They've Flown the Coop

Remember the nest and eggs that we've been watching? Well, they hatched!

We have had so much fun observing, journaling, and reading about Robins!

The babies could be best observed through the space between the floorboards of our deck. The above picture was a common sight at our house. My bird-loving girl sure did enjoy our visitors. Whenever she would peek down on them, they would do this...

They seemed to think that she was their Momma and were looking for food from her. She LOVED this and did indeed want to feed them. But, look Momma, they want me to feed them! (No, I didn't let her.) She learned that if she found a place a safe distance away from the nest to observe, she could watch them get fed by both of their parents. Did you know both Robin parents return to the nest to feed the babies?!?!? We did not know this but we actually were able to observed both parents at the nest at the same time. That was cool.

Well, as you can see in the pictures, there were three baby Robins. Now, however, there are none. The babies have left the nest. While my little ones are sad that their feathered friends are gone, it sure was an exciting adventure. And, in a unique blessing of well-timed nature, on the day that the birds left the nest, a caterpillar that we had collected from our backyard made a chrysalis in the jar that we were observing it in. One nature observation ending and another one just beginning!

We learned so much about Robins. Here is a link to a great site with tons of information on the American Robin. Enjoy!

Our Springtime Visitor

There has been a lot of activity under our deck recently. We've seen a Robin flying in and out making numerous trips a day with a variety of natural items clutched in her beak. My daughter has been fascinated by this and has eagerly anticipated the baby birds that will be born here.

Her nest is in the perfect spot for a curious 4-year-old to observe. It is several feet away from our outdoor toy box that we use daily this time of year. Yet, this mama bird was wise enough to put the nest just beyond the reach of those curious hands.

Several times a day, we sneak over (not too close, of course) and check on her and listen for the sounds of the babies chirping. I couldn't ask for a better observation and prediction activity for my bird-lovin' little girl!

A Raindance and a Buzzing Surprise

It was a beautiful evening. The clouds were rolling in. The storm was fast approching. As a family we went out on our deck to welcome the rain.

The kids did a rain dance. The oldest one even sang a song to encourage the rain to fall. Midway through the song, it did indeed start to rain. To which she exclaimed for the whole neighborhood to hear, "It worked! I can't believe I made it rain!"

What was to later turn into a storm, began as a drizzle. We continued to dance in the rain. The deck got slippery and the littlest one slipped and fell flat on his back. Boy, did he cry! We whisked him inside and set him on his changing table to figure out the extend of his injuries.

As we hugged him and checked his body for injury, he kept trying to say something. In between tears, he would blurt out "eeeeeee!" We thought he was saying "me," in response to our question of what hurts. Finally, he trust his clenched fist up towards my face and said it again. As I opened his fist, I learned that it wasn't the "m" that was missing in "eeee;" it was a "b" as in B-E-E!!!

He had a honkin' big Carpenter Bee clutched in his palm!!! It was still ALIVE. His fall and our search for injury had hindered him from showing off his precious treasure! That's why he was crying. He wasn't hurting at all. He was simply proud to share his find with us and we weren't letting him.

Thankfully, male Carpenter Bees do not have a stinger and the females only sting if provoked. I'm pretty sure this was a male since the bee was all squished up in my little guys hand. The bee was still a-buzzin' and the kiddo didn't get stung. Whew!

Nature Table Additions

A sure sign that Spring is on it's way... Pussy willows on our nature table!

Recently, we were able to enjoy a beautiful Spring day. It was warm enough to only don our jackets and it wasn't raining. Perfect! I love Spring walks. It fills me with such joy to be able to emerge from winter's hibernation and go out and explore with my kiddos. We love looking for signs that Spring is preparing to release itself. Pussy willows are one of those signs for me. They signal that Spring is nearly here.

My bird loving kiddos were more than pleased to find some feathers to add to the nature table as well. They fit in perfectly with the nests and eggs that I made for the kids' Easter Baskets. One nest is made out of yarn, loosely following this idea. The other is made from a hallowed out avocado. I made two yarn nests but I was pretty sure my son would destroy his. They need to be handled gingerly... not a talent he is yet to possess! So, after making guacamole, I popped a hallowed out half of an avocado into my dehydrator on a whim. It actually turned out! ::shock:: They eggs are simple wooden eggs from the craft store painted with acrylic paints to look like Blue Jay and Robin eggs - two regular visitors at our backyard bird feeders. My daughter loves matching them up to the pictures of eggs in her bird book, but now she wants me to make eggs for each species in her book. Hmmm, I might need to recruit a certain 4-year-old to help me tackle that project. We'll see...

Sand and Water Table

A family friend was recently looking for a home for their no-longer-used sand and water table. Thankfully, they thought of us!

Yes, my kiddos have been out there playing in the sand with hats and gloves on. They LOVE it. Cold weather isn't going to stop them!!! My daughter keeps asking, "Is it warm enough to put water in it yet?"

They like it so much better than their more traditional sandbox that rests on the ground. This one is raised and it is a lot easier for them to use standing up...especially for the 1 year old. A lot less mess for Mom too since they're not sitting in the sand!

We are going to be getting so much use out of this when summer comes. I think we'll clean it out in the fall and use it though out the winter inside as a sensory table in their playroom.

The Beautifulest Christmas Tree Ever

We woke up this morning to this...

Yippee! I just love the snow! What a way to welcome December!!!

Last night, a branch had fallen out of our Cottonwood. So, our daughter, fresh off of our Christmas Tree hunt, decided that this fallen branch would work for a reenactment of our tree hunt. We dragged that branch all over our backyard, pretending that we were trekking through the Christmas Tree Farm. Then, she decided that the "Christmas Tree" needed to be decorated. We used bungee cords to attach the branch to our backyard bench. Then, she raided her outdoor toy box looking for anything that had a handle she could hang on the branches. The above picture is her finished product. I just love the big hippety-hop ball at the very top.

Here are some close-ups of her holiday work of art. I wonder what the neighbors are thinking!!!

When she was finished, she declared, "This is the Beautifulest Christmas Tree ever!" She was so proud of her backyard tree. I am proud of her creativity. I love to see her use her imagination so creatively!

On a different note, you may have noticed that I learned how to change the template of my blog to something other that what Blogger offers. I'm feelin' mighty festive here on my blog! I got the template from this site. It was super easy to do and free too. Gotta love that!

We started the rest of our Christmas countdown activities today. Along with lighting the Advent wreath, we are reading from The Advent book, a wonderfully illustrated book by Jack and Kathy Stockman. It mimics the advent calendars where you open a door each day to reveal a prize. Behind each of the 25 doors in the book, there is a picture and part of the Christmas story.

We're also removing links from a paper chain and then counting how many are left until Christmas.

The last two activities that we are doing nightly are ones that my daughter and I made together. My mom gave us a kit for a Christmas countdown calendar. We used all the supplies from the kit but we made our own design. We didn't like the original plan that came with the kit. I'm happy with how it turned out. Sometimes kits can be great because everything you need is right there.

Inside of each day's pocket is a piece of scrapbook paper. On it, I have (or soon will) write an activity to do for the night. Most of the activities will be things that we would be doing anyways. For instance, I am saving some of my Christmas decorating to put as an activity. One night, the kids will get to help put out the nativity. On another night, we'll decorate the tree. On another, we'll bring out the basket of Christmas books. I think that this will be an activity that we'll all enjoy. Hopefully, it will become a yearly tradition.

The last thing that we're doing each night is Christmas Countdown Blocks. I took two square blocks of wood and my daughter and I wrapped them in wrapping paper. Then we took green and red cards and put number stickers on them. Every night after counting how many links are left until Christmas, my daughter will have to find the digits that make up that number. This is a skill that she needs to work on anyways.

If you try this activity, there is a trick to it. Both blocks need the numbers 0, 1, and 2. This is necessary for making numbers like 22 or 10. Every number that you make will need at least one of these digits as you're counting down. The remaining numbers get divided between the two blocks. However, when I was doing it, I finished and had one number left off. I could not figure out what the problem was. I knew that I had seen these in the store, so I knew there was a way to do it. I scoured the Internet and finally figured it out. 9 and 6 are only one number... you just flip it upside down for the one you want. So, on one block we have 0, 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6(or 9). On the other, we have 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8. That's the trick to figuring it out!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

We have a family tradition of going to the Christmas Tree Farm with some dear friends of ours. We have several local tree farms to choose from so the location isn't the tradition but the friends and tree are. We have been doing this for nearly 10 years.

In years past, we haven't planned ahead very well and both families end up scrambling to clear schedules to find a mutual time that works. Not this year. We set this tree excursion up weeks ago. It was so nice to have it already planned and on the calendar.

We have never gone in November before but that's what worked, so we went with it. I'm glad we did. The weather was glorious! Usually, we trek through mud and slush with the wind blowing through our layers of clothing and chilling us to our bones. Not this year. The weather was perfect. The kids were well behaved...all 5 of them from the two families combined. Because we had planned ahead, we also planned enough time afterwards to go out to lunch together and try a new restaurant.

Oh, what a lesson to learn from this. A little planning truly does go a long way!

Good times! Now the Christmas season has truly begun.

Ironed Leaves

I was talking with a friend recently and she mentioned a craft involving a way to incorporate the beautiful fall leaves. She told me how to do it and my response was skeptical. (Sorry, Deanna!) My response was, "Seriously, you iron them?" and "Are you sure you use wax paper?" She assured me that this was the correct process and so I gave it a try.

We gathered all the necessary supplies.

We folded a leave between the wax paper.

We put a towel over the wax paper and ironed it.

Then, I cut out a construction paper frame and we glued it over the wax paper. Then, I had my daughter write each member of our family under one of the leaves with a white crayon.

Don't they look fantastic hanging in our front window?!?!? Here are the individual shots of each of the leaves...

Harvest Party

Today, we went to a church sponsored harvest party at a member's farm. We had great fun! We had pot-luck lunch in the barn, horseback riding, a hayride and a candy toss.

Both of the kids got to ride on the horse. They thought that was the greatest thing!!! Our daughter got to ride on the horse by herself with Daddy walking beside her. She was so proud sitting up there all by herself. She looked so-o-o little up on that big old horse!

I rode with our son in the saddle with me. He LOVED it! Every time we would make our way around the arena and come close to the gate were others waited, he would frantically sign, "more!" Most of the people watching interpreted his signing as clapping and thought that he kept clapping his hands with glee. Although that wasn't what he meant, he was indeed a happy boy!

The hayride was fun, too. Daddy and daughter got to get up into the cab of the tractor and drive the hayride for a while. It was like a dream come true for our daughter. She loves vehicles...cars, trains, construction trucks, tractors, etc. So, to be able to drive one was an amazing experience for her!

So, what did I learn? Believe it or not, I had never heard of a candy toss. They made the assumption that everyone knew what it was. I did not. As we were gathered around waiting for the candy toss to start, I realized that they were almost ready to begin and there were no instructions going to be given. I quickly asked someone nearby to explain and she briefly did. It turns out that a candy toss is just that. People toss candy down on you and you scoop it up and keep what you gather. The kids loved it. I was a nervous wreck. Lollipop sticks flying at my kiddos and big kids diving for candy had my heart pumping. Fortunately, the kids eyes were averted downward looking for candy on the ground avoiding the flying lollipop sticks. And, the big kids were kept in check by vigilant adults. We had quite a bag of loot to take home with us.

The little guy fell asleep while we were driving home, so his big sister suggested that we take a drive down to the beach so he could sleep longer. We agreed and took a detour. Daddy and the sleeping beauty stayed in the car while the two of us took a walk down by the water. When I told her it was too cold to get in, she wanted to take her notebook and fuzzy, purple, feather pen with her.

After exploring a bit and picking out some rocks to take home, she plopped herself down in the sand and started writing. She drew everything that she had seen...

She wrote about the waves and the sailboat that sailed by and the tiny hole that she discovered in the sand. Beauty through her eyes... a joy to me!

Fun Fall Day

Whew! Today was a busy, fun-filled day. Where do I start? How about a list of things I learned or tried today and a picture for each one...

1. I learned from a hard-core fisherman that fish in the pond behind our house are biting on "Rooster Tails." Despite all the stuff in there, we don't have "Rooster Tails" in our tackle box.





2. I learned that both kiddos tire of fishing when there are no fish being caught and the wild outdoors bid them to play.



3. I learned (while the hubby tried to fish and we went exploring) that my daughter can climb a tree. Yep, all. by. herself!



4. I learned that wandering aimlessly through a corn maze with a sleeping 16 month old on your back is REALLY tiring. Wandering through with some friends and their family makes up for it though.






5. I learned that when there is nothing to look at but corn at your sides and wood chips at your feet...look up! The clouds were magnificent today!






6. I learned that some hens and roosters like to perch on evergreen tree branches. Now that's an interesting site.

   



7. I've never seen a hen with her chicks tucked under wings except for in pictures. It was the cutest thing! The chicks didn't peek out from underneath her, they poked their heads right up through her feathers.
   
   


8. I got to meet this little guy. Can you guess the name? This is Tina Turner...
   
9. We met Grandma and Grandpa at a festival in a local park. From the moment we arrived, our daughter noticed the big blow up bouncy things. She really wanted to play in them. However, there were just too many kids trying to play in them. And, they were big kids who were being really rough. Instead of crying or throwing a fit, she simply said, "Could we go play at the park instead?" Once we were at the park, she looked at me and said, "This is much more peaceful, isn't it?" I sure do love that girl!!!

   

10. I learned from a crafter at the craft fair who was willing to share tips on how to properly cut gourds. This is a skill I have tried but never mastered. I have so many dried out gourds around here that I hang onto in hopes that I will figure it out. This talented lady inspired me to try again. Here are some pictures of the ones I bought from her...

Wow, it was a busy day... fishing, the pumpkin farm, and the community festival. I feel exhausted but content. I love my family and days like these are so much fun to spend together.

Returning to Normal

This past week we have been incredibly busy - a good kind of busy but still busy none the less. Today was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the weather was perfect. A sweater or sweatshirt was all that was needed for sufficient warmth.

We headed outdoors, all four of us. We took down the canopy that was gracing our backyard. Then, we relaxed. We enjoyed each other's company. The kids played in their playhouse and enjoyed their snack outdoors on their picnic table. We got some much needed relaxation...

Now, I've just gotta learn to make time for this more often!

Freezer Stencils...AGAIN!

Sometimes I get crazy ideas in my head at the worst possible time. Yesterday, I decided that we needed matching shirts for our trip to the pumpkin farm TODAY!

I only had two shirts at home to paint. So, since I had to run to Walmart anyway, I picked up two shirts so that each of us had one to wear. I had to then wash the shirts, dry the shirts (without a dryer since ours just died), and then put freezer stencils on them. This project would have been much less stressful if I would have done it a week ago. Sometimes I think I work better under pressure.

I realized long after the rest of the family had gone to bed that the orange paint that I had was puff paint. Not exactly what I needed but I thought I would give it a try. Late at night, hours before you need to actually wear the shirts, there isn't much time for changing plans. I tried it and it turns out that puff paint doesn't puff when you brush it on the fabric. It turned out just like regular unpuffy paint. Pretty cool, eh?

Here's how they turned out...

And here are the action shots...

We had a ton of fun and wonderful weather!

Here's my mighty mouse...

Isn't this pattern beautiful? We loved that the "hearts'' formed a "star" in the center...

Oh, so many pumpkins...

Get me higher so I can see everything...

The two kiddos worked together to find the perfect pumpkin...

I just realized that I didn't include any pictures of my hubby. That's because he decided that just having an orange shirt was enough for him. I tried to convince him but to no avail. I think he just wanted me to wrap it up and get to bed. Ah well, at least he had on an orange shirt to match us. Yes, indeed, we were a matchy, matchy family!