We've got love locked up.

It may be common knowledge to the few who visit this site, but the reason that we've gotten so late in providing updates on our family blog (four months and counting -- but who's counting?) is that we've devoted most of our time during this period to creating and building our letterpress business, Anise Press.  I'm trying to catch up (in between designing and printing new cards, posters, and other fun additions) by adding all the pictures we've taken in the interim.  We hope that no one's felt abandoned!

the book arts

Of course, Linus was the actual hand model of the dos-a-dos binding tutorial.  He also helped to select the offprints from the pressroom to use as decorative covers for his own pamphlet, then filled the book with pictures of robots.  It's hard to top that.  

comforts of home

do-si-do

We spent quite a bit of time last month setting up a tutorial on a simple bookbinding structure, the dos-a-dos, for the Anise Press blog.  The boys were highly interested in helping with the guide, but may have really been interested in being poster children.  Well, that might not be entirely fair -- Casper might have  only wanted to get a fancy book to draw in.

gaming

This shot commemorates Linus throwing matching numbers with his two dice six times in a row while we were having a family game day.  It's quite a parlor trick.

cozy clan

Gwendolyn was recently playing a game of Warriors Battle when she was joined by the ever-ferocious Spatsfoot.  Watch out for those two.

stressless

There's nothing like the placid expression of a sleeping infant -- I don't think that there's any point in my life, conscious or not, at which I can appear so peaceful.

booty

The children trying to select twenty pieces of candy for their stash, 

and determining which to leave out for the sugar sprites. 

Casper George, the Dragon

The Graying Lady

While Gwennie's makeup and spectral costume were very effective, we had to ration her silver hairspray over several parties and activities.  As a result, rather than looking uniformly colorless, her hair appears to have gone prematurely gray.  It's still a good look for her, or for anyone -- just ask her mother.

Sir Inverted and the Country Maid

We're nearly ready for our Halloween festivities, and have gotten ourselves together in preparation for next week (and for the church party).  Unlike last year, there's no overt theme to the family costumes, but it's not hard to work out a narrative when the children are all together in their gear.

Miss Adventure

l'original

Of course, these days it's Margaret who is generally first up, and who expects the rest of us to be up with her.  Fortunately, she's attentive to her morning duties, which is why we leave a brush nearby.

slippery sleeping

Casper may be the most gymnastic sleeper I've ever seen.  His brother turns and kicks (making it a struggle when he has a bad dream and tries to slip into bed with us), but Casper positively contorts himself -- in fact, he often gets himself partially or wholly inside the shelf built into his headboard.  Note that his pillow is nowhere to be seen in this shot.

sleeping giant

It's actually Linus who is frequently first up, and who struggles to get to sleep at night (often, coincidentally, on those nights that we happen to be watching something in the living room after the children's bedtime).  It's good to see him getting the rest he needs -- though when his siblings arise, it generally isn't long for him, either.

Sunday morning coming down

Actually, it was a Saturday morning, and since I was the first to get up (well . . . after Margaret, I should say), I decided to go around and record the children snoozing in their beds.  I don't know whether it was Greta's insistence about getting up or whether the other children felt it was about time to start the weekend proper, but I was a little late with Gwennie, certainly.

standing order

For some time now, Greta has been working at standing, and has even taken the odd unassisted step.  She appears to be one of those babies who takes some time to decide that walking can be useful -- but once she determines that it's worth her while, she goes all in.  One of these weeks, we'll report that she's given up crawling entirely for a life of upright mobility.  

buds

No matter how you might otherwise feel about cats, you've got to love an animal who is this patient with an infant crawling and loving on it.

in her sister's footprints

It shouldn't take long for Greta to pick up Gwennie's sensitivities and skills with animals.  She's certainly fascinated with each contact, even if every creature she encounters is still a "tat."

gecko redux

What would a week be without Gwendolyn catching (sorry, making friends with) some creature she's found outside the house?

last days

 

Given the baby's growing interest in standing (and our recollection of her siblings' schedule), it's become clear to us that Greta's days crawling are coming to an end.

We're excited for her, and for her growing mobility, which should make all our lives easier -- but we're also a little sad to see this skill, which she's spent so much time honing, become obsolete.  This is our little farewell to Margaret, crawler (and an opportunity to show how cute she is at it).

snake charmers

(Linus has joined in on Gwendolyn's penny whistle, which I brought from a conference in Philadelphia.)

recorder

Like so many before her (including her father), Gwennie has picked up the recorder in music class.  It's a real rite of passage.  In her case, it's through Fine Arts Fridays, a weekly half-day offered for children at a local private school (and which consists of music, theater, art, and p.e. -- essentially, all the stuff that schools are always trying to cut).  At least she's got the posture down.

artist, frustrated

 

The only advantage of this tacky plastic seat -- other than the fact that it can be mounted on any chair, so is fairly transportable -- is that it is just about impossible for any budding Houdini to slip her way out of it.  Much to her frustration.

Fortunately, it shouldn't last long -- the dream of freedom will pass.

escape artist

Greta needs a new seat!  This lovely wooden high chair which has served her as long as she could sit alone is no longer suitable.  Read on, and the reason will become clear:

As happened with the other children, she's figured out how to twist her way out of the harness, and she finds this much more entertaining than sitting and eating could ever be.  Well, change is part of life.

up-spelunking

There's nothing that excites the children more than the prospect of pulling down the folding staircase and going to explore the attic.  I wish I could muster the same kind of joy for going into the cramped, hot, dusty spaces of life, but there you are.

goggalor

I don't remember which of the kids put these goggles on Greta, but she had a pretty grand time playing around with them.  Another note: if you look closely at her right hand, you can see a terrible infection on her middle finger.  While we were constantly trying to care for this tender spot, it took forever to heal (partially because Margaret couldn't stop fiddling with it).

specs

Casper's always trying to make himself seem older by sneaking off with his siblings' and parents' clothes and accessories.  In this case, grabbing his mother's glasses actually seems to have worked -- he looks to me a lot like a (tiny) college student.

legorchitecture

And with the record for the longest freestanding lego structure, Gwendolyn, with "pedestrian bridge."

mobility

This video is a little old (we shot it at the beginning of September, I think), but it's worth a look.  This shows Margaret at her most single-minded -- she's going to zip down the hallway, and isn't going to let anything like her father or the camera get in her way.  The fact that I was able to keep her in focus (manually) while she was barreling toward me is just a little technical bonus.  One of my favorites of all time.

Michaelmas

A big part of Waldorf education is celebrating the seasons and all the festivals that come with them.  Tonight, we got together with three other Waldorf homeschooling families and celebrated Michaelmas.  My friend Allison told a version of the story of St George and the Dragon to illustrate to the children the power of the will in overcoming evil in their lives.  We played a game with the children and talked about using this time of year to make new beginnings.

As we were all enjoying our potluck feast, Allison's daughter Alexa pointed to some foliage right where her brother and Linus had passed and calmly noted, "There's a snake."  I turned, looking for a little grass snake and didn't see anything -- until someone pointed out the three-foot copperhead looking agitated just a couple of feet between me and Todd (who was sitting with Greta in her stroller). Yikes!

Allison's husband used a toy light saber to coax the snake back into the woods.  I mean, a saber of light to cast out the serpent!  What a great celebration of making correct decisions to conquer fears!