Yesterday turned out to be a pretty warm day and when I asked Maisie if she wanted to help me take Abby for a walk after lunch she asked “In my snowsuit?”

Yes my dear, it was warm enough for you to wear your snowsuit and do your own walking instead of riding in the amouti. We headed out the door all together: You, me and Abby. You had Deelah (your tiny lamb) tucked into the hood of your snowsuit to ride “like in the amouti”. She was so cozy and warm. We saw marks from raven wings in the snow on someone’s lawn and some skidoos zoomed past us as we walked up the road. The sun was just peeking through the mist and making everything glow. My phone doesn’t do a very good job of capturing that but it was beautiful to see. All the trees and grasses were covered in thick frost from the mist. You decided to sit down on the path just because you can do that sort of thing when you’re wearing a snowsuit. After a bit of convincing I got Abby to sit next to you long enough for a picture. We did some running. We did some walking. We went over the bridge and looked out at some people playing on the lake. You found a tiny pinecone for your pocket. You found an A in the snow and jumped on it. You found a bunch of tiny pinecones for my pocket. You started to get a bit too cold - those mittens don’t keep out the snow - and asked to go in the wrap. I did a terrible job of tightening it with my bulky coat and cold fingers but it still worked. We both had rosy cheeks when we got home. Abby had a frosty chin. We warmed up with a nice cuddle on the couch. You gave me a present of a zebra with a pig purse and my hair clip that was pretending to be the zebra’s hair clip.

Later on we made cocoa.

Maisie loves to help out with everything from dishes to sewing to putting on Abby's jacket. Sometimes it makes things go a little slower but I still always feel like it the best way to do stuff. The world is so much more fun when you are participating.

Happy New Year. I hope you had a lovely holiday. Ours was really nice. Full of family and friends and good food and quiet time. Maisie was very excited about everything this year. That's one of her more recent words in fact. "Me 'xcited" she'll say and bounce around the room. It make me smile so much. We're easing back into our usual routine after almost two weeks of being on holiday. Rob is back at work today and Maisie and I go back to daycare and work on Tuesday.

The sun is coming back. The difference is already becoming noticeable. We've got still got two or three months of cold weather ahead of us but knowing the days are getting longer already lifts my mood and makes me think of my garden. I finished Maisie's Christmas stocking at the very last minute (thank you, my dear, for sleeping in on Christmas morning). I need to make sure I take a picture of it before it gets packed away for next year. Maisie loves to look at all the Christmas things. I put ornaments that could be handled on the bottom of the tree and they are regularly removed and carried around. We taught her that they all have to return to their home when she's done. It mostly works. Ollie and Fred were in raptures when we finally let them play in a bag that some of our gifts came in. We tossed in a pinch of the catnip that was part of the gift (thanks Samera, now we know why they kept trying to crawl inside) and they spent a wonderful time diving in and out of the bag. I've been working on perfecting my coffee making. I only drink decaf and am tired of the mediocre cup that decaf so often gives. I found this set of instructions a while ago and my coffee drinking experiences have improved incredibly. I'd never have guessed that a six dollar plastic cone would be what I needed. Abby had a pretty major health scare at the end of November. She's okay now but I think it makes us appreciate getting to spend so much time with her that much more. I think she enjoys having us around all the time too. I'm not sure if we're as enthralling as the local fox though. Maisie's vocabulary also  includes the words "fox" (complete with the X) and "Abby hush". I love this picture of Maisie with the ball of yarn just because of the story attached to it. I'd set up a little photo studio* on the armchair because the light was nice but Maisie changed my plans by climbing onto the chair and getting comfortable. I asked her if she would like to help me photograph my new yarn. She answered enthusiastically and held each ball on her lap while I snapped a photo. Then she asked me to show her the pictures I took. She's very interested in cameras and pictures right now. I'm very interested in seeing how this will develop as she gets older.

*I threw a blanket over the chair and turned the whole thing to face the window.