First Tooth Lost

I was not prepared for A to start losing teeth this early. When she came to me to show off her wiggly tooth I was in denial. But sure enough, two weeks later out it came. I wish I was more prepared though. I wanted to make it so much more magical for her. I had plans to make a special Tooth Fairy box but A told me her tooth didn't need a box, it only goes under her pillow. So that's where the Tooth Fairy found it. A was thrilled with her special surprise from her fairy friend.

Easter Weekend

 

 

It's been a wonderful weekend. The sun was shining and we had lots of time with family. For a week before we have been working on special little things for this weekend. A has been painting eggs of all sorts, she made a wreath for our door, we planted some flowers seeds and I busied myself with stitching felt eggs and dying eggs with natural dyes.

I do feel bad that I didn't get to hand make something for my children's baskets. I decided to keep them simple. I got each of them a little story book, sidewalk chalk, homemade playdough with a spring cookie cutter, bubbles, a silly straw and I was so glad to find some organic, fair trade dark chocolate bunnies. Even with these fun little things, their favorite item this to play with this weekend were the baskets and the wool felt Easter eggs I made a few years ago. They have been hiding and finding eggs all weekend.

We closed our weekend with a beautiful and delicious dinner with my parents. My children love their grandparents so much so a dinner with them any time is special. We dressed up, used the nice plates and made all those amazing dishes that are too time consuming to make on weeknights. I'm looking at these pictures and smiling. It was such a lovely weekend.

His Second

I'm sure I say this every time one of my children has a birthday but I can't believe it's been a year already. Little F is two! Seems like it was not that long since I was curling up in the very bed he was born in, snuggling his sweet, rosy, tiny newborn body and inhaling that intoxicating new baby scent. There are still days when he in lying in my arms, quietly nursing and gazing into my eyes, that I can only see that little baby. Other days, he is such a big boy. He loves to be my helper, climb and run. He loves cats, trucks and being in water. He is A's biggest fan and loves his grandma to bits. I don't think I could possibly love him more.

Since he really loves his family most of all, we kept his birthday low-key. A, F and I went to the store and got him his favorite snacks for lunch (seaweed chips and cantaloupe) and got him a couple birthday balloons. He's been really struggling with an inflamed airway so stayed home in the afternoon. Grandma came to visit and F got to open his few, special presents. Mom and Dad got him a running bike! Grandma got him a special chair of his very own for camping and a sweet little toy. I think he loved the cards more though. A made him a very special card. She used almost all of her favorite stickers she had been saving. Little gestures of love like that fill my heart with so much happiness.

A Lot of Love

I love Valentine's Day. For us it is a day to focus on filling the love cup of those we love the most. Valentine's Day isn't about the romance or even the commercialism but it's about love. In our home, it's actually Love Day. Just days after A's birthday she was asking to get ready for Valentine's Day so we had plenty of time to do lots of little fun things.

The first thing we did was make some special mailboxes for little love notes. I found a kit that had everything we needed. A did the decorating for both her and her brother. In the spirit of the day, A had wanted to make treats to share with her friends at school. I didn't want to do any food type treats so we did felt butterflies that held a Valentine pencil. She had so much fun she made enough for each of her classmates to have two, plus her teachers and her friend next door! F wouldn't be excluded though, he joined us at the table and made some very sweet heart pictures. Finally, A had asked for something sparkly to decorate her room with. Instead of indulging in glitter, we made Borax crystal hearts then hung them above her bed. They were easy and fun. We stuck the hearts in the borax solution before bed and when she woke, A found they were covered with glistening crystals.

The night before Valentine's Day, I filled each child's mailbox with little love notes. I used fun stickers, wrote notes like "I love your laugh" and "I love your hugs", left little poems on paper hearts "I loved you before, I love you still, I always have, I always will".  They each got a Valentine's pencil for writing their own love notes and a Valentine's straw for a special treat (hot chocolate!). I found some organic dark chocolate hearts at the grocery store so they each got one and I whipped up two little love mice from some Kisses.  My sweet friend dropped off a book for each of them. It was a wonderful morning of reading love notes, sharing sweets, giving hugs, doing favors and spreading joy and love.