Levi Marshall is Two!

 Our little man is two! It feels like just yesterday that we waited and waited for Levi's arrival.  And now time goes too fast. He is in a very sweet phase with an overflowing vocabulary and his little baby voice.  A few current favorites are: "I need some draws" (pencils), I'm Wuvi (levi), boomberries (blueberries), "pupcake" (cupcake)  He is a cuddle bug when tired and wants to be attached like a barnacle to mama or papa.  He does not like getting a hair cut. This last month his favorite thing might be reading his books by himself. He has discovered our home library and has been sorting through books within his reach searching for tractor or train books. Richard Scarry books are a current favorite. He is fascinated by people and their jobs and when we go to the farm to get our milk he says "lets go to the farmer"! He likes firemen a lot right now.  He seems to have tonal memory and sings songs back exactly how he heard them in a piano lesson or violin practice.  He loves to say his ABC's and push carts or strollers around the house in this long winter. He also loves riding his bike! Levi adores all sisters right now and turns to the big sisters for comfort and sympathy and Phoebe for dancing and make believe.  Levi loves Thomas the train and friends and drives them all over the house.  He loves Humpty Dumpty, planets and the book Don't be Nosy, Posy. He thinks rhyming words are funny.  Levi is trying the potty with success! He has a tender little heart that notices when someone is sad or naughty. He'll even let you know if the kitty has shown a temper. He learned to pray and say the name Jesus and points to the stained glass window at church.  He still does not like to sleep and I'm not sure if he ever will.  His favorite food seems to be Greek Chicken Soup and frozen mango.  Happy birthday to our little man, and my baby! May the Lord bless you and keep you always. May you know blessings and joy and health all your days. 

Five and a half

Our Phoebe bird is five and a half.  She is a spunky and bright little lady who is busy as a bee learning piano and recorder. She's also learning to read.  She loves playing dolls and calico critters and in the mud kitchen creating flower feasts. Her favorite foods are asparagus, peppers, cucumbers and pancakes. She strongly dislikes carrots. She is quite the artist and enjoys drawing people.  She loves listening to audio books and music and has a really great sense of pitch and rhythm.  Phoebe is a deep thinker and asks many questions about the world and herself. She's learning French and German and solfége. She still wants to play the trumpet and her favorite treat is watching concerts with various orchestra or band instruments. We love our girl so much and can't believe how fast she is growing up.  

 

Twenty Three Months

Levi is 23 months old!  He is growing so much and is trying so hard to be a little person like his siblings.  He loves to pretend now and loves to "go to the concert" or "blast off", he likes to "go fishing" in his box boat and play with trains.  He knows his train names and talks to them as he sets them up throughout the house.  His vocabulary is quite extensive and he can be extremely chatty, especially at bedtime.  Some new favorites are singing along with his nighttime songs, helping himself to food ("I eat") from the pantry and sitting through entire church services! Levi loves to wear sweaters and slippers. He likes to help wash Phoebe's hair and is only a moderate fan of the snow. He does naughty deeds but tells you right away "pull Wendell tail and she scratch you". He is fascinated by the moon and had his first tea. He thinks the squirrels stealing the bird seed are hilarious. He especially loves to sweep the crumbs on the floor.  Trains are possibly surpassing tractors in current fascination. But it's a close race. He says I love you now (I wuv ooh) and he says his name (Wuvi).  He needs his kitty for snuggles. He loves to put things together and take them apart. He is starting to recognize some numbers. He loves yogurt, soup, cashews and chocolate. It's hard to believe that 2 years ago I was anticipating his birth, thinking he was going to come early.  Little did I know how late he would be. We love you little one. Here's to one more month of being a one year old. 

 

Deep Winter

I don't know about you but it's deep winter here and we've been hibernating.  Days are spent in imaginary worlds with tea and book breaks sprinkled here and there. We've been studying World War 1 and also Hungary and Austria around the beginning of the War.  In light of that we met with friends for a geography dinner (another in our series of Around the World in 80 dinners) and the children dressed up as best they could to look like Austrians.  We took a field trip to the Apple Butter Factory and  had our yearly History Meal. This time we cooked a World War II meal that included Leek soup, Welsh cakes (Bara Brith), Spam, Anzac Biscuits. We were dressed up in the style of evacuees (the children). We've had snow around for a while and freezing temps that have required full time wood stove attention and chicken care.  But a few days were especially fun and Narnia like.  (Otherwise we're pretty much ready for spring). Levi's latest favorite thing is carrying around cases of any kind. He loves to carry the violins (he calls them his cello) or lunchbox and feels like a big boy!! 

 

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Twenty Two Months

 This busy little boy is 22 months old.  He makes us laugh so much.  Right now he says "Merry Christmas trees".  His favorite things include salad tongs, flashlights, drills and magnets.  One just has to wonder what is going on inside his little mind.  He loves pickles, bologna, yogurt, bananas and whipped cream. He does not like being cold or sitting still.  He goes to sleep with "kitty" and holding 2 pacifiers (not to suck on, just to hold, mind you).  He loves reading books. He is fascinated by smells and after having a skunk spray in our yard he remarks "stinks like skunk" whenever he smells something he doesn't like.  Recently he's been enjoying cooking with mama but not as much as he enjoys helping Papa with tools and repairs. He is growing up so much and yet still happily cuddles up like a baby.  He is in size 24 month clothing and size 7 shoes.  His hair grows very fast and is still quite blond.  His favorite song now is Jesus loves me and he requests it at night "how aboup Jesus?" Indeed little man!!! Here's to just a little bit more of being one year old.  

Catching up

Our Autumn was full and overflowing with busy and good days. We had trio and ballet rehearsals, dressing up, hikes with friends, science experiments, painting and lots of canning of applesauce.  We've been meeting for nature journaling with friends and making candles and salves as we prepare to hibernate for the winter.  We also had to say goodbye to our beloved kitty Maggie (Marguerite) after an illness and we miss her terribly. Now we begin to prepare for Advent and quiet our hearts as we gravitate to sit by the warm fire and drink tea.