Suns Moons and Paintbrushes

More from the Children's Museum in Denver

2009-06-23T08:24:00.001-07:00

The Denver Children's Museum

2009-06-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

The Children's Museum in Denver was wondeful. Annabelle and Max spent time pretending to fish, garden, cook, shop, and even dressed like an ant. They were also busy sawing, building, painting, and drawing. Max also spent time in the train room and shooting basket balls in a small child-sized basketball court.

More from Boulder!

2009-06-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

Boulder!!!!

2009-06-23T07:32:00.000-07:00

We are back from our wonderful trip to Boulder, Colorado. Getting to spend time with Phil, Khristine, Landon, sweet baby Kaia, and of course the beloved Sadie Dog was the highlight of our trip for all of us. Every mornig when Max woke up, he signed "dog" and then he signed "baby," becasue that was what he wanted to do was spend time playing ball with Sadie and gently loving Baby Kaia. Annabelle was in heaven, she got to spend tons of time with Landon, who is the most amazing 13 boy I have ever met! Plus she just feels so at home with Khris and Phil, they are family to her. I got to gaze at the beautiful mom Khris while she nurse Kaia, which was all I asked for in the trip! We all ate delicious food and the scenery with the Flat Irons and the foothills and the giant dandelions and lakes and rivers, and springs and snow and sun and double rainbows and rocky canyons. We were all so happy, it was very hard to leave our friends and such a beautiful piece of the country!

We took tons of photos, here's the first few!

Wild Child...

2009-05-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

on Ocracoke Island.

Painting & Drawing

2009-05-15T08:54:00.000-07:00

So much painting and drawing happens here everyday!

Annabelle has been working on a canvas for a couple of weeks and she finished yesterday. She named it, "Rocky Mountain High!" It is a reference to her beloved John Denver, who she pretends to be many times a week, saying, "You just never know when John Denver will show up!"

Max draws and paints everyday too, calling all his tight spirally marks all, "Dee!"

Birds!

2009-05-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

Watching a Cardinal family build a nest in the roses right outside the window!

Sorry, I did it on purpose!

2009-04-23T10:37:00.001-07:00

So, Annabelle is working on what is the difference between making a mistake that you know is not ok and learning from that and making amends and doing something by accident and apologizing for it. As an example she would take a toy right from Max's hands and though she knew it was not ok, she would do it anyway, because she is still 4, but with some help she would give the toy back and make a plan on how she would ask and what she could do while she waited for the toy, but she kept saying, "Sorry Max, it was an accident."
So I explained to her what an accident was, like bumping into someone when you don't see them, etc, but she meant to take the toy, so it was not an accident, but a mistake that she needed to correct. So now we hear, if she does "something" to Max like, take a toy, etc, "Sorry Max, I did it on purpose!"
The thing is she is serious, not being mean or trying to be funny, she means, "oops, I made a mistake, sorry about that." And then she fixes the mistake, like gives him the toy back or tries to trade a toy with him.
I love how earnest she is about being a goood person and sister. I also love this period in her language, she has a huge vocabulary, but still uses words and phrases in interesting ways, like calling long pants, "long-sleeved pants." As she has gotten older she has already lost so many of our favorite words, like "amve-ance" for elephants and "ding-ding," for bycicle, though she is teaching some of them to Max, like how she used to say ice cream, "LLLL!"
So Jack and I will keep saying "long-sleeved pants," and "amve-ance" just so we remember!

Lots to do!

2009-04-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

Max wakes up with tons of energy. He is busy all day long, exploring and playing. Max loves balls, all sorts, and he makes up games with them. For awhile the game was to throw or roll a ball under a couch and then try to get it out with a broom or a bat. Then the game became: Max throws the ball under the couch and Mama or Dada have to get it. He would do this over and over, saying, "Dada," and signing ball and pointing to the couch, then he would even give us the broom.

Now the game uses a golf club and a big beach ball. The way this game works, is we go outside to the backyard, Max finds the big metal golf club and drags it over to an adult, usually Jack, but I will do if he is unavailable, (This weekend it was his Papaw who played this with him.) then Max locates the ball and points to it, saying, "Nada!" This means we are supposed to hit the ball with the golf club and this makes Max laugh with glee! Then he points to the ball and says, "Nada!" Because you are supposed to go over and get the ball and do it again and again and again! Now earlier in the week, Max would go ge the ball and bring it back to you, but now it has become a spectator sport for him, because now we must go after the ball.

Max keeps busy drawing, painting, and building too. He can fill a whole piece of paper with small deliberate marks. Today when he painted, he dunked his hand into the pot of paint and slapped the paper over and over. Max can sit and stack blocks taller and taller and rebuilding again after the blocks tumble.

Max's favorite books are Moo, Baa, La La La by Sandra Boyton, The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear by Audrey and Don Woods, and Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boyton. His favorite song is Thank God I'm Country Boy, especially when his sister sings sings it!

Max laughs and makes us laugh a lot and he gets into lots of mischief. He has a little twinkle in his eyes that can be downright heartmelting or frustrating depending on our own mood or what the mischief is. He has a lot of perserverance, trying to be understood or trying out his own ideas. He also is sweet and gentle and easy to hug and hold. If Annabelle is sad, he will give her a hug. If he is worried Mabel Rose is hungry, he will carry her food bowl right over to her head. If he spills something on accident (and on purpose) he will wipe up his spills or clean up the floor. He loves to use tools just like his mom and dad. If we are in the garden he has a shovel or a rake too. If we are sweeping, then he gets out his broom too and sweeps with us. He is still learning how to gather the dirt in a pile instead of scattering our piles, but he is getting there. He is learning to eat with a fork and drink from a cup, just like his sister, not a sippy cup, but a real glass or mug. When I am baking or cooking he likes to help stir or measure or pour. He loves to "wash the dishes," too. And he loves to help his dad fill the dishwasher, though sometimes he empties the dirty dishes or puts dirty dishes in the clean dishwasher, but he is right there helping either way.

He is great company and loves to be outside in all weather (excpet maybe the snow!). He still loves looking for birds and can spot a bird in a tree way up high. He seems interested in all animals. Dogs and ducks are some favorites.

He is fun to be with and has brought much joy and happiness to our family. Mostly when I think of Max, I think, he is my sweet, funny boy. I love him so. We all do!

Happy Birthday Max!

2009-04-02T16:37:00.001-07:00

So Max turned 18months, well almost a month ago! He loved blowing out the candle. He must of done it 5 times, before he ate his doughnut muffin, a treat he is especially fond of these days!

I love you, Baby Boy!

John Denver & Soccer!

2009-04-02T16:06:00.001-07:00

Annabelle's new project is John Denver. She loves him! She draws him, creates him out of clay, listens to his music, pretends to be him ,and puts on concerts. She has even written her first song.

She has also begun playing soccer. Look at my girl go!

More from Annabelle's Journal

2009-03-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

Photos taken from a morning spent at Jack's work.A still life of Paperwhites

A zebra, after a trip to the zoo
Daffodil buds drawn outside in the garden.
Annabelle wrote, "Annabelle draw flower."

Photos taken from an afternoon of painting many cat paintings. She sounded out herself (we call it kids spelling), "CT PTG" (Cat Painting).

Annabelle's Journal

2009-03-04T10:25:00.000-08:00

I loved the idea of nature journals: going out into nature with a sketchbook to observe and draw and write about the naturla world around you. So I made a little nature journal bag for Annabelle. It contained a sketchbook, watercolors, sharpie marker, and some pencils. I wanted to start simple and add things as needed. Ananbelle loved her journal bag. She drew in it when we went to the coast and when we were out in nature in our town.

But her nature journal began to change and transform into more than a nature journal and became truly Annabelle's journal. Annabelle draws, writes, pastes in photos all from her life. Her journal has become a record of both her life and her art. Once again, Annabelle showed me that she will construct her own learning, her own ideas, and ways of working. What started out as a way for her to have a deeper relationship with nature (my idea), it now is work completely owned and loved by Annabelle (I love it too!).

A lighthouse and ocean waves

One of many crescent moonsA sunflowerPatooki, a magical elephant that went on an outing, to some gardens, with us one day last fall.A photo of a hole Annabelle dug at a children's garden. This was when she started writing titles and dates for her entries.

Our Mini Project

2009-01-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

Due to the recent very cold weather, we have embarked on a short project about winter weather. Here are some images, thoughts, and feelings from the last two weeks.

Last week we had record cold. As we were driving by the pond that is right across the street from our house, we noticed a strange line all the way across the water. We parked the car and went to investigate. Annabelle was the first to discover that it was ice covering roughly half the pond.

She immediately found a stick to touch, poke, prod, slap, and hit at the ice. She moved to the other half to splash her stick in the water. Max wanted a stick too, so a stick was found and he “touched,” poked, prodded, slapped, and hit the ice. Then he went to the water half and threw his stick in.

The next day we checked the pond again and almost the entire surface was iced over. More sticks were found and the ice investigated and manipulated.

We noticed our breath was “smoky” in the cold air. Back at home we built lots of fires and had fireside dinners in the living room.

Then the snow! We found a new world to explore and experience. When we first went out it was snowing hard. We felt it on our faces and caught it with our tongues. We heard the crunch of the snow under our boots, felt the cold wetness on our skin as we fell, and tasted big chunks of snow with our mouths. Annabelle climbed up snowy rocks and tossed snow in the air. Max learned to walk in the snow, being unsure of his balance in this new terrain. Max needed time to get used to the snow, at first nervous and anxious, then warming up to the snow and especially loving the ice.

Annabelle gathered a huge bowl of snow to be made into snow cream. We read The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, took lots of photographs, and drew a picture of the snow. We built snow men and Annabelle saved a bowlful of snow in the freezer. She filled a wheelbarrow full, carrying it around the yard.

Back at the pond, the ice prompted snowballs to be hurled. Snowballs thrown down hard created holes in the ice. Snowballs tossed gently slid far out into the center.

We saw icicles for the first time, dripping over the edge of a neighbor’s house. We got used to the cold and spent hours outside until our toes hurt and our fingers were bright red.

At home, we dried soaked mittens and wiped up snow melting from the floor.

As the snow melted, we noticed where it stayed and where the grass poked through. The ice on the pond grew smaller and was easier in places to break. We broke up ice and pulled chunks out of the water. We noticed how thick some pieces were; how thin others. The ice was clear and shiny and we wished to take it home. The ice was hard to hold for long; it was so cold. When it was tossed back onto the ice the pieces would break and skid almost all the way across to the other side.

Lots of water is dripping off our house now with the snow almost gone. Yesterday, a bucket was filled from the drips and left overnight. It is frozen this morning and is discovered by Max. He whacks it with a shovel, breaking the top layer of ice, and stirs the ice soup up. Annabelle dunks her whole boot into the bucket. The drips from the roof .land on Max’s head, like a shower as he plays. He is startled and sad at the wet cold drips. Drying off, we go inside to nap.

Now the trees have no more snow in their branches. The deck still holds a layer of snow, being in shadow. We might get almost 60 degree weather and still there is a bowl of snow waiting in the freezer.

SNOWMAN

2009-01-23T04:51:00.001-08:00

2009-01-22T20:18:00.000-08:00

So Annabelle learned how to tie her shoes today, she asked me to show her and ten minutes later she could tie her own shoes. She was so excited to tell Jack when he got home. She ran up to him with her shoes on and said, “Who do you think tied these shoes?” Then she showed him! Such a rite of passage.

It struck me that she learns how to do new stuff all the time, because she wants to, not because someone asks or makes her. She has this drive to learn; I think all children are born with this drive to learn.

She just learned about erasers. She mostly draws and writes with crayons, markers, pastels, colored pencils, but regular old #2s are new for her. She was writing the word snow, a word she learned to sound out yesterday, and accidentally wrote an “M” instead of an “N.” I showed how she could erase the extra mark to make it into an “N.” Then she proceeded to make lots of “mistakes,” just so she could erase them.

Everyday brings new wonders and new ideas for her to try, new things she is interested in, new words she wants to spell. Today it was ‘hummingbird.”

She helped me cook dinner today, chopping up peppers and carrots, stirring in herbs and spices. When we ate dinner, she was proud of the meal she made. She thought it was really delicious. It is delicious to feel so competent.

Last night as she was falling asleep, she said, “I can count to 22.” And then she did, but she went past 22 and when she arrived at 29, then she said, “20-10, 20-11.” I helped her with 30, then she made it to 39 and again, “30-10, 30-11.” So I helped her with 40, then 50, all the way while she counted until 100. Then she fell asleep.

This is why we homeschool, because I see what she can do and I don’t want anyone to stop her progress. Even I have to work to close my mouth or sit on my hands so she can have the opportunity to try and fail and try again. I help when she asks or if she needs me to, but mostly I just get to enjoy the process, her own process and it is amazing.

SNOW!!!!!

2009-01-20T15:16:00.001-08:00

2009-01-19T11:46:00.001-08:00

As I watch my children play at the park the other day, I am struck by how much they play together. Annabelle calls to Max, "Come on!" They climb and run together while I talk with other moms. I had hoped they would play and enjoy each other's company and as I watch it I think how lucky they are. It reminds of a evening right before Christmas:

One evening while Jack and I are sitting in the living room, Annabelle and Max build. (They are building with Brio Mechs, a set of building materials with boards with pre-made holes and nail and screws and hammers and screwdrivers.) First my attention is drawn because they are working so queitly. I watch Max as he puts a nail into the board and back out again, over and over. This is one of my favovite things: to watch my 16 month old, explore and experiment and learn. His desire to really understand something and his persistence are beautiful.

Then Max starts to struggle with his building and Annabelle says in a soft voice, "Baby Boy, do you need some help?" He answers, "Duh," which is Max for yes. She shows him how to use the hammer to remove a nail, how to hold it steady while you hammer, teaching him, so he can learn to do it for himself.

I want to hold this moment to remember it the next time they are fussing at me or each other. I want to remember this quiet scene of creativity, exploration, persistence, respectfulness, and love.

Max's New Dolly!

2009-01-15T16:44:00.000-08:00

When Annabelle turned 1, we gave her Baby Dolly. It has been her special doll. For several months, Max has been wishing to play with Baby Dolly, but Annabelle, who normally shares everything with Max, has been reluctant to share her special babe. So after looking around at dolls, we found what we think will be a special friend for Max. Meet Max's new dolly.

We found the new dolly from a wonderful website, www.bamboletta.com, and now he is a part of our family. Max has already hugged, kissed, "slung," and given Dolly a ride in a stroller. Dolly is soft and cuddly and so very sweet, just like his Max.

Gathering Beauty

2009-01-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

Moon Fell Onto the Earth By Annabelle

2009-01-07T17:09:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time there was a moon that fell onto the Earth and then he lifted back up into the sky and then a snowflake dropped down into the Earth. And then the sky drifted and fell down and then the moon drifted into a home that was empty with only a truck. The car was empty. There wasn't anybody in the car. The moon didn't have eyes, so it didn't know that. He needs to look in the car. He has to, because to see if anybody is in it. He has legs, not eyes. He walked on the driveway. He has eyes on the back of his head, but he didn't want to walk backwards, so he couldn't see inside the car and because he was so small. Even on his tiptoes he is not big enough. A bird came and flew away to the moon, where the moon use to live and be. Take a look at the moon. The end.

Christmas Morning!

2008-12-28T09:29:00.001-08:00

Playing in the new sensory table that Santa brought!

Breakfast with Santa

2008-12-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

So Saturday morning we went to have breakfast with Santa. Max sat on his lap just long enough to get a photo, but it was Annabelle's conversation with Santa that I especially wanted to remember.

Annabelle is sitting on Santa's lap and he says, "So do your parents like to read to you?"

Annabelle laughs, "No!" She acts like this is the craziest thing ever.

I am a little horrified to have Santa think we don't read to our children. but I say nothing.

Later back at our table, I ask Annabelle, "Why did you say your parents don't like to read to you?"

And she laughed again and says, "Pants can't read!"

She thought Santa said pants. When I explained it to her we all had a big laugh!

Annabelle's Fall!

2008-12-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

I can't believe she is 4 and a half as she likes to say. Sometimes when I look at her I am surprised she has grown so much. She is so sure of herself at times and so confident and even independent too. She stills wants to "live with me forever!"

This fall she has been busy working on a "flower project." She has drawn and painted flowers, read books about flowers and how plants grow. We have went to local gardens to photograph and draw. She loves cutting flowers from our yard and making arrangements in vases. She has created paper collages and flower sculptures from clay. She has fallen in love with Impressionists painters, especially Monet and his flowers. She says she wants to be an artist when she grows up and made it a plan to try and paint everyday.

She loves to build zoos and she dances and sings everywhere we go. She sits on the couch and strums her guitar, singing her favorite song, "Do a Dear, a Female Deer..." She loves to pretend mama and princess and doctor and dancer and fairy and boat rider and queen and monster and ghost and gingerbread cookies or the "Tea," from The Nutcracker.

She and Max play so much together: ball and chase and dancing and blocks and brios and sandbox and dolls and cooking and eating and drawing and giggling and hugging and loving and living! She is so giving to him. Wants to help him and share with him and make him happy when he is sad. She also wants to play by herself (which is fine) and doesn't want to wait for him and sometimes just takes over (which isn't). She is respectful and kind more than she isn't.

She worked hard when we redid her room, cleaning and painting and organizing and being excited and then so very proud. Everyone who comes over has to see her room. She takes pride in cleaning it up and loves to sleep in her big bed.

What an amazing fall she has had!

More Max!

2008-12-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

One of Max's favorite things are birds, which are all called "du-du." Obviously ducks are at the top of the list.

Annabelle wants me to type, "Maxie climbs a lot. He climbs on chairs and up slides and steps and stuff."

Max's Fall!

2008-12-11T10:56:00.001-08:00

It has been a long time since I have posted. I have been very busy, but wanted to get back into posting. So much has happened this fall for Max. He is walking and pretending, painting and dancing. He signs a little and has a few words: mostly "du-du," (duck), "da-da," (sometimes it means Jack), "da!" which means yes, also "na-na," can mean Annabelle, another, or nurse. When he says no, he moves his hand from side to side and shakes his head no. He has just started say, "Mama," my favorite thing he says. For a boy with few actual words, he is really communicating.

He dances all the time, sometimes even creating his own music, with a few, "da, da, ta-das." He loves to push things around, like chairs and grocery carts, (that is how he learned to walk, by pushing the furniture all over the house!) He loves to do the yoga pose, "downward dog," it is one of the things he does when he is especially happy. He laughs a lot and it is one of the best sounds.

When we go on walks, sometimes we take his push car. He pushes the car up the sidewalk, stopping every now and then to carefully place a leaf or rock on his car.

He loves to paint and draw. He builds with blocks, by placing one block on the floor, then placing more all around it, all in a single layer. He will work for awhile on his "builidng." He has a lot of focus for such a little guy.

I find him so yummy, my heart swells and I am happy to be spending my days with this special boy, my Maxie!

Beach Photos

2008-08-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

Annabelle sings at bedtime

2008-08-07T05:23:00.000-07:00

Ananbelle pretty much sings all the time. She sings to her brother. She sings while playing at the Eno River. She sings while playing in her room. All the time! Sometimes she is singing songs she has learned from cds or songs we sing together, but a lot of the time she is singing songs that she just makes up, like the "summer song" she sang as we hiked at the Eno River earlier this week.

Well last night she, at bedtime, she was in a singing mood. She said, "Remember that song about the miller who trapped a bird and the bird caught a seed and the wind blew the seed and the bird jumped over a fence and the bird flew to its nest and fed its babies and then found worms and fed its babies worms?"
"Uh, no I do not know that song."

"I just told you the song!" (She looks at me expectantly, like she is waiting for me now to sing the song.)

"Oh, is this a song you made up?"

"Yes!" and she sings it again just as she had before.

"Sorry," I say, "but I don't know it, so I can't sing."

"Listen!" and she sings it again. Again she waits for me to sing. I start to laugh and she laughs and we giggle together. I guess I need to learn that song!

some words from Annabelle...

2008-08-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as we got ready to go blueberry picking, early (for us) in the morning, I asked Annabelle what she wanted for breakfast, and she answered...

Ima breakfasting on blueberries!

It had such a beautiful sound to it and everytime I think of her words, it makes me so very happy to be spending my days with this lovely poetic little girl.

Plus she picked so many blueberries, sharing tons with her brother and just being the best blueberry picking company I could have asked for. We went home and made some delicious blueberry muffins!

Landon and Khristine are Here!

2008-07-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

After missing them for a whole year, Landon and Khristine are back in Durham. We are having a great time, though we are missing Phil and wishing he would just get on a plane now! After 2 busy days of very fun parties, we are having a quiet day at home, reading books, playing games and just spending time together.

Summer Readin'

2008-07-06T09:59:00.001-07:00

Max loves this book right now. He loves the bold photographs, especially the photos of animals. He also loves turningthe pages all by himself.

Annabelle loves all books. We read chapter books, pictures books, and she "reads" to herself too!

Summer Eatin': Blackberries!

2008-07-06T09:43:00.002-07:00

After going to the Farmer's Market, we had huge delicious blackberries for lunch. Max loved them! His hands and legs are stained purple, not to mention the clothes I was wearing.

Max

2008-07-06T09:43:00.001-07:00

Annabelle: this Spring!

2008-06-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

MAX: photos from his spring.

2008-06-20T07:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, time is flying past!

2008-06-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can not believe how much time has flown by. Life with two growing kids has kept me busy. We have been spending time with other homeschooling families, plus continuing to work on our house. Jack still works two jobs, plus all he does to support me in this huge job of parenting! (Happy Father's Day, Honey, we are so lucky to have you!)

Max is now 9 months and is crawling all over the house. Plus he makes the sweetes sounds: dadadada, do do do (with long o sounds), raspberries and can even make a kiss sound. Today at the pool, he stood up ( by himself) for a record of 5 seconds before plopping down into the water. He ws so happy and laughing!

Annabelle turned 4 last Thursday. She is 4! We celebrated on her birthday and had a party on Sunday. Her dad and I built a swingset for her and she swings alomst everyday. She had such a great party, surrounded by all the people who really care for her, kids and adults alike.

Both of our kids love to be outside. Max loves to look at birds and will point up when he hears a bird call. We will say, "where's the bird?" And he will look up and point at a bird. When we are inside, he loves to stand at the widow and squeal in delight. If his sisiter or dad is outside and we are in, he is a very sad little guy, while I am desparetely trying to find my shoes so I can take him out too!

Annabelle loves to play in her sandbox, play in the wading pool, and take walks to look at geese and ducks at the pond across the street. She also loves to work with us outside, moving mulch for her new swingset, raking leaves, and picking flowers for vases.

Well, off to be with my 4 year old girl!

A converation with Annabelle

2008-02-27T15:42:00.000-08:00

Annabelle: Does the sun move? Does the clouds moves? (She has been asking these question lately.)
Me: I think everything moves in its own way.
Annabelle: Does the sky move?
Me: That's an interesting question. (Mostly because I do not know how to answer it.)
Annabelle: The sky is as still as a rabbit. (She says this in a kind of dreaming voice.) Yeah, the sky is as still as a rabbit.

I think she likes this explanation better than anything I could have come up with!

Annabelle in the mornings!

2008-02-26T05:56:00.000-08:00

As we lay in bed waking up and Max nursing on and off, Annabelle was busy pretending. Some of the game was just in her head, only she was aware of it. Then she would start talking to us, like we were in her pretending game. "This is my baby," she would say about Max. "I think he needs to nurse me right now." "You sing this song, while I nurse him." Then she wanted me to start singing a song, that I had never heard of before and she would look at me and say, "ok, go ahead," as if I knew the song too. So this is the song she taught me:

"The girl and boy went out to save the power.
They shoot their guns and then layed them down.
They run and run and run to catch their momma.
The girl run and catch her momma
and the boy stayed with the dada."

I sung it while she pretended to nurse Max.

Then quick as lightening she changed the game. She starts pretending to knock on a door. "Ask, 'Who is it?'" I do. She says, "open the door." I pandamimed opening a door. She says, "I am Khristine and this is my baby, Landon." "Actually this is a doll (meaning Max) and Landon is my big kid." "He is nine." "Look Landon gave you a present." She is holding an invisible box. She says, "take off the wrapping paper." I pretend to open a box and pull out a present. I say, "what is it?" "Landon will tell you." She means the imaginary big kid sitting beside her on the bed.

Then it all changed again. "Do you want to see how high I can jump?"

This all happened in a few minutes. Our day continues, with her wanting to get out a leftover burrito by herself for breakfast. This means opening the fridge door, pulling over a chair. Finding the burrito, then pulling the chair back to the table. Now she sits and eats as I type. "My belly is full." "I am going to wrap my burrito up." "Oh, Momma, it is falling a apart." "I need a new luma toil." (Aluminum foil)

I love my 3 year old girl. She is charming and silly, noisy and loud, creative and oh so busy!

Drawing and Painting Animals

2008-02-13T19:43:00.001-08:00

Snake

Zebra

Lion

Throwing, Jumping, and Flying

2008-02-13T19:41:00.000-08:00

February for us

2008-02-07T17:40:00.000-08:00

Picnics with treats
Books to read
Bare knees

Boxes for playing
Leaves for jumping
Grass for running

Sun on our skin
Wind in our eyes
Winter for us

2008-02-07T06:51:00.000-08:00

My boy is five months.

I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. You are five months and you are amazing. You are sleeping all on your own right now, without me! You seem to be able to sleep lots of places and lots of ways, in the car, in bed, in my arms, in the sling or wrap, at friends’ houses, the store.

You are a calm guy, quiet, but happy. You lie on the floor and watch us, especially your sister. Sometimes you get so frustrated when you can hear her, but can’t see her, you try to move to her voice, wiggling and squirming. You love to lie beside her, but sometimes her hugs are too much, she loves you so much. You prefer to hold hands with Annabelle. She lies on the floor with you and you hold hands and she sings and talks to you for a long time and you are content.

You make lots of beautiful noises too. This morning, I woke up to your sweet sounds.

You laugh a lot, at all of us. We try hard to make you laugh; you think my hair is funny when I shake it around. You think your dad is funny when he makes funny noises and faces at you. You especially love to laugh at your sister. All she has to do is look at you and you squeal with delight, though your favorite is when she jumps up and down.

You also love being scared. I will play our version of peek-a-boo where I hide behind a blanket or my hands or my hair and then I jump out and say, “Boo!” Each time you jump and then laugh and laugh, who knew a baby would love that “BOO!” feeling?

You are so ticklish, under your chin, under your arms, your feet and your belly. I sing and tickle you and you laugh and laugh. You love it when we all dance and you get to dance too. All these things make you laugh and squeal.

When you are tired or want to nurse, you want me to hold you. We nurse in the rocking chair or we lie down in bed together. You get so excited about nursing, laughing right before you latch on. You love to play with my hand as you are starting to nurse. You are so gentle and your touch so light, as your fingers curl around my hand. Then you will quickly close your eyes and relax you body and fall asleep. Then I get to just watch you as you sleep and nurse and I relax too.

I try to put you on your belly every day, and you are strong and can roll over and lift way up and almost belly crawl, but mostly you don’t like it, you want to be held or you want to be in a position you can see everyone. You kick and squirm a lot. You can move lots if you want to. Sometimes you want to lay by yourself and play and you grunt and scream and talk and blow bubbles and raspberries and you are completely happy and you can turn almost all the way around like a clock. Sometimes when you are sitting in our laps, you push so that you are standing up or push so that you can almost touch the floor with your nose. You can now roll from front to back and back to front. Though you can do both, you don’t just roll the whole way around. When you roll from back to tummy, you get so frustrated to be facedown, you forget how to roll back.

I am so in love with you. What will you do in the next month, when you are the grand old age of a half a year!

a few things from annabelle

2008-02-03T12:10:00.000-08:00

We have all been sick this week, except Max, so I haven't taken too many photographs or worked on writing anything, but did want to share this:

Annabelle says to me in bed the other night as she is falling asleep: Momma, know how I love you?
Me: How?
Annabelle: All day long!

And this morning right when she woke up she said: Is Khristine, Phil, and Landon coming over?
Her Dad: No, they live in Colorado.
Annabelle: Well, can we go see them?

Annabelle helps in the kitchen!

2008-01-27T07:29:00.000-08:00

Annabelle helps her mom with dinner.

Annabelle adds a little magic to doing the dishes!

Interview with Annabelle

2008-01-17T14:18:00.000-08:00

Annabelle, tell me what you are learning at ballet class.

Spins, hops on one foot. Jump. Spinning our finger an wiping our nose and head.

What is your favorite books right now?

Alfie and the three little pigs. (Annabelle loves anything by Shirley Hughes right now, especially stories about Alfie and Annie Rose. She says her favorite Three Little Pigs is the version by Paul Galdone.)

What is your favorite thing to play right now?

Ballet and tap.

What is your favorite song?

"Rudolf the red nose reindeer."

What is your favorite thing to wear right now?

Ballet and my ballet shoes.

What is your favorite thing to eat?

Soup, strawberry soup.

What is Max's favorite thing to eat?

Breastmilk.

What is Max's favorite thing to play?

Jumping jacks. (Annabelle jumps up and down in front of Max, which makes him laugh and laugh.)

Trains by Annabelle

2008-01-17T13:55:00.000-08:00

This week Annabelle has been using unique items to create trains. Here are two I happen to catch with the camera. I especially like the one with the high heeled shoe or as Annabelle calls them, "Clippy-clop shoes."

Annabelle reads to Max!

2008-01-14T08:24:00.001-08:00

Favorite things from the morning:
Max laughing in glee and excitement right before he starts to nurse!

Annabelle singing Johnny Cash, "I went down, down, down, to a burning ring of fire..."

2008-01-13T06:58:00.000-08:00

Annabelle started her much anticipated Ballet class on Thursday. She was dressed and ready 2 hours early.

Once at the class she was a serious student, trying everything her teacher asked. Hopping, jumping, skipping, hands on hips, toes pointing! In the car on the way home from class, she said, "I want to go there again!"
Look for new (hopefully better) photos after next week's class!

2008-01-13T06:27:00.000-08:00

Starring Annabelle & Max!

Hello this is my first POST!!!!!

2008-01-12T18:22:00.001-08:00

Welcome to my blog!

With a lot of help from Jack, this is finally starting...