morning rides

Harkin loves giving Issabelle rides in the wagon. She enjoys it as well and now gets in on her own and then will start yelling for someone to come and push her. It always amazes me how well babies can communicate what they want. The wagon wasn't always the quietest but then Izzy got her own and it has rubber tires so it makes no noise. Harkin reminds me often how Issabelle's wagon has "rubber tires mama", so its OK to use.

slippers

Harkin was so excited to get new slippers. He helped pick out the colors. I ordered them in the morning and he thought that afternoon when we went out for a few errands we were going to pick them up. He asked every day if his slippers were here. It was hard for him to grasp the concept of waiting for the mail. Finally they arrived and there was much happiness. He wears them all day long. "Just like Izzy" he says. Except she can wear hers outside since she isn't walking quite yet.

sunday smiles

a new haircut

oh, colorful yarn

By accident, today, we stumbled across some beautiful locally raised hand dyed yarn. While at archery one of the moms was organizing her yarn to prepare for the farmers market. I had a project in mind for Issabelle so I was able to purchase some lovely purple for a new sweater vest. Harkin was in love with all the colors and wanted one of each. I do not have a project planned for him so I said we would have to find something first and then we could purchase the colors of his choice. They both had such a grand time just looking at it all though. Issabelle loved putting the yarn back into the tubs after it was taken out for the moms to look at. I love how opportunities can present themselves like this. I was in love with all if the colors and had such a hard time resisting the urge to buy more.

halfway through november

My days are flowing from one to the other. We are busy and then not so much, but I always seem to be tired. The month has started off fine, I just can't believe we are in the middle already. I think the mild temps are throwing me off.
A gentle recap of what has been going on:
I started running in the mornings again. I run around our driveway which is just like a track. This way the big boys can keep an eye on the the two little ones but if they need me I am not far away.
New slippers for Harkin which he is SO very excited about.
Rock climbing continues for William.
Open gym time is happening for Issabelle and Harkin and they have a total blast jumping and doing tricks. Issabelle crawls all over the place but her favorite thing is trying to climb the small slide.
Landon is attending a full day arts program. The theme is toys and games and he is currently designing his own game. I am excited to see the final results and they will have a reception when the class finishes.
We had our home school group which the boys learned about bees and honey making. They made their own beeswax candles. homemade granola and talked about the first Thanksgiving.
We have read many books about Thanksgiving and made several of our own crafts. Harkin was in awe of the fact that I painted his hands- he wanted to do it over and over. The big boys were happy to do it too- even more so than Harkin I think.
William and Landon have started Archery again and are loving it.
Riding lessons are still going on for Landon.
We've studied Roy Liechtenstein and made our own self portraits, comic strips and invented super heroes.
Issabelle got a wagon just like Harkin's and has a great time walking around following Harkin.
Harkin got two new trucks at the goodwill for the sandbox and loves them.
With all these activities we are busy Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The rest of the week are home days. We clean, do projects, stack wood and just relax at home with toys, games, baking, books, drawing, etc.
It is a full life but oh, so good.

sunday smiles

dairy farm

Yesterday we had  a little field trip to the local goat farm. The kids got to meet all the goats, see how they are milked and then had a chance to pet and feed them. It was short and sweet and I  am pretty sure Harkin had the most fun of all.

little bits of izzy

This little lady is 9 1/2 months old already. Time is zooming by way to fast. It really needs to stop!

She is so awesome. Learning so much and growing wonderfully. The boys love teaching her new tricks and think it is great that she tries to have a conversation with them. Some of her favorite things at the moment:

eating paper
reading books(if she isn't eating them)
standing up in the tower
rushing to the dishwasher when it is being emptied
crawling up the stairs over and over
emptying baskets and then putting all the toys back in again
playing with the music instruments
dances when music is played
rushes over to see Daddy when he comes in the door

The best is when she snuggles in closely for hugs and kisses.  I am so glad she chose to be a part of our family.

at waters edge

This post is so long overdue, but I haven't really been here have I?

So we went down to CT in the middle of October for a visit with family and a much needed break from our schedule. It was the week that summer returned- well almost.  We stayed at the resort and played on the beach, flew kites, and really just took lots of deep breaths to relax. We were very thankful to be able to spend time with some of our family while there.

It truly was a gorgeous week away.