I Spy a Four Year Old!

Birthday morning surprise!

(hehehe… except he was up before me so I made him pose during nap time to get this shot!!)

I spy fourteen FOURS!  Can you spot them all?  Cake design a la big sister.

Washing the cake toppers.

Toys in the sink are some much more fun than dishes aren’t they?!  :)

Poor fella had to make his own cake!

Doesn’t he look upset?  This was his A-number-one-project for the day.

You would not believe how excited he was to successfully crack his very own egg!

Birthday frosting licks are the best.

Big huge BIRTHDAY wishes to the boy who brings huge doses of sunshine and laughter to our everyday!

We love you, Blaise!

xoxoxoxoxox

The Great Pumpkin Scavenger Hunt

Nobody makes it feel like FALL like Charlie does!

Clues for the HUNT!

I needed an excuse to use these vintage (circa 1980s) LOOT BAGS.  Vintage to me is 1980s and earlier… hehehehe…

Next year, if I’m feeling really motivated, I might hide the DVD, loot bags and clues INSIDE hallowed out pumpkins!!  Sounds like a lot of work, huh?  Maybe I could get double use and use the clue pumpkins to serve  movie treats too.  Pumpkin ice cream, perhaps?!

Up up up in the tree!!

This was our movie “snack mat” from last year.

Happy Fall!

Hope you enjoy every single second of this beautiful & fun season!

September

September was a great month for…

…this!

…turning 41!

Doesn’t every birthday girl need a couple of Jim Henson cupcakes?

…wheelbarrow rides and making “one last” mud pie in the garden!

…dirty birdies.

He was quite grumpy that I insisted on taking this picture before bath time, but I still love it so!

…reading & coffee at the park.

Okay this picture was from August, but I had to sneak it in.  :)

…cozy afternoon naps.

She actually takes a nap now!!!

…sending off her very first letter.

Envelope reads To My Pen Pal Madeline.

Emerson painstakingly decorated this envelope with all of her favorite tapes.  She makes me smile every single day.

I pray you’ve had a joyful & meaningful September.

THREE huge cheers for OCTOBER!!!!!!

Here we come!

xoxoxoxoxo!

 

248-296

A picture-a-day for Frankie’s first year!

Days 248-296…


Huge hugs and kisses from FRANKIE!

xoxoxoxoxo!

First Adventure of Fall

Okay— this really wasn’t an adventure…

but then again, maybe it was!

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. 

Mary Anne Evans (George Eliot)

…  

Our neighborhood is surrounded by cornfields.  Once in a while I think it’s so nice to hit pause button and take an hour or so to enjoy the overlooked beauty that we are blessed enough to have in our very backyard.  (and well, we thought it would be fun to collect food for the squirrels!)  There is something so magical about the golden glow of the fields and they are really are fun to explore.

  Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. 

Stanley Horowitz

I hope you had a BEAUTIFUL first day of FALL!

xoxoxoxox

Yo Ho Ho

Happy Talk Like a Pirate Day!!  

 Pirate Tic-Tac-Toe

Why are Pirates called Pirates?

They just Arrrrrrr.

 Lunch Matey?

Pirate WORD Ship

(I made this ‘chalk-board’ a couple years ago by spray painting a decorative, cardboard ship from a party supply store.)

I’m sure it doesn’t surprise you that Arrrrrr costume box has a pirate outfit or two!

xoxoxoxox!

Frankie Stein

I couldn’t wait a second longer to bring out the Frankie box!  When we first did a “Frankie theme” in 2010 our little Frankie wasn’t even on our radar.  Now we have a real-life Frankie to help us get in the mood for FALL!  Today I added some new surprises to our box and I checked out a couple of books at the library.  I like to introduce “monsters” early in season…  before all the ultra-scary Halloween decorations come out in the stores.  (Any excuse to start FALL fun is enough for me!)   Crafts and books really seem to reinforce that monsters and all the Halloween characters just PRETEND and just for FUN!

Be afraid.  Be very afraid.  This monster is on the crawl.

New & Old Frankie Fun

Paint Chip Frankie (2010)

Before bed tonight we did a Franken-wrap.  I should have caught these guys on video, it was so funny.  I think this is their favorite fall game!

Mason was gone for this and when he returned and spotted these pictures on the computer he immediately asked if we could do it again tomorrow!

“I can’t believe I missed that!!!!”  Who knew a roll of streamers could be so much fun?!

Frankie’s Snack Lab (2010)

My favorite Frankensteins EVER!

Happy almost FALL!!!

xoxoxoxoxo!!

 

Sprinkles

Sprinkles.

Coloring & cuddling in bed with these guys.

His sense of humor.

Moments where I am totally aware of what really matters.

Her creativity.

Her eye lashes.

So thankful for these life sprinkles.

God bless! xoxoxoxo!