at the {little} table

exploring paints

...tasting paint....

sharing!

hard at work

making play dough cakes

...really wanting to eat the play dough...

focused

and here we are...awaiting the inches upon inches of expected snow...I suppose we will be doing a lot of the above...that is until there is enough snow for sledding!

Brrr

It has certainly been cold up here in Vermont...most locals agree this is much more normal than the mild winter we had last year. Despite the negative temperatures we have been trying hard to get out daily. Usually this consists of Isabelle skiing down to the chicken coop to feed the ladies some scratch and compost. And when not braving the cold we are warm and toasty inside playing dress up, crafting or playing games....

last week re-cap

Last week was full of play dates and temperatures in the negatives...thankfully there were afternoons spent with a neighbors great grand daughter, trips to the local museum with friends and a dinner date with a favorite family...

Isabelle showing off her rocking horse moves to Evie

all smiles..

play date at the monthsire museum

isabelle and owen showing nivi how to use the dress up bin as a boat

nivi

silly kids

Weeks like last week remind me that we do have community here....a little spread out...but we definitely have community.  And for that I am grateful.

how do you take your oatmeal?

We are a pretty dedicated oatmeal family...here is how we are currently taking our oats:

Isabelle - frozen blueberries, brown sugar, cinnamon and flax

Owen - frozen blueberries, cinnamon and flax

Mama - strawberries, slivered almonds, maple syrup and flax

Daddy - slivered almonds, brown sugar and flax

add ins range week to week depending on what is in the fridge or on the shelf...

and we always make our rolled oats with 1/2 water and 1/2 milk...and usually add a dab of butter at the end.

YUM!

owen time

Owen giving the bunny a hug

Owen clapping...and yes...we are totally matchy matchy..

With Isabelle at preschool three mornings a week Owen and I have gotten a little sister-free time....while we certainly miss sissy...it is pretty nice to have a few moments alone with this goofy one year old.  It has been a while since I have updated on Owen...so here it goes (sorry if there are repeats...i'm to lazy to check what i have already reported on).

• waving, clapping, pointing, hugging/cuddling toys, kisses (watch out...it is more like a head butt)
• has a seemingly impulsive reaction to throw anything he picks up (with many wonderful wooden toys that means....duck and cover)
• shakes his head no to almost anything...working on yes
• signs "all done"
• 8 teeth...4 top front, 2 bottom front and then his first molars on one side 
• loves brushing his teeth
• consistently says woof woof when the dogs are outside playing
• loves putting things in the trash can...or any other sneaky place he can put some small toy or trinket (usually one Isabelle doesn't want him to touch)
• still nursing, not really interested in cows milk...there was a day when i thought we had made a break through and he drank a cups worth...but since then milk has been a very serious no
• food he is enjoying....yogurt, cheese, peanut butter, fruit, oatmeal (will eat an adult serving like it is candy), chicken ....trying to work on our veggies...but he is pretty strong willed when it comes to eating
• getting riskier with his moves...we recently had two days in a row with bloody lips...he just can't help himself when it comes to chairs....any chance he gets he is standing on them (and falling off them...)
• has very dry skin - while i know the season is somewhat to blame...it has gotten pretty bad....lots of super itchy spots that we are trying hard to keep moisturized with a rotation of weleda lotion, shea butter, cerave (recommended by dr) and neosporin anti-itch cream.
• loves playing with Isabelle (most of the time), trying to put dress up clothes on, playing peek-a-boo and rocking on the rocking horse
• can stack 3...maybe 4 blocks at a time
• enjoying finger painting (thanks for the paints auntie mel & uncle todd!)
• survived the flu and since then has had two separate incidents of a stomach bug....babies throwing up is not fun!

i'm sure i will think of more things after I hit the publish button...but that's it for now!

crafting a little love

So, as it turns out...after a bit of exploring...I found I have no Valentines day decorations...well one if you include a heart shaped glass bowl...but thats it!  And for a mama who is falling in love with shnazzing things up a bit...and getting a bit depressed with the negative temperatures (-15 this morning!) Isabelle and I decided to do a bit of V day prep.  Possibly a bit early...but since the last Christmas decorations were taken down the house seems a bit blah.  While crafting, Isabelle and I talked a bit about what valentines day is this morning...mostly that we get to remind the people we love that we love them so so much...and now she has now a laundry list of v day cards to get done before the holiday.  She let out a big sigh after counting many names on her hands and toes...and decided she had best start by making two cards a day...so very organized (so unlike her mama).

Here we are getting our craft on for V day...

Isabelle wet felting some hearts....tutorial HERE

a few hearts drying

a little beading with pipe cleaners (inspired by this blog)
first she was tasked with finding all the pink/red/white/clear beads and then beading...I think she was more into sorting the beads than the actual process of beading today (after one heart was made she proclaimed "i'm crafted out mama")

felted hearts strung and beaded pipe cleaner heart

and mama found some pink and red fabric leftovers...a heart ribbon (who knew!)...and voila...a new v-day bunting

The decorations have definitely helped brighten up the place and have us all feeling the love a little more today!  Hope you have a great day and are feeling the love too!

Giddy up!

Owen rockin' the rocking horse.

He has figured out how to get on and off by himself and is able to maneuver the thing from one end of the room to the other (by rocking so hard that it moves).  He loves to make mama wince.