Whale of a Good Costume

Due to a broken camera I had no pictures of my own to post from Halloween!
A friend just sent some to me and now I can post the kids out trick-or-treating in their costumes. I have to admit, Anders costume looks fabulous considering I was certain it was going to be a fiasco. Anna ambitiously worked for weeks with Anders and the costume morphed a few times into this final and lovely great blue whale. They even worked it out so that candy could be easily dropped into the mouth of the whale. Kuba, as you can see, is dressed in a really simple monkey costume that I made out of a brown fleece pant and jacket set with cute monkey ears and a long monkey tail...it was simple and sort of looks that way in these photos. But...the good part was that it was really easy for him to walk around in...Anders had a bit of a hard time making his way onto porches, etc.
But who cares about that if you look that good as a whale?

My almost Three Year Old

Kuba will be three soon and as happy as I am about him growing up, I am also a little bitter sweet about how quickly he seems to be growing. He really is growing in leaps and bounds.

I find Kuba to be a remarkable child. I am fascinated by how his mind moves at the speed of light, and at times how his little body does too. I love how language is so much a part of his experience; exploring things verbally and right out loud is so necessary for him. He is one bright boy. He has a lot to say and anyone who doesn't take the time to listen to him is really missing something. This boy is one fun little ball of light.

I love how much passion he feels- about a bug, a leaf, a book, a particular food, and even about NOT DOING something.

I love how capable he is with his body, and simultaneously how hard it is for him to manage his impulses - especially when he is all worked up about something.

I love the sound of his voice and his beautiful singing. I love his brilliant imagination as well. You should hear him tell a story, make up a song, or create an imaginary scenario with his toy animals.
He is extroverted, hysterical, and charming...and at times uncompromising.
Kuba is not easy to distract or divert. When he says no, he means no. This is a bit of a parenting challenge to say the least. He's sharp and demanding and he keeps me on my parenting toes. For sure this little boy is my teacher.

And of course, I think he is absolutely beautiful. I mean, just take one look at him. I feel an insane amount of love for him.

Here's to a very happy year three my little boy!

Puffy Head....M.I.A.

We lost one of our chickens this weekend....a mystery for sure.
She was the Polish chicken, tan and beautiful with a big plume of feathers bursting from the top of her head. She's the chicken on the left in the photo. She was also the chicken the other chickens like to peck, the one at the bottom of the pecking order. I felt a little protective of her. And then she vanished.

Clues:
A bunch of tan and white feathers found by the chicken coop.
A very big, round raccoon on our barn roof.
Two children convinced that "she either ran away or the raccoon ate her up, either one..."ran away or eaten up...eaten up or ran away" This was a big part of the weekend conversation.

I was really looking forward to seeing her green eggs. Supposedly, the shell of the eggs she laid was going to be the same color as her feet. She had beautiful green feet.

So long sweet Puffy Head - R.I.P.

Nothing at all to do with my life with boys....

But everything to do with what I find beautiful! I have to say that this photo is so stunning I just have to post it! Check out this link for more photos!
www.theadventurelife.org/2010/09/the-mad-crazy-badass-delivery-bikes-of-china/

Kid Song

Anna took Kuba to Shelburne Farms today and at one point they were sitting on the south side of the farm barn; it was sunny but cold. All the chickens were congregating near the rock foundation to stay warm. Kuba was watching the chickens, and spotted a barred chicken walking in a ray of sun. He started singing "You're a freckly chicken, you're a freckly chicken and you're shining brightly..." in a lovely little tune, with his lovely little 2 year old voice, with an emphasis on the word SHIIIINING. From Anna's retelling this to me, it sounded so sweet.

Taiko, Butterflies, and Story Telling

We had quite the weekend.

It started on Friday night when the boys celebrated their 2 week residency at school with the Taiko Drummers. A whole school evening concert was rainy, but fanatastic!
See the link below for detailed photo's of the eveing event.
http://samsimonimaging.zenfolio.com/p985638542


The next event was the bursting chrysalis and the emerging monarch butterfly! It has been so much fun watching and waiting for the butterfly! Happy trails little fella!

And the grand finale was a neighborhood story telling in our barn. It's something we'd like to do on a regular basis, and tonights kick off was a real blast!

Training Wheels...Be Gone!

The Boys Got Into My Jewelrybox

Complimentary Colors

I had so much fun taking these photo's of Jakob.

Serious Happiness

Can you really put those 2 words together??

Yet that is how it is. I am seriously happy.

And it's not like anything is really perfect; Jakob is in a transitional phase marked by unpredictable behavior bordering on tantrums, our house is in a perpetual state of needing something, we really don't have any money, yet...still, all is okay.

I think that this deep state of contentment comes from making a really big and powerful commitment to myself (which I did right around my birthday.)
I think I just had to get serious.
And of course that made me really happy.