A birthday celebration

Oh the birthday! I have been meaning to share all the ideas for those that had questions. I have been trying to do traditions that will carry each year, birthdays are a big deal here - nothing makes me happier than seeing the excitement on the little one's face. AnaSofia wanted a RAINBOW party early on so I started thinking tie dye and then it all went c-r-a-z-y from there - a very fun time. Over the past few years I have made decorations that I hope will be used by my children for their children, many of my ideas are Waldorf inspired or from my favorite blogs. This year I made another banner (one side pinks and reds, the other greens and blues) so that AnaSofia and Kasper will each have one.

The birthday crown...

Being measured on the height tree. I have 6 mo, 1, 2 and 3 years now marked!

House getting ready for the kids party. I love making tissue balls for parties, a friend did them a few years ago and we try to do them every time - it is such a beautiful decoration and so much better than buying something! We also gave a ball to each baby at the party as a take home gift! The best instructions I have found are on marthastewart.com

Making the cake! This was so fun for AnaSofia and me. We used gel food coloring and made three layers. I used 1 cup of white cake (Joy of Cooking recipe) for first color and 2/3 c for each following color and just dumped each into the middle of a pie pan with wax paper on the bottom so it would be easy to remove. I always use pie pans because I have plenty and why buy cake pans too?! Waste not! One layer we started with red, the other with purple... You can find tutorials for rainbow cakes online or email me with questions.

The finished cake! AnaSofia was SO tickled pink about it!


I ordered a tie dyeing kit from dharmatrading.com (GREAT site for clothing work, block printing etc) and it was SO great for kids to do...

Her present from Momma and Far - a thrifted horse ($25!!!!) that she loves.

Gratuitous, but he is sooo darn cute!

#2 is a handful...

He looks sweet and innocent doesn't he?

Well, of course he is (really lovely and special for sure), but MAN can he give me a run for my money.Who knew? Well, apparently lots of people but no one told me until recently...

Of course, it has been seven months of 6 hours of interrupted sleep each night and days filled with wanting to make EVERYONE happy so I am a bit snarky and over emotional. But I have never seen such a fit from a child as I did today - all because Momma put him in the jumper to clean up the kitchen after lunch. He was hopping mad (literally!). It was comical and frightening all in one. I have long been aware that if he is hungry, constipated, if you pull away a toy too soon, put a shirt over his head or any other everyday routine changes he screams bloody murder. I am always shocked by it, whoa, am I hurting him, what is WRONG baby? Wow, is it really just that? It kind of blows my mind how angry such a little guy can be and makes me wonder how much baby temperament becomes lifelong temperament.

And then I talk to others who previously told me boys were so easy or that they should have had the second one first blah blah blah. Who are these people? Are they the same people that say they can't remember life before having kids? I never understood that phrase. I definitely can't imagine life WITHOUT my kids, but I do remember life before kids. Our fantastic little apartment on Water Street where we would lay on the living room floor for hours after a big meal listening to music and talking about life. Now after dinner is a race to bedtime without doing dishes and lots of hushed conversations. Anyways, the point is these people are crazy. And they don't seem to remember telling me boys were easy, actually they say boys are hard, fussy and demanding (hm... sounds a lot like men, just kidding Soren!). I guess I am just wondering when it will be more seamless, when it will all click and fall into place. When little Kap will let us all have a little space to be ourselves and grow. 4 months and on has been a challenge but I am really learning to love those giggles and smiles and absorb them when I can. Bless you all for having children and know that parenting is the hardest job around (in my eyes!). Some people make it look easy but it is not so don't get down for what you see in others - focus on you and what you can do best. Each day is a unique challenge and each night I lay my head on my pillow and fret all the things I did wrong that day. God bless us all for giving it a go and being willing to enjoy the ride. My new commitment is to relax more, let go and see what happens. I'm hoping for a miracle right now!
Oh and here is my new favorite blog for you to explore - short, sweet and entirely lovely!

Berries Galore!

We have finally had enough sunshine to be able to collect strawberries and blueberries around the house! Yes really! Around our little house we have strawberry plants that we planted and a little nook in the forest with yummy wild blueberries. We have to raid the neighbor's yard for strawberries though and you know we wouldn't take any photos of that!




It has also been nice enough for me to bring out the tent I made for the kids on the sewing machine. I used my FAVORITE old sheets that I couldn't part with and added some fun fabric to the poles. They both really love it!

Tea Pony Giveaway

Eeeee! You all know how much I love vintage-y and unique clothing for my little ones AND how hard that is to find where I live so I am often ordering online or trying to make things myself. Two of my favorite blog writers (and artists) are coming together again to do an illustrated dress that I would LOVE to have for little AnaSofia. Check it out here and enter yourself for a free dress giveaway if you have a little one OR if you are still looking for that perfect birthday gift for AnaSofia - ha ha, just kidding! Browse around her blog a little, Tea Pony and Belle and Boo are two places I always find some fun inspiration!

Happy Birthday AnaSofia

Happy Birthday to my sweet little girl. You have brought so much joy to my life these past three years. I love your ferocious hugs that sometimes involve a little pain and pulled hair but are always given with complete love. I love your observant nature - noticing, and complimenting, a barrette in Momma's hair or watching kids play at the lake while you stand in the water up to your ankles.
You are such a caring creature, passing half of your snack to your Nana before taking any yourself, rushing to help Kasper when he needs a toy or feeding Penny her carrot. Your adventurous soul is what amazes me most because you are so incredibly fearless and ready for anything. You pack a bag and announce you are heading off to see family without Far and Momma. "What will you do at bedtime when I normally spend cuddle time with you?" Momma asks. "Nana will put me to sleep." you say. Then you ask if Nana is my Mom and when I say yes you tell me "See, Nana will know how to put me to sleep." Too smart for a three year old I think.
You love riding airplanes, swinging high in the air and taking trips to the ocean. You eat steamed clams, sushi and broccoli and all things in between. You have never had a "bad" day, you wake with a zest for life and make it through the whole day with less complaint then Momma! You love to eat food off your Far's plate and curling up to read with Momma during the day. You can walk all the way down to the lake and back by yourself. Pretty soon you won't say "sunscream", "ledicine", "bandy bane" or "Ooslawin (Islwyn, your best friend)" anymore but I will cherish all the moments that you do. Soon you won't play hide and seek by hiding in plain sight after running every direction and yelling "here I am" when we announce "ready or not here I come!" but it makes me laugh so much now that you do. I hope you will always love Kasper, love your family and continue to live your life with such joy and passion. Thank you for being such an inspiration to me. Happy birthday little one, I hope today, and every day, is all you hoped it would be. You are LOVED!

Reworking the Bang Wall

We are in full on party planning mode here! One of our projects was to make our bang wall (idea from The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule) large enough for many kids to play on together.
Soren and AnaSofia worked together to build a strong base.


Then we hung our thrifted and found items up and tried it out.

Aunt Heather sent us a cool "rainmaker", the idea was from Family Fun magazine. The washers trickle down and make a fantastic noise.

And the best part of it all is sharing it with others!