A Visitor!

It seems as if butterflies have taken over. We received a visitor to the still blooming butterfly bush yesterday--a gorgeous, brand new Monarch. 

He stayed for literally hours, eating his fill. His wings were perfect--not even a tiny bit of fading or tearing, which is why we believe he was a newborn. That and his appetite! 

Both Liam and Isla were fascinated with this guy--he wasn't shy at all and practically hopped on my finger when I tried to get a little closer for pictures. 

This butterfly bush has been one of the greatest blessings of having our own home. It seems as if this little guy agrees! 

Our Mornings

Breakfast time! Almost always followed by a craft, hopefully outside. This particular day, we were reading about how butterflies have scales that make up their wings--so we decided to make our own scaly butterflies! 

Sparklers and the Great Bug Search

Sparklers! What summer is complete without sparklers?

And searching for bugs out front. Apparently this has become a favorite activity for the second born. She loves any insects (but especially butterflies!) And to celebrate Rainbow Week, a better look at Isla doing her best impression of a rainbow baby! She loves this little tie shirt. 

First Harvest

We've been gathering herbs from the garden for months now but now we have our first fruit! A delicious green pepper. Liam was so proud to finally pick it. It's been getting quite large for a while but we wanted to make sure it was really and truly ready. 

We had it for lunch yesterday, just sliced up with fresh cucumbers and homemade garlic breadsticks and marinara sauce. It was so wonderful to finally eat something we grew ourselves (herbs notwithstanding!) Today we ventured out to one of our favorite farmers' markets for the Lavender Festival and managed to come home without any veggies or fruits at all--thanks in part to our garden, but mostly to the generosity of my grandparents' garden. We couldn't pass up a loaf of our favorite brick oven fired bread, however. 

Liam the Brother

Sometimes Liam seems so small still, still so very close to babyhood. 

And then there are moments when he just feels so grown-up and mature and completely ready to take on the task of being a big brother yet again. He calls the new baby Mr. Gunk and talks constantly about taking care of him, changing his diaper, carrying him around everywhere. And Mr. Gunk is a girl, according to this big kid! Because he is the Only Brother in the family. I may be partial, but I think he is absolutely fantastic--I would've loved to have a brother just like him. 

A Trip to the Farm

I know how very blessed my children are to have immediate family with a working farm, deep in rural Kentucky. I grew up on a farm so I know a lot of my early child hood experiences (a pony, as many horses as I could count around at all times, tractors and homegrown tomatoes, and lazy summer evenings with lightning bugs and fresh picked watermelon) are simply not a part of today's culture.




I love teaching my kids the things that my grandparents' taught me--picking only the reddest tomatoes and saving the green ones for later, holding your palm out flat to feed the horses to keep your hand from being nipped and of course, how to eat popsicles outside on the front porch, listening to the sounds of the life surrounding you. As much as I love our city, I can't help but feel that these experiences are vital. 

Transition

Isla is growing so fast, right in front of our eyes. I think a big part is my adjusting perspective, as she is about to become a "big kid", the middle child and, most importantly, not the baby of the family. I often forget that she is only eighteen months old, still just a babe herself, since she has seemingly assigned herself so many roles outside of her small stature.



I know that children have old souls--I can feel it every time I look into my own babies' eyes. But her expressions, her range of emotion, her uncanny abilities at her age have convinced me that not only will she never be merely ordinary but she is already extraordinary, above and beyond anything I could've ever expected from my daughter. My daughter! I can barely believe how lucky I am.