She's on the move

MaKenna finally started crawling, after a month of rocking on her hands and knees. What happened to my baby???

Kenna Roo

A boy and his marbles

Yesterday, in the quietness of the afternoon (Kenna was napping and the big boys were down the street playing), Parker entertained himself for about 30 minutes with his new marbles. He was shooting them all over the floor and then would collect them in a bag and then start all over again. I love watching him play. He has so much joy in doing what seems so simple. Ah, to be 4 again!

Tis the Season

This holiday season has seem to have flown by in a whirlwind of busy days this year! Hanukkah ended nearly days before Parker's birthday and Christmas, so we had a lot of celebrating going on here over the last several weeks. We managed to keep it pretty peaceful and it made it much more enjoyable! Grandma and Poppa made it up for a visit on Christmas Eve and a part of Christmas day. The boys enjoyed spending time with them and I think Kenna had fun getting to know her grandparents as well! She managed to keep her crankiness to a minimum despite some teething and lack of sleep!

Making cookies with grandma. This is something they have done for the last several years.
Kenna checking out Poppa's teeth.

Opening presents. Notice Blake wearing his Dolphins jersey...a gift from Santa. He has worn this everyday since.

Parker whizzing through the house on his new scooter, also gifted from Santa. It was very difficult to get a picture of this...he was pretty fast!

Playing in the pantry with their new hand cranked LED flashlights.

Parker showing off his favorite gifts (that's a mama made scarf he is wearing, requested 3 days before Christmas. I finished it just in time!)

Woodend knives made by Daddy. The boys absolutely loved these and haven't put them down.

I hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday season!

4 times around the sun

On the 24th, we celebrated Parker's 4th birthday. I always worried about my Christmas Eve baby feeling a little snubbed when it comes to birthday parties, but it turns out it really isn't even a concern. He announced to me a few days before his birthday that he wanted a party "with us and grandma and poppa...no one else". So that is exactly what he got. He woke up not really believing it was his birthday and asked all day if he was still really 4. How cute is that!

Like his daddy, he decided he wanted a Carvel ice cream cake!

3 years old
2 years old (boy do I miss those curls!!!)

1 year old

My chubba bubba minutes old.

My sweet Parker, you are so very loved and life is so much better with you in it!

A Tiny Gnome Hat

My sweet friend Carrie is in the beginning stages of starting her own handmade goods business. She is going to start selling these super cute baby gnome hats and asked if MaKenna would test the sizing. Of course I said yes! So here she is looking oh so adorable. Thanks Carrie!

photo by momma
photo by Blake

photo by Jacob

*Parker took some pictures as well, but none that I could use for this purpose ;-)

Five Months

I know I probably sound like a broken record by now, but it really isn't fair at how fast this little one is growing up! Has it really been five months since this sweet baby girl has come into our lives?

She has been such a blessing to our family. She brings out qualities in my boys that I didn't know existed...especially in Jacob.
I had waited for her for soooo many years it seems and it is only now that I have come to realize that she joined this family exactly when she was meant to. It is hard to explain, but we have all gone through a transformation of sorts because of her presence in our lives.

So while it seems that she was just born, she has already learned to accomplish so many things, like squealing with delight, grasping for objects, rolling over and over to get where she wants to go (she is a very active baby!), finding humor in those around her, and, most recently, showing a strong interest in food (although we are holding off for a wee bit longer). Seriously, where did my baby go?

Friends

Last week we spent the day with my very sweet friend Chrissy and her 4 kids. Her youngest, Laney, was born just 2 months after MaKenna. We are both hoping they will grow up to be great friends! Here is their brief photoshoot...MaKenna was more interested in how she could get the rattle in her mouth (everything goes straight to the mouth these days). Laney seemed a bit interested in MaKenna, but then mere seconds after this photo was taken, she rolled over for the first time!!! Yay, Laney! I think she just wanted to show off to MaKenna ;-) It will be so fun watching these two cuties grow up!

Kenna Roo

I was finally able to capture her infectious smile on camera! Usually, once the camera makes its appearance, she gets this look on her face like "what is that" or "not again". How can you not love that little face (boogers and all!).

Happy Halloween

Five Little Pumpkins sitting on a gate

The first one said "oh my, it's getting late"

The second one said "there are witches in the air"

The third one said "but we don't care"

The fourth one said "let's run and run and run"

The fifth one said "we are ready for some fun"

OOOOO went the wind and out went the light and the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Halloween!

Great Outdoor Festival

Last weekend, we all headed over to one of our local nature preserves for their second annual outdoor festival. It started out a very rainy morning, but luckily the weather cooperated and it turned out to be a beautiful afternoon. There were a lot of activities for the kids...pumpkin decorating, leaf imprinting, mask making, grass fishing, cornhole, disc golf, pony rides, and on and on. We had such a great time! The best part for the boys, however, was the canoeing with their dad. Fortunately, I was able to snap a few pictures before the battery on my camera died.

We can't wait to go again next year!

Autumn around the house

Autumn has to be my favorite time of year. What better way to celebrate the season then to surround yourself with its bounty and little reminders. For whatever reason, my kids ADORE those mini pumpkins, so we usually have several hanging out throughout the house.

our seasonal center plate complete with nuts gathered from our walks
a pumpkin I felted last fall

some of the previously mentioned mini pumpkins

a candle holder that I got several years ago

a new door sign the boys helped pick out

our pumpkins prior to carving

a birdhouse gourd grown by us

our leaf banner made during co-op

Wishing everyone a wonderful Autumn season!

Waldorf Co-op

I haven't posted yet about co-op this year, but I wanted to share how wonderfully it is going. We are lucky to have several new mommas/kids to join us this year. I am so excited with all the new energy added to the group. We are really lucky to have such an awesome group and all the kids get along so well. It couldn't be more perfect.

Last Monday was our first co-op at our "winter" site. Unlike last year where we held co-op indoors during winter, we decided to try it outside around a campfire. The morning was very chilly, especially for this time of the year, so it was time to bring on the fire! The kids were so amazed at the process and loved being able to help.

After a few (okay several) minutes, we finally got the fire started!

Then it was on to yoga! Look all those cute little yogis!

Lora read a story after circle while the other mommas set up for the craft. The story for this week (and the next three weeks) was the anxious leaf. Kate was our circle leader for the day and she also was in charge of the craft. She spent I don't know how many hours cutting out over a hundred felt leaves for each family to create into a banner (which is seen in the above post). The boys enjoyed picking out the leaves and Blake helped with most of the construction. I was glad he offered because admittedly, my hands were a bit cold and I was having a hard time! After our lunch we headed into the woods for a lovely hike. I, of course, left the camera behind.

Monday's have become a cherished day in our house because of co-op. We are happy to have the new families and look forward to getting to know them better!