Building into One and Half

As some of you may know, math is not my strong suite... so at 16 months I posted that Hazel was one and half only to figure out about a month later that 18 months is one and a half not 16... So here is take two at Hazel's One and half post!

Mommy's little helper! Recently discovered that the coffee table is the perfect height for helping in the kitchen.  Hazel is now "helping" while I make bread, wash dishes, and cut up veggies. So far most of her helping involves playing with the stuff on the counter, but when I made soup later that day she wanted a spoon so she could stir her own bowl too! 🥰

Just like one of those flip book pictures books I got a bunch of pictures in a row of Hazel building a block tower. Maybe if you scroll quickly it might have a similar effect. 

She was so excited once she stacked them 4 tall! 

Not sure what she is so excited about, but likely she just finished scattering the toppled blocks from the table.

The tower building lasted a little shorter then it took you to go through the pictures... after that she turned into a little crazy! (Video below)

and then..

Me: "Hazel smile!" …this is what I got.... 😂

Some Mommy and Me pics, each picture has a little good in it. To set the setting, Hazel is at the tail end of crazy running stage and is running in for hugs when I ask for them and closer to the end she starting to watch herself on the phone camera screen. 

I think this is one of my favorite, even though it blurry I find it captures the action and affection quite well. 😍

Finally sitting calmly and I found a good angle! But Hazel found a plastic container...typical...

So big!! And she really is getting big! Hazel is somewhere between 23.5 and 25lb, working on her bottom eye teeth, which would bring her to 6 on the bottom and 4 on top. She is still tall and skinny so I've found 12-18, 24 and 2T clothes all fit depending on the cut and style. 

Hazel is learning more and more sounds that are sounding more and more like words! To start "bear bear" is one of the newer and most used ones along with "dip dip" that has recently been introduced at meal times. She had also started asking for shoes to come "off "or "on" which sound very similar, occasionally I've heard her call for "mum", and just today she said something that sounded like "please" when prompted. She can say "thank-you" through I think it often get mixed up with how she says "here you go" not sure how but they sound very similar when she says it! Most of the time she still babbles like in the video below, I was trying to get her to say "bear bear" and finally got it in the end but it's very quiet! 

Hazel and her "Bear Bears", we have successfully started liking stuffies enough that they are calming and can be a soother replacement during the day. She is the most attached to two of the teddy bears but will still happily give the other stuffies a hug when prompted. The dark brown bear had become our "going out bear " and typically she will take the bear with the scarf to bed, but either work. For the last 2 months we have got the bedtime routine down pat, and she is happy to go to bed with her cup, soother and a teddy and put herself to sleep! 

Hazel has been in a very lovely stage the last few months and it been so neat learning along with her and having a little helper around the house has been very special too! 

Love you Munchkin!

Snow Days!!!

 After a unsustainably busy week and a half, Hazel and I got to enjoy some snow days! I'm super happy and content that the snow is here. I find I often worry about winter coming, but once it here, what's done is done and we just enjoy the snow. I love how quiet it is when there is snow on the ground and it feels a lot lighter in the morning and evenings as it reflects the light.

Hazel all bundled in her snowsuit, ready to play in the snow! 

Hazel's first time walking in the snow! (Video below)

We made a little snow man on the deck in the morning. Hazel sees pretty content in the snow as well, I was expecting a bit more wonder and excitement. But she just seemed to roll with it. 

Our finished creation. 

I was quite please that the first snow fall was packing snow. I was told that if you pack snow around the base of the tree it helps insulated the roots from the cold and frost. So much for starting with one new tree and see how it grows.... I now have 3 baby trees! My fall Festia maple, my freebie willow and the Japanese maple in the font yard from mom and dad.... Which I probably haven't done a post on yet. I find I have be struggling with bloggers block for the last while... I'm hoping this post of the start on my break through, so stay tuned for lots of "flashback posts..."

Hazel was quite the trooper in the snow, by this time we probably had a good 4 inches, she was walking all over the yard and trying to pick up snow and throw it for Nova. During which I started to build a snow man as most Mama's know the kids play nicer if are playing too! 

(Video below)

(Video below)

Nova has been getting better and better with Hazel, I love how she is laying down so patiently! 

(Video below)

 A side note: I made an effort to take lots of pictures and videos this time as it is pretty mild outside, so it wasn't to cold to take my gloves off and on... as we are heading into -20 later this week I doubt I will be taking as many outside pictures... so enjoy while it lasts!😄

My snowman ended up being a snow bear, and I even managed to get Hazel to give it some hugs! 🥰

A must watch video!!! My Mommy heart just melted again! 😍

(Video below)

My attempt and trying to take a picture with the snow bear....

A fresh untouched blanket of snow! So calming! 

It kept snowing lightly throughout the night and we woke up to snow neatly piled on top of all the post caps and along the fence which I thought was very beautiful! 

What a lovely start to winter!

Fall and the Freebie Tree

The Story of my Freebie Tree: 

I used willow trees that Jared had cut down around the lagoon for my bean poles. A few months later much to my surprise one began to bud! But by that time the beans had already started to grow on the pole. From time to time while I was picking beans I noticed that it had leaves, but with the beans being so bushy and wrapped around everything I didn't think much of it. So you can imagine I was quite surprised to find this once I took all the beans down! 

Due to it not being able to stay in my garden and my loves of trees it got transplanted into the yard. I was quite surprised at how hard it was to dig a hole for the tree as the last tree I planted the digging was a lot easier, I guess that's the difference between wet clay and dry clay...

I am trying to keep the mindset that it likely won't survive the winter as I wasn't able to plant to very deep, that way if it does survive I will be super excited... But the longer the tree has been planted there the more I'm already getting attached to it! 

Fall has been really quite beautiful this year! It has been a warm and sunny, but not to hot, which had been wonderful.

My tree isn't very big yet, but I have been finding that it has still be able to throw the perfect amount of shade to lay in the grass or set up a lawn chair!

With the fence done I have been able to do a lot of simply enjoying our back yard! The panoramic picture below makes it look bigger then it is, I think. But I love having the whole view in one picture as it is more accurate of the view off the deck. 

I love how the trees in the back are lit up by the setting sun! 

My Fall Fiesta maple tree is living up to it's name! Lots of yellow and orange leaves around, so the red-orange really stands out!

Thought this was neat! "X marks the spot! "

I can't seem to get enough of these pictures. Little girl in a big world 🥰

 

Harvest

Harvest was a pretty busy time. Not necessarily due to the amount of food harvested, but more of getting back on top of everything since our summer holidays were done. Though we didn't get tons out of the garden, overall I though it did really well. This year was quite the experiment for me. Test one was to see if any animals would come and eat my garden, thankfully they all seemed content to stay in the forest. Test two was to see how the vegetables I wanted to grow would do up here. That test went well too, though there are a few things that I will need to do differently next year. 

The first potato! I was super excited to find this one as I had tried to steal a potato once and a while but never found any. The potatoes were a lot deeper then I expected, but there! We had a lot fun harvesting them. 

The Yukon gold harvest 

And pick some beans to go with them! 

Washed and ready for cooking.

Even cooked some homegrown chicken to go with the potatoes and beans. A whole homegrown meal! 

Green beans all ready for the freezer. Got quite a few fresh meals of beans, but suddenly there was a 2 week span were there was lots, so in the freezer they went. 

The chickens are doing a good job of supplying us with eggs! When we have extra we share or trade them, which I find is a lot more fulfilling then selling them.

Hazel helped with harvesting the rest of the potatoes. 

We found a few teeny tiny ones that kept her entertained most of the time. 

This one even got taste tested 😅

The full harvest of red potatoes and russets. 

Mommy's little helper who LOVES digging in the dirt!

Brushed clean and stored away. 

I picked all the tomatoes as the frost killed the tomato plant. So far most of the little ones went bad, so the chickens got them and one of the medium ones finally ripened. 

So this is all the corn that I gathered from my "very over planted, almost died twice" corn plants. 

And once I shucked them, these were what remained. The one on the right was super tasty! 

Really enjoyed having a garden this year and I am looking forward to starting one again next year.