Grandpa's Flannel

My Dad...words cannot describe how I miss him. Like the flannel shirts he often wore, he was strong and dependable, but soft at the same time. It makes my heart ache to think of how our baby girl will never be held in his big gentle hands, or snuggle on his flannel-shirted chest, smelling faintly of sawdust and Irish Spring soap. This project idea came to me belatedly, after all Dad's shirts had found new homes among family and friends. However, my sister graciously gave me some that she had taken when I told her about my wish to wrap this baby up in a little bit of his essence, so that she might know him in that way. Thoughts of my Dad filled my mind with each stitch I made while creating this snuggle sized blanket. I will never look at it without remembering him and feeling that his spirit is here with us still.

Ready

One evening last week, Noah commented at the dinner table that he had a wiggly tooth. "No way," I thought. He has to be mistaken. But upon further inspection, it was indeed a bit wiggly. The dinner conversation moved to the Tooth Fairy and what would happen when the tooth fell out, things we had never talked about before, because frankly, I thought we were at least a year away from him losing his first tooth. A few mornings later, at the breakfast table this time, that wiggly tooth was becoming a bother. I offered to pull it out for him and went to get a piece of cloth to grasp it with, but before I could  return he pulled it out, all on his own without a bit of fuss. 

As a planner and crafter, I was also unprepared. Had I seen this coming, I probably would have made a little tooth pillow. Instead, we found a special little seashell container to keep it safe and put under his pillow.

This milestone kind of blindsided me, and in many ways affected me more than his first day of school, or his fifth birthday. The loss of that first tooth is somehow a more concrete sign that he is really growing up, even more so than going to school, or his ever increasing height (how are those pants we got him a couple weeks already too short?!). In Waldorf education, the change of teeth is one sign that the first stages of body building are complete and the energy that was put into growing can now be directed at learning, and specifically, learning to read. This boy is ready. And I am getting there.

Crafting On Firsts

Some exciting news for our growing family, presented by Noah (with captions by me)...

It is a GIRL! Noah calls her "Our Baby", which I love. Not "Mommy's baby" or "Mommy and Daddy's baby" but OUR baby.  And so there is girly crafting going on in this house for the first time, and lots of it. I actually made this little sweater before we found out the gender, but when paired with a simple little dress it instantly became hers.

In addition to the sweater, I have been cranking out wool diaper covers in cream and lilac hues. While I am not a fan of a lot of pink, I do love vintage looking floral prints. Thanks to my Mom (and newly appointed 'sewing assistant' aka seam ripper) visiting this past week, I had time to sew these sweet little peasant blouses and many burp cloths. When she wasn't helping me decipher sewing patterns, she spent countless hours reading with the boys, playing with playdough, and 'shopping' in their store, allowing me to make a small dent in my sewing list. Sewing is not my forte, as evidenced by the fact that I cut the fabric for these blouses the wrong way. You would think I would have noticed all those birds falling off their branches! At least it will look correct to me when I am cradling her in my left arm. Lesson learned...

I am short on words this morning, and currently being beckoned by a certain boy to come inspect his knight's castle. Happy crafting!

Something New Today

Oh, these Photo-A-Day projects! They seem like such a great idea, and really they are. In the past, committing to taking a photo a day has forced me to look for subjects I would not otherwise photograph. I love that. But the fact is that, like many new resolutions, I don't stick with it. Life gets busy and I forget. But what is more important than capturing those day to day moments in the life a child with a photograph? So here we are again at the beginning of the year, and I am going to try this again. I do better with some kind of prompt for inspiration, so I will try (really hard!) to follow the prompts of Fat Mum Slim, unless I am really not feeling it and then I will make up my own :) I am already a day behind, of course, so a few pictures cover both Day 1 and Day 2.

Today, the boys, wearing their new capes and crowns (and elephant pajamas), are knights fighting dragons with wooden spoons and pot lids, having a secret rendezvous in their castle with their doggies.

Keeping Busy

Whew! We are coming off of a busy and festive weekend. On Saturday, we went to see Santa. Noah ran toward him this year instead of away, while Isaac preferred to wave from a good healthy distance. We also got our Christmas Tree and put up lights outside right before the first snow of the season rolled through. Sunday morning, we awoke to a winter wonderland. It was the perfect weather for a little outing to meet some real reindeer. Isaac thought tromping through slush and snow to meet these guys was great fun...Noah, not so much. I'm not sure how much memory Isaac has of last winter, but it was like he was experiencing snow for the first time, "I like this!" he kept saying, while meanwhile, Noah was grumbling, "I want to leave."

On the way home from our snowy adventure, we stopped at a craft store where Noah picked out some yarn for a new 'non-itchy' hat, and Curtis picked out buttons for a little waistcoat for Isaac that has been awaiting this finishing touch for some time now. I picked up the yarn for this little vest in a yarn shop on a little side street in Sienna, Italy because the color reminded me of Isaac's eyes. I was worried I wouldn't have enough yarn if I included both pockets (and could not exactly go back for another skein!), so there is only one, but it is just the right size to stash a favorite little toy to keep it away from a big brother.

 

Last week on our nature walk, Isaac found a lonely cob of corn in a corn field, brought it home, and carefully plucked every last kernel off the cob, placing them in a little container in his kitchen. These kernels have been the favorite plaything of the week at our house. They have been food for his doggy (and probably the real dog as well), eyes and nose for a play dough snowman, and most recently, a shaker (when placed inside an empty oatmeal drum or honey container). "I love my corn, Mommy."

Finally, I have been trying to get motivated to finish a new hat, requested by Curtis, so that I can move on to Noah's hat before the flurry of baby knitting that I am anticipating after we find out in January if we will be welcoming another boy or a girl come May.

And last, but not least, I have been channeling my Dad's woodworking spirit, drawing out plans, making a little sawdust, and wishing he was here to answer my questions. Stay tuned for more on this joint family project...

Five

This very special boy turned FIVE yesterday. His Golden birthday. Daddy went to school with him and helped him read his favorite book to his class. It was a rousing rendition of Little Red Riding Hood, acted out with wooden figures. The parts of Mother, Little Red, and Grandmother were played by Noah, with Daddy as the Woodcutter (who happens to sound an awfully lot like Arnold Schwarzenegger with a Chinese accent). Last evening, after a dinner of homemade pizza and chocolate raspberry cake and several rounds of Happy Birthday!, Noah declared it to be "the best birthday party ever."

As Noah's birthday is followed immediately by St. Nicholas Day, we have in the past forgotten to even put out our shoes. St. Nicholas was very good to us though, and always came anyway, filling our shoes with chocolates, nuts, and clementines. This year, thanks to our Advent calendar with planned activities for each day leading up to Christmas, we not only remembered to put our shoes out, but also read some stories about the origin of St. Nicholas. It is important to us that the boys' understand the true meaning of our Christmas traditions, and their patience with longer and complex stories at such a young age amazes me.

We will be sharing more of our daily Advent activities as the month goes on.

Finding Our Rhythm

Here I am again after a yet another blogging hiatus. This fall brought with it some highs (Noah started school and we will be welcoming another baby in May!), lows (losing my wonderfully inspiring and brave Dad to cancer), and some new challenges (starting a photography business). Somewhere in the midst of all that, I feel like we lost our daily and weekly rhythm.  But something about moving into the second trimester of pregnancy (no more all-day sickness!), this time of year, and new beginnings has me inspired to renew our routines and establish a new rhythm.

The biggest challenge to our daily rhythm has come about due to Noah attending school in the afternoon, necessitating an early lunchtime for him before school, a second lunchtime for Isaac and me, and snack time and a much needed late-afternoon nap for both kids (and occasionally, me). We have slowly adjusted to this new rhythm and it is finally starting to feel comfortable.

Noah's afternoon school has given Isaac and me some time just to ourselves. Today we went for what I hope will become a weekly nature walk, exploring a nearby trail on an unusually warm (52 degrees in WI!) day.

This December, the creek is still green and flowing, the leaves are still crunching underfoot, and sticks are still magical to a two year old boy.