Her Birthday "Party"

This year instead of having a big birthday party Grace decided she really wanted to go skiing with one of her best friends.  They had so much fun skiing we stayed for 6 hours!!  It was so neat to watch the progress from morning (very slowly down the bunny hill) until the afternoon (me explaining why we weren't going to try any black diamonds today).  We also met Kirsten and Tyler there and he and Jackson had a blast too!





Skiing was followed by all of the treat eating/ game playing/ staying up later than normal/waking up earlier than normal sort of good sleepover birthday stuff one might expect.

End of Summer Sleepovers

Nine

Plays, Plays and More Plays

We have had an exciting week here as Grace and Jackson were called back to the 2nd audition... and then on Friday we found out that both were cast in the play!  Grace as the role of Aesop and Jackson as the roll of the bull.  They have had two rehearsals already and really, really seem to be enjoying this wonderful experience.  All that being said, the next month and a half is going to be pretty crazy for us with four rehearsals every week.  Hopefully it continues to be a fun and exciting sort of crazy.

Back at home we have a lot of plays going on as well.  This one, by Jackson and Nora, was called, "How Baby Lion Killed the Dragon".  With a title such as this it probably goes without saying that it was exceptional.

Eight

We celebrated eight as we have done for her birthday for the past few years- staying in our pjs all day and spending time with family.



As always I spent the day not believing another one of my children had turned another year older.



It was a beautiful snowy day.  We did some sledding and had some family visitors.  In the evening the cousins came over for a little pizza party.



And now she is officially eight.

Love

A Little Bit of Spring Cheer

Learning to Read... and Sheep!

Grace is home from school sick again today.  I'm not sure if she's coming down with the bug that Nora has or if it's just that daylight savings time always takes a heavy toll on us.

In any case, Grace is using the opportunity of resting at home to practice her reading.  I have to say, as a parent, this is an amazing process to watch unfold.  Since play is an essential value of early Waldorf education, all formal teaching is held off until first grade.  So as parents, we have patiently waited, trusting and believing strongly in the education we have chosen for her, for this moment to come.  And what a treat it is to hear her pick up a book (and want to pick up a book) and slowly start to sound out words... words turning into sentences... sentences turning into stories.



And yes sheep is a topic on our minds these days.  We are in the research and information gathering stage right now.  We plan on attending the annual Shepherd's Harvest this year where I am already signed up for a class and Grace and I have plans to attend several demonstrations.  Grace is also signed up for a class of her own at Farm School where she will get to watch sheep being sheared and learn how to spin wool.  We are taking this learning stage very seriously and don't want to rush things, but if all goes as planned we are hoping to add sheep to our farm next spring.  We will see...

A Date With My Girl

Oh this was just what we needed today.  Out to lunch, knitting at our coffee shop (and tea and crumb cake for dessert) and the library.  It was perfect.

Seven

Yes seven.  This (as always I guess) feels so BIG to me!





Her birthday consisted of family stopping by throughout the day mixed in with some sledding and cookie making.  As usual she spent most of the day in her pajamas.  I think it was just right.



For her present this year Ryan and I got her some really nice art supplies- colored pencils, crayons, drawing books, and a folder to keep everything in.  For a little personal touch I added some fabric to the cover of her drawing book along with a pocket to keep a pen in.



She has been busy filling it up every since.

Sidewalk Art

Michaelmas Festival

Friday morning when we pulled up to school there was an excited feeling in the air.  You could tell that all of the children knew it was a special day.  As Jackson, Nora and I were leaving the school we walked past a giant (and I do mean giant... this picture doesn't do it justice) pot of soup being brewed by some volunteer parents.  All of the classes had been busily chopping vegetables throughout the week for the big feast that was to take place after the Michaelmas play.





The first graders were asked to wear red for their part in the play (which inspired me to make a new skirt for Grace the night before).  When we arrived back at school about an hour before the play all of them were outside bustling about in their red bandannas working hard to get everything ready.  It was so neat to see their sense of pride and connection as they worked together for this big event.





All of the grades have a part in the play (except the kindergartners).  It was very beautiful.  Jackson especially loved the dragon.  And I especially loved being surrounded by such a wonderful community of people.  As all of the teachers, children and parents sang a blessing together before the feast (in a round I might add) I couldn't help but feel incredibly grateful to be a part of this school.

Sunday Knitting with Grace

Today Grace and I started our new weekly tradition of knitting together.  We decided awhile ago that once school started we wanted to do something special together every week just the two of us. Since we both love knitting it sounded like the perfect idea.  My hope is of course that this tradition will continue until she graduates from high school.  However today she informed that she could only promise me the next 6 years because after that she would have too many friends that will want to be with her.  "Well we can maybe continue, but I can't promise it.  I'll just have to see."  At least have a six year contract.  Anyway, today we went into Stillwater to a little coffee shop over looking the river and knitted happily away for an hour.  Afterwords we stopped into our favorite knitting shop to gather ideas for our next projects.  Can't wait until next Sunday.

Our New Days

Slowly but surely we are getting a feel for our new life at home with Grace away at school.  This week we spent a lot of time in the kitchen baking away (something Jackson and I have always loved to do together). We also went to the park a few times, went for a few walks, played outside, and read many books.  In spite of how much I miss Grace, it has been a very peaceful week.

So many times over the last few days with "just" two little ones to care for, my mind has wondered back to these days that seem both long and not so long ago.  There is a part of me that feels like I'm starting all over again (in a good way), this time Jackson getting to soak up the majority of my attention while Nora babe comes along for the ride.  Jackson has thrived in these last several days.  Not that he wasn't "thriving" before but I feel like I have literally watched him grow up overnight.  The other morning he woke up, came downstairs on his own and got himself breakfast.  When we were at the co-op last week he initiated a conversation with a lady who worked there about the weather.  In the last few weeks I have seen everything from the way he plays to what he eats (last night he had three helpings of spinach/kale/lettuce salad?!) evolve into something different. As strange as it feels to have Grace gone so much, I am very much enjoying this new phase of home life and all the surprising transformations it is bringing.

And my big first grader is thriving as well.  She has nothing but good things to say about school.  She is love, loving it.

Thankfully though we still have our days when we're all together.  I cherish these more then ever right now. 
I think we all do.

Dance and Dinner

This summer Grace asked if she could take a ballet class.  Some of our friends recommended this cute little ballet school that offers a three week mini dance course and we decided to give it a try.  Other then her first swimming class this summer Grace has never taken any classes so this seemed like a perfect chance to see if ballet is something she's really interested in (so far after four classes her answer would be "yes!").

What I love about her class is that it gives Jackson, Nora, and I some time to explore Stillwater- to try out a new dinner spot, or watch all the big trucks working on the renovation areas (Jackson loves this), or peak in one of the cute little shops.

What I also love is the time after dance class when we sit by the river and eat our dinner.  If I'm lucky Grace shows me some of her new ballet moves and Jackson works on his runs and jumps.

Swimming

This is Grace at swim lessons.  And yes, she is always that happy when she is there.  In fact about two hours before lessons every Tuesday and Thursday she packs up her things and starts asking me "how much longer before we have to leave."  Yes, swim lessons are good.



But, what wasn't good, was not having the appropriate bag to to pack our swim stuff in (or trucks in Jackson's case).  So last week they picked out some fabric and I made them each a swim bag. 



They are pretty big, but I wanted them to be able to fit a lot of stuff in them (towel, suit, goggles, extra clothes, etc) in hopes that they would be motivated to carry all their own stuff this summer when we go to the beach (since my arms will assuredly be all filled up with that little darling up there).



If swim lessons are any indicator on that, it should go pretty well.  Even though Jackson packs his bag full of about 25 pounds worth of trucks each time we go to Grace's lesson, I haven't lifted a finger.

First Tooth!