Awakenings

This basket of yarn has stories to tell.

Stories from across time.

Stories from various stages.

Stories of failure and of triumph.

Stories of yearning and stories of yarn.

The latest story is of awakenings.

Of re-inventions.

Of nimble sprites

And luscious melons

It is a story of happy endings and new beginnings and Once Upon A Time's.

If you hang around long enough you may just start to enjoy it as much as I do!

Beans

So what does one do with an entire cooler FULL of beans????

Why, PICKLE them of course!

We did a dozen jars last year, but this year we're thinking BIGGER.....

Like at least 3 dozen or so.

The Sandbox

I finally took a stab at Craigs List. A few weekends ago we cleaned up the back yard (along with the deck) and I thought it would be nice to get a sandbox or a water table. I settled for a sand box once I found one within 10 miles at just the right price. I responded to the listing on a Sunday evening and by the next afternoon we had a sandbox on the deck.

Although I am not sure about the whole picnic table attachment, since it is sort of like eating IN the sand, but so far the twins are loving it.

Back In The Stitch Of Things

After Saoirse was born, but before we even named her, let alone announced her name to others, a friend of ours bought her a beautiful hand knit cap as a "welcome to the world sweet little one" gift. It is the cutest thing ever and just so happens to also be a strawberry, how perfect is that?

For weeks now I have been admiring the hat and counting down the days until cooler weather and autumn evenings make it possible for Saoirse to wear this little berry on her cute little head. For weeks now I have also been wondering if I could duplicate the hat on my own.

I must admit that it felt wonderful to get my yarn out of storage and cast on again....

I started with a watermelon for Nuala and am working on a lemon~lime for Oscar

Both need some improvements and I am learning as I go, but I cannot emphasize enough how good it feels to be making something crafty once again, even if it is just a knock off of someone else's work. It still feels like something special that is helping to feed my spirit and fuel my creative spark. So thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Mary. This one little strawberry hat has done so much more than just welcome our newest little fashion berry, it has invited yarn and crafties and creativity and imagination back into my life.

As usual, I appear to be the only one truly thrilled by it all.

(Don't worry, she's smiling on the inside. I think.)

Quick Glance

Oscar seems to be our accident prone child. His new nick name is "bumble bee", but he takes each trip and scraped knee in stride and hopefully will not require another trip to the ER for some time. He is giggly now and telling jokes, secret jokes that I, for the most part, cannot understand. He can usually get Nuala in on them and they are spending more time "frolicking" than even before, which is a real treat to watch. His new favorite phrases are "thank you" and "why?". He still cries a lot during transitions into his crib and has a strange obsession with being covered up with his blanket, even on nights when it is much too warm for covers. For a while it had to be me to do the covering, so if Brendan came to collect his hug after I had already tucked Oscar in it presented a problem. He seems to be over it and has moved on to the tag on his blanket. He wants to hold it and suck on it, so when you tuck him in make sure the tag side is up by his head.

Nuala, while not nearly as accident prone, is no stranger to scraped knees and stubbed toes. She is just as sweet as ever, but remains firm in her independence, preferring to read her books alone while keeping an eye on the inner workings of our family. She is very interested in people and even from a quiet corner of the living room seems to have her watchful eyes keeping tabs on everyone. This past Saturday we took a trip to the Zoo and went on the train ride there. Nuala shared a car with me and Saoirse and Ruari. As we sat there waiting for the train to pull out of the station she suddenly panicked, stood straight up and began yelling for her brother. "Oski. Oski. Oski. Oski!!!!" she shouted while looking at me with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. Once she realized he was safe in the car behind us she settled down, but it was still sweet to see, I've never really noticed any separation anxiety, probably because they're never actually separate from each other. She is having more nightmares lately and wakes up with a scream, drenched in sweat. I wonder what she's dreaming about?

Both of them have experienced an explosion of language in the past 3 weeks, and have new words every single day. Not only will they repeat just about anything you offer them, they are beginning to formulate words independently to convey specific ideas. Putting together words to ask for things and to share thoughts. It is amazing how much language can transform our relationships. They also both still enjoy pooping in the bath tub, which as you know is not good for anyone involved....and they wonder why bath nights are few and far between!

There's a quick glance at what is going on right now, right this second today in the development of our twins. They are changing so fast right now it is incredible to watch them, to see them blooming up close.

A Straight Seven

Seven weeks old.

Can you believe it? Time sure does fly.

Last night Saoirse slept for a straight seven hours!

10pm-5 am. Sounds like a full night to me.

Seven HAS always been my favorite number....

Just When

Just when I finally get done updating everyone's photos, Maija and Finn decide to get hair cuts! Maija gets to donate her old hair to Locks for Love so that is pretty cool, here's her new do.....

Finn hasn't let me chase him down with the camera yet, but I am in the process of thinking up new and creative ways to lure him back to the grape vine.

Water Baby

I know I've told you about bath time before, but I can't get over how MUCH Saoirse LOVES the tub. Every single time we put her in the water she becomes immediately calm. Even on days when she is feeling grouchy or sad or ridiculously hungry. Even on days when nothing else in all the world could even pretend to soothe her. She is without a doubt, without a question, a total water baby.

Sprinklers

What kid doesn't like a little sprinkler action????

From the sound of things Saoirse doesn't, but everyone else has a blast at the water park.

Trains

We have a new set up in the sunroom and the twins are loving it. I found a train table at a local consignment shop and couldn't pass it by. They are really enjoying this new way to play. I remember when Maija got her first train table (back then Thomas was all the rage, but given the recent recalls we're sticking with Melissa and Doug tracks this time around) when she was around their age, she loved it just as much as they do!

My strategic placement of the table makes saying "goodbye" to Dada a little less painful each morning.....(for them at least).

7.21.2009

And just to prove that we are all still here, I chased the kids through the house today until they agreed to pose for individual shots. Well, I didn't actually chase them, but there may have been minor bribery involved.....

Finn

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Sidhe

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Maija

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Ruari

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Micah

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Nuala

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Oscar

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And let's not forget little miss June8ug, who unfortunately is too little to pose in front of the grape vine but was a good sport nonetheless, check out how long she is getting!

Saoirse

7.21.2009

Today was my mom's birthday (happy birthday Sarah!) and so I'm thinking a birthday collage of all these beautiful faces is in order.

Still Here

In case you were wondering.....

We are still here.

We are still enjoying the simple pleasures of summertime.

We are still taking the playground by storm, frequenting the farmers market, splashing away at the water park and parading around the neighborhood in our fancy schmancy stroller.

We are still browsing the library and enjoying music at our nearby bandshell.

We are still grilling out and filling up the kiddie pools.

We are still here.

#9

I am proud to announce that we welcomed our ninth and final child earlier this week.

I know, I know, we said we were done, but who could resist this adorable little guy? When UPS dropped him off on our doorstep I couldn't just turn him away!

This dune buggy will make running errands with three little ones a breeze, or at least just physically possible. Since I am still wearing Saoirse in the baby carrier the twins are enjoying the stroller as a double.

We've only taken a few walks together so I don't have a lot of pavement history to base a decent review off of, but as for now I am still in love with #9.