Happy Birthday Noella!

The big party was this weekend, and Noella had a great time.  She insists that now that she has had the party, she is already four.  "It works like that, Mom!" she insists.  We will still celebrate on the 23rd though.  Even she can't say no to another cake.

 She also insisted on a very tall cake.  I convinced that three layers was tall enough; she had been hoping for five.  The official party theme was "circus" but luckily there were no requests for turning the cake into anything more complicated.

 A shot of party balloons AND the new porch.  Thanks Daddy and Papa!

 In case you could not tell, she is turning FOUR.

 Mariel crafted a "pin the tail on the cat" game for the kids.

 There were also assorted coloring pages.

 Happy Birthday to Noella!

 She very deliberately blew each candle out one by one :)

 The cake was declared delicious.

 Post-cake, more activities.  This was our bean bag toss.  For a few minutes, children actually threw bean bags into the game, as opposed to "juggling," throwing them in the air or at the wall, or pretending that the holes in the board were potties.  There is nothing like pre-school humor.

A successful party!

18 months (almost)

On the 10th Holden will officially be a year and a half.  We will celebrate him, of course, but I think that Patrick and I deserve some sort of victory celebration for having survived thus far.   Our little man is quite a funny guy, full of words and too many opinions.  He loves bicycles, his sisters (most of the time), trucks, throwing things, blueberries, feeding the dogs, and having Mommy carry him around.  He does not care for sleeping, limits, outlet plugs, being in his carseat, or having his diaper changed.

 

A month of photos

We went on the annual trip to Meramec State Park with friends.  Hiking, bonfires, all sorts of good stuff.  Holden particularly enjoyed the attention, including getting to take a bath with an adoring crowd.

 Downtown Children's Center had its Fall Festival, complete with popsicles, pony rides, and a petting zoo.  There is some debate at our house as to whether or not Noella is allergic to llamas and/or goats.

 Avery also had its Fall Festival the same week.  Mariel and Patrick went for a "late" night adventure and came home with goodies, bellies full of cotton candy, and face painting.

 This weekend we went to a friend's Halloween party. You will note that there are no incriminating pictures of me (yet), but I did go as a pumpkin.  Patrick is very proud of his new costume.

A dog, a sheep, and a bunny walk into a church

On Monday, I took the kids to the playground at our parish before Mariel's religion class for a picnic dinner.  While we were there, our priest brought his dog out to play fetch on the field.  Miranda is a very friendly, overweight Golden Retriever, and my children were all very interested in meeting her.
Later on that night, Noella started pestering me with questions about "Jesus' dog." "Why does Jesus have a dog?" and "Where does Jesus' dog live, Mom?" She asked.
I finally caught on (it had been a long day): "Noella!  That is Father Brown's dog.  Not Jesus' dog."  Noella was adamant, "It belongs to Jesus and lives in the church."
"No, honey.  The dog lives- with Father!- NEXT to the Church, not in it."  No matter what I said, she was not convinced.   Miranda belonged to Jesus and lived in the church.
The next day, the dog that lived in our church and clearly belonged to Jesus came up in dinner conversation.  I once again told Noella that Miranda belonged to Father Brown and was not Jesus' pet.  Mariel and I exchanged bemused glances and she spoke up for me: "Noella, the dog does not belong to Jesus.  It is Father's pet.  Jesus did not have a dog!"  Noella looked at her, appearing slightly more convinced than when I said the same thing.  And then Mariel kept going.... "First of all, Jesus is dead.  He was dead a long time ago, so he does not have a dog. And besides, Jesus had sheep for pets."  I actually did not say anything, but it must have been one of those times when my expression said more than enough.  "Yes, Mom!  Jesus had sheep for pets.  It is in the bible."
Today (Saturday) the conversation continued.  At dinner tonight, I tried to explain that when we read stories in the bible they are examples, or using imaginary stories to help us understand the lessons from Jesus.  So how do you explain a metaphor to a 6 and 3 year old?  "Mariel, if I wanted to say that you were really cold, I might say that you were like ice, right?"  "Yes, Mom, but I would not really be made of ice." Noella chimed in "just VERY cold."  I started to feel like we were making progress.  "OK, so in the bible when Jesus is the shepherd..."  Mariel jumped right in "Of course!  We are not really lambs. He is just helping us."  I congratulated her, "Great! You understand then, right?"
Mariel tried to give an example of her own.  "So this would be like me telling a story... about a bunny and a pumpkin."  This is punctuated by Holden yelling every time she says bunny "HOP!  HOP!" Mariel keeps going,  "And the bunny (HOP!  HOP!) gets IN the pumpkin.  And the pumpkin hops."More frantic HOP! HOP!, while Noella nods wisely, as though this is what she had been thinking about the whole time, too.   I had no idea as to where this story might go, so I nodded along with Noella.  Mariel continued "And the pumpkin hops (HOP! HOP!) , but it is really the bunny (HOP!), and then Jesus is the shepherd and the bunny is the sheep.  Is that right?" Holden offered a rather tentative "Baa?"  Noella: "And then where is Jesus' dog? In the pumpkin?"
I am not sure, but I am guessing that they don't teach metaphors in Pre K or 1st grade.

Big Steps

On Sunday, Noella started drawing people.  She moved from random scribbles on the page and an occasional letter "E" (her favorite letter) directly to this:

 We are duly impressed.  She drew dozens of people throughout the day, including some that appear to be quite angry.

Mariel thinks that one is breathing fire, which is why she wanted it on the blog.  

Mariel has also been working hard.  She is really learning to read, and is now tackling Level 2 readers independently.  Her favorite reader is Barbie (of course).

Holden has not made any huge developmental strides this weekend, unless you count throwing even more things, riding on toys that are not meant to be ridden, and cheering loudly for himself.  His favorite word this weekend was "hot" and he does diligently check to see whether or not the things he wants to touch are hot.

Mariel's New Mag

Mariel may be the only first grader who transitions from High Five Magazine directly to Vogue.

She has been studying the (immense) September fashion issue intently every night (and morning) since it arrived.  

The Code of the All Stars

According to Noella:
All Stars are always helpful.
All Stars always stay up late.
All Stars wear big girl underwear.
All Stars drink lots of water.
All Stars sing songs.
All Stars love cheese crackers.
Really, who would not want to be an All Star?
Also, she thinks that she will be a firefighter girl when she grows up.

Summer draws to a close

I have heard that we appreciate things more when they are temporary, when we know that soon time will take them away.  If it was always summer, it would not be so exciting and special.... but it still seems hard to face the end.  Maybe one year we could have an experiment and see what happened if we let summer vacation last a bit longer?  Granted, I am tired.  Kids are exhausting!  But I find that I am dragging my feet more than any of the kids about going back to school and resuming "normal" life.  

Here are just a few beach shots from New York.  As often happens, I did not take many pictures and will have to rely on the photography of my mother for the summer.

Noella got some big news when we came back: She moved up to the 4 year old classroom.  An awful lot earlier than we expected.  She is, of course, very ready to move up and had no problem whatsoever with the transition.  She is already letting us know how very mature she is.  It seems like it could have some nice effects, as apparently "All Stars are ALWAYS helpful."

Mariel started 1st grade today, and is just as thrilled to be moving up in the world.  She is really looking forward to learning to read more and, of course, her favorite "subject" of recess.

The girls had fun last weekend posing in their matching dresses and new matching rain boots (which do require it to rain to become useful... but I am hoping).  Their disgruntled brother really was only interested in sweeping and kept trying to shove them out of the way.

And so the summer draws to a close... and back to work and school we go.  I will try to catch some of the enthusiasm of the kids!

Holden's First Haircut

He looks all grown up now!

Why you can't stay in the car by yourself

Yesterday, in the car (before stopping at the farmer's market)

Mariel: I don't want to get out.  I am going to stay in the car.
Me: You can't.  You know that.  You have to get out with me.
Mariel: Nah.  I am going to stay in here.
Me: MARIEL (in a VERY stern voice...  I look back and she is smiling at me.)
Mariel: Not really.  Mom.  (Smiles again and giggles). But maybe I will stay in.
Noella: NO!  Mariel you can't.
Mariel: Yes, I can. I will stay in the car.
Noella: Mariel, if you do the police might come.  Or bad guys!
Mariel: It's OK.  I will stay in here.
N: If you stay in the car, you might fall asleep.
M: Yep.  I might.  I will fall asleep in the car.
N: MARIEL!  You will fall asleep in the car. OK?
M: OK.
N: And then you will stay in the car until midnight.  OK? (Noella says OK in a high pitched voice.  She also raises both hands and shrugs at the same time).
M: OK.
N: And then when you wake up you will be in the FOREST.  OK?
M: OK.  (starts to smile again).
N: And there will be bears (in a very growly, angry sort of bear voice).  OK?  (back to the high pitched voice).
M: OK.
N: And then the BAD GUYS WILL COME (very loud).  OK?
M: OK (laughing now).
N: And they will GET YOU!  The bad guys will get you.  OK?
M: OK.
N: And after the bad guys get you, they will put you in a BOX.  OK?
M: OK.
N: And then they will throw you in the sea. OK?
M: OK.
N: With the bears.  OK?
M: OK... but I don't think there are bears in the sea.
N: THERE ARE BEARS. AND CHEETAHS.  OK?
M: OK.
N: And then Holden and I will be sad because we won't have a big sister anymore.  So you should not stay in the car by yourself, Mariel.

She is a DINOSAUR!

Noella went to dinasour camp ("Jurassic Art" at the College of Creative Arts) last week.  The program culiminated in a dance performance.  The kids started out as dinosaur eggs and then "hatched" before their dance.

Noella had fun, and was very excited to bring home her arts and crafts projects.  This week is it Mariel's turn at camp, and then soon we are all off to "camp Grandma" in Henderson!

Keeping Busy!

We have been keeping busy with all sorts of adventures: parks, playgrounds, museums.  While I struggle with ambivalence about living in the midwest, there is certainly much to be said about St. Louis and small kids.  The number of different activities that can be fun for kids- even for those of us parents who are less than enthusiastic about many child-oriented activities- is astounding.  Among the things that we have done in the past two weeks are hiking at Powder Valley, the annual Art and Air Festival in Webster, and picnicking in Forest Park.  More fun ahead, too!

Last Day of Kindergarten!

Today was Mariel's last day for the school year.  She dressed nicely, because they get to go and spend part of the morning with their teacher for next year.  She wanted to "look like a first grader and impress the new teacher."

 And here she was in August, heading to her first day.  How does she keep getting so much taller?

Mariel's last day!