After a rather cold and wet October, we've been experiencing an oddly warm and sunny November. Walking into a local shop yesterday and hearing holiday (read: christmas) music playing felt very strange (dude, isn't the rule that they're supposed to wait until after Thanksgiving?), mostly because it was 60°+ outside, and we weren't even wearing jackets. We are not complaining about this unseasonably mild weather in the least. Rather, we plan on enjoying every last drop of warmth and sun that New England has to offer in November, storing it up, like Frederick, for the long winter that is sure to come (I mean, it has to, right?).
Today was another be-outside-from-breakfast-to-dinner kind of day, and I managed to take 301 photographs (thank goodness for digital cameras!). So what follows is a photo post, of sorts.
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Sometimes I think people would probably be able to guess that Leo is our fourth baby, even if none of our other kids were around. You know, just from the way we hold him.
Lena collecting things (including the baby) from the lawnThe other way Leo loves to be held:
Lena and Leo, twins born nearly 32 years apart******
We have added the phrase "I'm bored" to our list of "forbidden" words (others on the list include "stupid," "dumb," and all the traditional swear words that the kids have picked up on). Instead, the kids are now supposed to say, "can you help me think of something to do?" So when Jaz came to me with this particular request, as I was deeply engrossed in removing the root system of the Mountain Laurel I cut down yesterday, I quickly got him set up with one of my favorite projects: "Sticks & Hot Glue."
Luke and Jaz collected things from the yardand then glued them onto pieces of firewood.
Jaz carefully mapped out his houseLukas, never one to dawdle with this type of thing, quickly finished his:
"Country Getaway" by LukasAnd then, graciously, took glue orders from Zeben as he helped Zeb to make Zeb's own masterpiece (I told Lukas that Zeben could work the glue gun all on his own, but Luke assured me that that would most definitely not be safe, and quickly convinced Zeben that he should NOT touch the glue gun, like ever).
"I want glue right here."
Lukas aims and pulls the trigger.
Zeben attaches a third "tiny tree."
Zeben's "forest"Jaz, as is typical in these types of situations, spent hours working on his creation, even adding miniature acorn furniture to the interior of his "log cabin."
"Log cabin in the woods" by Jaz******
Sometimes, Leo thinks I'm hilarious.
Sometimes, I'm only mildly amusing.
And sometimes, I think he's the funny one.
More on this infamous "funny face" in an upcoming post!******
Collecting eggs is so outrageously entertaining (seriously, still!) that sometimes I put the already-collected eggs back in the chicken coop just so the kids can experience the joy of collecting them again.
two white eggs/day is all we're getting these days,but we're grateful to be getting any at all
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Just as the kids were finishing up with their hot glue project, more fun arrived! Katie and Aaron and Eli and Aryeh! To add to the excitement (and blood sugar levels), I made them all some hot chocolate.
Eli and Lukas drinking cocoaEVEN MORE EXCITING,
they drank their hot chocolate around a fire!
Lena and Katie and Aaron made the fire.Everyone was being silly, and I started taking some pictures. I love this one of Lukas:
We decided to take advantage of the good spirits and good lighting and try to get some "holiday card" worthy photos. Eli and Aryeh went first.
Looking Serious
Looking at an airplane
Smiling to the right of the camera
Smiling at each other
Getting BoredNot willing to give up on the opportunity to get a good holiday-card-worthy photo of someone's kids in the amazing light, I made my own foursome climb into the tree. They were less than enthused.
But I love these pictures anyway.
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We ended the day by pretending it was still summer, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, and planning a canoe camping trip for [next] August. We thought it had gotten really late (so dark!), but we'd finished eating by 5:30. It's definitely not summer anymore.
The kids were asleep by 7:00.
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7 comments:
The glue gun craft looks like so much fun. My kids would love it!
I need to know where you got the hat. My son would love one.
Megan,
Your kids WOULD love it! Such an easy and fun project that also, in a way, celebrates the season (so many things to find on the ground!).
The hat was a gift from the boys' beloved Uncle Will a couple years ago, so I don't know where it came from exactly. But it's the Osh Kosh brand. Hope this helps!
What a GREAT day!
That does look like a pretty awesome day, and now I want a fire pit! Your boys are, as usual, really adorable. And I too need to ban the word "bored", as it's started to crop up around here. Good idea for a replacement.
Hey Lex,
How do you enforce the "forbidden word" list? Do you give alternatives that are acceptable?
I'm having a big problem with 'stupid' and 'idiot' and I don't know how to deal with it anymore. It was easy with one kid, but with two, yikes.
Kalisis,
We came up with the list of "forbidden words" together, which I think helps the kids to self-enforce the rule. Luke and Jaz have come up with their own alternative: "stinky," which Zeben has definitely adopted as
"the mean word." I don't love it, but as long as it's not being used to hurt someone's feelings, I mostly let it be. Of course they still slip from time to time and say that something was "stupid," or "boring," but those aren't words that are repeated all day long, which is what I'm really trying to avoid. When they slip, I just say, "that's not a word we use in our family, can you think of a better way to say what you mean/feel?" And I hear them parroting that same phrase ("we don't use that word in our family") to each other when I'm in another room.
It is definitely harder when there is more than one kid and they are giving each other positive feedback for any sort of behavior that you'd rather NOT reinforce. I find that I can usually use the multiple-kids thing to my advantage, though, by giving positive attention to the behaviors that I prefer, which often encourages the other kids to follow suit.
I am with Woolymama coveting your firepit as well. I am so impressed that you got them to bed by 7PM!
Am just catching up with your recent posting & am really enjoying it. Was scheduled-- a few weeks ago-- to visit my good friend from Peace Corps who lives in Noho. Crazy circumstances came up so I couldn't get up there but she reported that she "saw our doppleganger bakfiets" quite a few times, which means, I am guessing-- that she saw you! Small, small world. I explained that you kindly with me about your bakfiets before we bought ours.
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