And then you were six

Dearest Lena,

And then you were six!! You are our beautiful, brave, vivacious girl who feels deeply and loves hard.  You are growing in leaps and bounds right now and have become a great reader this past school year.  You are playing the piano and have a lovely singing voice.  You love your chickens, your sisters, listening to music and playing in the mud kitchen.  As has been your whole life, you still love to eat!! 

You are sensitive to so many things and I marvel at how God will use you in His kingdom.  We are so proud of you and thank God for you. We love you deeply. Happy Birthday.  

Nine months

Phoebe turned nine months during the coronavirus lockdown and although it makes me sad that we've not been able to share her joy and accomplishments with our friends and family she's blossomed nonetheless and I want to mark and remember all of these moments, even though life is not how we might wish it to be right now.  

Phoebe's ninth month marks a word explosion!! She has quite the vocabulary already: Mama, Dada, Lena, Kitty Cat, Bye, Hi, Night Night, Aye Aye, All Done.  She likes to use 'all done' when we tell her it's bedtime. She's a monkey girl with so much energy we can hardly keep up.  Moving and jumping and exploring, she is busy.  She has taken steps but isn't pursuing walking at the moment since she can speed crawl throughout the house.  Her latest joys include digging dirt out of house plants, playing notes on the piano, singing along with bedtime songs, eating food all day long, giving snuggles swinging in the back yard and going for stroller rides.  At the moment it seems she loves vegetables: beans, potatoes, carrots.  She appears to have a banana allergy so we're avoiding that! She is a dear girl and we love her so.

He is risen

He is risen! This was certainly the most unusual Easter but we celebrated the risen Savior nonetheless. On Friday we started out the day with a performance of the St. John Passion by Bach from Leipzig and then "traveled" to our church and to other churches with live stream services.  On Easter we dressed fancy and feasted while celebrating all day long. How important is hope during these difficult times? It is everything and we hope in a risen Lord, rejoicing always in His victory over the grave. 

Eight Months

Our little Birdie is 8 months old! This month marks a lot of new explorations and we can hardly keep up with our Phoebe girl.  Phoebe now speed crawls, stands up on her own and has taken a few steps. She is very interested in pulling everything off shelves, eating every tiny item she can locate and is ever so proud of her accomplishments.  She also understands the word "No" and is testing that one with the cat food dish.  Our darling girl is in 6-9 month clothing and wore her first pair of shoes. She still loves paper and faces but is branching out to enjoy listening to music, watching the chickens and turning pages of books. She does not want to sit still. She is still not a fan of sleep and has four teeth! She loves to eat and wants to try what we are eating. She seems to love applesauce and vegetables, especially squishing peas. She has no idea of the world pandemic that is happening as she grows and so we just cherish each quiet moment at home with her and with her big sisters who love her dearly. 

February Happenings and a Trip Through the Wardrobe

In other news, the big sisters have been equally busy growing and learning.  February is flying by with many happenings including lots of cooking, growing crystals and making neckalces, terrarium building, piano practice and a Narnia themed feast on Valentine's Day with good friends.  Our trip through the wardrobe came after finishing the first two books. We had such fun decorating our home to look like Narnia and created a four course meal with stops at the White Witch's sleigh, tea with Mr. Tumnus, dinner with the Beavers and Aslan's Victory Feast. We're onto the next book and look forward to many more themed dinners. Although the weather has been odd this winter, we've stayed busy and cozy, and have ventured outside for sunshine many a day.