The wheels on her skates are plastic and terrible, but they’re adjustable (locked, rolling forward only, and freewheeling) and they fit shoe sizes 6-12. I figure they’ll be good for getting used to being on eight wheels, and eventually we could get her a real pair. Three is a little young for full-fledged skates anyway, right? I chose the green “boy” version so they could be handed down, but Eleanor says we should get August a pink pair.

Here’s my girl on her inaugural run.

(Looks like Elle DeGore is working on a kids’ issue.)

© 2012, published by Making it Lovely as Eleanor’s First Skates | 26 comments

I’ll be taking a photo of August sitting in the Eames rocker and wearing his pin each month until he’s two years old. I also took monthly photos of his older sister, Eleanor, until she turned two.

I don’t usually do a direct comparison here between Eleanor’s and August’s photos, but I had to chuckle when I saw that they both struck the same pose at fifteen months old. Translation: “Come get me! You know I must be held at all times.”

August’s Previous Photos
The First Year • Thirteen Months Old • Fourteen Months Old • View All

© 2012, published by Making it Lovely as Fifteen Months Old (August’s Monthly Photo) | 15 comments

The big conductor train engineer turned 34, two days later.

The party invitations promised train whistles and caps for all, and we delivered. Bandanas, too.

My idea for the table was to create a forest in the center with train tracks all around, and little bits of scenery. The cats destroyed my maiden hair fern centerpiece almost immediately though, so I went to a big box store for more plants and found the selection lacking. I ended up with a rubber tree plant, and I used the moss I had leftover from making my terrarium to fill in as shrubbery.

We had the usual party decorations up too, and pretty packages all wrapped up for giving.

The Marimekko tablecloth on the table was the one I’d written about last year. I didn’t buy it at the time, but I thought of it when I was trying to find something that would suggest a landscape for the table, and I was able to find one on eBay. We had a birthday cupcake train, led by Thomas. The cupcakes were from a bakery, and Eleanor and I made the flatcars out of graham crackers, mini Oreos, frosting (from a tube, used like glue), and wafer cookies (as axels, for stability).

It was a good day, with no confusion or delay.

Happy birthday(s), my loves.

© 2012, published by Making it Lovely as Eleanor’s Third Birthday Party | 45 comments

My baby girl turned three on Sunday. Here is her yearly photo.

Previous Photos
• View the Entire Series

© 2012, published by Making it Lovely as Three Years Old (Eleanor’s Yearly Photo) | 29 comments

Eleanor is old enough now to be interested in arts and crafts (YAY!), so we’ve been doing a lot of little projects lately. Beaded bracelets, pom pom critters, painted birdhouses, braided pipe cleaner things, and now, clothespin people. Most of the time, I let her do her thing with a little supervision and a little guidance, but I couldn’t resist making a bunch of these myself.

I’ve missed making pretty little things for the fun of it.

Eleanor plays with them all, the ones I’ve made mixed with the ones she did and the ones from daddy, too. Here, they are exploring the icy landscape of a Star Wars toy that was Brandon’s as a kid. Hoth, maybe? I have no idea.

Reunited, and it feels so good.

Brandon made his first, and he used a sharpie (markers bleed and feather on the wood). He says he would have made his better had he known I would be photographing them. Eleanor used paint for a few, but markers are better for a toddler (no drying time), so I encouraged her to use them as much as I could. I used craft paint for mine, because you know I am hardcore like that. Also, Brandon says all of mine are hunchbacks. I say it’s better to see the arms from the front so they don’t look limbless. Tom-ay-to/tom-ah-to.

I put together a roundup of all my favorite clothespin and peg dolls, but I did it after I made mine. Now that I’ve seen how many good ones are out there, I might have to get my hands on some different shapes to expand our set.

© 2012, published by Making it Lovely as Handpainted Wooden Clothespin Dolls | 30 comments

August seems so much like a toddler now, and Eleanor, a child. I love them so much, but moreover, I really like them.

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago. I tend to take photos when the house is picked up, not when toys are strewn about. I read other blogs and I think ‘in their house, the toys look artfully placed, and in my house, it looks like chaos and plastic.’ Looking at these photos though, I love the informality. This is how we live. This is what our living room usually looks like.

This is the environment my kids will remember, and it’s a pity I don’t document it more. If not for you, then for me. And for them.

© 2012, published by Making it Lovely as An Everyday | 57 comments

August turned fourteen months old yesterday, on Easter Sunday. This is the first time I’ve not done a monthly photo on the proper date since I started the project with Eleanor, nearly three years ago. August has been sick since Thursday with a high fever, and that combined with the holiday meant that I completely forgot to pay attention to what the date was. He was pretty miserable yesterday though, so even had I remembered, it probably wouldn’t have been the best day for a photo shoot anyway. He’s much better today, despite the dramatic pose.

I’ll be taking a photo of August sitting in the Eames rocker and wearing his pin each month until he’s two years old. I also took monthly photos of his older sister, Eleanor, until she turned two.

August’s Previous Photos
The First Year • Thirteen Months Old • View All

© 2012, published by Making it Lovely as Fourteen Months Old (August’s Monthly Photo) | 12 comments

My sister snapped that picture of us at the zoo.

“I do it!”

Pretty soon she will be doing it, all by herself. She’s really excited about being a big girl. It’s a big deal. She’ll turn three at the end of this month.

We managed to find time for a quick trip to the craft store yesterday before dinner. New pipe cleaners, new paint, some beads, a wooden birdhouse, clay, and jewelry findings. Eleanor was beside herself. (Me, too.)

She painted the birdhouse this morning. All by herself.

© 2012, published by Making it Lovely as Eleanor | 14 comments

Thank you COOL WHIP for sponsoring this post.

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We mix greek yogurt with strawberries and blueberries pretty often here for a simple breakfast. Normally I just spoon a little yogurt in a bowl, throw the berries in, add a spoon, and call it done. Sometimes it’s nice to put some extra thought into a routine meal though, and sitting down to breakfast at a cute table setting made the day feel a little more special. You could switch out the yogurt for whipped topping and make this a dessert too.

Here’s how I put it all together for Eleanor, smiley face included…

We like to use a tray for her place setting because it’s easy to wipe down and it catches crumbs, but a placemat would be a good way to bring in some pattern too (and still protect the table). I used a scalloped bowl for the yogurt and a heart-shaped dish for the strawberries, along with a tumbler as a vase. A cloth napkin feels more special than a disposable one, and the glittery teaspoon on top is extra cute. I had all of these things on hand and most of them aren’t available anymore, but I put together some alternatives below.

Of course, the setting would work just as well for an adult as it would for a kid. I’ll let you decide whether you want to omit the Krazy Straw or not. And flowers help too, even if they’re just carnations. Eleanor sat down and exclaimed “Flowers, wow!”

Do you ever play around with table settings too, or do you tend to wait for special occasions?

Sponsored posts are purely editorial content that I am pleased to have presented by a participating sponsor. Advertisers do not produce the content.

© 2012, published by Making it Lovely as Making Everyday Mornings Feel Special | 29 comments

“Dude! Did you see that!?”

(p.s. I wrote about that dragon and the matching dinosaur over here.)

© 2012, published by Making it Lovely as Dragon | 20 comments