Big Little Baby

Speaking of Caelum...well, was anyone?  I think it must be hard to be the middle child. I can't speak from much experience, as the very spoiled and well loved on baby of four, but I do know it's hard to be a younger sibling.  I remember wanting to do what Rachel did, and being told that I had to wait until I was older.  That's hard to hear, especially when it's something SO AMAZING like getting my ears pierced. For Caelum, it's playing soccer, doing VBS in the summer, and being tall enough for his Cars bike.

It's crazy to think that he's only three and a half because he is so very capable and brave. But he's three! He's just a little boy still: setting up picnics and feeding Horsey, making a mess with paints or food, and needing monkey blankie to go to sleep. I'm glad that he's still a little boy and I don't want him to grow up quickly. I'm glad he chose to have a unicorn painted on his face at our church's BBQ, especially since he specified that it could shoot ice out of its horn.

 He says amazing, hilarious things. We went to Panera for breakfast the other day, and Owen was hassling me for another chocolate chip bagel. Caelum turned to him and said, "Food is not your god, Owen." He loves to ask for new prayer requests when we pray at night and has been very faithfully praying for my Aunt Phyllis who is in bad health. Caelum also has a "shark 'maginary friend" who is always up for some antics or teaching him complex rules to a new game. He (Caelum, not the shark) still loves to cuddle and has sweet chubby little boy arms, but he's barrel-chested and drops his shoulder to tackle. His new favorite game is being "Josh" who plays for Clemson. Owen is Dabo and makes Caelum run drills. It's fantastic. They are going to love attending a real live Clemson game this fall. Going to the First Friday Parade got them all fired up...for making silly faces with Mantis, if nothing else.

Last weekend, we went to the fair and there were some very cool stilt puppet creatures that looked like Skeksis from The Dark Crystal.  I grant you, they were a little scary, but I was shocked to find Caelum had hidden in the bushes and did not want to be within 50 feet of these things.

Caelum wanted to go on every ride (he's a ball of contradictions, that one), but of course he was not tall enough for most of the cool ones.  Not even the Ferris Wheel.  If you look very closely in this picture, you can see Zach, Caelum and Esmé waiting while Owen and I went on the Ferris Wheel. It was Owen's first time on one, and he loved it, but don't tell Caelum how awesome it was. And don't worry, he got to go on plenty of lame kiddie rides.

Caelum's been getting a lot of, "You can when you're older." Each week starts off with a morning at Classical Conversations, where Caelum is still too young to officially be in the class.  He spends a few hours in the back of the classroom at his own desk or playing on the floor with the other younger siblings. They'll do puzzles or workbooks or play with blocks.  Then he participates now and then.  He is quite capable, if I can brag a bit.  When he plays the review games with the big kids (5 to 7 years old), he's able to answer most of the questions. All that information is sinking into his little brain.  This year, CC has been going much better, as Caelum is content to do his own thing and then participate in things that look interesting to him (science projects, art, and so on).  Also, I think this year's tutor is much more welcoming toward him. It sets a whole different tone.

When we're doing school at home, Caelum is more excited about it than Owen.  He asks what he gets to do next, and when it will be his turn to do math and reading. I'm learning that I really need to plan just as much for Caelum as I do for Owen.  He's not content to "just go play;" he wants in on the school action.

The other weekly activity that Caelum is still somehow too young to be in is Kids Camp at our church. It's a great program where the kids learn about music, play games, and memorize some verses and catechism. Having taught Caelum's Sunday School class, I know he could totally handle it, but he has to be four to be involved. So, we've been doing special outings instead while Owen is at camp. The favorite so far was the mall where he could go on a little ride with his sister. It was pretty sweet.

  

 Speaking of sweet, Esmé and Caelum were taking a bath together the other night and I caught a sweet kiss on camera. Be still my heart. He's wonderfully protective and kind to her, and enjoys having a sister much more now that she's so interactive. I'll hear him repeatedly saying to her, "Can I please have that? Can I please have that?" when she has yanked a toy away from him.

 

 Also, Caelum just about saved her life the other day. I didn't realize the gate at the top of our stairs was down, and of course, Esmé scooted as fast as she could toward the stairs. Caelum grabbed her shoulders and was holding her back, yelling, "Help, help! Esmé's going down the stairs!" Good boy, Caelum. We sure love you.

 

I see you rocking in the background there, Owen.  Your post will come soon enough.  Like a month or two.

Birthday Girl

Somehow, a year has gone by since sweet Esmé Ruth was born.  She is a beautiful, busy, bottom-scooting baby who continues to delight the whole family.  I am so thankful that she is my best sleeper and really just an easy baby all around.

Can you tell I'm having just a bit of fun with my little girl?  I'll have you know, her ridiculous pink party dress is the only item of clothing I have bought her in this entire year.  Speaking of, big shout out to the family members that do keep her dressed: Gramma, Queenie, Aunt Steph, and Aunt Hannah.

 Esmé had a very special birthday on Friday, since Zach took the day off of work.  We played/worked in the yard, enjoyed a delicious 12 Bones lunch, and then Esmé had her first taste of chocolate cake with Bobbi frosting (a very secret and very Polish recipe handed down from my great grandmother).

 E was a little suspicious regarding why we would bring a flame so close to a one year old, but we didn't let that stop us!

 

Like anyone with a good dose of Zembruski blood would do, Essie ate the frosting and disregarded the majority of the cake. It was blissful.

 Owen and Caelum were very excited about getting Esmé presents with their own money.  Zach also thought we should get her something because he is kind like that.   Aunt Rachel sent an adorable wooden tea set that the boys could barely keep their grubby hands off of.  It was a hit with everyone.

Saturday was the day of the big party. It was quite a busy morning as Gramma and Grandpa arrived and the ladies headed off to Sam's Club while the fellas went to Family BBQ Day at Borgwarner. Soon enough, both sides of the family arrived and the party really got started.  I will refer you to Hannah's blog for better/more pictures.

This is about as fancy as it gets for an Ashton birthday party.  The pallet was my crowning achievement in craftiness. Yep, spray paint and double-sided tape are as good as it gets with me.  We had plenty, even too much, food and a new creation we like to call Blueberry Ridge Punch.  A large thank you to Mr. Zach Zoschke for giving us a basic recipe with which to work.

Zach manned the grill and a few of our neighbors came to help us celebrate this sweet girl: 

E spent a lot of time in her highchair, eating, which is appropriate since that is her favorite thing to do.  And of course, there was MORE CAKE! She got to have the traditional Angel Food cake for her first birthday (a tradition that we made up with Owen).

 

And now, pictures of Essie stuffing her face:

 And my face:

 The big kids had a lot of fun (maybe too much in some cases?), and Bennett was the champion of "winning everyone over" with his adorable face and personality.

As the party wound down, it was time for presents. E was lavished with gifts from all the family, and she is once again stocked with clothes (phew, what would I do otherwise?). Grandma Dean completed E's beautiful quilt, which will soon be hung in her room. 

 Her favorite was probably the matching pillow that Grandma Dean made.  She plays peek-a-boo behind it and bellyflops onto it. She was sleeping with it, but started playing with it too much. It has  been removed until she learns to handle a pillow like a big girl.

 Before the night was over, my mom and I had a big photoshoot in the front yard because, well, why not? I can't even choose my favorite, so feel free to scroll quickly past an embarrassing amount of pictures.  You'll get the general idea: baby, balloon, dress, belly.

A big thank you to all the family that drove for hours in order to come to the party, with food and gifts in tow.  Thank you for the help and for being so sweet to Essie.

M.I.A.

Oh, guys, we need a new computer so badly. I love the Mac which we purchased immediately after our wedding (when we briefly had money as newly weds), but it is barely chugging along at this point. Since it has put in a solid seven years, I feel good about replacing it, but first we need to figure out exactly what we're looking for and even where to put it. I'm hoping to go the cheapest route: Mac mini plus a wireless keyboard. We could just run it through our tv which is great (for as much as we use our computer).  Anyway, you'll know when we've finally settled on something, as I'll start blogging again...but until then here's a summer fun picture.

Lonely Goatherd

This blog post title is only too appropriate as this song is a constant refrain in our house.  In between the other Sound of Music songs, that is. We saw the play at Asheville Christian Academy a few weeks ago as the kids' sweet babysitter, Miss Amy, was Maria.  She was amazing and Owen was totally riveted the whole two and a half hours.  Caelum and Esmé took turns napping but enjoyed the play as well.

Two weeks ago, we went to Mountain Top Creamery for a homeschool field trip.  It was tucked up in the mountains near Chimney Rock, quite close to where my parents rented a mountain house for a little reunion last summer. The field trip was awesome.  First the boys bottle-fed kids that were only three days old.

Owen, bestie Grant, and Caelum

Then they had a tasting of goat milk, goat milk cream, and various kinds of goat cheese.  Caelum could not get enough of the goat milk. And Owen's favorite? Aged goat cheese! It had a strong flavor that even some of the moms couldn't handle, but he loved it. Such a refined palate from an otherwise picky kid.

Chugging his second cup of goat's milk

Then we took a tour of where they milk the goats and make the cheese.  My favorite part was when one little girl started gagging because the goat cheese smell was so strong in one building.  The culmination was milking Lady Caroline. Caelum was all business.  The lady who ran the creamery wanted to make a trade for him and have him work there.  Owen also did great and was not at all tentative.  I shouldered my way past the kids for a try and apparently did it wrong. "No, not like milking a cow.  Just gently squeeze." You'd think I'd know enough about milking at this point.

 After the tour portion was done, we had a picnic while surrounded by 300 goats.  We purchased some plain goat cheese (which Zach and I polished off in a few days) and a wedge of aged goat cheese, for Owen. It was a great time and educational!