week two of parenthood, and nanny surviving the "vomit comet" from denver (those who have taken this flight understand the significance there). but the most striking thing about these photos (aside from how little the goose was-- look at that ginormous carseat!) is that the mommy and daddy look so much younger don't they? seriously, we appear to have aged rapidly over the last 16 months. ah, parenthood. cheers!

and another

and who could resist yet another snow video on christmas morning?

a very white christmas!

it has been a fabulous snow year so far, hence all of the wintery pics lately, and we were blessed with another good snowfall last night. it's hard to adequately photograph deep snow, but maybe those last two will give you an idea. we have alteast several feet in the backyard and the snowpiles around the driveway are well over isa's head. this morning was the first time isa got to try out her new mittens (thanks bub and queen!) and she thoroughly enjoyed being able to play with her hands. and of course the new glasses are a hit as well and so far she loves them enough to keep them on!

merry christmas!

merry christmas everyone! here are some pictures of isa opening her presents. it made for an eventful morning and the pile of gifts under the tree took a nice while to get through... especially as the little one had to open and play with each new item before moving on the next! there were lots of thoughtful gifts, including puzzles, legos (!), books and clothes. we are all very grateful, thank you all.

'twas the night before christmas...

...and isa got to open an early christmas present! two books from mommy and daddy.

sledding video...

sledding...

... parking lot style. we went up the sledding hill last night only to discover that the snow is way too deep to actually go down the hill. you just sink up to your knees instead. so we improvised and pulled isa around on the packed-snow parking lot instead. and she seemed to like it so alls well that ends well right?

Happy Sixteen Months Isa!

Happy Sixteen Months Isabel!

the snow bunny is sixteen months today! way to go goose! so what's isa like at sixteen months? in a word: active. we actually get this comment alot from friends, "wow. she sure does have alot of energy!" indeed and it makes the mommy very tired. but she is also pretty amusing too and we have a good time with all of that energy. especially on snow days. this picture was taken this morning, after a good night's sleep and much snow play the day before (stay tuned for a sledding video). isa came into the kitchen and started taking the coffee fixings out of the drawer. maybe that's how she has so much energy... she's hitting the coffee cup when the mommy isn't looking. hmmm.

isa hearts snow...

... and shoveling it too.

camera hound

i mentioned in a previous post that isa is obsessed with seeing herself in the view finder of the camera. and this can make actually taking pictures challenging... because she demands to see herself. and so was the case when i started taking this video. hard to tell in the snowsuit, but as soon as she saw the camera, she signed "baby" and came a running! and you can see how that ended up... she grabbed the camera and that was the end of the video.

heat wave

watch out folks, we've nearly reached 30F for the first time in nearly a month. ok maybe longer. after weeks of negative temperatures, it's practically a heat wave and we love it. every minute of it. the goose is fully enjoying the outside time, as is the mommy, and we're hoping that we get several more days like this in the coming months. don't get me wrong, we don't want global warming reminders all winter... but every now and then 30F is rather nice. it means isa and the daddy can go sledding too.

ah ha!

have toilet paper, will stack? apparently so. isa makes stacks out of anything and everything these days and the little perfectionist is quite pleased with herself when she gets it right. she throws her hands in the air and screams "ah ha!" kind of like she just won a car or got the closest bid on the Price is Right. very, very cute.

oh christmas tree...

irrefutable proof that there can be magic without the man in the red suit. *wink wink*

Christmas Sale!

there are three styles, in select sizes, that are on SALE in the shop... only for blog readers! the peace dove tee, mod christmas tee, and one mod christmas lounge set will be 25% off for anyone who writes "blog" in the comments section of their order. discount given after paypal has been made (etsy won't let you discount otherwise, bah!). note that these listings are for specific sizes, so please let me know which available size you'd like when you place your order. since these items are ready to ship, they will go in the mail within 24hrs of payment being received :-)

little helper...

let it snow!

it's official! isa loves the snow now! we had a nice storm last night and it made for great playtime this morning. she stayed out for over an hour, helping everyone shovel and entertaining the neighbors! let is snow!

a christmas story

warning: there will be no uber cute isa photos in this post. so if that's a problem, just skip this one and wait for the next ;-)

in keeping with the rest of mommy blogdom, i felt compelled to do a little reflective posting about the holiday season. to those who know me, it should be no huge surprise that i am not an overly traditional holiday kind of person. don't get me wrong, i love holidays and traditional... just not in the americana kind of way. i like the idea of giving but could do with the fat man in the red suit.

now that isa is getting older, this christmas is a whole new ballgame. we are forced to make conscious decisions about the christmas we present to isa. is it one of super consumption and chinese made toys? or one in which we exemplify the life we try to live and the ideals we strive for? well, honestly a little of both. there will be a tree with very special ornaments, there will be special gifts, but there will hopefully be important lessons as well-- that involve compassion and giving and open-mindedness. it is our goal to have some sort of "service" in our christmases... not in the religious sense, but more in the giving sense. whether that be charitable donations or volunteering time, we want isa to value what she has and give what she can. we want to put what little money we have where our mouth is, to be so cliche.

so this weekend we will put up our tree and hang our special ornaments (each with their own story) and begin creating a tradition for the three of us- one that will hopefully affect more than just our little family.

the end.

art in the afternoon:

lots of people have been asking how the Art in the Afternoon show went so i figured i'd post a little recap along with some photos. to sum it up though, it went really well and now i am really tired! for those that don't know, Art in the Afternoon is a local event held every year around this time for local artisans. The only caveat is that you must be selling things that you made/created yourself, no one elses work, nothing mass produced. so clearly I had to get a table! as you can see, the space is really limited but there were 57 tables and tons of shoppers. and food and beer and live music! Mountain Aven Baby was a hit too (*blushing*)! being that i had no real expectations as to how much would sell, i was pleased when i sold over 80% of my items. it didn't help that i was the only vendor making children's clothes and gifts really. to my surprise, things sold pretty evenly quantity wise, including the more expensive sets and blankets. not like it's hard to tell from the photos but i crammed alot of stuff into that small space, and while that made for some crowded shopping i was relieved to fit it all in. the framed photos to the right are all prints from the fabulous kristy cardinal and turned out to be a good way to show outfits that were not up for the sale at the show but available for custom orders. however this opened the flood gates for custom orders, which was good for business sake but now how me wondering what in the world i was thinking... apparently people like the idea of placing orders for exactly what they want. another pleasant surprise was in how many people said, "Oh, I saw your website!" to which my reply was, "Really??" i guess it's getting more local hits than i thought. sweet.

so, now it's the day after and i feel like i have a mountain aven baby hangover. retailing and schmoozing is hard work. and that pile of orders is still looking daunting! which leads me to my next news, that i will be hiring an employee for the next few months to help with the christmas rush and several large wholesale orders that will be due in january and february. more on that later, but for now all is well. and i should go lock myself in the basement and get to work. off to the sweatshop i go...

and the video...

snow bunny

today was a good day for some snow play. it's snowed several times already this season, but a saturday is always a little more motivation to get the kid out for some playing. granted she spent loads of time out and about in the snow last year, but this year she can actually explore it and appreciate it. so this morning we decided it was time to try out the new jacket (thank you ebay) and the new boots (thank you avery) and see how it went. last week isa got a little upset with cold hands and snow and a few slips on the ice, but this week we fared a little better. this time we didn't bother with mittens, which don't stand a chance, and decided to just let her do her thing. it was quite cute and comical and she seemed to be ok with it-- which is good, being that she will be skiing in the tetons this winter too!

and finally... three cheers for google video, which seems to be working atleast for now!