Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails: CUR-RIC-CU-LUUUUMMMM

I LOVE the stuff. Can't help it. Maybe it's the love of books. Don't know, but the shelves of Mardel make me drool. And you'd be shocked to see how I act in those teacher stores that are actually 100% dedicated to selling educational supplies. It's scary how I behave!

Snips, Snails, and Pretty Pigtails

It has been so LONG since my last "Snips" post!! What kind of a mother am I?? ;) Okay. To explain, "Snips" are little tidbits of information I want to remember about each of my children at their various stages and ages. When I don't write these things down, they get lost in the jumbles of my brain, so really...it's proactive memory sustainability in action! (You can read other "Snips" posts by clicking on the tab just below our banner picture.)

Noah, 9

He is the leader and instigator of all things thought out-of-the box. There's always a fort/clubhouse to build, a rocket ship to make from a shipping box, a strange invention made from rubber bands, pencils, and index cards. That's just who he is. Evidence of this is all over this blog. You can even see it in how he plays. For example...

Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails: August

For whatever reason (I'm sure it's not the fact that our family has watched Lassie Come Home fourteen times this month), Saylor and the two babies have been playing "Dog" a lot lately. They take turns being the dog and the owner, and they play those parts to the "nth" degree! They've even figured out that Noah's bungee cords make great leashes. (Don't freak out on me. There's no tying or wrapping going on. They simply hook one end to their shirt collar.) It's so funny. Gabriel enjoys the game the most and even tries to get Paul and me to play along. But we don't make very good dogs. In case you weren't aware, grown-ups don't have the knees to withstand hardwood or tile floors for longer than, say, five seconds. That's okay, though. He takes solace in time with his Silkie. Still.

Noah, on the other hand, is practicing his combat skills. With whatever he can find. Here, he has turned my vacuum cleaner attachments into some sort of double lightsaber-thingie. 

And more evidence of the impressionability of our children...Saylor has been wearing her chef's hat (the one she's wearing in the last couple of pictures) TO BED every night. Why? you ask. Well, she thinks it resembles the night bonnets Laura and Mary Ingalls wear to bed. And she is a Little House girl through and through!! That's why. ( I know. That was probably your guess, wasn't it?) And then she wants me to sing "Holy, Holy, Holy" to her because it's her favorite church song. She is one quirky girl, let me tell ya.

A few weeks ago, Atticus climbed into bed with us and said, "Hi, Daddy. I ready!" I know I'm always talking about how talkative Atticus is, but really. This child amazes us with his abilities! "Dead bug," "baseball," "More water ice,""My birthday." It's crazy! Of course, this is the same kid who almost always answers "no," even when he means "yes" and has to be reminded that he does, in fact, mean "yes."





Never a dull moment.

But that's how we like it.

Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails: July

Noah, still sometimes begrudgingly, is getting schoolwork done a little more readily. There have to be incentives and such at times, but it's getting done. And his handwriting is improving a great deal, which gives me great relief, seeing as how CURSIVE is looming on the horizon. Ugh. He is also averaging a chapter book per week. And enjoying himself! He has always been a great reader, but getting him to do it was a chore. It's better now because he has a piece of paper that tells him exactly how much he needs to do each day. That's the key for him. Knowing what is expected helps him feel a little more in control, I guess. 

I may not be overly impressed with the curriculum we're using right now, but his enjoyment of the books gives the curriculum value it might not otherwise have had in my mind. And it has created a craving within him to read by choice--when it is not required. Sometimes he'll sit and read through our entire stack of library books at one time. One night I caught him quietly reading his Bible on his bed. (I still have to sneak up on him when I have a camera in hand.)

Saylor is still such a little mommy. She's always toting a baby of some sort, careful to make sure said baby gets properly buckled in her car seat, takes her naps, nurses, gets her diaper changed, and gets her picture taken as much as the rest of the family! 

But "Saylor as Mommy" is nothing like her pajama-clad real mother, in that Saylor is always well-dressed and heavily accessorized. (Note her brother's pink neck tie clipped to the front of her dress. That was the fad around our house for a while there.) And perhaps most importantly, Saylor always has on a "clumpy" (her word) pair of shoes. In fact, she's wearing a pair of mine in the picture above! (She has on my shoes more than I do.)

Gabriel is talking up a storm. Up. a. storm!! And in full sentences most of the time. "No, I didn't." "Daddy helped me." "Atticus went upstairs." That kind of stuff. SOMEtimes he will start s-words with their appropriate s-sound. Which means SOMEtimes, instead of calling Saylor "Yeh Yez," he will say "Say Say." He's putting some g's on the ends of words. He is still behind in articulation, meaning that he can't accurately pronounce all the many, many words he knows. Because of all the improvements lately, I've really been feeling like everything will all balance out eventually. And that's just awesome news.

That's Gabe's voice saying, "Roll it" over and over. I didn't even know he KNEW the word "nicely"!

Atticus is keeping up with all of us. Fiercely independent and wanting nothing cut up into baby bites, he is definitely holding his own with the Davidson kiddos. He, too, is making some "sentences." "That Mimi (Miriam)." "Me ready." and "Hi Mommy."  He was hilarious when Gabriel was getting his evaluation, because the tester would ask Gabe a question about a picture, and Atticus would RUN up and say the answer! There's really not much he doesn't have a word for. He's pointing out bikes, boots, trees, houses, cats, birds, trains, cars, ice. The list goes on and on.

That's July. August will be forthcoming.

Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails

Noah is full of ideas. He's a problem-solver. And he likes to be right in the middle of whatever's going on. Sometimes that tends to drive others crazy. Like when someone's trying to install a dishwasher or move a heavy piece of furniture, for instance. Oh! And he's determined. Determined, that is, when it comes to doing what he's set his mind to. Not usually very determined when I've asked him to solve some math problems or write a story. But certainly very determined when he wants to be the one to uncrate the aforementioned dishwasher. (That kept him busy for quite a while.) Sometimes these qualities are a challenge for the rest of us to understand or accept, but I do have faith that God can use them for good.




Saylor was a gorgeous "Mommy Doll" in McAfee Ballet's production of "The Velveteen Rabbit." She couldn't have been cuter. (It's funny how the little ones get under those bright lights and just totally lose all sense of direction and ability.) And she stole her portion of the show. Literally! Just ask her teacher...




Gabriel is actually becoming a...............(wait for it).................TALKER!! Yes, he is!! Over the past couple of months he has just started jabbering like crazy. There's not much he won't at least TRY to say. Of course, that means there's a lot we can't understand. But he makes every effort to get his point across. He's also forming sentences like "Atticus, come upstairs "; "Daddy home?"; and "Ready go Mimi's house." You just don't understand. That's HUGE!! And so, so beautiful to hear! I'm thankful to be able to finally say that he now has more words than we can keep up with.




Atticus is such a little bright spot in our home. He laughs at all our antics, plays happily in his crib when we need him to, and makes peace when he is playing with something that belongs to someone else. He even calls for his bigger siblings when he wakes up in the morning, because Noah will often be the one who gets him out of his crib and Saylor often goes in there and entertains him while Mommy snoozes a few minutes more. (Shame on me!)

Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails

Noah may not know everything there is to know about soccer yet. But he certainly gets in there and isn't afraid of the action. No, sir! I think he's a lot like me and really wants to always "be the one" who gets the job done! Ha! Even his guitar teacher says he's really picked things up quickly. And, believe me, it's been with very little practice. We're still working on that nice, disciplined lifestyle we know we're supposed to have by now. *sigh* But seriously, the other day Noah finally pulled out his guitar, immediately checked to make sure it was in tune (he definitely has an ear for that...), and then absentmindedly began strumming a chord combination. I swear, he sounded like he'd been doing it all his life. The strumming pattern itself was so laid-back--it really sounded good! And, y'all, I know I'm biased 'cause he's my boy and all, but I'm telling the truth here! He is just a natural!

Saylor is such a big girl now. If you know her well, you know that for her entire life she has owned (and adored) a small, pink blanket called "Silkie." When she held it, she sucked her thumb. It was an automatic response. From babyhood to age five, this is what would happen. She mostly only had it when sleeping, so it wasn't too big of a deal for us. But deep down I was a little worried that once she lost her front baby teeth, we'd have a mess on our hands. Well, the Lord was good to us and one day about a month ago, Saylor just flat-out lost "Silkie." I mean, for REAL lost it. We looked everywhere!! So, after quite a few tears were shed that first night at bedtime, she had no other choice but to go to bed without it. The next day it was still nowhere to be found, but by this time Saylor was a little proud of herself for making it okay without it. Since then she's only had a handful of moments where she really felt distraught not having it to comfort her. She's doing so well!! And she has truly delighted in telling her grandparents, etc. about how big she is now. And no thumb sucking! (She never even considered putting her thumb in her mouth unless she held Silkie. So, that part is completely over and without any blood, sweat, or tears.) Isn't that a blessing?

Then there's Gabriel...aka Resident Woodcarver and Visual Artist of Many and Varied Media, has recently been enjoying different activities, like filling the sink with water until it overflows the top (that's always fun), eating whatever scrap of food anybody was foolish enough to leave alone for two seconds, and dumping contents (like unpopped popcorn, for instance) of plastic baggies onto the carpet. He's always sweet about it, though. When you tell him, "NO! We don't do that," he says, "Oh..." and nods his head like he completely understands. He's one of those kids that will have to try everything at least once--just to see what it's like.

He is also turning into quite the little talker. Mind you, we still have a world of trouble understanding him. (Just try to speak the English language without using "g" or "k." Yeah...sort of limits him a bit.) But he tries so much more than he used to and even puts two and three words together on his own. The other day this little girl got hurt in Saylor's dance class, and Gabe said, "Mommy, girl...ear." Of course, it sounded like "Mommy, duh...ee-uh." But I got it. And it made my day! A few other marvelous things that regularly come out of his mouth nowadays are: "upstairs," "Honda," various friends' names, and "oatmeal."

Atticus is my Cuddle-Bug. I recently weaned him so Paul and I could take a trip to Eureka. Hate weaning...so. much. But he did great. He really did! Every once in a while (even now) he'll ask to nurse, which breaks my heart, but so far I've been able to distract him easily, and he doesn't fuss or anything when I put him in his bed without it. Still, it's hard for us mamas. I'm just so thankful that he is so very snugly. He loves to sit in my lap when I'm reading or we're watching something together as a family. And he's one of those babies who loves to put his head on your shoulder while you rock him. It feels so good to have his sweet little head up against my neck. In fact, I'm starting to tear up a little as I type this post, so precious he is to me.

The theme this time is definitely "Progress," wouldn't you say? They're growing up on me, y'all.

Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails

Noah probably clocked twelve hours out in the snow. Two soaked coats, three sets of gloves, two hats, and eight pairs of jeans later, all I could think was, "WHY can't the outdoors give me a break in the laundry department?!" But he loved every minute of it. He does not even NOTICE when he is up to his knees in mud or when icicles are hanging from his nose. In fact, the only time he'd come in was when his gloves would become completely soaked through and his hands would be wet, raw, red, and basically FROZEN. But he would only be inside long enough to warm his hands under warm, running water and put on some new gloves. The child was born to be O-U-T!

Saylor made bird feeders at Academy several weeks ago. It was perfect timing, because the next day we got all that ice and snow, and the birds were all out frantically looking for something to eat. (I'll have to post some pictures of them.) Saylor was just giddy watching all the birdie activity. (Ironically, she used to love birds so much when she was a toddler that her second birthday party was a bird theme!) She enjoyed the snowy weather, too, but it seemed to me she was really just into it for the fun of wearing all those delightful accessories!

Saylor Being Silly in Her "Snow Ears"

Gabriel has always been our monkey. He has always liked to conquer obstacles. Now that I think about it, I guess I should be fairly worried that he'll become a mountain climber one of these days. (Yikes!) Anyway, lately he's been climbing into Atticus's crib. Sometimes it's just to play with Atticus before bed. Sometimes nobody else is in the room, and he'll climb in after filling the crib with balls. And then it's a game of "throw the balls out of the crib as fast you can." It's funny to me how boys just naturally make these games (sports) up for themselves. They just can't help it, can they?

Atticus writes. He does! (I've been telling you he's our little professor!) Give him a piece of paper, a card, a small booklet, or whatever to "write on" and then a crayon, a straw, a paintbrush, or whatever remotely resembles a pen, and he will be busy with them for a long, long time. He walks around, stops, writes something, looks up, walks some more, and then comes and shows me what he's got so far. *grin*

Snips, Snails, & Pretty Pigtails: Saylor, part 2

One thing about Saylor you may have noticed is that she has some LOOOOOOOOONG hair. Yes, she does.

Right now her hair reaches all the way to her waist. It's never actually been cut. I mean, I've trimmed it many times, but never more than an inch or two at a time. No reason really. Just haven't. Don't think for a second I haven't been tempted to do it. As a matter of fact, I'm currently IN a state of temptation, and I may just have to succumb this time. Because, honestly, long hair like that is a lot of work. And when it's thin and fine, like ALL my children's hair, well then, it's even worse. Tangles hurt, y'all!! She's also been growing out her bangs for almost a year now. For those of you who have ever done that, you know how F.U.N. that is! Most of the time we can't even SEE Saylor under all that hair in her face.

(I guess she fits right in with brother Noah and brother Gabriel. Right?)

Oh, glory, how glad I'll be when it just naturally does THIS all the time!!

The other day we were looking at pictures of Saylor as a baby and marveling at how much she has changed (and, at the same time, how much she has stayed the same). Always delicate, always dainty, always a lover of beauty. I have yet to meet a girl with quite so MUCH girliness as Saylor. She loves to flit and twirl and put her babies to bed and eat cake and wear dresses and go shopping and go to parties and dance and sing and go to church. She loves classical music and worship songs. She loves babies and getting them to smile at her. There's really not a whole lot she doesn't like, except blueberries and salad...oh, and being pestered. Ha!

Our baby girl has grown so much it is unbelievable to me. In less than a month, she will be FIVE years old and that. just. astounds me. When did she stop being THIS cutie pie?!

Oh, she's still cute alright. Cute and delicate and girly. But Saylor is also the toughest little girl ever. Tough when she gets hurt, that is. Her tolerance for pain is truly astounding. Believe me when I tell you, she gets that from her father! I'll never forget the time when she was a toddler and she stepped on a thumbtack. It went all the way into her foot so that it was flush with the bottom of her foot! That poor child WALKED! down the hallway to me and was barely whimpering--but definitely limping or I wouldn't have known what was wrong with her. And when I pulled that tack out...Boy! it gushed blood. Oh, she cried then. But literally only for like 20-30 seconds. Got a band-aid on it, and she was just fine, even though that spot was bruised and visibly sore for quite a while. And you should see her with shots! Even as a baby, she would rarely cry. Crazy!

Our tough little girl even already knows what she wants to be when she grows up. Any guesses?

Easy..............a mommy.

She's so cute when she helps me in the kitchen because she'll be stirring something and I'll compliment her work and she'll gasp and say, "I'm almost a mommy!" One thing she loves to do is help with Baby Atticus. It's VERY good "mommy" practice, wouldn't you say?

Yep. You're going to make a good one, Saylor.

Snips, Snails & Pretty Pigtails: Saylor, part 1

Saylor started taking ballet last year, and I worried (and worried) that it was too hard for her. I mean, she couldn't even skip! I thought she'd never learn, in fact. But it turns out that a full year of dance when you're four does a lot of good toward helping one LEARN to SKIP.

And you could NOT have found a girl in that class who had as much FUN as she did while at dance class. She was the one we'd hear giggling uncontrollably when they'd finish one thing and get in position for something else. The other girls just did as they were told, but Saylor would literally bound from one place to another, laughing giddily. She LOVED every minute of it. So funny. And now that she's started her second year, I can already see that she has become more coordinated with age. I'm so excited for her!

Her June recital was a full-story ballet based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale "The Emperor and The Nightingale" and involved the entire company of dancers. Saylor's age group (the youngest) were the little birds of the forest and their teacher played the nightingale. It was a really neat production. Those little birds were too cute for words!

And they did an excellent job, too, considering how much they had to "remember" and that while standing on a stage under all those stage lights. That's hard!

We got several pictures right after the performance (once her hair was falling down, of course) with her three (count 'em...three!) bouquets of flowers.

And then we took a few more at home...for Mimi's sake.

(And, yes, there is a creepy yellowish bruise on her forehead. She clocked herself at the park about a week before the recital. PURRRRfect timing, right?)

She's already started asking about this year's recital. *grin* It's gonna be a long year...