reading right now

since ezra has been sleeping in the big kids' room, aaron and i have been really enjoying reading in bed again!  i still haven't graduated to reading anything too substantial, but i'm enjoying some lighter reads.  i've been mixing it up between classic YA books and a few humorous non-fiction types.  in the YA category are:

the extraordinary education of nicholas benedict by trenton lee stewart (the newest one in this series, which is great)
breadcrumbs by anne ursu
counting by 7s by holly goldberg sloan
flora and ulysses by kate dicamillo
and next on the docket is to reread the giver series by lois lowry.  (she has a newish book in the series that i haven't read yet.)

in the funny non-fiction category are:

my heart is an idiot by davy rothbart (which i loved!  so funny and good!  i also saw him read recently at our local bookstore.  he's great.)
is everyone hanging out without me? by mindy kaling (so funny!)
dad is fat by jim gaffigan (laugh out loud funny!!)
let's explore diabetes with owls by david sedaris (a bit more serious, but honest and touching)

for read-aloud time as a family we've been mixing in more chapter books with the picture books, and really enjoying the anticipation of what will come next.  our very very favorite new series has been the goony bird books by lois lowry.  she is such a funny and clever main character!!  the whole family loves them.  we've also listened to them all on audiobook (over and over!) and no one has tired of these stories yet.

other current favorites include the moffats, milly molly mandy and the noisy village stories.

for her birthday isla received:
anna the bookbinder
ivy loves to give
the ox-cart man
she is also loving the crafty chloe books

noah spent this weekend reading about 20 donald duck comic books from the library.  he thinks donald duck is so funny!  he is also still working his way through the set of jack and annie books from grandma louise.

ezra is an avid reader these days as well.  his favorites are simple board books with pictures he recognizes.  he really likes the dwell studios books (one on vehicles and one on food).  also anything with birds or planes!

aaron was reading the history of europe (but kept falling asleep!).  now he is reading a dan brown book that seems a bit more riveting.  and for his birthday irene and kevan gave him the book by nick offerman, so that will add some humor to the mix!

any recommendations from webside?

birthday buddies

isla is so lucky to have a birthday buddy who is a wonderful friend as well.  now she and autumn are at the same school!  they have had lots of fun and funny times together over the years.

dress-up time.  isla is of course an austere princess, and autumn is up for anything silly!

snuggled up together listening to sparkle stories.

all the below pictures were taken by christina on the girls' 5th birthday.  so cute!!

the below conversation was overheard while isla and autumn were coloring and i was preparing lunch.

autumn: i love school so much.  i love it more than anything in the whole world!  don't you, isla?  

isla: well, i love school, but i love crafting more.  

autumn: i think your teacher would be sad if she heard you say that, isla.  

me: what about crafting at school?  

girls: yes, that's the best thing in the whole world!

Isla's birthday party

we decided to keep things relatively simple this year for isla's birthday party (i.e. not have to clean the house!) and had her party at dancing for joy, the great dance studio where she and many of her friends take classes.  

we didn't really have a cohesive theme this year, but isla was clear she wanted ballet, strawberries, butterflies, flowers and a tea party to make their way into the festivities.  we put out a simple butterfly craft for the girls to decorate with stickers as they arrived.

thanks to grandma, yet again, for a beautiful cake-decorating job!

the lovely ladies chatting on the couch

after the craft the girls made their way into one of the studios, where mrs. v., (the owner of the school and a mom from noah's class) led the girls in a wonderful tea-party/obstacle course/ballet class.  she did a great job of incorporating all our random themes and keeping a dozen 5 year olds interested!  

a teddy bear tea party

practicing balance with the teddy bears

isla flying!  (photo from christina)

as a party gift isla and i made each girl a little notebook.  we just used pretty cardstock paper for the covers and put a few sheets of typing paper inside.  i sewed the middles on my widest stitch, and they came out fairly sturdy!  we added a pack of colorful pens with each.

i think everyone had a great time!  i for sure enjoyed not having to clean up before or after!  and having someone else make hot coffee for the grown-ups was a perk as well.  :)

here is a video of the special tea party dance the girls did, where isla the host invites her friends to come and serves them tea.  so cute!

Isla-isms, 5 years old

Isla's computer, outside

me: isla, where did you come from?
isla: i came from you!
me: and daddy.
isla: yes, because daddy gave me my name, and you made me born!

isla: mama, i know how they make ketchup.  they take a bunch of tomatoes, and then they add a big bucket of salt, and then they smush it all together!

isla: what's that stinky smell?
kate: my breath. I have morning breath sometimes isla.
isla: it's really stinky.
kate: you have bad breath too.
isla: yours is really bad. is that because you're bigger?
kate: no, it's because when you get up early, it's not as stinky.

isla: how did the first person get born to make other people get born?

isla: that's one thing I don't like about out world. you always have to rest for soooooooo long every night.

isla: why do some people have innie belly buttons and some people have outies?  what do you have?  (peeks) why is yours sort of an innie and sort of an outie?  

isla: i know daddy used that really big wood for the floor in the attic [plywood] but i have never seen a tree that wide, so where did it come from?

isla: if you get seeds from vegetables, then how did people get the first seed if there were no vegetables yet?

isla: i love doing puzzles.  it's my favorite thing in the world.  well, not my favorite thing in the world... but i really love puzzles.

(after rushing to get noah to the bus in the morning.)
me: let's go home and relax.
isla (grumpy): no, i don't want to relax.
me: why not?
isla: i don't know what relax means.  don't tell me!

isla: mama, my fabric is paper and i sew with tape.

isla: mama, i was assuming i could zip my coat but since i'm holding an earring i'm gonna need a little help.

isla: in her room, playing the ukulele and singing, "christ the lord is risen today, alleluia!"

isla: (from the back of the van) mama? it's me, isla, talking!

isla: (regarding the stations of the cross images) the saddest one is when jesus fell with the cross in his hand.  but i like to look at that one.

isla: we love target, don't we, mama?

isla: these people are called the plumbers because they're wearing purple pants.

 like plums!  (in the book "how a house is built.")

isla: mama, this one has a really sad ending because they get really dirty.  in every book of them they get really dirty.  (re: "flicka, ricka and dicka" books.)

isla: this shirt is all nosy! (meaning, runny nose wipey.)

isla: i don't like it when people confuse me!

isla: mama, i can see the whole world in my mind.

Isla's computer, inside

isla louise, one whole hand old

was it five whole years ago now that this big baby girl was born in the wee hours of labor day?  with her strawberry blonde hair and her big blue eyes?

hard to believe.

what's most surprising to me is how little we knew back then about who isla louise was going to become.  i think honestly i thought she would be a girl version of noah!  but they are so different.  she is so... all her own.  she is a character!  she is funny and wild and brazen and sweet and inquisitive and creative and really understands how the world works.  

i just love to look at her rosy, freckled cheeks and sweet smile.

things isla loves:

dressing up fancy

pink and purple

crafting, crafting, crafting

reading, reading, reading

making ezzie laugh

helping in the kitchen

helping daddy in the shop

going on any kind of adventure with daddy

singing and dancing

playdates with friends

writing and receiving letters

shopping with grandma

posing in funny ways

folding laundry

learning how things work and how things are made

watching videos of herself

things isla does not love:

going to the doctor

dogs, cats, and most animals

most vegetables

getting her hair washed or brushed

getting splinters removed

putting her head under water

the color black

isla lou, a few hours old

isla lou, one year old

isla lou, two years old

isla lou, three years old

isla lou, four years old

isla lou, five years old!

happy birthday to this amazing little girl!

60/40 day

the tables looking lovely

we recently had a celebration for aaron's mom's 60th birthday and his parents' 40th anniversary, which came a few weeks apart in july and august.  all the siblings and spouses attempted to arrange things in secret, but it was hard to keep all the details from the professional event-planning birthday girl!

globe postcard holders

we chose a travel theme, which worked really well.  we highlighted how aaron's mom came from a little town in wisconsin to a little town in iowa to meet his dad at a little college, and then (with a few more stops in between) they moved to a little town in northern BC.  since then, of course, they've travelled the globe!

aaron giving the welcome speech, and the big map

john made this cool big map, which we used to highlight all the many places aaron's parent's have traveled to.  aaron and his helper noah strung red yarn between nails at major points, and by the end the map was a tangled web of red!

uncle colin and the boys check out the big map

aaron and the kids made cool paper-mache map-covered globe picture holders, which held postcards grandma and grandpa had sent all of us over the years.  jess and kate made cute map-paper hearts that hung from the ceiling.  nicole made cool map-paper pinwheels for centerpieces.  we used maps as tablecloths.  everything looked great!

cousin love

i think everyone had a good time.  the kids snuck many treats, and i ate a few too many of nicole's cream puffs myself!

big boy in carhaarts 

funny times in the field

the boys

isla enjoying some treats

oma and ezzie hanging out

the first day of school for two big kids

today was the first day of school for both of our big kids!  (lately i find myself referring to them as "the big kids" and ezzie as "the baby.")  this year begins second grade for noah and kindergarten for isla.  

isla has been looking forward to kindergarten at evergreen since we attended the open house in march.  she cried when we left that night, saying she wanted to go to school there the next day.  after a long spring and summer, finally, finally, her dream has come true!  she was very happy to settle in this morning, and said goodbye to me without even looking up from her play.  she is going to be just fine with this transition!

noah was a little hesitant as he went to bed last night, but i think that he was mostly sad at summer ending and our fun few weeks of vacation time being over.  i feel that way too.  (aaron says noah and i are similar in our struggles with transitions and the endings of things.  isla and aaron, however, are always raring to go!)  noah settled in this morning, though, and seemed excited about his new class and seeing his friends again.  

i am confident both kids are going to have a great year.  their school is such a great place!

two big kids ready to go

one big girl ready for kindergarten

showing off the new backpack

isla at her desk

playing legos with her good buddy sophia

playing in the kitchen corner with ezra

noah in his new second grade classroom

is someone else ready for school?