A few of my favourite things

My in-the-moment fave things:

1) Watching B try to feed Avie with a baby spoon. The two of them enjoy it for a few minutes, before B gets bored with how difficult it is to gauge where Avie's mouth will be and Avie gets frustrated that B is taking so long to get any grub in! But those few moments of shared giggles? Priceless.

2) Holiday commercials on TV--yes, they've started, and I don't mind at all. I'm hoping to see some tear-jerkers again this year. (Best ones to date? The Pampers Silent Night ad--huge, ugly tears every bloody time I see it!--the Tim Horton's one where the kid brings a coffee to his elderly neighbour while the old man shovels the driveway, the Dieppe Bell Canada one (my Hubby's personal fave), and the Canadian Tire no-fireplace-for-Santa commercial.)

3) Loading up my Playlist.com with holiday tunes and then setting my laptop to the page so I can listen to my family's playlist over and over again while I dice carrots or fold laundry.

4) My new lunettes. Browny librarian frames from Ray Ban. I like the contrast punch of dark tortoiseshell against my pale, freckled skin each time my eyes flicker over my own reflection.

5) Avie's two little teeth, set into that sugary-sweet, gummy smile. I love you, cupcake, like vanilla batter loves chocolate frosting.

6) Following the Enjoying the Small Things blog by Kelle Hampton. Vivid, evocative photos + passionate, heartfelt writing = great friggin' read. I find both her blog and how she views ordinary things--motherhood, everyday life, simple moments--truly inspiring. Don't even know her and yet feel she is a kindred spirit--or at least the kind of the spirit I aspire to be. Check her blog out if you need a pick-me-up.

7) Hubby's Movember makeover. In support of prostrate cancer, he has decided to turn his goatee into a moustache. To be entirely fair to the cause, he decided to start from scratch. He shaved off the ol' facial hair to make room for the new. He took off the hair on his head, too. He's a cueball. B has more hair on her little chemo head than he does now (her hair, by the by, has started to grow back. I love feeling the soft little tufts sprouting on her head. The little hairs look dark right now, but we'll see what comes of them with time.). In spite of looking like a newborn baby, it's kinda fun to run your hand over his bristly pate. Like wide-weave velcro.

8) B's continued love for her baby dolls. Yesterday, when we were preparing for our walk to the mailbox, she asked if we had a baby sling or a car seat for her doll (I was trying to find the Bjorn for Avie). I told her we didn't have one, but maybe we could ask for one from Santa. She agreed, then promptly unzipped her jacket halfway, stuffed her doll inside and proceeded outside. A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do to keep her kid warm.

9) Getting back into scrapbooking. Made three pages at my sister's Stampin' Up club get-together last weekend. Felt good to sit down with the ladies, chat about the latest goings-on and get our creative juices flowing. Can't wait to make Christmas cards and gift tags!

10) Watching my precious babies sleep. Every night from the time we brought Brooke home until I stopped some months ago, I used to peek in on Brooke before I myself hit the hay. I told myself I was just checking in, to make sure she was alright and still breathing, but the reality was just to catch a glimpse of her relaxed face, dark lashes sweeping peacefully across her seashell-pink skin, her plump, bow-shaped lips sucking peacefully at nothing, an uncurled fist flung carelessly across a plush snuggly toy.

I stopped slipping into her room a few months after she turned two because I found that she was startling awake each time I inched the door open. I hated to do it, but I decided that her need for a good's night rest outweighed my desire to watch her sleep. (Why I simply didn't think to get Hubby to WD40 the hinges is beyond me, but that's besides the point of the story. ) Anyways, I simply got out of the habit of checking in. I haven't even done it that much with Avie. She slept beside us in a bassinette for the first three months, so I checked in with her then, but that's about it.

The other day? I did just that.

I had to wake up Avie from her nap to make it to an appointment on time. (Trust me, I did not want to do it. I HATE waking a sleeping baby--and it would figure that the one time I need Avery to take a short nap, she decides to pull a two-hour siesta.) I went into her room and just stood there for a few moments. Watched the breath go in and out of her, eyelashes fluttering, cheek buried in the brown satin of her blankie. Pure bliss.

Was so struck by how sweet that moment was and how I missed the checking in that I decided to peek in on Brooke, too. Cracked open her bedroom door. Her bald little head was popping out of her blanket cocoon, bunnies falling halfway out of bed, dolls haphazardly perched on the edge, books strewn about the comforter. Complete and utter peace and comfort.

Filled me with goodness. Really missed that. Thankful for the moment that reminded me of how precious it is to have children to watch over--even if it meant having to wake Avie from a sound sleep.

What are some of your must-haves this month?