Snow Day Again!

Jim's birthday was today and we celebrated with a snow day full of his favorite things: homemade cinnamon rolls, time to read, brownies and ice cream, playing outside, some new books, beef stew (from this cookbook) and some very excited little boys.  

I started the day, as is our snow day tradition, with an after breakfast nature show for the boys and a few moments snatched at the sewing machine.  I finished up mittens for Isaac I began during the KCWC.  He needed something that wouldn't fall off, and while these aren't supper thick they do the job (they are from the book Little Things to Sew).  He was thrilled with them in the morning and eager to wear them outside, but when they actually went out to play this afternoon he refused to wear them and wore ill-fitting, thin frog mittens.  So, Mr. Snowman got to wear his new mittens.  

And, school is already cancelled for tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to more hot chocolate, snuggling with books and a bit of Valentine fun.

A Starry Birthday Crown

I do so love making birthday crowns.  It was fun to make a crown for my star-baby and I thought I'd share a couple close ups.  The Creative Family has a pattern for a crown very simular to this one (I made Jonah's off of that pattern and now just use his as a general guide).  I used wool from this stack that my mom surprised me with when we arrived back in the states in August.  This felt is so thick and luscious; it is a dream to sew (and you don't need interfacing as it is so thick)!

I also just created a label for birthday crowns, for this is the sixth I've made.  You can see them all by clicking here.

It is a little big, because I've learned if it isn't a little large the first year it is tight ever after... but it fit fine (especially considering he probably wore it for a total of five minutes before taking it off.)

Mr. Three Loves to Dig!

Over the weekend we celebrated Rowan, our three year old!  First, we celebrated (on his actual birthday) with his cousins and then celebrated again when we arrived back on the farm this week.  As always, I picked a favorite book to model the cake after, and in the hope of keeping it simple there were lots of toothpicks and copying involved in the rather slap-dash construction of the cake.  (And for those of you who are familiar with The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton, I know it was ironic to cram as many construction vehicles around the sweet country house at a construction themed birthday party.)  I didn't even think about what should be on his birthday shirt this year and the gifts all revolved around this little man's love of digging and large vehicles.  

I do think the most wonderful thing about parenting is watching my little men and seeing the unique people they are becoming.  Jonah also loved construction vehicles at this age, but he wanted to learn all the facts and read every non-fiction book on work vehicles he could.  Rowan, on the other hand, just wants to hit the sand pile and make some new plan happen.  He's been carefully planning in his construction site (a pile of sand beside the deck) and keeps me informed as to what construction equipment would help him the most (and he's also been telling me over and over that they need to be 'big' ones).  I, in turn, informed the grandparents and I don't know that I've ever seen anyone as excited as Rowan was upon opening his big vehicles!  And, before he even ate his cake he was out in his construction site working, working, working!

A Late Birthday Shirt. And a Couple More.

Jonah's birthday was very simple this year.  It was still special and he felt celebrated, but many of the things I would normally do, just didn't get done.  I knew that we weren't going to have a complicated theme party as we are traveling, but I did think that things like his birthday shirt, which I make every year, would appear.  Throughout the time Jim was away for surgery I kept prompting myself to practice the discipline of letting go.  It is a good discipline and one that I'm still working on keeping, I am so much calmer and more content when I succeed.  And, in the spirit of letting go, no birthday shirt appeared the morning of June sixteenth.

But last weekend I saw the freezer paper on a shelf and invited a couple friends over Saturday evening for a little freezer paper party.  After all, he's still quite excited about being six and the dino daddy drew for his shirt was just the thing for our future paleontologist.  

And then, because everything was out, I just had to make a couple more.  Isaac's is based on a Charlie Harper drawing (oh, I love his work!) and the alphabet is perfect for my currently letter loving two-year-old.

*in case you are wondering the red letters are the letters in his name

Thanks Giving: Liliana

Day 27 - A November discipline of giving thanks each day

I'm feeling particularly grateful and lonely for my wee niece who is celebrating her first birthday today.  Oh, how I wish I could be there.   

And as it is the year for birthday crowns...

(The lighting is funny in these pictures, but I finished the crown up the night before it needed to be sent and couldn't wait for natural light before packaging it up so Jim could mail it.)

The Handmade Birthday

As this month's One Small Change we finally made it to a paperless birthday! This month's project was making fabric wrapping bags to be reused at birthdays to come. I also made two of the stuffed Elephants from the book Softies. They were easy to make, but they are pretty silly. I was thinking that I was making one for Rowan and one to give away (I couldn't decide which body fabric I liked better - so decided to try both.) But, they seem like a set and I think they are just our 'birthday elephants' which we will add to our reusable birthday decor.

And for the rest of the homemade:

From the sunporch Rowan received a new bib (see post below), his birthday shirt, a stuffed snake (because he loves to hiss when he sees a snake or we ask him what a snake says), and I was hoping to have his new outfit finished that I started during the Kids Clothing Week Challenge finished, but I think it will be a few more days till I can finish it up (I'm so close!).

And from the Waldorf tradition, we began writing the boys birthday verses this year. Jim wrote Jonah a wonderful three-stanza verse about a robin discovering the world. I wrote Rowan's and it is simple, but easy to say each night before one of us tucks him in.

Child of God - Full of Light

With Jolly Laughs and Smiles so Bright

Know you are Loved as you grow Little Tree

First by God and then by me.

Birthday Celebrating

One is a fun age. I feel like Rowan is more aware and communicative daily. I remember with Jonah that this second year is a marathon of new milestones. I'm so excited; I love this age. I also love the fact that, even thought the last week has been hairy, more sleep is surely coming.

He's standing, climbing stairs and will take his first steps soon. He hugs, pats and kisses. He makes an animal noise for every animal he sees (something like a grunt) with wild enthusiasm. He loves watching big brother and hanging out with Dad; quiet moments with Mum are appreciated in a new way. Brother's little cars, the tractor, his new walker and wooden animals are so much fun to push across the floor making sound effects.

And while so many things are changing as he grows, he continues to laugh easily and is our same jolly boy. So worth celebrating!

I found this Maisy pop-up-farm book at a charity shop some months ago and squirreled it away with thoughts of a farm party. The boys played with it all day yesterday. I also brought in the barn and tractor shed I made (after I finished oogling over the wooden one at Nova Toys) and Jonah finger painted earlier in the summer. (I wish you could see the rainbow Jonah painted the floors.) We hung our cloth birthday banners and I dug out all our farm books (and oh my, there are lots of them!) and we read them all.

The cake was the white birthday cake from Feeding the Whole Family, which is yummy, but you can tell it is sugarless and I was grateful for butter cream frosting between the layers. It was probably the simplest cake I've ever iced, but it did the trick and Rowan loved his first bites of icing... ah sugar, you have entered his world.

The First Year

We're celebrating today. I'll share pictures of 1 tomorrow.

For now a precious first year to share, for he's a jolly good fellow!

October

Rowan's Birth Day Cake (about 9 hours after birth)

November

December

January

February

March

April

Easter Baptism

May

June

July

August

September

Happy Birthday to our one-year-old!

Rowan's Birthday Crown

We're getting ready for a first birthday celebration on Tuesday. Rowan's crown has a Rowan tree (of course), scottish plaid for our scotish babe and some autumn colors.

I love making these birthday crowns. It is interesting how much they have evolved since I made Jonah's. I think I may add a dove to Jonah's before his next birthday.

28 on the 28th

I've been looking forward to being 28 for quite some time. In college my mentor and another good friend were discussing ages one day and agreed that 28 is the best age. They had their reasons.

I have my own reasons for looking forward to the coming year. In the next year my niece's cancer treatments will be done, I will be doing a bit more writing (more on this soon I hope), we will be traveling around Europe a bit more (Spain and London are next), I'll be watching Jim's thesis come together, and I will enjoy adventures and creative imaginings with my three wonderful boys. Oh, and hopefully I'll be getting a bit more sleep than in the past year!

It sounds so good and today was an auspicious start to this 28th year.

We spent the morning in one of our favorite places; wandering through richly colored rooms with art hanging all around! Oh, how we all love the National Gallery in Edinburgh! Some of the paintings feel like familiar friends that I will miss when we leave this place (Woman in Grey, The Spell, Alexander the III rescued from the Fury of a Stag..., ... ... ) And today I stole a few moments to myself in the tiny octagonal room with Poussin's Sacraments - my favorite nook. After the gallery we had a quick visit to the Gift shop where Jim let me pick my birthday present (A Charlie Harper Calandar for the coming year and Wonderbear - a fabulously imaginative wordless book). I then had a tasty Ceasar salad at Gourmet Grub and wandered around the shops on Princes Street. After the train ride home there was a wee bit of time for sewing while Jim made dinner. Wraps, cake, play practice, some time with Jim (and more to come when I finish this post). This is close to the perfect day. Thank you all for your cards, gifts, well wishes via email and facebook; I feel full and loved.

(And nothing makes me feel the reality of aging more than how big and independent this boy is becoming!)