More from the parade

See www.utahmomsforcleanair.org for more on this:

This is Sam's Music Together teacher with the ribbon/ball things...and Shane, another parent in the hat juggled with fire during the parade.

St. Patrick's Day Parade!!

Sam's school ( www.ccnsslc.com) was in the St. Pat's Day parade last weekend. It was really a lot of fun. We really love his school with the parenting co-op part of it. It has created such wonderful community and support.

(Leprechan feet on his sash.)

Three Days Until Spring

And the weather has been wonderful. The poppies and alium are coming up, as are the tulips. The trees have little buds, the birds are attacking our bird feeder, and we are hoping for a bumper crop of apples this year. Spring is just what we need in this family right now!

This is Charlie hanging out while Sam and I chased ogres out of the apple trees.

After I moved Charlie out of the sun tent, he filled the top of the sandbox with "cake batter" and moved it into the BIG OVEN.

Charlie Kicks

Charlie is laughing and kicking and has realized that he is indeed human. He is in one of several slings most of the day, but we did borrow a swing from Rachael so that I can do some stuff that is difficult with a sling. He is fussier than Sam was, at least what I remember. He smiles if you ask where his "Charlie Smile" is.

Having two is a ton of work, especially because when Sam was little I had a maid who did laundry! I feel guilty all the time because I don't get to spend long periods with Sam and he patiently waits, and waits, and waits for stuff while I am nursing Charlie (what an endless task). Sam is truly an amazing helper, always fetching things for me. Sam gets the choice of picking up his toys fast or slow and he usually chooses "100 miles an hour", so for a 3 year old, I think he is pretty good about his toys (probably as good as it will ever get, but I'll keep trying). He loves to help change Charlie's diaper and likes to cuddle with him at nap and bedtime. Sam looks forward to the day when we put the top bed on his bunk bed and he doesn't have to sleep alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1c6eI-ok4E

Sam's First Book Review: James and the Giant Peach

Sam and I finished reading James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl last week, his first completed chapter book with me.

This is Sam's review of the book:

James wants to come to the Peach. The insects want to meet James. James wants to play with the insects. He lived with Aunt Sponge and Aunt Spiker. They were mean.

What else? They made him sleep on hard bare wood.

And? They locked him up in the garden.

What happened next? They asked him to chop firewood. The ax was very heavy for him. And those things went down into the ground. And that's all I want to say.

Ring Necked Pheasant in Backyard

First, this is NOT the pheasant I saw. It is just a pic of off Google. When I was nursing Charlie I was looking out the window and saw near the apple orchard what I thought was an enormous chicken because it was so red. Then I thought it was a huge cat. When I ran outside half naked with Charlie to see what it was, I was shocked at how big and beautiful this bird was! It ran away rather quickly. It was nipping around in our compost, so maybe he'll come back! This picture does not do the bird justice - it was just gorgeous!

Rocket Man!

Windy Day

Sam is a rocket with fire behind him.

Glimpse of Spring

The wind blew Sam's table all over the yard last night and also blew the top of his sandbox. The invitation outside was very welcome and we were out early.

Warm enough for bare toes!

We filled up the bird feeder.

I had visions of sitting in the sun and knitting. Charlie would have none of it and I ended up bouncing him in the sling all around the yard.

Evening at the Ranch

Off to find kindling for the evening fire.

Little cabin in the woods.

Small things.

Riding a horse.

The Amazing Preschooler Brain

In the last couple of months, Sam has been obsessed with letters, spelling, writing AND addition and subtraction. In this picture he is looking at his Waldorf Alphabet book and figuring out the letters with Tinker Toys and string for curves. It is the coolest thing to witness, especially since we have not exposed him to explicit teaching - only helping him explore when he has questions and giving him simple tools to encourage his own experimentation. He is discovering this completely on his own - something he can really be proud of.

Reading About Trolls

Notice little troll screaming.