Kid Updates

Finished Millie's scarf! I worked on it all the way to Texas and back, and then finished it up a few days after the new year. She and Tom both kept saying, is it too long? But I really wanted to knit enough to get back to the pink color. And really, I think it's a perfect length and she'll be able to wear it for lots of winters to come.

Here is Silas with his most favorite thing to get in the mail. A funny Silas story: yesterday Tom told Silas that a friend had invited him to go to Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday party. Our kids have never been there, so Tom asked, "do you know what that is?" And Silas replied, "Oh yes, I've heard of that. They're a proud sponsor of PBS kids!" So, while they may be pizza deprived, apparently our children are not TV deprived.

And here is my sweet Isaac who recently at the store was absolutely convinced that we needed to get this ((loud!)) horn for his bike. I said "we'll see." My favorite thing Isaac has said recently, while wiping his face after I gave him a kiss: "Mommy, I love you. I don't like your kisses, but I still love you."

And I can't leave out this girl, who is growing, talking, climbing, running, eating, playing, and generally keeping me pretty busy. The kids and I made a long list of all the things she says, which I'm not including here, except to mention our absolute favorite thing is that she calls Isaac "Ya ya." Sometimes she is screaming "YA YA!" if he makes her mad, but thankfully that's not too often. :)

Knitting on the Road

Merry Christmas

Hope your Christmas is magical!

Naomi Love

Make Me Smile

A few recent, random photos that make me smile:

Hope you are enjoying a holiday filled with the smiles of your loved ones too!

A New Venture

Hello, hello! Just a quick post here to share Millie's latest project. She and a friend have opened their own Etsy shop to sell their handmade jewelry. You can visit them here, or you can click on the pictures in my right sidebar to get there too! This has been a couple of years coming...not that we've worked on it all this time, but Millie first expressed an interest in starting her own "beading business" more than two years ago, and we've finally helped her make it happen. So, take a look and see if there's anything that might make a nice Christmas gift! :)

(Oh, and the picture above is from more than a year ago when Millie and her "business partner" Simone did their very first jewelry sale on the sidewalk in front of our house. I'd say they're moving up in the world!)

All Dressed Up

Here's my crew all ready for Halloween and some serious trick-or-treating.

Naomi wore the same duck costume that both Silas and Isaac wore when they were toddlers.

Here's Silas as Buzz Lightyear. Not sure what that pose is supposed to be? But he was rather pleased with himself for thinking to hang his plastic pumpkin on one of the wings.

Princess Millie...

And Isaac as Spider Man, though he was definitely more interested in candy than in taking any pictures.

We did quite the trick-or-treating marathon this year. We did a quick jaunt around our block before Millie had to be at her theater class. The boys ate supper, then went out for another round with daddy. Then once Millie was done with her class, we met up with friends to tromp around their neighborhood and collect lots more candy. It was quite the night, and Isaac fell asleep while we were still out trick-or-treating.

And while I'm on the subject of our dear third-born, here are a few Isaac stories worth remembering:

**Isaac still sleeps next to me at night, and recently in the middle of the night, I noticed him getting out of bed, but didn't do anything about it because I was half asleep and figured he'd be back soon. When he got back in bed I heard a crinkly noise - sort of like the sound of the plastic covering on a library book, so I figured he'd brought a book to bed. But, I realized in the morning, he had actually gone to the fridge and got a whole loaf of Ezekiel bread, which he brought back to bed and slept curled up with for the remainder of the night. I guess he was hungry.

**One night at supper, Isaac asked me in all serious sweetness, "Mommy, does God have a jet pack?"

**Turns out Isaac is the nick-namer in our family.  He frequently calls Tom "Mr. Daddy Man". And for some reason, about half the time he calls Naomi either bibs or bibbers or bibber baby. And he'll say it just as casually as you might say hi to a friend: "hey bibs."

**And finally, a few weeks ago I came into the bathroom to find wads of wet toilet paper covering one of the walls. When I questioned Isaac about it, he assured me it wasn't him, but rather that "Sticky Isaac" had made the mess (there he goes with the nicknames again). And it seems that "Sticky Isaac" made another visit today. And even as I write that, I just have to laugh. I love that kid.