Looking Back: This was his first year of preschool

And it was very exciting.

He went to Mt. Tabor Co-Op, just like Sophia did, and he loved it just as much.

There was never even a moment of hesitation for Oliver, he was a pro right from the beginning. He tried everything—painting, play dough, the sandbox, singing, you name it. He made friends immediately and easily. He was a joyful addition to the class from day one (I'm not just being biased, that's actually what Teacher Amy said.)

These are all pictures from his first day, which is a great day to volunteer in the classroom, not that he needed me there at all, it's just nice to have some pictures of the very first day. And I'm happy to say that I somehow managed to make him a pair of first-day-of-school pants. (I don't remember how I pulled that off!)

This was also the very last year for the Mt. Tabor Preschool to be located in this particular room. It's been there for more than 50 years! Not only will Oliver be part of the class who enjoyed the final year in the original preschool room, he'll also be the first class in the new location (in the same building). How cool is that?

Bike Rides!

by Sophia

Yesterday afternoon we rode our bikes on a bike path across a bridge.The river was very very pretty!  The bike path led us down the sidewalk, down a big hill, and then to the bridge. We went very fast! We looked
at the river for a while, and then we got hungry and we rode back and went home and had cream strawberry pie!

Mama's Fresh Cream Strawberry Pie

by Sophia


Yesterday we went to Oaks Park for the Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, but it looked a little too much like the Farmer's Market so we decided to go on four of the rides instead. 

The rides were very very fun! We all had cherry flavored snow cones and they were delicious! We stayed for 3 hours! 

When we got back, Mama made fresh cream strawberry pie for us and it was delicious!

Here is the recipe:

Strawberry and Whipped Cream Pie (makes one 10-inch pie)

Crust:

1-1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

6 Tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Mix everything together by hand, and press firmly into a 10-inch springform pan.  The crust should also go up the sides of the pan about three inches.  Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, until it has firmed up a bit.  Let it cool while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

5 cups strawberries, washed and stems removed.

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon gelatin powder, soaked in 1/4 cup cold water

Roughly chop one cup of the strawberries and place in a small saucepan with the sugar.  Cook until reduced to a puree.  Remove from the heat, then stir in the soaked gelatin.  Mix with the remaining strawberries, then immediately pour into the cooled crust.  Spread the out so the top is level, then prepare the whipped cream topping.

Topping:

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

1 teaspoon gelatin powder

2 tablespoons milk

Whip the cream and sugar to stiff peaks.  Soak the gelatin in the milk for two minutes, then heat gently until dissolved.  Gradually fold the whipped cream into the gelatin, then spread on top of the strawberries.  Chill for several hours before removing from the pan and slicing.

...And now the school year is over

Where did that year go? The whole thing was a blur of school, baby, work, and messy house. Zip, it's gone!

So I'm going to try to recreate it here with periodic "Looking Back" posts. I know, lofty goals, but it's worth a shot!

As for the lovely, lovely summer we find ourselves enjoying right now, Sophia is going to help me record our wholesome exploits. So that'll be fun!

Happy summer!

The First Day of First Grade

Sophia started first grade on Wednesday! Seriously! My baby is a first grader. Sigh.

She is so happy to be back. And she's loving that it's familiar this year (I can tell already that she's more confident than last year, even at the end of the year).

I can also tell that the long day won't be as tough on her this year. She doesn't seem as wiped out when she gets home and it's been much easier for her to transition from school to playing with Oliver in the afternoon. Still I think we'll keep afternoons and weekends for family even though we've already started getting invitations to join various after school activities.


I'm not sure if I'm entirely ready for the new school year, but, a little like Sophia, I'm more ready than I was last year.

Just Look at these Three

Aren't they gorgeous?
They're as sweet as they look.
Someone tell me how I got so lucky.

We Went Walking

For my birthday.
And it was lovely.
I could stand to have a little of this every day.

Our Summer

Where, oh where did the summer go? If you based that question on the weather you might ask did it ever arrive, but I'm wondering, of course, where the time ran off to.

I vowed to enjoy every moment of the summer, and I did more or less (more on the fun, less on the sleep deficiency) but somehow the whole summer just slipped by anyway.

We did so many fun things, it's a shame I wasn't able to update the blog periodically with our adventures, but since I was so busy having fun (in a sleep-deprived, bleary-eyed sort of way), I never got around to it.

Luckily, Sophia has agreed to do a recap. This then, is "Our Summer, 2010:"

This  summer  was  really  great!
We  started with  going  to  Lopez Island,and  that  was  fun,but the only sad part was when  we left.
And  another  fun  thing was the downtown Jamison  Square !
In August  we picked blackberries and we got ice cream , snow cones ,and  new special drawers!
In July we picked  blueberries  and
 In June I  started  summer  break.

Well, that about sums it up!

We had a great time, as always, in the San Juans, and like Sophia wrote, it was hard to leave. The only other bummer about the trip was that Sophia was sick most of the time. I think she had a sinus infection. In any case as soon as we got home her fever disappeared and she was back to her joyful, energetic self. Oh well.

We also went to the beach with friends (Maya, Herb, Chloe, and Justin) where we played in the sand, kicked back, and even visited Neskowin Valley School for Gnome camp (I know!).

We got a kitten in June, little Posy, who isn't as little anymore, but still cute.

We found a new trail on Mt. Tabor (I never would have guessed there were any we didn't know about!) which is our new favorite.

We spent a lot of time playing with "library" friends, had several visits from grandparents, and spent most of August at the pool (despite the cool temperatures a lot of the month).

And then of course the big focus for us this summer has been baby Norah. Mmmm she's sweet. I knew I wanted another baby, but for some reason I've been taken off guard—yet again (you'd think I'd expect it by the time I'd gotten to the third baby)—by how much I adore  this child.

But of course I'm not the only one. There's some serious love happening in our house these days. Can I just tell you how happy we are? I mean seriously. Concerns about the future aside, it's just pure bliss around here.

You might think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

The only thing that could make life even sweeter would be finding "our place." We're anxious to know where we're going to finally settle—and to do just that. Be in the house we'll stay in. Plant our apple, cherry, and hazelnut trees. Put down roots.

Maybe I'll have an update in the next post. Anything is possible, right?

Hestia, Goddess of Hearth and Home

Sophia's kindergaten/first grade class put on a play about the golden apple that involved a lot of Greek Gods and Godesses. Sophia played the part of Hestia.

Isn't she just gorgeous?

I can't believe Kindergarten is over in a week. Where did this year go?

Welcome Baby Norah!

Look at this precious little thing we brought home yesterday!

 

  

Isn't she scrumptious? We're all madly in love already!

She was born March 2 at 7:52 pm, weighing a tiny 7 lbs 11 oz (my smallest baby!) and measuring 21" long. Labor was short - for me - 10 hours total. 

We're both healthy and so, so happy. The whole family is spending the week just looking at her, which is just about as good as it gets!

Hanging Out

 

With such a handsome guy!

Aren't I lucky?

Painting Day

Everyone needs a painting day now and then, don't you think?

 

 

 

Tim found some old acrylic paints in the basement (there was a massive clean out to make room for the train) which we put to good use. The kids loved painting with "grown up" paints.

So fun!

Grandpa's Visit

Grandpa Wagner came for a quick visit a couple weeks ago. We all had a lovely time—especially with the surprise he brought along...

 

 

 

 

It's Tim's electric train that he got for Christmas when he was five! It's been a huge hit! We're all so glad Grandpa was able to bring it out in person and help us set it up!

The Kind Acts Book

Sorry for the lapse in posts! Sheesh, time does fly when you're on winter break, doesn't it?

In any case, I'll try to catch up a little by starting with the very super cool present that Sophia gave the family for Christmas.

This is The Kind Acts Book. Inspired by the same type of book that Sophia's classroom has, this one is meant for anyone in the family to record kind acts by any other member in the family.

Seriously, how cool is that?

Our first kind act to record was on Christmas day:

 

 

"Oliver gave me a candy cane just like I wanted and I said, 'Thank you'."

:)