St. Patrick's Day

Another fun St. Patrick's Day was had by all!  A mischievous little Leprechaun stole the kid's shoes and hid them - but left candy inside.  We made Irish crafts, played games, ate yummy treats, watched Darby O'Gill and danced an Irish jig!  

Windy Day

Today was" a very blustery day", in the words of Winnie the Pooh.  We spent the morning learning indoors.  We read aloud from Augustus Caesars World, played a bit of chess, the kids all worked on various projects - writing, sewing, and art.  Little ones played.  Pretty much a typical morning.  In the mid afternoon I was trying to prepare dinner and Katie was a bit fussy.  Adam and Ashley were running around outside in the wind flying kites and playing games so I decided to try sticking Katie outside in her bouncy seat.  We have a small area right by the sliding door where there is a wall on the back deck where we keep our sand table and the wind is blocked.  So I put her down there with a blanket tucked around her and her little gym to bat out.  She loved it.  She watched the two younger kids play and enjoyed the blowing wind.  So I just left the door open so I could watch her and continued to prepare dinner.  After a bit, Ashley and Adam discovered her there and decided to play house with her.  They grabbed two dolls so there were three babies and they ran back and forth caring for them.  Especially replacing the little blanket that Katie kept kicking off.

Best Friends

These two.  They are seriously best friends.  I can't even remember the last time they have had a sibling squabble.  They love going off together upstairs and talking and giggling.  They share books together and are always discussing what they are reading.  When they are out and about and Emily gets a bit shy, Alexis immediately takes her under wing and helps her to feel comfortable and included.  They are both such big helps to me around the house, as well, and we all love our special time together at night after the little ones go to bed.

Baby Gym

This little one has started to love playing with her little wooden gym.  Emily got it for Christmas years ago when she was 3 months old and we've used it with every baby since.  We hand various toys on it and switch them out and all of our babies have enjoyed it.