Phineas doesn't seem a fan of winter. Can't say I blame him. In the eyes of an 18 month old winter consists of taking a long time getting layers upon layers on to go outside into the cold. The cold where you can hardly move because of all the layers and can't walk many places because you aren't big enough or steady enough to walk through all that snow.
I think he is slowly making peace with it all though as he gets better at navigating those playing-in-the-snow days. Yet, the duration he would like to stay outside is significantly shorter than his big siblings.
Though, I must say there is very little in this world that is cuter than a bundled up babe waddling over snowy sidewalks. Even cuter is when he picks up his own little blue shovel and gives his absolute best go at helping to shovel the driveway. He is so determined. And so enthusiastic about it.
Thus is the latest demeanour of Phineas about everything; our little 19 month old. You have never seen anyone nod their head so deliberately and full heartedly until you have seen Phineas do it after giving you a very contemplative face about whatever is questioned of him. He is so insanely inquisitive and seems to be soaking up everything like a sponge. He points at everything and will keep pointing until you tell him what it is he is pointing at. I'm sure he is storing all that vocabulary in there securely but he rarely uses it yet. Though 'mama' is securely and consistently used every singly day in multiple ways and multiple tones. Hearing your children call you mama (or any version of it) is sweet beyond words. And his giggle and squeals fill up this mama heart; sure would love to hear him start using that bank of words more though. He loves to give hugs and kisses and adores his bed time ritual of giving everyone in the family a hug and a kiss before bed. And he will never be one to be left out of a hug. You can bet if there is a hug going on that he will be joining. And then tackling you and giggling about it.
Milayla has the sweetest little voice ever and with her vocabulary soaring it is an epic blend of sweet and incredibly smart. I love hearing how she phrases her sentences and questions. Not to mention the way she talks with her hands and full body movement. They are so thought out and deliberate. Then there is her determination to apply herself to things of interest. She is so creative and will fill any time she can with self directed art. She loves art. On days when she's grumpy it only seems to take some momma cuddles, some art time and a book with me to turn things around. And she is so very thoughtful. For example, after lunch the other day I had taken Phineas upstairs to get him ready for nap and asked Milayla to clear her lunch dish from the table. When I called down to see what was taking her so long she told me that she was doing some secret service and would be up in a minute (if that was all right..). She had cleared her dish, washed off the table AND was sweeping the floor. Wow! Talk about initiative, thoughtfulness, and just a big heart of gold. She volunteered to give the family home evening lesson this week and the most important thing on her mind to teach about - love.
Then there is her dancing. She loves to dance. It's so lovely to see her twirling and creating her own dances. And she is now dedicating herself to daily piano practice. She is in the stages of learning the basic building blocks and she gets so excited for her practice time each morning. Oh, and she's reading. That's kind of a big deal. It's fun to watch the world come alive in a whole new way to her. And then there is the way she creates incredible imagination play with Phineas and Atticus. She is doing so well at being a big sister and Phineas just adores her. She is learning the art of patience as Phineas wants to do everything the big kids do but some of his abilities aren't quite there yet. She is a true delight. And so creative. Currently, she would like to use that creativity to learn how to build houses. How fun! I took her on a little mid-day date last weekend and it was so amazing to sit down with just her and hear all her thoughts. We grabbed hot chocolate at the book store and looked at books. She loved seeing the coloring books (the tougher, bigger kid ones that are so popular right now) and was really interested to see some books that had some pictures of different homes. We're both already looking forward to the next date together.
And Mr. Atticus is just coming up with new ideas all the time and usually building them out of lego. He thinks he'd like to become a train engineer. Though, we do our best to remind him he has plenty of time to figure that out. His lego creations are really quite incredible and well though out - from safari trucks to animals to homes with fireplaces (that all look remarkably good!) his brain processes building really well. He also loves cooking with us, reading, and the fact that he is learning division. He loves read aloud book time during homeschool but also loves stepping up and offering to read a book to Milayla. And recently he has begun trying to share some of the things that he is learning by teaching them to Milayla. I love hearing him teach the new things because he is so patient and encouraging. He gets so excited when his siblings accomplish something. I would like to hope that he is modelling that behaviour from us as we teach them because I know we sure try to relay positive encouragement to our children. I took him on a morning date on the weekend and we went sledding. We laughed so much. It was the perfect sledding day. And it was so awesome getting some time with just him. He has some great ideas and great thoughts. He is an old soul. And there is also his art - he loves getting learn to draw books from the library and has been drawing some really magnificent things. And learning cursive. Oh and he loves science. Loves it. He is just a great kid, and a really great big brother.
And those three delightful children are the largest part of my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. Homeschool is busy, sometimes a little crazy, but working just right for us. I'm learning the art of knowing when to stick to the routine and when to let the day adjust and bend with the events of the day. Which is a big milestone for me. I've already begun planning the next step in our curriculum and there will be some fun items for sure. I took some pictures of the kids the other day to finally fill some of the empty frames on the wall. I was aiming for true-to-life pictures and I think I certainly got a few little details of those beaming personalities. Those pictures will come in a separate post. They're worth the wait :).
Milayla has the sweetest little voice ever and with her vocabulary soaring it is an epic blend of sweet and incredibly smart. I love hearing how she phrases her sentences and questions. Not to mention the way she talks with her hands and full body movement. They are so thought out and deliberate. Then there is her determination to apply herself to things of interest. She is so creative and will fill any time she can with self directed art. She loves art. On days when she's grumpy it only seems to take some momma cuddles, some art time and a book with me to turn things around. And she is so very thoughtful. For example, after lunch the other day I had taken Phineas upstairs to get him ready for nap and asked Milayla to clear her lunch dish from the table. When I called down to see what was taking her so long she told me that she was doing some secret service and would be up in a minute (if that was all right..). She had cleared her dish, washed off the table AND was sweeping the floor. Wow! Talk about initiative, thoughtfulness, and just a big heart of gold. She volunteered to give the family home evening lesson this week and the most important thing on her mind to teach about - love.
Then there is her dancing. She loves to dance. It's so lovely to see her twirling and creating her own dances. And she is now dedicating herself to daily piano practice. She is in the stages of learning the basic building blocks and she gets so excited for her practice time each morning. Oh, and she's reading. That's kind of a big deal. It's fun to watch the world come alive in a whole new way to her. And then there is the way she creates incredible imagination play with Phineas and Atticus. She is doing so well at being a big sister and Phineas just adores her. She is learning the art of patience as Phineas wants to do everything the big kids do but some of his abilities aren't quite there yet. She is a true delight. And so creative. Currently, she would like to use that creativity to learn how to build houses. How fun! I took her on a little mid-day date last weekend and it was so amazing to sit down with just her and hear all her thoughts. We grabbed hot chocolate at the book store and looked at books. She loved seeing the coloring books (the tougher, bigger kid ones that are so popular right now) and was really interested to see some books that had some pictures of different homes. We're both already looking forward to the next date together.
And Mr. Atticus is just coming up with new ideas all the time and usually building them out of lego. He thinks he'd like to become a train engineer. Though, we do our best to remind him he has plenty of time to figure that out. His lego creations are really quite incredible and well though out - from safari trucks to animals to homes with fireplaces (that all look remarkably good!) his brain processes building really well. He also loves cooking with us, reading, and the fact that he is learning division. He loves read aloud book time during homeschool but also loves stepping up and offering to read a book to Milayla. And recently he has begun trying to share some of the things that he is learning by teaching them to Milayla. I love hearing him teach the new things because he is so patient and encouraging. He gets so excited when his siblings accomplish something. I would like to hope that he is modelling that behaviour from us as we teach them because I know we sure try to relay positive encouragement to our children. I took him on a morning date on the weekend and we went sledding. We laughed so much. It was the perfect sledding day. And it was so awesome getting some time with just him. He has some great ideas and great thoughts. He is an old soul. And there is also his art - he loves getting learn to draw books from the library and has been drawing some really magnificent things. And learning cursive. Oh and he loves science. Loves it. He is just a great kid, and a really great big brother.
And those three delightful children are the largest part of my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. Homeschool is busy, sometimes a little crazy, but working just right for us. I'm learning the art of knowing when to stick to the routine and when to let the day adjust and bend with the events of the day. Which is a big milestone for me. I've already begun planning the next step in our curriculum and there will be some fun items for sure. I took some pictures of the kids the other day to finally fill some of the empty frames on the wall. I was aiming for true-to-life pictures and I think I certainly got a few little details of those beaming personalities. Those pictures will come in a separate post. They're worth the wait :).
1 comment:
I'd love to know which photo editing program you use - and where you print the pictures you're going to frame. :) I enjoyed reading about your happenings lately.
Post a Comment