Saskia and her dolly

Saskia has become quite the little mommy to her baby doll. Baby doesn't have a name other than, "Baby." Recently, when I was cleaning up the kids' closets, I came across a bunch of their little baby clothes I had saved for eventual doll clothes. Saskia has had great fun dressing her baby, feeding her a bottle and putting her down for a nap. "Shh! Baby sleepin'!," she'll say. Saskia likes to pat her baby on the back. So cute! Here are some photos of Saskia and her baby.

Kia Klips

During the summer, I started making hair clips covered in felt for Saskia. I gave some to friends with little girls, too, and a few people suggested I sell them. Our friend and former neighbor, Nancy, came up with a name and designed a logo which I used to create a website and Etsy store. And so, Kia Klips were born. I've had fun making different designs. I've had orders from Maryland, California and even Australia!

Today, I went to my first craft fair. I rather like the way the display turned out... even though it only came about after scavenging the house for some materials.

St Maarten

On November 11, we were invited to Hatfield to celebrate St. Maarten with our friends. In Germany and the Netherlands, St. Maarten is celebrated with children parading from door to door carrying paper lanterns. First, we made the paper lanterns and then when it was dark enough, we lit them and did a procession around the yard. The weather was unseasonably warm and we enjoyed a nice bonfire, too.

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Because we had busy all day before we headed to the St. Maarten festivities, Saskia didn't take her afternoon nap. That meant we had to leave before Kiefer was ready. He was so angry and he cried all the way home. I took this picture just after we arrived home: Saskia asleep and Kiefer looking quite pouty.

Trick or Treat 2012

Halloween is one of Kiefer's favorite holidays. He begged me to decorate in September, but I held out until the beginning of October. Since the house was all decorated and Kiefer so excited about Halloween, we decided to have a little Halloween party. It was great fun coming up with some spooky foods and games.

There was a Halloween party at Kiefer's school and as a parent helper, I got to attend and help out. Saskia came, too. The day started with a parade of all the kindergarteners throughout the school. They went into every classroom and it was great to see the older kids giving high fives and complimenting the little guys on their costumes. Here's Captain America showing off his muscles.

And finally, October 31st arrived and it was time for trick or treating. Kiefer was out of his mind with excitement. Saskia wasn't into wearing her costume and we had to bribe her with candy to get her to put it on. Kiefer told her, "Saskia, you can't get more candy unless you put your costume on!" She eventually did and we had a great evening walking around the neighborhood. Saskia wasn't too into walking and preferred riding in the stroller between houses.