We have a toddler :)

It is official, we have a toddler in the house! I love the way she has to walk with both arms up for balance. She is already getting very quick and has a bad habit of moving items around the house so we can't find them...

I also love the way she smiles, with a very crinkly nose when she is very happy :) How very lucky we are to be blessed with such a happy and easygoing beautiful little girl.

Pincushions

I have made a few pincushions in readiness for the EB swap. The ones below are 'The funky Chicken' pincushions which are really simple and fun to make. Pattern here. Miss has been having a lot of fun playing with them so I am not sure if they will ever be used for their intended purpose :)

The stripe/gingham fabric chicken has been adopted by my brother who took a bit of a fancy to it. He has named it Chicken Chook as that was the name he gave to his pet Chicken back in our farm days :)

Maybe I should name the other two so they don't feel left out?

I have also made a Heather Bailey pincushion that was super easy as well. I would have put a picture of it up but Miss has been playing with it and it is missing in action. It is so hard to keep track of things now that she is walking about everywhere!

Birthday Baby and Holiday Happenings

It is so hard to believe that 12 months have already passed. It has been such a wonderful year and I am really looking forward to discovering what the next 12 months have in store for us all :)

Miss ate her first piece of cake, which she enjoyed, as the photo below shows. I kept the decorating pretty simple this year by trying to make some little 'butterflies' for the top of the cake. Not the best creative job ever but I figured I would not get any complaints from a 12 month old :)



In addition to a birthday, we also had Christmas. Most of my family came here and stayed for anything from a couple of days, to a couple of weeks. It was pretty busy!

We all went camping for a couple of days which was nice, we went up to Nowendoc which we all love. Our horses are up there as well so I even managed to fit in a quick ride, I wish the horses were closer so I could do more with them...

All in all it was a fairly relaxing holiday period, but I now have to tidy the house, pack away the last of the camping and holiday surplus that is still sitting about and look ahead to a new year. With a new baby due in August, and all the renovation plans in the pipeworks I think we will be fairly busy in 2009.

2009 Reading Challenge Master List

This year I am getting in early to join the 100 books reading challenge hosted here.

Do it with me PLEASE :) I am the 274th person to register, I cant wait to see everyone's book lists.

I will keep this post updated with a list of books I have read throughout the year, it should be fun and a good way to keep myself motivated. I am not going to set myself a reading list, I will just take each book as it comes and list it as I start/finish it.

Jan/Feb
1. The wooden horse ~ Eric Williams
2. The comfort of Saturdays ~ Alexander McCall Smith
3. The tales of Beedle the Bard ~ J.K.Rowling
4. The Turning ~ Tim Winton
5. La's orchestra saves the world ~ Alexander McCall Smith
6. The Hobbit ~ J.R.R Tolkien
7. Whitethorn ~ Bryce Courtenay
8. Sharpe's Tiger ~ Bernard Cornwell
9. Salvation in Death ~ J.D. Robb
10. Danny the Champion of the World ~ Roald Dahl
11. Rebel ~ Bernard Cornwall
12. Copperhead ~ Bernard Cornwall
13. Battle flag ~ Bernard Cornwall
14. The Bloody Ground ~ Bernard Cornwall

I should be reading 8.3 books a month so am a bit behind at this point... Am wondering if I can catch up! Maybe I should be aiming for 50 books :)

March/April
15. Hamish meets Bumpy McKenzie ~
16. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland ~ Lewis Caroll
17. The Choice ~ Nicholas Sparks
18. The first Casualty ~ Ben Elton
19. Promises in Death ~ J.D.Robb
20. East of the Mountains ~ David Guterson
21. The Red Pony ~ John Steinbeck
22. Maps for Lost Lovers ~ Nadeem Aslam
23. Testimony ~ Anita Shreve
24. Twilight ~ Stephanie Meyer

May/June
25. New Moon ~ Stephanie Meyer
26. Eclipse ~ Stephanie Meyer
27. Sewing Projects in an afternoon ~ Susan Mickey
28. Breaking Dawn ~ Stephanie Meyer
29. The Mighty Toddler ~ Robin Barker
30. Toddler Taming ~ Dr Christopher Green
31. Let me sing you gentle songs ~ Linda Olsen
32. The Persimmon Tree ~ Bryce Courtenay
33. Fishing for Stars ~ Bryce Courtenay
34. Truckers ~ Terry Pratchett
35. Meet me at Mike's ~ Pip Lincolne
36. Sewing in no time ~ Emma Hardy
37. House at Slavation Creek ~ Susan Duncan
38. The Boy in Striped Pyjamas ~ John Boyne
39. The Quilter's Apprentice ~ Jennifer Chiaverini
40. The last Continent ~ Terry Pratchett

JULY/AUGUST
41. The bonesetter's Daughter ~ Amy Tan
42. Baby-Led Weaning ~ Gill Rapley & Tracey Murkett

SEPTEMBER
43.On, Off ~ Colleen McCullough
44.The Unknown Terrorist ~ Richard Flanagan
45.Lord john and the Private Matter ~ Diana Gabaldon
46.Choo Woo ~ Lloyd Jones
47.The Guernsey Literacy & Potato Peel Pie Society ~ Mary Ann Shaffer
48.The girl with the dragon tattoo ~ Stieg Larsson
49.The Undomestic Goddess ~ Sopie Kinsella
50.As Darkness Falls ~ Bronwyn Parry

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER
51.206 Bones ~ Kathy Reichs
52.The Thirteenth Tale ~ Diane Setterfield
53.The girl who played with fire ~ Steig Larsson
54.A Question of Death (Phryne Fisher Treasury) ~ Kerry Greenwood
55.Le Bal & Snow in Autumn ~ Irene Nemirovsky
56. The Lieutenant ~ Kate Grenville

DECEMBER
57. Jasper Jones ~ Craig Silvey