More decking of the halls...

Took down a few 'rest of the year' things and replaced them with Christmas items today.  

Some decorative, some FUNctional.  Some of the decorating is easy: place items in the same place as last year, and the year before, and the year before that...

May be boring but it sure is quick(er) and easy!

Daddy Buffalo decided to do something different in addition to the standard outside lights we've done for several years now.  You'd have thought we were setting up a winter wonderland the way the boys were jumping up and down with excitement.

Truly warmed my heart to see them so thrilled with simple lights on a tree.

And speaking of trees...

We got this one up.  With a 1 year old in the house I decided to leave off some of the more breakable ornaments.  Still lost one though.  Thanks to a little Buffalo my Ornament o' the Year for 1991 is now busted.  I think a little superglue will fix him right up (the ornament, not the kid), but sure hated having one go down.  And yes, I was briefly quite angry, but squelched it in record time.  Just didn't seem right to get mad at the kiddos over a silly tree celebrating the birth of the Savior.  Still.... I think I'll be even more selective of the ornaments I allow out for another couple of years!

Do you decorate?  Does everything go back to the same place each year, or do you like to mix it up?

Deck the halls. Or at least the kids!

This shirt was a gift from Daniel's Aunt Kristin.  It cracks me up!

Little Birdies Beware!

Today Alan came running from Brooklyn's room -where he and Dale were supposed to be putting away toys- calling me with some urgency to come look at the bird on the birdbath "with a white chest and brown spots."

Because he was so enthusiastic about it, I left what I was doing and went to the window in Miss B's room, expecting to see a little songbird.  But this is what I saw: 

I grabbed the camera and first took a picture through the screen and then started creeping closer and closer to our hawkish guest.  I was amazed at how close I was able to get before it flew away!

Thankful again to be home with my kiddos all day every day, and happy my boys enjoyed this unusual bird-sighting as much as I did!

Thanksgiving Happiness

Our days have been full this weekend.

Lots of visiting... lots of eating...

....a little bit of napping, and lots and lots of playing!

4 of the crew of 6 cousins

I hope you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.

I Chronicles 16:34

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

2 Corinthians 9:15

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:57

Backyard Campout

The boys have waited all fall to camp out in the backyard barn/playhouse with Daddy, and tonight was finally the night!

They gathered up pillows, sleeping bags, and books... 

 ...and headed out in their warmest pjs.

 Brooklyn went with me to take pics.  I love how she looked at them like they were crazy!

Then again, how would you look if you had this looking back up at you?

Aren't they attractive with their marshmallow stuffed mouths?

Just one more thing to be thankful for this week of Thanks Giving!

Did you see what I saw?

Before the event we went to almost 10 days ago gets any more stale, I want to show the pictures from the booth that was a favorite for all of us.

I would love the say something poignant and inspiring about brothers and working together and so on and so forth, but the tiniest buffalo brother has spent more time crying than not this evening, so creative writing just ain't gonna happen.  You and I are lucky at this point that coherent is happening.

With that said.... pictures!

Chaps...

Gloves...

Ready...

Pull!

Pull!

Getting closer...

Almost there...

The prize!

Proud of my muscle men. :)

1 Month!

Daniel turned 1 month old this week!

Things to note from our first month:

- His hair is not that funky orangey-green as the pic above shows.

It's a dark blonde, the lightest of any of our babies at birth.

- He is still nursing almost every 2 hours, 'round the clock.

- He likes to be in motion: bouncing, swinging, rocking.  

The bouncy seat and cradle are our best friends.

- Yesterday seems to be the day he 'woke up'.  Since then we've enjoyed several spells of him being more alert than before, and even smiling.  Don't tell us they're not real smiles.  We say we know a real smile when we see one!  Greg and I both had the same reaction to the new "awake" Daniel: "Welcome to the world!"

Change of Plans

I had several things I wanted to blog about tonight... a one-month post for Daniel, our favorite activities from last week's folk festival, and highlights from Alan's birthday party tonight.

But coming down with a fever between party time and bedtime wasn't in my plans.

Going to bed to rest, rest, rest, and I'll hopefully see y'all back here soon!

Tyler-isms

There is never a dull moment with that boy.  He keeps us laughing!

I have been putting this post off because there is always another Tyler story or two that I can't quite seem to bring to mind.  Finally I have realized there are always going to be more Tyler stories, and you all could be enjoying these now!

His name for his baby brother:
Danield Austim
(Pronounced Dan-yuled Aw-stem)

Eating soup:  We warned him it was hot but he didn't listen, and swallowed a bite of chicken.. whole.
I saw the swallow, and then his eyes got big, and a little watery, and in a semi-strained voice he said, "I ate my big chicken of hot!"


Then there was the day he found a Santa hat in the living room closet.  He wasted no time getting it on his head and parading through the house proclaiming, "Ho ho ho... Verrry Christmas!



There was this little gem of a conversation this afternoon:

Tyler: I want some of those things.
Me: What things?
Tyler: Some of those red things me and Alan had last night.
Me: Those are calld 'Skittles'.
Tyler. Oh. I want some 'Skillets'.

Another day Greg and I sat with Tyler all snuggled up and started trying to get him to count the people in our family.  

He can count, and he can name everybody, but getting him to count them as he named them was apparently too much of a hard concept.  

Greg would say, "How many kids live in this house?"

And Tyler would answer, "Dale and Tyler, and Alan and Brooklyn and Danield."  Half the time he would add on, "and Mama and Daddy."

Greg kept pressing, "So how many kids live in this house?"

To which Tyler finally replied, "A lot!"

Growing little men

Some while after sending the boys out to play in the beautiful birthday sunshine today, I was informed that....

..."Since Alan is 6 [today], we are trying to find hard and/or dangerous things [to do] and tough them out."

Sure enough, I could see they were climbing high and testing their limits.

Apparently our backyard couldn't contain them (or maybe I put a kink in their style when I wouldn't let them climb onto the shed roof), because before long they asked if we could go play at the park "for Alan's birthday."  

Their reasoning?  They could find much more adventurous dare-devil things to do there!

And so... we did.

Recently Greg and I over-heard an adult (female) admonishing a stick-waving little boy, "Put that down! It looks dangerous!"

Greg's comment to me (out of the woman's hearing) was, "I think that's the point!"

We want our boys to be wise, but to also be brave. To not be afraid of getting dirty, or even a little "bunged-up" if the situation calls for it.  How will they ever learn to be real MEN other-wise?

Something inside them calls them to push the limits.  To do things that look - and might be! - dangerous. 

 If climbing everything at the park builds their confidence and fills a little of that need, then it's worth an hour out of our day now and then.

 Full disclosure: I didn't get pictures of Tyler's most daring feat because both of my arms were fully extended over my head acting as his spotter.  But I didn't stop him or do it for him, and even if I don't have it recorded, his smile upon reaching his goal was priceless.

 I didn't know what I was getting into when God made me a Mama to boys.  But I'm honored to be along for the ride! 

Around the House Tuesday

I love making up the rules!

In the Fridge
Lots of good stuff!  Tuesday is Grocery Day, you know.  Plus we started stocking up this week on stuff I'll need for Thanksgiving recipes next week. Yay!

In the School Room
We are managing to get some math done this week.  Math because it's easy. Not for them, but for me.   I already have the lessons laid out and neither of them need a lot from me for math right now.  We're still picking at a few leftover Greece books, and we're doing a tiny bit of fun Thanksgiving stuff this week.

On the Menu
Wed - Alan's birthday - Sloppy Joes (but made from lentils... we loved them that way last time!) & french fries
Thursday - Quesadillas
Friday - Chili / Frito Pie
Saturday - BBQ Chicken & potato salad

In the Bookbasket
Thanksgiving books!

From the baby's room
Baby report: we've had some ups and downs.  The last 2 days have been up again.  On good and bad days he likes to cry for an hour or so in the evenings, right about the other kids' bedtimes.  Kind of throws a kink in our routines.  Newborn days are so fleeting.  That is both a good and a bad thing!

From the camera

Folk Festival Fun, Part 2

After the petting zoo we circled around to the many booths and sites set up outside.

Pony rides at the hitching post:

Visited with this guy about his wooden flutes:

Watched this lady weaving baskets.

(Which made me think of my friend Keri Mae - Hi, Keri!!)

Dale liked this one. "Take a picture of me with this basket."

Never to be outdone, Tyler grabbed the nearest basket.
"Take a picture of me with this basket, Mama!"

Dale and Alan got to help make their own ropes:

Watching a blacksmith at work:

Admiring the wooden toys for sale:

Greg, Dale, and Alan participated in a 15 minute dulcimer lesson.  This is Dale's picture of the dulcimer he played.

There are no pictures of the lesson because I was several yards down the way nursing Daniel in a most conspicuous walkway.  The least private nursing session I've ever had, but I could find no alternatives!

So Tyler and I sat together while I avoided eye contact with passers-by and filled up little Daniel.

Meanwhile, Brooklyn was still strapped to Greg's front and was getting antsy.  As soon as I knew Daniel was full enough, I grabbed the stroller and Tyler and went to rescue Greg.  Or Brooklyn.  Depends on how you want to look at.

For about 30 seconds (that seemed a lot longer!) we made quite a scene (that included me overturning the -empty!- stroller) before we could make our escape.  Once back outside in the cool air my crew of littles and I were calm and happy again while the guys finished their lesson.

One more Folk Festival post coming later this week with pictures of our most favorite two hands-on activities of the day!