Tree stump seat

A very good friend of Owen's has a really super cool spot in his back yard that transforms into a secret cave when all the grasses, bushes and trees around it begin to grow in the spring.  His mama and I had been talking about how great it would be to give a couple of tree stumps a new home in that secret hide out.  

Later that day I started thinking about maybe a cute little stump with his name burned into it (with a wood burner) and maybe even a little seat for a friend.  When I ran all of this past my dear sweet husband, he fired up his chainsaw, got out several hand tools and began carving into this piece of wood.  Far above and beyond what I had envisioned!  He's really swell like that.  

Owen was, of course, really into the whole thing especially with the chainsaw and all (don't worry, we sat very far away while that was going on).  He loved being the size tester.  Every time Andy would make a few cuts Owen would sit down to make sure it was going to fit Sam. Extremely cute and entertaining. 

After Andy did most of the work I sat down with my little Dremel tool and carved in Sam's name and then used the wood burner to burn it in.   I also got to be the size tester for the other seat which would explain the size difference, right?  
Owen and Sam share the same birthday so the timing of it all was really quite perfect.  I can't wait to see them out there in their little secret spot talking about all the wonderful things that three year olds talk about.

Barn raising

In the days leading up to Owen's big birthday bash, there was so much making going on around here that it filled many of our days.   We had decided that Owen's gifts from us would be handmade by us.  That meant spending many moments hiding out from our very curious boy while working on his gifts.   

This is the barn that Andy started a week or so ago with some wood we had hanging around our own barn:

And since Andy was building a barn, I thought I should try to make something to put inside of it. Somehow a pony seemed fitting.  This was my first shot at carving anything from wood (a big thank you to Kristen and Jason for the wood!), and I really had so much fun doing it.  I kept reminding myself that Owen will love that pony even if it ends up looking like some mutant draft breed.  
I know I included a shot of Andy carving a bit on the barn here, but we did more carving again this past Saturday as well.   He and I were sitting together on the front porch, each carving away on our own projects.  It was just such a pleasure to be working together in that way. What fun!

That boy loves his new barn and it is such a pleasure to watch  him play with it...

...and on it.

3.

Three years old today.

What a special day a birthday is.  We happily set aside an entire day to recognize the person we love.  They are so important to us that they get...a day.  Their own day.  Especially when they are so little, we find ourselves looking back and reflecting on this sweet young life.  What did we even do before there was you.  What did we do just three years ago?  Why does that seem so long ago?  

I had no idea how my life was going to change.  I stare at Andy in disbelief.  I had no idea how our life was going to change, who we were going to become.  Who knew it was possible to shed layer after layer of yourself until you think that there is nothing left of you.  There is nothing left and yet, what little remains is, ever so gracefully wrapping and molding around this new tiny beautiful being. And then suddenly, these new layers begin to form.  Late nights.   Early mornings. High fevers. New teeth.  First steps.  Layer after layer,  one on top of the other.  Day after day, unaware, we have been forming this entirely new person around remnants of the old. Changing shape just a little at a time.  Becoming parents. PARENTS.  A Father. A mother.  A momma.   Amazing!  Me, I get to be the momma to these precious beings that are growing and changing everyday. Life really is a gift.  

Oh my boy, put on your crown.  Today is your day.  Today we celebrate your life.  Today we celebrate the person you are, the person you are becoming.  Today we celebrate how rich you have made our lives in such a short span of time.  

You are special and wonderful every single day.  You have our attention, our love, our hearts, every single day.  But today, we will show you just how incredible you are.  Today, TODAY...

WE WILL EAT CAKE!!!

Our boy: 2 years 364 days

Owen's birthday morning layout.  Tomorrow our sweet boy will be three years old!

The clouds part

Finally! After two days of rain the clouds part allowing the sun just enough room to squeeze past them so that we could enjoy some hot tea together on our front stoop. There are few things more pleasurable than sitting outside with my sweet boy sipping some tea. I love watching his little hands wrap around his tiny cup. Laughing at the goats. Listening to the ducks. Letting the sun warm our cheeks. A moment of peace. Being together and enjoying the company of the other. And then he's off. All we can do is watch as that quick moving boy races around the yard bounding from one activity to the next. Most of us around here can rarely keep his pace for any length of time. I feel pretty fortunate that he has other playmates around...

the four-legged variety.

Inside work

Well now, as I have been waging war on clutter inside our house lately, I've been greatly pleased to find that all those skills Owen has been practicing outside (on his wooden block) have transferred quite nicely to practical inside home improvement projects.
Today he helped me drill several holes in the bathroom for hooks.

I hope we aren't in violation of any child labor laws here. I did let him play a bit too. He's getting rather inventive when it comes to creating makeshift workbenches for himself these days. So anytime he feels the need to tear apart a bar of soap, give his cows a few suds all while cleansing his hard working hands, he will always have a nice sturdy surface for working.

Sturdy surface?? Yup, you guessed it, that's our toilet.

A zoo day with friends

That title could easily imply that we just spent one of our relatively normal but still crazy days at home yesterday, but no, we really did go to the zoo.

I love walking through the zoo this time of year. The weather is nice. All of the poor little captives actually seem happy to be outside enjoying sunshine, blue sky, and strange gawkers with cameras.The flowers are starting to bloom, the peacocks are strutting around looking for love, and our favorite little ones are happy to grab a snack with the gorillas.

Oh and the mommas on this fine day...

well, treating ourselves to a neatly wrapped, but top secret, ice cold zoo beverage. Mmm.

Birthday building

We have been stealing away just a little bit of time each day to work on some projects as a very special day quickly approaches.

The poppa:


The momma:

Nothing is quite finished just yet you know. Five minutes here and there because, well because

that's just how things are.

To illustrate:

So much of Andy's work around our home is often done like this. That man is amazing.

A purple surprise

Owen found the sweetest flower growing under one of our bushes yesterday. It looks like a little purple crocus. I'm not quite sure how it got there but it sure is a pleasure to have it around. Owen was pretty thrilled with his discovery.



Other signs of spring:

Even my peonies are starting to stretch out this week.

I can almost smell them now.

Blueberry appointment

Very important business to take care of around here this morning. We had an appointment with some blueberry bushes just down the road from us. Andy took several cuttings from established bushes our friends planted some years ago.

Let the propagation begin!

Blueberries. Divine.

Unfoldment

What a pleasure.

A new look

It has been several summers ago now that this little family of table and chairs asked us to bring it home. It was like a poor unwanted puppy looking for a new home only not nearly as cute. Since the day we brought it home I have been wanting to clean it up and give it a new look but it just kept getting pushed further and further down on the project list.

As these warmer days came upon us, the little table and chairs called to us from a small corner in the barn where they usually spend the winter. They were ready for a little paint and fabric love.


My favorite projects are the ones that we all take part in whatever way we can, big or small. Taking something that would have ended up in the garbage and, as a family, making it into something we will use day after day makes me feel tremendously proud.


Being able to sit outside and have dinner on a warm almost-spring evening was pretty nice too.

Toddler Gardening 2

I can feel these days stretching out as if the sun is finally beginning to awake after a long winter of rest. Each day those beautiful rays stretch to include just a few more minutes. A few more precious minutes. And as the sun promises to warm our faces a bit more today than yesterday, we find ourselves coming outside to greet it more and more.

This lovely weather has inspired many projects around our home the past few days. We have been building, sawing, sanding, grinding, painting and planting. I would love to share a bit with you on the planting end (at least the getting-ready-to-plant end).

On one beautiful morning this week, we gathered with our favorite shovels, the momma included, and went to work filling our trays with soil. These are the trays that will go in the cold frame we have set aside for our sweet kiddos. That morning I had imagined we would fill our trays, pick out our plants, plant our seeds, nestle our little trays down into their new cozy home and quickly wrap up our gardening plans. But oh these little people. They always have an agenda so different from mine. It's the un-agenda.

Instead, we sat on the soft warm grass the entire morning running our fingers through the potting soil while happily ignoring the little seed packages spread out all around us. Owen ran his shovel back and forth through the dirt examining all the bits and pieces he found inside. Carmel. Oh my little Carmie. At first she mostly just ate it, but once she had decided it didn't suit her palate she moved on to running her hands through it and letting it squish between her tiny fingers. Ahh dirt, a sensory delight.

As our bellies called for lunch, we slowly finished putting the soil in most of our trays, but not all of them. We packed up the potting soil. I put the seeds away for another day. What's the rush, right? What's the rush when we can sit outside in the grass, soak up the sunshine, and play in the dirt.

The un-agenda. I love it.