Eeva-Liisa's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Today I watched my baby girl walk onto a school bus for the first time. I did ok. Eeva did wonderful. She admitted being a little afraid but excitement won the battle. I held it together long enough to see the back end of the bus:)....... ...then cried. All in all she had a great day and I anxiously awaited her return and loved hearing about her 1st day adventures.

Harrison's 1st Day

I know I recently stated that The Nest opens on the 1st of September but Baby Harrison started today. We wanted to work the kinks out so to speak:) He is a very happy baby and easy to please. It was a beautiful day and Harrison was a wonderful addition to my 3.

Loved the outdoor swing! Harrison's 1st experience in a jumper....I think it's a hit.

After Harrison arrived the older two did a show for him. I'm not real sure what it was about but the main character was a crazy cowboy:)

We look forward to having Harrison spend his days with us here at The Nest.

Take Care ~ Angela

Everett

Everett is our youngest and just turned ONE this month. We call him "little one" ever since his godmother bought him the book Little One Step by Simon James. It's a wonderful story about three ducklings. All 3 kids love to hear it read. As a mother I really don't have a favorite child, I love them all equally and differently. So when I say there is something special about Everett, please don't think of me as an awful mother. Since the moment he was born he has had this presence. Some might call it "charisma" or an "old soul",I haven't found a word to describe it yet. He can light up a room and I find people are attracted to him everywhere we go:) Family members say things like " all your kids are cute but there is just something about Everett"

His legs that were once wobbly are now steady and I expect the "first steps" to happen any day now. He finally has three(really big) teeth and we have moved him to more adult food. I still haven't taken away the bottle.....please remember he's the baby:) He simply adores his older siblings and the relationship he has formed with the two of them is just beautiful. While watching the three of them together you can see the need on Everett's face to be with them, and do what they are doing. Sometimes this causes major sibling battles but for the most part the older two seem to understand him. He might be the youngest & the smallest but he has no idea he is. Everett doesn't think twice about grabbing a toy from his older brother or trying to knock over his big sister. He also loves to climb....all he needs is a place to grab and he pulls himself up onto chairs,couches,hearths, picnic tables & even an end table(he found a nice place under the lamp shade). When he finally makes it to the top ,he turns around,sits & gives the hugest grin. So proud of his accomplishment! Everett loves to be outdoors and will spend hours in the swing just watching the clouds & his siblings. He will definitely be the loudest and the most talkative of our bunch. He never stops babbling..I so wish I knew what he was saying:) Everett has become attached to a green silk blanket and loves to nap with it. Some days I joke that he is Rip Van Winkle, I know how many hours an infant is suppose to sleep but really..when is it too much? His personality is just starting to emerge and I look forward to watching who he becomes.

Ian Mitchell

Ian is 3 and our middle child. He has eyes the color of milk chocolate and the thickest hair I have ever seen on a toddler. If Ian was a sparrow man his talent would be tinkering. He loves tools (especially wrenches) and enjoys taking things apart. Where there is buttons or knobs, screws or bolts Ian is there and will play forever. A visual learner, Ian only has to watch you do something once and he can repeat the tasks.Ian is a wanderer and goes at his own pace, you can't slow him down or make him pick up the pace, he does things his way only and any requests for something different falls on a deaf ear. A slightly rough child who doesn't seem to know his own strength with one volume level(slightly louder then you would like) who has a heart of gold that he wears on his sleeve. If Ian loves you he will shower you with hugs,kisses and kind words, if you have made him angry you will know it. We joke that Ian is responsible for a few couples we know deciding to have more children because he went through this stage where he would hug me and tell me "he loved me all the way to the moon and back...all in one day:) "All mothers who were witness to this would sigh and coo about how sweet he was. A perfect day for Ian would be waffles for breakfast, a morning spent in his sandbox (with lots of dump trucks, cement mixers, tractors, garbage trucks & school buses driving by the house), a trip to Friendly's for lunch (grill cheese & apple sauce), the afternoon at the beach playing on the rocks and in the mud (must stop and see the smelly fishing boats on the way to the sand) and then to be able to come back home and tell his Pepere all about his adventures. Pepere calls Ian "buddy" and it is more than a nickname, the two of them are inseparable. If you ask Ian what he wants to be when he grows up he will tell you either a farmer or a dentist. I hope he picks a career where he can use his hands & his heart.
Likes:
~construction vehicles
~Sand
~Trains
~Dinosaurs
~playdoh (he makes a great snake)
~cows, chickens, ducks
~being outside
Dislikes:
~ being in a confined space(ex. carseat,carriage)
~sharing with his sister
~being told to be careful

Eeva-Liisa

Here is Eeva-Liisa! She is 5 1/2 and the oldest of our three.

Likes:

~ the ocean

~wearing dresses and fancy shoes

~Princesses,Fairies & Butterflies

~Baby dolls (she will make a great mother someday)

~ Books (thinks the best part about Kindergarten is that she will learn how to read)

~ Arts-n-Crafts (painting & using scissors)

~ Story Telling

~ Vegetables (especially peppers)

Dislikes:

~ saying goodbye

~ Sharing with her brothers:)

~Bugs

~ Getting out of the pool

Some days Eeva-Liisa is gentle & quiet. Other days she is surrounded by drama and puts forth so much attitude that you would think she is 15 instead of 5. Eeva likes to be busy but she also plays very well by herself. I think Eeva has a wonderful imagination; at the age of 3 she announced she had a pet caterpillar(he came from her belly button). The caterpillar would change color daily and went everywhere with her. If she needed to do a task (ex. eat, wash her hands,etc) she would ask you to hold him. Lets remember that he's imaginary! It really use to catch people off guard.Unfortunately the caterpillar was tragically lost at the grocery store, she searched for him for months every time we would go shopping.(picture a 3 year old yelling, loudly, for "caterpillar" up & down the isles .)I thought the memory of the caterpillar was lost but when we stopped going to the Stop-n-Shop in Putman(the scene of his tragic departure) because the new store opened in Dayville(much closer) she mentioned that she never did find her caterpillar:( Eeva loves to help with tasks & projects. She is a very visual learner and if she is interested in something she has an amazing attention span. (how many of us could watch a Barbie movie more than once?) She will start Kindergarten in 5 days and I'm having some ambivalent feelings. I so want her to experience everything but I'm struggling with letting her out into the world, away from the nest so to speak:) As we all know sometimes this world of ours is not such a nice place. She will get on that bus Monday morning and never look back...which is probably best(I wouldn't want her to see me cry). Oh if you are wondering how she got such an unusual name, she is named after my husband's great aunt who lives in Finland. Those Finns love their vowels!

My New Adventure

The Nest officially opens on September 1st and I'm very excited. The house is almost ready to be filled with children and the wonderful noises they make while content and playing. I just need to finish up a few things to make our days run smooth. Ms. Nichole has put together a delicious (& nutritious, don't tell the kids) menu that I hope everyone enjoys. Ms. Amy from Music Together will join us on September 17th for our first Music & Movement class.

Our theme for the first week is Squirrels & Nuts, Preparation. We will be learning all about the different kinds of nuts, how they differ, where they come, etc. We will also try our hand at making some nut butter. The Squirrel will be the star of the show this week; he will be in the stories we read, the fingerplays we learn and hopefully we will get the chance to observe some of our own backyard squirrels during our nature walks.

The program that I plan to use for The Nest also has something for the caregiver as well as the children. It's called a reflection or meditation. The first week's refection is Preparation. I found this to be so fitting for the first week of my new adventure. I share the weeks reflection with you because I feel as parents we all need a moment to take a breath and prepare for the next step. The creator of the program shares this :

" Taking time to evaluate our current situation and to prepare for upcoming events can save us a lot of time & energy. Our lives are so full it is often hard to find the time to think ahead." She asks us to sit each day for 15 min ( I know, try to find the time) in silence focusing on the present moment. Be at peace with where you are in life. After the 15 min has past take out a piece of paper and write down a simple list of areas in your life that would be wise to prepare for in the upcoming year.

"If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first hour sharpening the ax"

~ Abraham Lincoln

Take care ~ Angela