...and may rainy days be few and far between!
*We still have yet to see a snow that counts here! Just rain. So very much rain.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Happy New Year!!
May 2012 bring you happy days...
...and may rainy days be few and far between!
*We still have yet to see a snow that counts here! Just rain. So very much rain.
...and may rainy days be few and far between!
*We still have yet to see a snow that counts here! Just rain. So very much rain.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Eggs & Flower
Ian's farm people set up a stand the other day and he made a sign for them. I didn't know what he was doing- all I heard was him call out to me: "Hey Mom, how do you spell 'flour'?"
Oops. I got it wrong. It was a Saturday morning, he had pancake ingredients on his mind!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Breathe Easy
Henry and I were re-organizing some things in his room the other night. As part of the process, we went through a huge stack of his art and I held up each sheet and he said "keep" or "throw away." In the end, the keep pile was about 35 deep and the pile to be thrown away had about 9 in it. It was a start at least! I tossed the throw away pile somewhere along the way as we worked on the rest of the room. Just as I finished emptying the vacuum into the trash can Henry runs in the kitchen panicked- he suddenly realized he wasn't really ready to part with those drawings after all and he wanted them back and where were they? Under a pile of vacuum nastiness in the kitchen trash. I was not about to let him take those filthy papers back in his room, or breathe in all that dust and dirt trying to clean them off.
Daddy to the rescue:
I cannot believe we have a mask like that in our garage and I didn't even know it. The things Joe has accumulated could save a small village, I swear.
He looked up at me and said "I am smiling under here, can you see it in my eyes?"
Okay, see that paper? There's nothing on the back. The marks you see are what he wanted to save. Really, Henry?!!
He sat there in that mask and wiped every last inch of those papers with a microfiber cloth and got them clean. More power to you, little buddy.
Daddy to the rescue:
I cannot believe we have a mask like that in our garage and I didn't even know it. The things Joe has accumulated could save a small village, I swear.
He looked up at me and said "I am smiling under here, can you see it in my eyes?"
Okay, see that paper? There's nothing on the back. The marks you see are what he wanted to save. Really, Henry?!!
He sat there in that mask and wiped every last inch of those papers with a microfiber cloth and got them clean. More power to you, little buddy.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
On Reading
I love how this blog keeps everyone who's interested up to date on these boys that mean so much to us. I deeply appreciate everyone's interest in the many ways they grow and change throughout each year (almost 5 of them already!!); it truly is my joy to share the pictures I love to take, the funny things they say and the stories I hope I never forget.
Tonight I want to share with you how proud we are of our 4 year olds that can read! If you have followed this blog for any length of time you know how important books are in our family and you know it has been that way since these boys were born. They have been raised on a steady diet of books (I always say pediatricians should ask parents how many books a day they read to their children along with how much milk they drink/food they eat!!).
It was well over a year ago that Ian and Henry expressed an interest in learning to read. I taught them some high frequency sight words that we see on signs, the names in our family, etc... and they soaked it right up. We talked about the parts of a book (front cover, back cover, binding, title page), what it means to author and to illustrate, what characters and themes are... and we read. And read. They learned about punctuation, inflection, quotation... By the time they turned 4 they were flat out asking me to teach them to read. I couldn't resist and they were ready- there was no reason not to. In January I bought some early readers and we dove in.
Here's Ian, 6 weeks shy of 5, with a picture book we checked out at the library today that he's never seen before:
We are so proud of these boys and how they set this goal and reached it. It has been amazing to watch and the progress is all their own.
Tonight I want to share with you how proud we are of our 4 year olds that can read! If you have followed this blog for any length of time you know how important books are in our family and you know it has been that way since these boys were born. They have been raised on a steady diet of books (I always say pediatricians should ask parents how many books a day they read to their children along with how much milk they drink/food they eat!!).
It was well over a year ago that Ian and Henry expressed an interest in learning to read. I taught them some high frequency sight words that we see on signs, the names in our family, etc... and they soaked it right up. We talked about the parts of a book (front cover, back cover, binding, title page), what it means to author and to illustrate, what characters and themes are... and we read. And read. They learned about punctuation, inflection, quotation... By the time they turned 4 they were flat out asking me to teach them to read. I couldn't resist and they were ready- there was no reason not to. In January I bought some early readers and we dove in.
Here's Ian, 6 weeks shy of 5, with a picture book we checked out at the library today that he's never seen before:
We are so proud of these boys and how they set this goal and reached it. It has been amazing to watch and the progress is all their own.
Kind of a Big Deal
Ian can hold and control the hand mixer by himself now.
Around our house that's kind of a big deal!
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Christmas Jammies
Thank you for the fun jammies, Gran! We've been wearing them this month and I can't wait to see them in these tomorrow morning. I love how they each have a leg up in this photo while they read Knuffle Bunny Free. Adorable. They'll probably always be more alike than they think they are.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Preschool Christmas Program
The boys' music teacher, Katie, did a fantastic job with this many kids, from several different classrooms. They have learned all of these songs and the signs that go with them, in less than 2 months.
Take This Light ("I can see you, Mom!")
Henry plays Joseph in this skit:
Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mild
Ian plays Joseph in this skit, I'm sure he loved getting to hold that big stick!:
Away in a Manger (the kids on the end began to overpower everyone else at this point- it was hilarious)
He is Born
Take This Light ("I can see you, Mom!")
Henry plays Joseph in this skit:
Joseph Dearest, Joseph Mild
Ian plays Joseph in this skit, I'm sure he loved getting to hold that big stick!:
Away in a Manger (the kids on the end began to overpower everyone else at this point- it was hilarious)
He is Born
T-Minus 3 Days and Counting!
What do you do after you see Santa?
Well, if you're at Bass Pro Shop you go to the shooting range for a bit:
(Kind of a "You know you're in Kansas if...." moment.)
After we saw Santa, Ian spied a coal train out the window. He was watching it just as it started to move... I love this look of surprise on his face.
This old green truck out front took the cake for Ian. Better than Santa, better than the rifles and only better than the coal train because I let him get in it!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
Gone Fishin'
Uncle Ronnie & Aunt Elvena gave the boys fishing poles for Christmas! They will be perfect for our "Water Bug Spot" this summer and we've told the boys we'll get them out on Clinton Lake as well.
For now, casting practice in the house has been wildly popular.
Over the stair rail is the perfect spot... we can pretend that water's real deep.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
A Very Farthing Christmas
We celebrated Christmas this weekend with Grandma & Grandpa Farthing and Great Uncle Ronnie & Great Aunt Elvena.
The boys were SO excited for everyone to arrive Friday. They kept asking over and over if we were going to do gifts Friday night and I kept telling them I wasn't sure what the plan was. Naturally, I assumed they were dying to see what Grandma and Grandpa were gifting them.
It turns out they couldn't wait to give our gifts to Grandma and Grandpa. We picked up this Penny-Farthing bicycle that holds potted plants for their garden at the end of the summer. We've been holding onto it ever since and keeping it a surprise. The boys helped me wrap it in an enormous Christmas bag last week and I'm pretty sure they are the ones that ripped it open- Grandma and Grandpa barely had a chance to make it in the door first! I love that generous spirit in both of them and I hope it endures.
They patiently waited after we handed out all of our gifts for theirs to be distributed.
They got brand-new cowboy boots that are beautiful. I will have to take a picture of the boots by themselves because they are so spiffy. I think they are sized just right to last us a year and they are so soft and comfortable.
Ian loved this camping set from Cabela's. He generally has a love for Cabela's so any toy that has that written on it is a hit with him!
Henry got a Moon in My Room. Joe hung it up last night and it's so cool; it's controlled by a remote and you can move through all the different 'types' of moons, half-moon, crescent moon, full moon, etc... We all love it and Ian has added it to his birthday list!
Grandpa knew how to work the remote so Henry had one lesson and he was good to go.
One of Ian's favorite songs right now is Camouflage by Brad Paisley so Grandma & Grandpa outfitted him head to toe in camo. Ian says his favorite colors are blue and camouflage. ;) He is one happy soldier.
And soldier is what he is when he has his outfit on. The boys are flying an army helicopter here. Ian's the soldier and Henry is a volunteer.
Henry read some night time books.
Grandma read the rest.
Ian found an especially comfy seat.
Henry pretended to fall asleep when he realized Ian was getting attention for looking snuggly...
These boys love, love, love time with their grandparents who never fail to tell them how proud they are of them.
And it was such a special treat to have Ronnie & Elvena along for this visit. They are welcome to join Grandma & Grandpa any time they come!
I believe Ian asked Uncle Ronnie more than once to move in with us. The way Joe cooked for him this weekend, he might just consider it!
This has been such a fun month of holiday celebrations in our home and now the countdown is on until next Saturday night when our anticipation reaches an all time high. Joe and I are no less excited than the boys for Christmas morning.
The boys were SO excited for everyone to arrive Friday. They kept asking over and over if we were going to do gifts Friday night and I kept telling them I wasn't sure what the plan was. Naturally, I assumed they were dying to see what Grandma and Grandpa were gifting them.
It turns out they couldn't wait to give our gifts to Grandma and Grandpa. We picked up this Penny-Farthing bicycle that holds potted plants for their garden at the end of the summer. We've been holding onto it ever since and keeping it a surprise. The boys helped me wrap it in an enormous Christmas bag last week and I'm pretty sure they are the ones that ripped it open- Grandma and Grandpa barely had a chance to make it in the door first! I love that generous spirit in both of them and I hope it endures.
They patiently waited after we handed out all of our gifts for theirs to be distributed.
They got brand-new cowboy boots that are beautiful. I will have to take a picture of the boots by themselves because they are so spiffy. I think they are sized just right to last us a year and they are so soft and comfortable.
Ian loved this camping set from Cabela's. He generally has a love for Cabela's so any toy that has that written on it is a hit with him!
Henry got a Moon in My Room. Joe hung it up last night and it's so cool; it's controlled by a remote and you can move through all the different 'types' of moons, half-moon, crescent moon, full moon, etc... We all love it and Ian has added it to his birthday list!
Grandpa knew how to work the remote so Henry had one lesson and he was good to go.
One of Ian's favorite songs right now is Camouflage by Brad Paisley so Grandma & Grandpa outfitted him head to toe in camo. Ian says his favorite colors are blue and camouflage. ;) He is one happy soldier.
And soldier is what he is when he has his outfit on. The boys are flying an army helicopter here. Ian's the soldier and Henry is a volunteer.
Henry read some night time books.
Grandma read the rest.
Ian found an especially comfy seat.
Henry pretended to fall asleep when he realized Ian was getting attention for looking snuggly...
These boys love, love, love time with their grandparents who never fail to tell them how proud they are of them.
And it was such a special treat to have Ronnie & Elvena along for this visit. They are welcome to join Grandma & Grandpa any time they come!
I believe Ian asked Uncle Ronnie more than once to move in with us. The way Joe cooked for him this weekend, he might just consider it!
This has been such a fun month of holiday celebrations in our home and now the countdown is on until next Saturday night when our anticipation reaches an all time high. Joe and I are no less excited than the boys for Christmas morning.
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