A More A-peel-ing Approach to Hot Dogs

Eli has always been a good eater, quantity-wise, but was a little more picky/hesitant to try new things than his adventurous sister...until recently.  It seems that with the milestone of his third birthday, Eli has decided to become a "clean plate ranger", and in doing so, has discovered that he  likes all sorts of new foods, such as gucamole, salsa, tortillas, soup, and even baby spinach.  There isn't much he wont try these days, and 9 times out of 10, he likes it!  

One of his old favorites is a classic, plain and dry hot dog.  He's never been a big bread eater (he's more of a "where's the MEAT?" kind of guy), so Jason and I weren't too surprised to witness his new banana peel hot dog eating technique, which thankfully he hasn't made a habit of since.  Still, seeing as how it made me laugh...I thought it was photo worthy!

Thank You Note-apalooza

One tradition I have with the kids is for them to help write/make their own thank you notes, particularly after birthdays, but also for random acts of kindness they've receive throughout the year.  It began when Norah was too young to "write" thank you notes, so I let her paint/color pictures and I wrote her words, verbatim as she dictated them.  This year, she was able to make (and write) them all by herself from start to finish.

For the writing of the notes, I started her off with a template.  It basically said, "Dear _______________, Thank you for (several blank lines). Love, ____________."  Then, I read off to Norah the list of people  we needed to thank.  I let her tell me what she wanted to say to each person, and I helped her with the spelling of words, as needed.  This process took several days.  Her list of people was fairly long, and her patience with printing could only last so long...so we broke it up into daily sessions while Eli napped one week.

She made the cards by using a spinning art kit (which just happened to be one of the gifts for which she was writing a thank you note).  Simply fasten down a note card to the tray, spin, squirt on paint, and watch it fly.  Norah loved experimenting with different techniques.  After the paintings were dry, she glued them onto a half piece of cardstock, folded tent-style.  Then, just for kicks, she titled (and signed) each work of art, based on what she thought it resembled. 

She carefully chose a card for each of her note recipients, and glued the corresponding note to the inside of the card.

I addressed the envelopes, while she return address stamped, and put postage in the appropriate corners.

And voila!  Personalized, heart-felt thank you notes!  Thank you note writing is a somewhat less practiced social grace in today's e-culture, but I hope it never will be for my kids.  t's a great way to help them realize and be thankful for their many blessings, as well as to be a blessing to others.  (After all, who doesn't like to get a little bit of fun mail from time to time?)

Norah's Art

"Visions of Sugar Plums"

This one was drawn the week of Christmas (yes, I'm that far behind on updating the blog/going through my pictures on my digital camera...am I the only one?) I love that she drew all of us in our beds (since that's when Santa would have made his visit.

"Eli's Birthday"

Eli would be the one on the far left (blonde hair, green eyes), with the big #3 on his shirt (I made him a striped shirt with a number three on it to wear on his birthday). Norah is beside him with blonde hair and blue eyes, and next to her are Helen (brown eyes, blonde hair) and her brother, Isaac (brown eyes, blonde hair), both who celebrated Eli's birthday with us.

"Snow White and a Deer" (Watercolor)

She was in Disney Princess/Watercolor mode this week....

"Ariel and Eric" (Watercolor)

"Norah Misses AA" 

(I love that they are the same height in this picture!)

"Beauty and the Beast"

I LOVE this one.  You can see Belle in the center of the "stage" holding the infamous rose.  The beast is to the right.  Also pictured, Mrs. Pots, the cheeky feather duster, and Lumieer.  All the circles are bubbles, and the round thing in the lower center is a dinner plate.  (She drew this the day after we went to see "Beauty and the Beast" at OPAS, and this is the "Be Our Guest" scene...probably the highlight of the entire show for both of us)

"The Flat Family"

I really love all of Norah's art, but the Flat Family is one of my all-time favorites.   We read "Flat Stanley" (if you're not familiar with it, it's an early reader book about a boy who is flattened by a bulletin board, and as a result is able to be mailed around the country in an envelope, be flown as a kite, and many other adventures.)  Norah was completely facinated with the storyline, and decided that she wanted to make an entire flat family...so she did.  I started her off tracing Flat Stanley from the book...that's the one on the far left...and she added "girl" features like pigtails and  decorations on her shirt.  Then she got adventuresome and free handed the rest of the family.  She even cut them out, paper doll-style (there were a couple of minor limb injuries with the littlest ones, but thankfully, nothing some scotch tape couldn't take care of!)

From the Mouthes of Babes

Overheard last Sunday after church...

 

E: I'm gonna be baptized someday.

N: Me too!  And then we can eat the crackers of God!"

 A recent prayer by Norah (after several conversations about the homeless, and less fortunate)

N: "Dear God, thank you for this wonderful day.  Please bless our food.  And be with the children without mommies or daddies.  And help people who live in boxes not to live in boxes.  Amen."

A recent prayer by Eli (over 2 months post-Christmas)

E: "Dear God, thank you for all our blessings.  Thank you for Mommy and Daddy.  And help Santa to come at nap time.  Amen." 

At the barber shop recently, we were sitting, waiting through a long line for Eli to get his hair cut, when an older gentleman came in and sat down in the seat next to Norah.  (We go to the historic downtown barbershop, where we are almost always the only patrons under 50, so this was a normal occurrence) Without hesitating, Norah turned to the man and had the following exchange.

N: Hi.  I'm a five year old.  (if you've talked to N lately, you know this is how she starts almost every conversation)

Man: Why hello there young lady.

N: Do you know about Jesus? (this on the other hand, I've NEVER heard her say before)

Man: Why yes, I do.  He is my Lord and my Savior.

N: (Smiling, and nodding) Good.  I'm going to the doctor after this to get some shots.

Man: Oh!  Well.  That's not gonna hurt because Jesus is gonna make it not hurt.

A: (Grimaces at Norah as man turns the other way,  and shakes head no, in disagreement with his claim about pain-free shots.  N smiles knowingly and nods her head, as if to tell me she understands)   

I did, however, later talk to N about how proud I was of her for being so bold in talking to a stranger about Jesus.  She said she just wanted to make sure he knew.  Oh, that I might have the effortless faith of a child.