Brother and Sister

Our Very Summery Solstice Nature Table

Water Play

Isla loves water play. I love having a backyard that works for water play! 

Of course, her brother was in on it as well.

Scooter Monday

Liam loves his new scooter, a gift from Nanny and Papaw S. He's starting to look so grown up! I can't believe he will be four in November. 

The Solstice

Amazing, perfect, summer. So many things to love.

Father's Day presents.

A solstice banner to grace our tiny garden.

Happy presents left for little ones to find.

And very happy children who love holidays more and more.

Lexi

I have a much younger sister who Liam and Isla absolutely adore.

Lexi is really and truly a very special six year old and it is really a treat to spend time with her. 

At the Farm

Outside

I love that my kids love being outside. Our family dynamic has completely changed since moving out of a very cramped apartment to an actual house!

Grant it, we are currently experiencing a mosquito invasion and unfortunately they seem to be quite immune to bug spray. 

We're also doing quite a bit of sidewalk chalk drawings. I'm personally fond of sidewalk chalk because it doesn't waste paper, it's still bright and colorful and the best part? It washes away with the next thunderstorm! 

A butterfly for Isla. They are currently her favorite things in the world. 

Summer Tree

Is summer finally here? It sure feels like it! We spent most of the day outside, getting things in working order for our big gardening and landscaping plans. A truly spectacular thunderstorm cut our afternoon a little short, but the rain is still very appreciated by Rose the tomato plant and her leafy comrades. I can't wait to get our pepper plants and our herb garden in the ground! 

Gardening

Despite his expression, Liam was actually quite happy with our work outside today! We are planting peppers (three varieties), marigolds and an herb garden out back. It's going to be quite an endeavor! 

Isla was thrilled to have the opportunity to get as dirty as possible. See? 

Seventeen Months

My baby is seventeen months old! I'm amazed it has been this long since her ecstatic birth--it feels like it was just yesterday. 

Happy day, my sweet girl. 

Tuesday Watercolors

Our day didn't exactly go as planned. We're active participants in an Attachment Parenting play group but the park meeting place today was a new location and, well, I got a little lost. Instead of making it to play group, we came home and ate our picnic lunch in the backyard on our picnic blanket. We also read a stack of books, procured from a trip to the library last night, and ate chocolate chip cookies so I guess the day wasn't totally lost! 

After another trip out for a quick errand, I set up the kids table outside in the yard for art time. Watercolors are a favorite in this home.

Isla is really just beginning her journey into art, albeit much earlier than Liam. She is showing a lot of interest in the colors (Liam has been working with her to name all of her colors! It's very sweet) and she even manages to put some paint to paper.

Liam is all business when it comes to art time. Ryan is very artistic and I like to think of myself as reasonably crafty so I love that our kids will grow up with a love of art and creating things in our home. 

Rainbow Monday

Liam painted his first rainbow! Now rainbow mania has taken over the house... not that I mind. I am apparently a rainbow fiend, like my son.

And a work in progress! A pair of shorties for the impending arrival using gorgeous hand dyed BFL.

 

Feathers

A wonderful Sunday, thanks in part to a friend, who provided us with eggs from her chickens, feathers from her peacock, and baby lettuce from her garden. What more could you ask for? 

What about a play space that is inspired by nature and virtually free? After seeing this particular photo, I was inspired to create a similar space in our backyard for a sand area. I found a neighbor of the aforementioned friend just giving away his pine stump pieces! They are gorgeous and once the sap seeps out, will be perfect for their new life. 

Saturday

It's been an interesting day. 

First, some flower cutting for Liam's NEW nature table, in the play room and completely different from our family nature table in our dining room.

And then, some planting and pulling, on everyone's part. Daddies are really good help for that kind of work.

Things We're Loving Right Now

Vegan carrot cake at a fantastic second birthday party.

Handmade, hand-wrapped gifts.

Flowers in our front yard.

Weeds

Our front yard flower bed is pretty overrun. The extremely rainy spring, coupled with the pregnancy and the general craziness of two little ones has not been good for my gardening karma. However! I have big plans for change, very soon. 

We just planted an heirloom tomato plant out front, named Rose (also the variety) and I just picked up a pineapple mint plant and a lavender bush today from the Northside Farmer's Market so I'm really excited to get those into the ground. Liam planted his sunflower seeds in a special place some weeks ago and they are already almost as tall as Isla! Plus, we have some little yellow flowers blooming and our big bush of...well, I'm not sure. It looks like lavender but smells like honeysuckle. Any rate, it's pretty and I really should weed and mulch to make sure everyone can appreciate it. 

My girl loves playing in the front flower bed, helping her brother water the flowers, digging in the dirt or even just picking a few stray blossoms. 

The Play Room

Sometimes I believe the play room is the most important room in the house. Goodness knows, it sees the most action (excepting the kitchen, of course.) Isla and Liam can and do play for hours on end. 

We're pretty devoted to our kids having the least toxic environment as possible. Equally important to us is fostering their imagination and giving them the opportunity for independent play with access to organized activities, costumes, play silks, and arts and crafts. I think our children really enjoy their play room and I know I enjoy being in there with them!

Next Door

Lucian is not ours but instead lives next door. He is absolutely adored by everyone who knows him! This dog has the best personality, the best temperament and he is so, so patient with Liam and Isla. 

The Parking Meter

One of Liam's favorite tasks is to put change in the parking meter. We spend quite a bit of time in downtown Cincinnati (Cincy), not only since Ryan works there but also because there is lots of great stuff to check out! 

I love the access that living in an urban area provides us, although we can still enjoy having a back yard and a driveway and a very roomy house. And living in Kentucky also means that we don't have to go very far at all to find a very rural culture--one that I in fact was raised in and appreciate to this day. 

It's June!

June is by far my favorite month. I love summer, and day lilies and the solstice celebrations (including my dear sister's birthday) and my birthday too, of course! 

Our June nature table. I've already gathered a few more things to add to it when the solstice arrives, but those are still surprises for our little ones.