Best daddy in the world

Joel was on an early morning run at the seminary when he saw this HUGE caterpillar.  At first he ran past it, but then he realized that it would make him the best daddy in the world, so he ran back, coaxed it on a stick, drove it home to us, and then made it back to school just in time for class (still sweaty from his run)!  We all were thrilled to be brought such a gift, and quickly agreed that he is indeed the best daddy in the world.  When I told my friend that Joel had risked being late for class to bring us a caterpillar, she replied, "He knows your love language!"

It was bright green, and with familiar pattern and shape - another Imperial Moth caterpillar!  They can be brown (like the ones we raised last year) or bright green like this one.  

Joel found it crawling across the jogging/biking path - I'm glad it didn't get squished!  By afternoon it had changed color to a brownish green, so it seemed like it was ready to burrow and pupate.  Sure enough, when we gave it a bucket of dirt it started digging and eventually settled itself several inches under the soil.

I noticed that it had a few parasitic wasp eggs on it, but not very many, so I tried to gently pick them off.  Thankfully since the caterpillar is so big and there were only a few eggs the caterpillar will still survive.  This one is way bigger than the ones we've raised before.  And that reminds me - our moths from last year hatched!  I should go find those pictures...

Reading to Beatrice

Beatrice discovered books a few weeks ago when Nana (Joel mom) was visiting us.  She now will regularly bring us books and plop into our laps for a story.  

The big sisters think it is terribly cute and love to read to her.

The little rocker has become Beatrice's very own reading chair - it takes her a few moments to get situated, but then she is very proud of herself!

Daddy Date for a Princess

Turning 5-years-old is a big deal, and Joel wanted to celebrate it specially with Nora on a special Daddy Date.  He told her to get dressed up however she wanted.  So she did:

(Note the sparkly purple tennis shoes!)

He took her to the Cheesecake Factory for chocolate cake and told her all the reasons he loves her.  God has blessed us with a beautiful princess, from the inside out.  

Nora's 5-yr-old "Chocolate Purple Ducky Flower Dessert Love Party"

That's what she wanted for her 5th Birthday.  A "Chocolate Purple Ducky Flower Dessert Love" Party.  Note that Chocolate and Dessert are two separate features (i.e. I don't want chocolate desserts, I want Chocolates AND Desserts).  For a while Nora's only activity using the play kitchen is to set up "Dessert Parties" for us and whoever may be visiting, or even for all her little animals (or even Elsa's lizards, basically anyone who will come!)  I finally realized that when we first moved to Birmingham, we were invited to several dessert parties by various seminary groups.  It's an after-dinner potluck where everyone brings a dessert and mingles into the evening.  The girls LOVED getting to go to these events - even though they were often the only kids, they enjoyed all the attention, getting to stay up late, and eating grown-up desserts!  It must have made an impression on Nora, our sweets-lover.  Funny enough, the night before Nora's party, we went to the first dessert party of the new school year.  So she got two dessert parties in a row!

Back to Nora's birthday party request - it is basically a list of all of Nora's favorite things, and I did my best to reasonably oblige. 

We made a variety desserts that would thrill any 5-year-old:  chocolate covered marshmallows,

Chocolate covered strawberries,

and chocolate pudding.

Nora (literally) got all her ducks in a row for the big event, all 26 of them:

My awesome friend let us use her house since our apartment space was just too tight for all this.  Here's the spread for the "Chocolate Purple Ducky Flower Dessert Love Party."

She LOVED it.  Nora is not as outwardly expressive as Elsa, but I could tell in the days leading up to her party that she was SO happy and SO excited by the way she would randomly give me hugs or shout "I love you so much mommy."  She smiled for about two days straight.

First we made colorful pinwheels (I thought they were close enough to flowers):

Then we played a Ducky Relay game where the kids had to waddle like ducks to the Duck Pond and find a ducky with their team's color stuck to the bottom and then waddle back for the next player.  Both kids and adults thought it was SO funny.  

Then we played "Pin the Chocolate to Nora's Mouth."  Nora drew a picture of herself and we put sticky tack on a Hershey Kiss.

Then it was time for "Happy Birthday!"

The kids quickly overdosed on sweets.  Soon they drifted away to play in other rooms.  All except Nora, who was still trying to satisfy her huge sweet tooth.  My mom asked her, "Where did everyone go?"  "I don't know" she said - she didn't care where everyone went.  She still had desserts on her plate!  And she was very happy sitting right there enjoying them.

That's my girl!  Happy Birthday sweet Nora!

Color Theory

We regularly get together with my friend's family for school and social activities, so you (whoever you are that still visits here) may recognize them from other posts.  This day we did a fun color-theory painting activity.  First we watched OK-GO's primary colors stop motion music video (very fun, but very catchy!  It was made for Sesame Street).  

Then we did the "Walking Colors" project, where you put water with food coloring in two jars, with an empty jar in the middle. Then make bridges from the colors to the empty jar with paper towels, and the water will move along the paper towels by capillary action, and the colors will blend in the middle jar as it fills up.

Then it was time to paint and experiment of course...

When the big kids finished we filled in color wheels and talked about how colors compliment each other and such.  It was a fun afternoon.

I don't often ask the kids to pose for me, but I wanted a photo of them looking at our project.  It took a few silly faces and monster poses, but I did get one for their school record!

Backyard therapy

Over the summer I started landscaping our backyard.  I dug a french drain in front of the existing patio and out to behind our yard and covered it with river rock.   My sister helped me level and set in a new patio area with inexpensive red blocks:

And I created a dry river bed of rocks to channel the rain around the big tree.  The garden has grown beautiful and lush.  I was starting to prepare to put some sod on the remaining ground when we got the news - the new owners of our apartment complex are planning to take down the back yard fences.  No!!!!!!!

We've gone to them as a family with a letter asking to keep our backyard, and we continue to petition each time we are in the office.  Apparently the issue is under consideration, but until we know for sure my project is on hold.  I will be heartbroken to lose the private backyard - it is so good to be able to send the girls outside and know that they are safe, besides having a place for Tabitha Twitchit and for me to have a place where I can "get away" without even leaving home.

While we wait to know if we will get to keep it or not I'm trying to enjoy it as much as possible.

While we wait to know if we will get to keep it or not I'm trying to enjoy it as much as possible.  We get to observe so much life on our little space.  The girls will often call me to come outside and see what new discovery they've made, and I try to remember to grab my camera on my way out.

Grasshopper

Sunflower

Ant

Southern Leopard Frog

These big swallowtails would come by and spend several hours in our yard, slowly working their way from flower to flower, and sometimes there would be several at a time.  (I don't have a photo of our hummingbirds - they stop by daily for the canna flowers)

Zebra Swallowtail 

Tiger Swallowtail

Moonflower bud 

Moonflower (opens at dusk)

Elephant Ear

Canna Lily leaf

Tree frog

Birds Nest Fungi

Snail (I don't really like snails, but I liked the patterning on his shell)

another Tree Frog (we see lots of lizards too, but they are too fast to photograph!)

raindrops on an Elephant Ear

Zigzag Garden Spider

And there are plenty more butterflies,

and lots of bees too.

But the most exciting thing in our backyard are the fairies - I was lucky to catch this one hiding behind an Elephant Ear!