May Birthdays: May 30, 2007

May is an exciting month at our house. First, Andy and I celebrate our anniversary on the 9th, then Mother's Day, then Abigail's birthday on he 17th--she is 2 this year, then my birthday on the 21st--I am 25 this year, then Warren's birthday on the 30th--he is 4 this year. It's pretty much a party all month long, considering we celebrate with the Lewis', the Jennings', the Peterson/Lewis Dessert Bash and often with the kid's friends and school, too. Anyway, here is a picture of tonight's celebration; even though it was Warren's birthday, Abigail and I blew out candles, too, since we were out of town on our birthdays. To celebrate W's special day, we had his favorite breakfast of pancakes this morning, then he took "Earth balls"--his favorite treat--to preschool and they did a special ceremony there celebrating each year of his life as he held the globe and walked around the wooden sun on the floor 4 times and Andy said something special about each year of his life. (I love Montessori preschool!) After school, we went to the Arizona Museum for Youth and had a great time playing. We stopped by Sweet Cakes on the way home for birthday cookies and then tonight after naps, we had one of his favorite dinners, spaghetti, followed by our carrot-cake birthday muffins. Okay, re-reading that, I realize the food sounds a bit over the top. My disclaimer is this: the pancakes and carrot-cake and spaghetti were homemade from fresh-ground whole wheat, the earth balls are 1 inch in diameter, and who wouldn't go to Sweet Cakes on their birthday to get a free cookie?

Peaches! May 15, 2007

We've had this peach tree 2 or 3 years, I can't really remember, but this is the first year we've had peaches. Last year we had a peach, but the birds got it first. This year, though, there were peaches loaded on all the lower branches of the tree.

Warren and Abigail have been watching them grow all Spring, and now it's finally time to pick them! One night before the fruit was ripe, after telling Warren about how the birds often eat the fruit off the tree, Warren prayed, "Please bless that the birds--and Abigail--won't eat the peaches off the tree."

Abigail navigating a wheel-barrow full of peaches.

After rinsing them in their bucket, Warren and Abigail enjoyed the juciy fruits of their labor. The first time Abigail ate a peach, she was a bit unsure of the fuzzy texture, but she soon got into it with the rest of us. I think Warren's face here says it all: Yum! We also filled gift bags with peaches to give to family and neighbors.

My Favorite Cabin Pics II: May 17-23

A photo opportunity gone awry! (My apologies to Avery :)

This picture personifies life at the cabin: thinking, chillin' and loving it.

Note Warren's face in the picture. I took this with a super fast exposure time to capture what his face looks like when he casts.

Note Avery's face in the picture. She is practicing what her face will look like someday when she can cast a fishing line, too.

My Favorite Cabin Pics I: May 17-23

Abigail's favorite past-time at the cabin was picking flowers and presenting them to me. Bear with me here as I wax eloquent. I love the gifts children give, because they aren't concerned with how the receiver will perceive the gift, they just give. Because they live beautifully and joyfully, they see beauty and joy in nature; and their gifts bring out these qualities in the receiver, too.

"Sittin' on the d[e]ck of the . . .[cabin]." Like I mentioned in other posts, Warren really liked practicing casting off the edge of the deck.

After Warren had been casting into the lake one night, he laid down and said, "I want to cast to the moon."

Avery is the most smiley child I've had, and my other two have been big smilers. But she takes the cake; actually, when she smiles it looks as if she is trying to eat the entire cake.

Pinetop Videos: May 29-30

Warren discovered a sport he likes and does well: fishing. On Saturday the 19th of May, we went to Woodland Lake Park for "Grandpa Palmer's Fishing Derby." Before we went, we bought Warren a Spiderman pole at Walmart so he'd have one to use, to pique his interest and to practice (there was a $50 prize for the 0-5 year old category for the biggest fish and furthest cast). As we prepared to go that morning--packing the "snacks" mentioned in this video and all the other random stuff we needed--Warren sat on the deck casting into the trees. He really liked it and got pretty good for a three year old. We went to the lake, and Warren caught 3 fish: one 10.5" and two 11.5" Rainbow Trout. He also cast 35 feet to win 3rd prize in the casting contest and won another fishing pole with all sorts of gear to go with it. He liked casting so much that he spent a few more hours over the next few days casting off the cabin deck into the trees. There was a small lake on the golf course we played on each night, so we took him there one night just to cast. He was determined to "cast to the other side of the lake"--which he never did, but he had a great time trying.

This video was taken while Warren was doing the above-mentioned casting at the golf course lake. Listen closely to hear Abigail's cute narration throughout, and enjoy a little glimpse of Baby Avery at 5 months old.

Abigail's life is a musical. She spends half her day singing and dancing. I used to laugh when people described their children's ability to "sing before they could speak," but now I know what they mean. Abigail was singing much better than she spoke at 18 months, and now at 2 years old, she does both well, but her singing still is something to appreciate! Here, I captured her spontaneously singing her favorite, "I Feel My Savior's Love." Is there any doubt that she does?