To Stella: On her 5th Birthday

Hey Kiddo!   I love you.  You know that right?  I love you for being you.  We've had this conversation alot lately and I just want to make sure you know.  Tonight when I tucked you in, I told you I was proud of you.  And I am.  You asked me why.  These are some of the reasons.  I am proud of you when you are kind, to your brother and to your friends.  I am proud of you when you do right.  I am proud of you when you choose to love God.  I am proud of you because you are compassionate.

I love you, too.  I love you for all the reasons I am proud of you, plus some.  I love you, most of all for being You!  You  are funny and smart.  You try hard, you love hard.  You have high highs and low lows.  You use words that make adults laugh. You say things like "well, as you know..." and "was there bad traffic?" and all sorts of other, very grown-up sounding words and phrases. 

You make me laugh all the time. I can't wait to see what this year holds for you! 

Love you, Girlfriend!

Mommy

Smartness

Yesterday I had this text conversation with a friend who had taught the craft at VBS on Monday (Day 1).

M: Stella last night after I complimented her coloring skills "Thanks! I color so well because I have ALOT of smartness" !!  Typical little homeschooler!!! Haha!!!

Me: Oh Dear.

She's a trip that one.  It's a good thing she's cute, and It's a good thing my friend is A: a good friend, B: also a homeschooler, and C: good humored!

Stella's New Dress Up Storage

Stella's dress up clothes have been housed in a cardboard trunk who's lid had been torn off and an empty diaper box.  Glamorous. Or not.  Anyway I had seen this thing on Pinterest.  It was a converted dresser.  I was stoked.  I repinned it to one of my boards and then I went to see if I could find the original location... and I couldn't.  I clicked through the pin and it took me to google reader.  Well, that is less than helpful.  Besides that I had just read this thing about pinning with integrity.  Which basically means I will find the original post and pin that instead of the link to the link to the link, or whatever the case may be.  So in any case. 

I have a very talented and handy husband and I said "Can we do this?  Would it be easier than building one from scratch?"  and he said, "Yes."  I said " Sweet.  I found this $10 dresser on Craigslist.  Will it work?"  he said "Yes." I said "Should I call her and see if it's sold?  Will you go with me to pick it up?" He said "Yes."  Anybody see a theme here?  I have the best husband EVER!

Anyway...We bought the dresser.  It looked like this: 

 Then We pulled the top 3 drawers out and cut out the front supports.  We opted to leave the side supports in so that when it has outlived it's usefulness as dress up storage in Stella's room it can be repainted and re-repurposed into mostly open shelving.  He's smart.  And it was easier than cutting them out.  We added a bottom "floor" to cover the bottom drawer, and put on a new, sturdier back.
Then we sanded it down, painted and added a bar to hang clothes on.  Easy.  And functional.  And very well recieved!  

 Here it is in all it's glory!

  

Also, I did find the original post about the inspiration piece.  It can be found here at Rambling Renovators.  You should check it out. It's way prettier than mine. And the rest of their site is pretty cool too! 

Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was fun!  With 2 little ones old enough to enjoy every part of it, we had so much fun.  We (again) did 4 for Christmas.  Which is an idea I read ages ago, somewhere.  I can't remember where or I'd share.  Anyway the idea is to only get your kids 4 gifts for Christmas.  Something they Want, something they Need, something to Wear, something to Read.  This helps me to keep from going overboard on the gifts.  Because I would! 

So, Stella got a new dress-up dress, a new dress-up storage... thing. (That Sid and I made by re-purposing a craigslist dresser, inspired by something I saw on Pinterest).  Also a pair of the cutest little navy blue corduroy pants (I went into Osh-Kosh for jeans and came out with cords). And the book  The Clown of God, by Tomie DePaola. 

Bruce got a wooden train set (which he couldn't wait to open and play with).  A Higher chair (since he loved Stella's so much, and since he wanted to sit AT the table with us during meals).  A new pair of jeans, and his book is The Story of Jesus which is a little golden book. 

And I was super proud of myself because I surprised Sid and got him a GPS.  He loves it.  And I love it.  And it still makes me smile when I think of his reaction when he opened it!

He got me a date to go pick out new boots.  Cowboy girl boots.  It was a fun morning.  We went to Green Dragon which is a large farmers market/ flea market/ defies acurate description market.  We had a lovely breakfast and I got boots!  They make me happy.

Since it was a Sunday we also did the church thing. You know since it's about Him and all.  We waited to do gifts after church, and Henry came with Kerri.  It was lovely! 

I am so abundantly blessed by my God and my Family.  I am so thankful that Jesus would come.  And as I was reminded so many times this season He came as baby, but He didn't stay one.  He grew up, to die on a cross.  And that is why I can celebrate His coming!

Stella-isms: round next

Stella's vocabulary continues to grow and surprise me!  Recently she has said some very amusing things.  For example on Sunday when we got to small group she looked out her window and said "They have quite the sandbox."  Quite, really?  You're 4.

Then on the way home she told me she had gotten m&m's in Sunday school and "they were delicious, let me tell you, delicious."  Let me tell you how hard it was to not laugh at that!

She has also learned to correctly use the word abrasion.  As in a scrape.  Yep.  That's my kid.

Birthday Girl

Stella turned 4 on the tenth.  Oh. My. Word.  Where did that time go?!  Anyway.  She wanted Barbies, with a horse and a house.  She wanted a crown.  And she wanted rainbow cupcakes.  Thanks to Pinterest.  So, I hopped online and found some rainbow cupcakes.  These are the ones she wanted:
 These are what mine looked like.


Psychedelic, rainbow cupcakes.  But she was a happy camper!  I actually really liked the way they turned out.  It wasn't exactly what I was going for but they sure were fun!  I even took a picture of the inside of one.  Cool, right?

  She also got barbies, and a Barbie horse, and a crown, and fabric of her very own.  Along with some big embroidery needles.  She loves those too!  That makes me a happy Momma!

To Stella, On your 4th Birthday

Stella,

First and foremost, I love you.  So does Daddy.  You are a joy and a delight.  I love to watch you learn and play and imagine and make friends.  I love to listen to your stories. And you can tell some stories.  Just like Uncle Henry.  He could tell some stories too. Still can.  I hope you never lose your love of words.  Speaking of words you have a great vocabulary.  Keep making me read to you.  Even after you know how to read for yourself. 

Let me tell you a little about you at 4.  Your favorite color is purple.  When I asked you what you wanted for your birthday dinner you wanted chicken "with breadcrumbs."  We're having home made chicken nuggets for dinner!  You have the most infectious laugh and smile.  You're beautiful.

I love the way you love your friends, and your brother.  I love the way you are learning to love God. It makes me smile in my heart, and sometimes on my face, to hear you pray and ask God to help you be "obenient and respeckful." 

You are always surprising me with the things you say.  Just today you said "sure enough" to Daddy.  He loved it.  You can, and do, also use assumed, realized, option, adorable, and actually in sentences.  It's quite amusing to hear.

You make my life fuller and better.  I can't imagine my life without you.  You are my first baby, and you are a baby no longer.  I'm not ready for you to grow up, but I love to watch you grow.  Keep on loving, Baby Girl.
Love, Mommy 

Things I never played

as a child.  Not counting electronic gadgets, naturally.  Today, Stella built a church with her blocks.  Not the outside "look I built a house/castle/church" kind of building. Nope. Not this kid.  She built the inside. 

"This is the stage and the piano, and the Bible. And these are the benches."

5 minutes later when she overheard me telling my mom about it, she added that she had a pastor, and there were now people on the benches.  It. was. wonderful. 

 The picture above was already missing the piano, bible, and pastor.  I moved too slowly!

Look, it's People.  On benches!

I love that my kid plays church.  We went to church when I was young, but it was not a big part of our lives.  We were Sunday church people.  So, to me, it's so exciting to see my kids embracing church as a part not only of our lives, but in some ways as who we are. 

New Blog

Well, with the start  of our homeschooling adventure, I started a new blog.  I'm blogging at Starting with Aa, with my Partner in Crime Homeschooling, Kristin.  She's getting both of her kids in on the action!  They're pretty close in age.  We're doing a letter of the week theme, and started this week!  So far it's been lots of fun.  We even had the girls chatting on Skype last night!  Way fun. You should check it Out!

Conversation

heard in our car today.

Stella: Mommy, when will we die?
Me: I can't answer that, honey.
Stella (without a moment's hesitation): Also, my socks are dirty.

Sid and I laughed.  Hard.  Stella didn't get it.

Family Photos

We recently had family pictures taken by the very talented and very fun Sara, from More Photos, Less Words.  They are fantastic!  It's very hard to believe that she is still in high school.  We believe that she has a bright future.  Here are some of my favorites, and here are the links to her blog posts specifically relating to us! 

Sneak Peek

The F Family

This Smile...

Is so contagious.  I cannot see it and not smile back.  It is so lopsided.  It has been since her very first one!  I'm so glad that she didn't grow out of it.  She smiles and her whole being lights up. From the inside out. She smiles with her eyes more than anyone I've ever met.  I'm sure you've read in books where the character has smiling, or dancing eyes.  Well, this kid's got 'em!

And this one?  This smile lights the whole world.  

His eyes smile too.  And that dimple! Oh, I am in trouble.  These two are gonna break some hearts for sure! For now though, I am gonna do my best to make sure that the joy and delight in these smiles stays there.

Grandma!

Grandma came to visit us this week.  We had so much fun.  Most days we just hung out around the house, but we had a few "outings" as well.  This was the first time we have seen her since August.  That is a long time for us, but it seems like an eternity when there are little kids involved.  Bruce was 2 months old the last time we saw her.  There is a big difference between 2 months and 12 months, see?

 

Stella couldn't get enough of her, and Bruce warmed up quite well.  Grandma really couldn't get enough of either kid!

Stella's First Ride

On a four wheeler. 

She loved it.  It was "a long ride."  She talked about it for days!

Make Way for Ducklings?

Why yes, we live in a suburban neighborhood.  Why, no we don't really live close to water.  Not terribly far, but not terribly close either. In the children's book Make Way for Ducklings a pair of ducks make a home in a pond in the middle of Boston, and then the mama duck has to take her ducklings to the river.  Quite a walk through Boston.   It's a cute story, and I felt sure that we were going to get to see it happen sometime this summer.  After a few particularly rainy days in April, I got a call from Sid.  He told me to bring Stella outside, that there was a pair of ducks in front of a tree next door. So, out we went to see the ducks.  They waddled around, ate some... i don't know actually, but they were definitely eating, and just watched us watch them.  They didn't stick around too long though.  I guess they needed a real water source.

If you choose to...

read the paper for 2 more minutes and let your 3 year old entertain her brother, when you go upstairs to get him out of his crib this is what you will find:

 

New Toys

Well, as my mom and I were discussing earlier, I don't need to buy my kids toys to keep them happily entertained, as evidenced by the bins upon bins of unused toys and the overworked plastic-ware drawer.  But that's another post for another day.  This is about Stella's new-to-her Dress up clothes.  That's right, folks.

We are now proudly in posession of 1 fairy dress, 3-5 princess dresses, 1 witch costume, 1 High School Musical costume, and countless accessories.

  Thanks to my friend Trisha (no, really, THANKS!!!)  we have already had hours of fun with these.  These pictures are all from day 1 (fairy outfit and purple(!) high heels). 

Stella's Hairscut

Several weeks ago Stella and I decided it was time for her to get a haircut.  She informed me that I could get "haircutting scissors" at Walmart the next time we went, and I could cut her hair.  I figured that if I would have taken her to a salon to get her hair cut it would be $13 or so.  Or I could get the $8 scissors.  I chose the latter.  If it bombed, I would only be out 8 bucks, and if it worked... I saved 7, and I get to do it again.  This sounds like a good plan.  So Stella's hair is cut.  Short. 

Before

    

After

I love it.  She loves it.  I'll be cutting hair again. Sweet.

Daddy and I have a bad feeling...

That's what Stella says to me every time they have a pillow fight!  

But does this look like a "bad feeling" to you?

 

I love my family!

When headbutting is a good thing!

I love to watch Sid and Stella play together. It's so sweet to watch their relationship develop.

 

 But I Have to admit, that my favorite thing is when they give kisses for goodnight, or goodbye.

 Sid will say something along the lines of "I want my Kisses."  So Stella kisses one cheek,

 Then the other, and then his nose.

 Finally, they bump foreheads and say "BONK."  I melt every time.  It's so cute.  So, in our house headbutting is a good thing.  It is also sweet to see Stella gently (usually!) give Bruce bonks.

In her mind I'm sure it's an expression of love!  Every now and then I also get bonks.  They're fun and sweet.  I'll take them. 

 

Most of these pictures are from last spring or summer.