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!

Avatar Picture

Here is the picture I typically use as my avatar.

9/2/2007-  Mary was 3 1/2 years old, Nathan was 2 1/2 years old and Savvy was just 2 weeks old!   It was a busy time for us with a new baby, etc. so Kip & I thought we’d do something fun with the two big kids.   We set them up with paints on the back deck and let them go to town.   Mary clapped her hand onto her forehead and then her cheeks, a la the kid in the Home Alone movie.   I snapped a picture in that one perfect moment!   I love this picture- it is so funny to me!

Tea Party

 

Saturday, December 3: While the men were at work, we ladies had a tea party.  Strawberry lemonade & Pepperidge Farm gingerbread cookies.    Such a perfect Saturday morning with my favorite girls. 

 

 

End of summer, vol. 2.

September 1, 2011-  Last day at the pool!

Lyra- 17 months, Nathan- 6 1/2, Savannah- 4, Mary- 7 1/2.    Look how cute they are!!    I sure do love my crew!

Sweet sisters…

School…

Mary… setting up “school” and reading a story to the youngers.   8/12/2011

Baking with Helpers

August 3- Baking day with the girls…

Nature Table…

 

(June 14, 2011)

The kids have recently been really enjoying bird watching.  After observing a Tufted Titmouse Mary asked if she could draw one.  I got out Great Gramma Mary’s bird books & the water color pencils & let her have a go at it.    She did a beautiful job.

 

Great Gramma Mary Caster’s bird books…

 

Something I’ve long wanted to do was a nature table where the children can display all the things they find & collect from outside.  But with no covered porch there really has been no good place to have a nature table.  Then I stumbled across THIS POST!  I couldn’t get to Wal-Mart fast enough to buy a cheap 10 gallon fish tank.   Then the next day I found this little knick-knack box for $3 at a yard sale.  Add a cheap little vase and voila- we have our own version of a nature table!

 

 

Clearly, the children have enjoyed filling it up quickly.  There is driftwood and seashells on the left from our trip to Emerald Isle in May.  That is a snake skin from one of our neighbors on the right.    And lots of interesting rocks, shells, seed pods, leaves, pinecones, etc.

The two jars hold rock collections.

 

A basket holds nature journals for Mary & Nathan and all of our reference books- the standard Comstock that most homeschool Moms own, books on shells, trees, butterflies, rocks & of course, Gramma’s bird books.

 

 

Verbal Snapshot

I like to do these quick verbal snapshots of the kids every so often.

June 22, 2011- Lexington, NC

Mary- 7 years old.   As my Dad said yesterday “she’s such a dollbaby!”.   This is such a perfect description of Mary!  She is just such a nice kid.   She likes everybody, she’s so friendly and just loves meeting people and talking to them.   I think this is one of her most lovely traits.   She continues to really enjoy art- she draws as often as she can, loves to paint, make pot holders, etc.  I’d like to teach her some simple embroidery this summer.   She’s finishing up first grade and did a very good job this year.  Her reading is really improving and she loves to do math.   I would say that her biggest struggle is learning to put things away completely- she is great at cleaning up…until you look more closely and realize that while things LOOK neat & tidy she has not really put things away in their proper place.

Nathan- 6 years old.   He is a talker.  Heaven help us, he talks non-stop, all the time, all day long, more than his three sisters combined!   One thing is for sure, his wife will never complain that he doesn’t talk to her or she doesn’t know what he’s thinking!    Nathan loves science and wants to know the how & why of everything.   He continues to adore Lyra and wait on her hand-and-foot.   There is a reason she is 15 months old and not walking yet.  ;)    There just really isn’t a need with her own personal servant waiting on her 24/7.   I really love to see his tender side come out with Lyra.   She had her 15 month appointment yesterday and Nathan was NOT happy with the nurse for giving “his” baby 3 shots and making her cry.   Nathan needs to work on self-control in a major way- with his mouth and his actions.   I think we will be talking about and memorizing James 3 this year.  heh.   His impulsiveness gets him in trouble- he does things he knows are wrong, and he’s always sorry later but he has a very difficult time doing the right thing *in the moment*.

Savvy- 3 years old.  FEISTY.   I had a good laugh the other day when my friend said that Savannah doesn’t know her place in the family- she acts like a typical first born child, not the third!     For sure, no one is going to push this girl around.    Like all good Fairchilds, she is a terrible tease.   The problem is in teaching her that there is a time and a place for it and knowing when to quit.    She started preschool a few weeks ago and just loves to do her “school work”.    She picks up so much just by listening to us- she can know recite Galatians 5:22-23 (The Fruit of the Spirit) and just this morning she recited Christina Rosetti’s “Let’s Be Merry” and “What Do They Do?”- two of her favorite poems.  She also knows “Grizzly Bear” and Ogden Nash’s “The Panther”.

Lyra- 15 months.  She is FAST.  The minute she hears an open gate she is out of it like a streak of lightning and heading for either the stairs (which she can climb in about 3 seconds), or the bathroom.   She just started standing up on her own and using the ottoman or the walker to push around the living room.  If we can get Nathan to stop fetching for her all the time, I think she would start walking pretty soon.   She has the most glorious nut brown skin- and the more time we spend at the pool, the browner she gets, even with sunscreen.  I love it.    She is delightful baby- I could have a hundred more like her!

Sunday, 4/24/2011
We’ve been studying The Boston Tea Party- reading about it, watching a Liberty’s Kids video on it, etc. While Kip & I were inside and the little girls were napping, Mary & Nathan grabbed a Sharpie Marker & decided that they were going to “put on a show” (act out) about The Boston Tea Party. They made themselves into “Mohawks” like the colonists did… Good Heavens. And on Easter Sunday, 90 minutes before we’re supposed to leave for evening church- what a mess!

Girls Day Out

4/22/2011- BUILD-A-BEAR!

On Friday, 4/22 I took Mary & Savvy out for a girls day out.  Mary still had birthday money for Build-A-Bear and Savannah had never been before, so off we went.   The girls had an absolutely glorious time!       Then it was out for shoe shopping as Mary’s crocs had literally blown out in the front & her toes were hanging out!  Savannah’s crocs were several sizes to small so they were both due a new pair.    Then we went out to lunch at Chick-Fil-A and came home.  A very nice morning!

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