Our Anne: A Couple of Accomplishments

Anne-girl is feisty, determined, and opinionated. She's also the sweetest, happiest, and most squish-able little toddler ever. I can't help but smile and hug her, even as I am exhaling in frustration because I am pulling her away from the dishwasher for the 15th time in the last 15 seconds.

 Those big wide darling eyes of hers watch everything her brother and sister do. She loves to brush her teeth just like them, among many, many other things.

Her latest feat is climbing on the kitchen chairs. As you can see, she is quite proud of that accomplishment. We have to keep the chairs tucked in or she will very quickly be standing on top of the table. I dread the day when she figures out how to pull the chairs out from under the table. Oh my.

Besides climbing and brushing she has figured out that she can vocalize in more ways than just cries and screams. (Hallelujah!) Most of her words consist of the beginning and ending consonant sounds, if they are one syllable. Two syllable words are usually just "da, da" or "da, doo" which can only be translated in the context of the moment.

My favorite word that she uses sounds something like "sh*t." It cracks me up. She uses it when she wants me to give her something to eat or put her in her booster because it's time for a meal. I think maybe she is trying to say "sit." Hilarious.

The other words she most frequently attempts to say are this (dis), shoes (sh-s), socks (sks), thank you (da doo), and more (ma).

We love our Anne-girl!

{this moment}

this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
(inspired by SouleMama)

In an effort to look like I'm actually right on top of posting about all major events, I am back-dating some new posts. Three new ones can be found here, here, and here. Happy reading!

Gobble, Gobble

Thanksgiving day was spent at my grandmother's house in Idaho, affectionately known as "The Farm". It was much more of a farm during my childhood, when my grandfather was alive and kicking and loving the land. We spent a lot of time exploring the haystack, running the fields, and riding the horse, Prince. Even the smell of manure is strangely nostalgic to me because of our time spent on these wonderful acres.

Although it isn't the same as it used to be, I'm grateful that I can still give my kids a taste of their history when we travel up to Idaho. This farm has been in the family for over 100 years. The house my grandma lives in is the same home that my grandpa was born in. 

A local farmer/rancher rents out grandma's property to store his hay and corral his horses. More on the horses in another post.

Other than the inevitable outside activities we also spent some time inside with the kiddos. Apple turkeys were on the agenda. 

Some board games. Oh the time we have spent gathered around board games at grandma's house!

And sugar cone teepees. 

We did eat as some point, too. Well, actually, we ate a lot and were way to busy doing said eating to actually document the event. For the record, it was delicious.

Neigh!

So that guy that keeps his horses on my grandma's property, well he loves it when we all come to town for Thanksgiving because he can saddle the horses up and we give them plenty of exercise. I, sadly, had to opt out of the horse back riding. Pregnant bellies and bouncing horses are not a good combination. We were sure to give the kids a chance though.

Marie was thrilled to ride.

Anne wasn't so sure what was going on, but it didn't take her long to get the hang of it.

Only moments after the ride began she was out and enjoyed a nice nap in Becca's arms.

And William got to give the horse riding a try on his own, well, kind of. Brandon led the horse while William rode. He was proud to be up there all by himself.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
(inspired by SouleMama)

Tukka, Tukka, Stop, Stop

I am excited to announce that after nearly three months of lessons William finally got to touch the bow to the violin this past week and not a moment too soon! Just a few days after his first lovely rendition of "Tukka, tukka, stop, stop" on open E, William made his debut at the Winter Recital. Grandma and Grandpa P and Aunt Becca were able to come and it was such a treat to have them there!

 That is most certainly an "I'm concentrating," face, not an "I'm terrified," face... don't be fooled. He didn't have an ounce of fear in him. He introduced his "song" with a strong clear voice and wouldn't even let his teacher help him with his bowing (which is how we had practiced all week.). The smile on his face when everybody started clapping was perfectly priceless.

 After all the students had played their solos, the last event of the night was "Up Like a Rocket," a poem that aids in strengthening the bow hold. You can't tell very well, but all the students have lifesavers on the tips of their bows. Marie has watched us practice every day for the past three months so she is very familiar with the rhyme, as well. Miss Hailey invited her to join the group performance and with just a little hesitation she obliged. You can tell she was quite comfortable in her surroundings. She did arrive at the event with boots and a sweater on, I promise!

Please forgive the quality of the pictures. The lighting was terrible.

It was with much debate and discussion and some hesitation that we decided to put William in violin lessons this fall. Thank goodness we did. It has been such a fulfilling experience for all of us. I couldn't be more proud of William; not only for his performance, but also for his positive attitude and willingness as we practice each day and attend lessons each week.