The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy

In addition to adding a "new addition" to our family, we've had a few other exciting adventures together as a family in the last month...one of which we are still in the thick of so I'll have to tell you about that later.

Anyway, to try and keep things normal around here, I gathered all of my ornament-making supplies during the late summer, so we could still have a "merry craftmas" reading and crafting along to our favorite Christmas books.

If you are unfamiliar with my Christmas book lists, you can see them at the following links:

"Jocelyn's List of the Best Christmas Books for Young Children 2009, 2010 & 2011"

(Just click on the corresponding year...)

So, the other night, we made the ornament pictured above to go along with our reading of "The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy," by Jane Thayer, which is such a darling tale...sort of an homage to my son and to dogs that I have loved over the years!

At the time that I discovered this book last year, I badly wanted a baby that just wasn't coming...my son badly wanted a brother, and I started to think that I should just get him a dog, so at least one of us wouldn't be sad!  

Around that same time, my sister's puppy was run over by a school bus in front of her house as her kids watched!  (Can you think of anything more awful?)  She was so sad...and I was so sad for her and (secretly) for myself...I'd read this book to my kids and bawl my eyes out.  

This book is so sweet and tender and really captures the need that we all have for companionship and for family and for a sense of belonging...and to know that you are special to someone else.

I promise you'll love this book...and it's not sad at all.  It's just sweet!

The other craft that we made this month are these candy cane antler headbands...

Both crafts are super self-explanatory and don't require much more than a few pipe cleaners!

The girls wore their headbands proudly to school on Monday, and by all accounts, they were a big hit.  This would be a fun craft to make at a class party or something if you can find cheap headbands!