Heeey, Good Lookin'!

Whaaatcha got cookin'?

Howzabout cookin' somethin' up with meee?

They're Here!

Jack's Waldorf playstands and play kitchen are here! I added his wooden and wool veggies, and he immediately got cooking. See? (Never mind the wooden potato and egg in the sink;)
Then I organized his other goodies, and voila! A playspace! Note the silkscape I made with Hillary a couple of months ago....
Jack loves his new space. It's a reading nook, an imaginarium, a house, a storefront, a puppet show stand, a hideaway...whatever he wants it to be. I've discovered that he likes things to be organized so he can mess them up. There's not really any fun in messing up what is already messy, now is there?

Nature Table / Wine Rack

I thought it would be years before I would be able to welcome a nature table into our home. The thing is that to a toddler, any little new tidbit of anything appears digestible, or at least mouthable. Bringing in pine cones or flowers or acorns seems wholesome in theory, but in practice? No, no. Definitely not.

Enter my newest flash or brilliance. Jack has not yet discovered the wine rack--thank God--so I figured I could add a few things to the table part of it, which has a lip to keep out prying fingers. I had already put my cast iron tea set on it, along with a plant and a candle. It seemed natural to add a few little fun things among them. Like Jack's new wool-felted nest with wool-felted baby birds and a wooden mama bird:
Or a wool-felted fairy and Jack's birthday spiral friends:
In the back, you can see a Waldorf art card with a sweet painting of children welcoming some bluebirds to the world, and you can even see our peace lily at the edge of the frame:
So, welcome to our home, spring! There's always a place for you. Even if we get more wine.

Make Way Toot-Sweet!

Get a load of this handsome guy! I'm not sure at what point Jack's smile became adorably crooked, but crooked it is.

Today we took one of many steps toward creating his Waldorf-y playspace. He generously donated the recliner in his room to the Salvation Army today. I, for one, am elated. I have been trying to put this recliner out of my mind since I met it in John's old place on Music Row. But when Jack was born, I had to admit that it was a comfy place to sit with him in my arms.

Jack's a big boy now, and would rather climb my head than be rocked on my lap, so it was the perfect time to convince ol' Dad to let go of it. I know it was secretly hard for him. For years, it had been an awesome place to grade papers, and it was also his favorite place to meditate.

So, thanks, Daddy John. When you see Jack-Jack's safe, soft, peaceful playspace, it will be worth it--I promise. He will have his own place to imitate you grading papers. He will have a mini-man-cave where a pine cone will hold a world of wonder. You will walk in on him one day, and catch him trying figure out how to hold three wooden blocks with two little hands. If you squint and part the curtains a little, you'll see meditation in motion.