Blake's Birthday Celebration with Family

This past weekend, we went to my parents to celebrate Blake's birthday with my family. We decided to head out the local fire station for a tour. This was the first time visiting a fire house for almost everyone and the kids really enjoyed it! Blake and Jacob got a little scared when they sounded the sirens and the horn (it was VERY loud), but enjoyed climbing the ladder on the ladder truck. One of the firemen even did a demonstration on how quickly they need to get all their gear on. Everyone seemed pretty impressed.

All the cousins (and grandma, aunt Shelli and Uncle Jim). Blake and Jacob did not want to be in the picture. They were still afraid the siren or horn would go off.

Later, after an afternoon at the park, it was time for cupcakes!

You can't quite fit 7 candles on one cupcake....and there is one extra for good luck.

He blew each candle out individually. After he blew them all out, I relit them to let everyone blow them out. That is, after all, one of the best parts of the birthday celebration.

Time for presents.

Blake received several wonderful gifts. My parents got him a goldfish starter kit and acessories. He also got some other items for the tank, some classic books and a crossword book. When we got home on Sunday, we had to set up the tank right away and once we finished with that, he sat down to read some Robin Hood. He was a very happy boy!

Here the boys are inspecting the tank after we got the fish. Since we had to wait 24 hours for the tank to get established, Peter took Blake out the following night to pick out his fish.

This is Goldie Anthony Blumenfeld (Blake's)

A shot of the tank all decked out.

It is hard to tell, but there are two more fish in there. One is right behind the pirate ship (the front sail). I think that one is Goldie Mason Blumenfeld (Parker's). The other fish is laying in the lower right corner of the tank, just above the gravel. That one is Goldie Tyler Blumenfeld (Jacob's). Both Goldie M and Goldie T are brownish in color, but GM has spots on his body and GT has a black band of color on his. We are all proud to say that two days later, they are still alive and happily swimming around!

Monday Co-op

Two weeks ago, our Monday Co-op was about seeds. After listening to a story about an acorn that grew into an oak tree as well as doing some seed fingerplays, it was on to craft time. Jacob's seed picture is the one on the top right: I took this picture when we got home and he had eaten quite a few of the pumpkin seeds off his page! There is nothing better than an edible craft in his mind!

After lunch and clean-up we headed outside to enjoy the beautiful 60 degree weather. We decided to head down a trail that led to the creek we spend all summer at. I think everyone was ready to explore the creek and to see if it had changed at all during the winter.

Here, Blake found a fallen branch hanging from some limbs and decided it would make a great "vine" to swing to the other side of the creek.

Parker accidentally dropped his "gun" in the water. Nowadays, every stick somehow magically turns into a gun.

In the creek. It didn't take long for them to hop in and get wet.

Parker is watching from the bridge above

I noticed Jacob sitting along the bank by himself, happily working away. I wasn't sure what he was doing...

then I saw- he was burrying his foot!

I love this picture! Here Blake and Felix are having a conversation while fishing in the creek.

About half of the kids on their way through the woods. We always have such a great time at co-op and the boys have no problems sleeping after spending a couple of hours roaming the woods!

Fun Times

Some of the boys favorite things to do: play with their marble runs and build forts!

Parker is playing with his Daddy's Marble Works set. It is in pretty good shape considering how old it is!

Top view of the marble run Blake and I built

My goofballs.

Here is a good shot at how tall this thing was. It took us about 15 minutes to get it all put together.

Blake has been in a weird mood when it comes to taking pictures...he always makes these goofy faces.

Jacob has always made goofy faces at the camera.

And my sweet Parker!

This fort was in the shape of a circle. They had pillows and flashlights inside and were pretending to go camping.

The box was the entrance.

Baby Update

This pregnancy has been interesting to say the least! Yesterday was my 23 week prenatal appointment with my midwife. Imagine my surprise when I found out I am measuring 28 cm (which equivilates to 28 weeks gestational)! Since we know there is only one baby in there, my midwife now believes I may actually be a month further along than we thought (despite having a regular cycle...sorry if TMI). So, now we are planning to have an early May baby instead of an early June baby!!! We will know more definite at my next appointment, but a lot of symptoms I am having supports this theory. Somehow losing a month has sent me into a bit of a panic. I really, really feel the need to organize/nest and get things in order. I also have some adjusting to our school schedule...I had us planned to finish up this year at the end of May. The upside of this all is that my 9 month pregnancy just became 8!

Other than a jump ahead, she is doing great!

Imbolc/Brigid/Candlemas

Monday marked the midway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. Most people know this as Groundhog's Day, but it also goes by Imbolc/Brigid/Candlemas. It is a time to celebrate the return of light(as the days begin to grow longer) as well as to prepare for spring's upcoming arrival. We were able to celebrate this day with our homeschool co-op. We started our time together with our usual circle song, talked briefly about what this time means and listened to a story about a girl's efforts to make bread. We then followed the story with our own bread making session.

For some reason these pictures are out of order and I cannot move them, but you get the point!Shaping their little loaves. Parker ended up flattening his like a pancake, Jacob molded his into a round boat like shape and pinched the tops together and Blake shaped his into a bowl.

Literally punching the dough! The kids enjoy this part the best.

More bread shaping (notice Jacob taking a little taste).

Working hard.

Waiting for their dough.

After they finished shaping their dough, we then moved on to making butter! We took some raw heavy cream and put it in a mason jar with some marbles and shook away. The kids really enjoyed this part and I had to make sure Jacob didn't get too crazy with it! This was the first time we made butter from scratch and both Parker and Jacob couldn't wait to taste it. While they waited for their bread to rise and bake, we all headed outside for some outdoor play. It was a great afternoon and the kids came home tired and happy (with tummies full of fresh bread and butter). It was a great way to celebrate this day!