First picks
This year, we set up three square foot gardens. Two are 4X4 and one is 3X3. We planted some early seeds about a month ago: spinach, lettuce, carrots, chard and peas. This past Sunday night, we harvested our first baby spinach!!
Grayson has been keeping a close watch on these leaves and was convinced it was time to bring some in. We showed him how to pinch off the leaves, and he went right to work.
I was very excited that we would have such fresh leaves for our green breakfast smoothie the next morning.
Aren’t they beautiful? 
Five already?
It just doesn’t seem possible, but Grayson turned five a couple of weeks ago. He’ll be in kindergarten this fall! It seems like he has always been a part of our family. Here are some current highlights on our littlest one:
Favorite color: red
Favorite snack: apple slices with peanut butter
Spends time: building with legos, kapla blocks, Lincoln Logs, exploring EVERYTHING outside, gardening (even dries his own seeds and keeps them to plant!)
Favorite books: Franklin books and The Berenstein Bears
Often walks/skips when out and about. Likes to talk when Evan is trying to fall asleep at night and drive his older brother to distraction. Still shy enough to hide behind me when people we meet speak to him. Speaks in similies “I’m as full as a mouse!” Greets almost every breakfast smoothie with “This is the yummiest yummiest smoothie in the whole whole world!!”
Makes us smile…
Grayson always asks for a birthday cake and then doesn’t eat it. This go-around, he has a strawberry “cake” and he ate every single bite!
Grandma and Grandpa Robert got Grayson a lego pirate ship for his birthday! He was practically jumping off the walls in excitement. He has put more than half of it together himself, but now he is ready for some of his dad’s help.
My dad came with his family to visit us and to celebrate Grayson’s birthday! Here we are with his other grandsons Josh on the left and Brandon on the right. It was nice for everyone to have time to visit.
One gift that arrived in the mail and caused a lot of excitement was Grayson’s very own cookbook from his Aunt Katie. It is called Pretend Soup and is just right for a preschooler, with simple pictures showing each step. Our first choice was the oatmeal recipe. Yummy!
Hippie Day
The elementary school has been having spirit Fridays this month. Today is hippie day!
Growing Readers
After school yesterday, we took a trip to our local library. Both boys chose many books to bring home to look at and to read. When we got home, I opened the van up and started carrying things in. Neither boy moved… I looked in the back and this is what I saw:
I came on in, but they were comfortable in their chairs for 20 minutes or so before they came to a stopping point and came on inside.
Leprechauns!
Oh, my! It seems that even though we left a sign on our door for them to not come in, at least one leprechaun came into our house last night! We found a trail of glitter going from the window, over Grayson’s table and to the trap Evan built yesterday. No leprechauns were to be found, but there were overturned chairs as well as a four leaf clover left in the middle of the trail! Both boys were so excited this morning as they inspected the house for damage that might have been done overnight. Did this happen at your house, too?
Jump Rope for Heart
Last week, Evan’s school hosted a Jump Rope for Heart fundraiser to help the American Heart Association. Evan participated in this last year and has really looked forward to it this year! He was able to raise $150 and he jumped for all he was worth. I didn’t volunteer to help this year since I was on a field trip with Grayson on the same day, but I got to the gym in plenty of time to help some anyway and take lots of pictures in the process.
The Valentine Hat
Evan has always been super excited about the holidays. All holidays. He was working up to Valentine’s Day for at least a couple of weeks with things squirreled away that we weren’t supposed to see until February 14. He had an inspiration Thursday night and went up to his room armed with scissors, glue and construction paper. We were allowed to see the newest creation the next morning as he got ready for school.
The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite
The Book of Three (Chronicles of Prydain, Book 1)
Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (Book 4)
Retail Anarchy: A Radical Shopper’s Adventures in Consumption
The Forgotten Garden: A Novel
Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School
Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century
Tools of the Mind: The Vygotskian Approach to Early Childhood Education (2nd Edition)
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