Three Little Jewells
Archive for the month “February, 2012”
Traditions and the Little Holidays
I think traditions are so important to family life and making ties that draw the family closer together. So we celebrate lots of “little” holidays. February 12 is Abraham Lincoln’s birthday- we (usually!) make a Lincoln Log cake, get out our big picture of Abraham Lincoln, set out the lincoln log set to build with, etc. So fun.
February 22 is George Washington’s birthday. We made a cherry pie and invited our neighbors over for dessert.
I brought down our picture of George Washington.
And D’Aulaire’s biography of George Washington. Mary narrated the story (fable, really) of George Washington and the cherry tree. We talked about some of George Washington’s major life events and accomplishments- the French & Indian War, Revolutionary War, crossing the Delaware to surprise the Hessions at Trenton, NJ, first President of the United States, etc. We talked about some of his character traits that were worth emulating. It was a very nice evening. Unfortunately, one the pie and ice cream got going, I never got any more pictures so none of the kids.
Other “little” holidays we celebrate: Advent, St. Patrick’s Day, and Great Gramma Mary’s birthday. I’d really like to celebrate Lent- I’ve got some ideas percolating for next year. I’ve also got ideas for Christmas in July and Michaelmas in November. And I’d like to do Saint Nichalaus’ birthday on December 6. When you combine all of these with the “big” holidays and all of the family birthdays, it seems there is always something fun coming up!
Poor Savvy
2/21 To know Savannah is to know that she has an absolute horror of mud. She doesn’t like being dirty in general and she REALLY doesn’t like mud. While playing outside she fell in the mud- you can see below she was quite traumatized about this. And what a mean Mommy she has- I grabbed the camera before I cleaned her up!
Thankfully, Daddy came home and helped to calm her down. We peeled off the muddy clothes and gave her a nice bath. Cleanliness, and thus happiness, was restored. 
OTHER TRAUMA:
On 2/24 I took the older two children to the theater while Ms. Barbara stayed with the two little girls. I took Mary & Nathan to see “Freedom Train”, a play about the Underground Railroad. We had front row seats and the play was fabulous. Mary & Nathan both enjoyed it so much- we just finished studying the UR two weeks ago so this was perfect timing. On the way home, Ms. Barbara called me. Savvy was swinging on the swingset when the upper beam that holds the swing broke- down came Savvy and down came the beam! It was rotted through and broke in several large chunks- one of which caught Savannah’s hand when it fell. The area on the outside of her pointer finger, down towards her thumb was shredded with rotted wood splinters driven all through. It was extremely swollen & an angry red. I called our pediatrician and he asked me to bring her in right away. The nurse commented to met that it appeared infected even though it had clearly not been enough time for it to get infected. Dr. Young cleaned her hand thoroughly and pulled out several splinters, some that were driven vertically in her hand. The redness and swelling was noticeably improved within an hour or two- I think the rotted wood was irritating her hand badly. I forgot to take theater pictures before we left in the morning and intended on doing it when we got home. However, because of all the trip to the pediatrician, I didn’t get pictures of them. Nor did I get any of her hand. Oh well- we’re going to the theater again in March so I’ll get pictures then!
Swinging, Stools & Lyra Talking
The weather this winter has been amazing. A few little cold spells here & there but the majority of the time we’ve had warm, sunny days often getting into the 60′s and 70′s. Notice Mary isn’t even wearing tights in the picture below. Although it snowed (only time this winter) on Sunday night (2/19) by Wednesday it was positively hot out. I turned the heat off, opened all the windows and the kids spent about 5 hours playing in the sprinklers and wearing their bathing suits!
2/17/2012
2/21
Lyra made a discovery today. She has discovered the power of the stool. She’s started hauling it around and using it to climb up and get into mischief. This is the first time I caught her doing this- not sure what she wanted on top of the washing machine though. Since then it has become a regular occurrence.
I want to be sure to write this down so I don’t forget. My sister had recently commented to me on how silent Lyra is- almost 2yo and still not talking at all. She has a few words that she VERY rarely will say. On 2/7 we went for a nature hike at a local park and it was like a light switch was turned on her head when it comes to language! That day she said “backpack” and “map” a whole bunch of times. When Mr. Hicks came for piano lessons two days later he commented on how he couldn’t believe the difference in Lyra from just week prior. Before she was so silent- no talking, no babbling, etc. All of a sudden, after Tuesday- she started babbling up a storm. She has a lot to say, even though we don’t know what she is saying! She babbles away and is even saying a couple of words here and there. She’ll pat your head and say “duck, duck” (for the game duck, duck, goose), she continues to say backpack, map, night night. The other day she said, clear as day, “hello Daddy!”. She isn’t talking in full sentences yet but she is on her way!
Valentine’s Day 2012
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Each year we make cupcakes for Valentine’s Day. This year, like we did last year (http://threelittlejewells.com/2011/02/22/valentines-day-2011/), we put hearts inside the cupcakes. We didn’t get to some of the Valentine’s crafts I wanted to do- we had such a busy few weeks cleaning up & reorganizing from Christmas, doing 2 birthdays, etc. Valentine’s Day snuck up on me this year and I was unprepared- oh well, I’ll do better next year!
We do Valentine’s Day like we do birthday mornings- this is what the kids came down to this morning. Each got a small gift ($10 range) and a small box of chocolates with four pieces of candy in it.
Nathan and his much-desired Knights sticker book.
Mary & Savannah each got a little Paddywhack Lane set that I got on clearance a few weeks ago.
Savannah fell and scraped her arm on the brick fireplace hearth several days before. She’s been using this sling for her “hurt arm”.
Lyra got the Build-A-Bear bunny rabbit that Nathan made for her several weeks ago. He was given BAB money and a coupon for his birthday and he had enough to do two animals so he chose to make one for Lyra. We put it aside for Valentine’s Day.
We had a candlelight dinner that night with all of the children. When I was a kid my Dad used to recite this verse when we were at the table. This picture reminds me of that.
Psalm 128:3 Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home. Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table.”
*BOY* version of a compliment…
Good Grief- another one from Nathan. He was trying to pay our friend a compliment tonight when she was babysitting the kids. He said “You know, Ms. Barbara, you’re a real antique!” (American Pickers is his favorite show, so he meant it as a compliment. I think he needs to work on his technique though.) 
February 12, 2012
Mary received a Knifty Knitter for Christmas. She finally finished her first project. She did the whole thing except the big pom pom on the end- Kip did that. I think she did a GREAT job!!! I know I am biased, but I think she is just THE cutest thing!
Side view of the hat & pom pom.
Nature Hike
2/7/2012- Nature Hike at Hagan Stone Park
Tuesday was just a gorgeous day. We finished our morning work by 11m so I decided we should head over to the park- it’s close to our house and I thought it would be nice to take a short nature hike. We packed our lunch, grabbed jackets and headed out for one of the shorter trails.
Just beautiful…
Nathan carried a small pack with our sketch books, some nature guides, colored pencils, water bottles, etc.
We’ve had such a warm winter that some flowers have already started blooming.
This picture is hysterical to me! Lyra wasn’t grumping, I just caught her as she was turning toward me in an off moment. Still, I love her little grumpy expression!
Such a sweet picture of my two oldest girls!
Look at all the daffodils blooming!
Mary’s 8th Birthday!!!
Mary’s first sight of the Birthday table!
She received our usual three presents from us. This year we got her a table top loom, a crafting kit with four different small crafts and a new bike!
The table top loom.
Lyra apparently felt left out of the picture taking because she started saying “eeese! eeese!” (cheese!) How could I help but take a picture of her?
We had our normal Birthday dinner with family and close friends. Then, after dinner, Mom took the girls upstairs to change them into pink princess dresses and keep them occupied for a few minutes. Kip put the finishing touches on the cake (we couldn’t attach the fondant spout and handle until immediately before serving) and I worked on the icecream, whipped cream and sprinkles in chocolate bowls. Barbara, Meredith, Sarah & Mimi worked to help me change it into a surprise tea party. We quickly cleared the table and reset it with fresh white linens, tea cups and saucers, china, bowls of mints, a borrowed tea set and flowers. Mary was so surprised when she came back downstairs!
Mary’s Birthday Dinner: starting with Mary and going around the table to the left.
Mary, My Mom, Kip, Mr. Hicks (our piano teacher), Bob (Sarah’s new husband), Sarah, Mimi (Kip’s “mom”), PawPaw (Kip’s Dad), Savvy, Melodi (Kip’s sister), Tim (Melodi’s boyfriend), Nathan, Meredith (Barbara’s daughter), Barbara (long time family friend) and Lyra.
The Tea Pot Cake that Kip & I made.
Mary’s first sight of the cake! She was so thrilled!
Opening presents!
