One Year Old

This little boy turned one year old on April 14th

We (I) decided to do a themed party for Court based on the book Circus Caps For Sale mainly because I love the illustrations with their muted colors and because Court looks adorable in a newsboy cap. However, when I brought the book, and it's predecessor Caps For Sale home from the library, Luca really enjoyed them and as a result was a big help with choosing the decorations.

Of course the day of the party turned out to be a little (ahem) windy so I didn't do up the serving table like I had planned but we had our picnic area and drink station just as I envisioned. The best thing about the decor was that when I sat Court down on the blankets he put his hands together and started "ooooh"-ing and "ahhhh"-ing at everything. Made me so happy! Then he promptly began trying to pull the pennant banner down....

Luca and Naomi

Luca picked out the lion drinks for the kids (red for girls, orange for boys) and my Mom's trunk and the small green one from Joe's Grandma made great tables. (And I scored the smaller tub at Goodwill for $1!)

The adorable newsboy cap and the adorable little boy who thinks caps are for throwing:

 

 The adorable big sister who knows how to pose for a picture and keep a cap on,

 Food & Guests

 Eating his hotdog and 3 bean salad

 Sweet Isla Rae

 I garnered cake inspiration from Pinterest copying the pennant banner and spray painting cheap plastic animals gold. Then with a ziploc baggie, some melting chocolate and lot of experimentation I managed to get Court's name and some fun squiggles for toppers. I love the way they came out. Kind of a Classy/Vintage Circus.

 

  

Due to dropping temperatures and the aforementioned wind, we moved the party inside for cake. 

 

 Court likes cake. A lot. We finally had to take it away from him, he just kept stuffing handful after handful into his cheeks. As it turns out I didn't quite stop him soon enough because as soon as I had him wiped down, he threw up. Clean clothes and a cup of water set him to rights and he was ready to finish out the party and open his presents. Lots of noise-making, boyish presents. He was in heaven.

 A Circus Party completed! (And did you notice the happy absence of clowns? Excepting Luca, Isaiah, Miya, Cole, Noah and a few un-named Daddies of course.)

Writing & Drawing

 Four weeks ago, Luca drew her first (as far as I know) human figure. I walked by the table and was shocked! She had only just begun to "stay within the lines" when coloring so to see a recognizable person with a rainbow dress on was pretty amazing. (And no, I don't think she's left-handed...she seems to use both hands equally for drawing but predominantly the right for writing.) Notice rainbow girl has eyeshadow to match her dress...

 Soon after that lovely person, Luca drew this funny guy (love the eyebrows and nose) "standing in the sun with his friends".

And then her first family portrait (Daddy and Court have the spiky hair).

More recently we've seen Angels,

Spiders (happy spiders) in the grass. Luca always includes dirt beneath her grass.

and hand prints, tracing around her fingers all by herself. (Yes, her hands end up with more color on them than the paper does.) I pointed out that sometimes hand prints can look like birds and she filled one in as such.

And this is a painting of an eye that I love because it looks very "Ancient Egyptian" to me.

A few weeks ago I brought out some magnetic letters for Luca to play with. She had been very particular about always having her name written on the back of her drawings and was beginning to write legible L's and U's. (Court is, as you can imagine, very helpful with magnets.)

 

What I expected the magnets to be used for was things like this: (an angel and a flower)

What has happened though is that Luca has become obsessed with letters. She writes her name on everything and can now also write my name and Joe's and if I spell it for her, Court's. 

Exhibit A:

She made her name out of sticks (completely unprompted and without help):

 And last weekend she asked me "what letters make Isaiah's name and Miya's name?" so from across the room I spelled them.  (If she can't remember how to write a letter she runs to the fridge and grabs the right magnet and traces it, that's why the "M" has to perfectly symmetrical humps.)

Exhibit B:

 

 It is so incredible how quickly little minds can soak up knowledge. Now whenever we drive around town I hear questions from the backseat like "what letters are that red sign about?" and "what letter is a wrong U and a long line?" (answer to that one: an "h". I figured out that "wrong U" meant "upside down U")

Needless to say, the markers and a substantial stack of paper are never far from the dining room table these days.

Easter

 Getting ready for church in the morning, Luca and I in our curlers. Hers to get the "sock-curls" she loves so much and mine to straighten my hair which is confusing to a three year old. Regardless, she was excited that we "matched".

 Special cupcakes that Luca and I made with our neighbors. We also did butterfly cupcakes with wings made of chocolate dipped pretzels but those got eaten before I realized I hadn't snapped any pics of them...

 Court's first egg hunt. It took him .02 seconds to realize there was candy inside those eggs and to figure out how to open them.

 Luca is very adept at egg hunting and kindly gave any empty ones she found to her brother.

 And even though the day was sugar-crash-teary....

 

We still managed to get one picture with everyone smiling,

Happy Easter!

"But He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name. So that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father." 

Phillipians 2:7-11

Too Cute to Pass Over

I'm hoping to get caught up to Court's birthday but I can't resist putting these pictures up first.

This is Luca "Cinderella" helping me scrub the kitchen cabinets. She had to use the pink washcloth and wear her flower apron (a vintage find from a flea-market that I just love) and I have to say she was very thorough and quite intent on her job. For a short time anyway. She scrubbed exactly one cabinet before deciding it was more fun to watch bubbles appear and dissolve in the bucket than it was to actually clean....ah well, it was a good introduction.


Court is turning out to be just as fond of hiding places as his big sister is. He sat and played here with some blocks for quite a while before he realized I was watching him. Pretty cute (as long as he doesn't mess with the cords and cables per Daddy's instruction)!

 A new skill for Little Man is "talking" on the phone. Really all he does is swipe a phone, press a button and hold it up to his ear (or neck) but it's pretty adorable.

 This is how I found Luca Bean one afternoon during nap time. She and her animals, Blendiss, Thumper and Madi were having a "sitting party". Luca still has nap time every day but only actually sleeps during them about twice a week, the rest are used for quiet play and I think she enjoys it as much as I do. Side note: Thumper as a bunny's name is fitting especially knowing 'Bambi' is a favorite around here. Madi, for the pink seahorse I understand although even after I reminded Luca that we "already have a Madi" she promptly said she "needs two Madis" so we deal with the occasional confusion. The name that I can't explain is Blendiss. It came out of nowhere, I originally thought she was just experimenting with sounds and would mix it up but no, Blendiss has been the blue seahorse's name for several weeks. I even get corrected on pronunciation (there seems to be a slight lingering on the 'n') so it must be here to stay. Love this little girl!