Please join us for story time!

Miss Leyba loves reading her books aloud! Not only does she like to sit in our laps for story time, but she frequently reads aloud to herself (and to anyone else who will listen!). She is especially partial to reading in bed, something David and I are quite fond of too.

Since we read to her every day, and often read the same books over and over again at her request, she has several favorites memorized (such as Goodnight Moon, The Hungry Caterpillar, and I’m as Quick as a Cricket); here are two others for your enjoyment.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Video: Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? from Carrie on Vimeo.

Where’s Spot?

Video: Where is Spot? from Carrie on Vimeo.

We could read and discuss books all day.

Oh, yeah, we frequently do.

What books are you enjoying right now?

What do you do when all of the kids in your play group have birthdays within three months of each other? (Yes, Miss Leyba is the youngest!)

Hold a group birthday party!

Thank you to Christina for the inspired idea, to Lien and her family for hosting the shin-dig, to Eveline for procuring the pastries and for the Melissa & Doug Cutting Food Box for Miss Leyba (for the Secret Santa type gift exchange — 1 present per child!), and for our great friends for an awesome potluck and wonderful afternoon together.

Edited to add:
Here’s a video of the girls jumping on the trampoline. Unfortunately I missed the hysterical giggle-fest part, but it’s still cute nonetheless.

Video: Great End to a Great Party from Carrie on Vimeo.

It dawned on me that if I started working on my to-do list for Miss Leyba’s second birthday party now, then I might actually get it all done!

We’re planning a very small party: just Miss Leyba and her three closest friends (and their parents too!), and possibly some grandparents.

The theme?

Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, also known as “Happy Caterpillars!” which is how Miss Leyba lovingly refers to it. (Yes, plural; as in there is a caterpillar on each page of the book!)

She is completely obsessed with The Hungry Caterpillar, and with the entire concept of caterpillars turning into butterflies. (We have SO many books, both from the bookstore and the library, on the subject. Life Cycles are a big hit right now.)

We have so many wonderful Very Hungry Caterpillar related items that we can pull into the party too: a handmade caterpillar puppet, puzzles of the caterpillar and the butterfly, the pop-up version of the book, as well as the French translation!

I am planning on serving up the menu in the book, with punched holes in all of the food as well!

Stay tuned as I post more pictures and share more of my ideas. I hope it will be a fun and memorable day and, wow, I have 2 months, 1 week and three days to get cracking.

We love an excuse to throw caution to the wind and eat at a lot of really good restaurants.

And what better time to not exercise restraint than when family comes to town?!

I mean, who can resist not one but two trips to Screaming Mimi’s for ice cream?!

And an excuse to eat sushi too.

We had a wonderful time this weekend eating great food and hanging with my aunt and cousin.

Thanks for coming, guys!

Now please excuse me; I have some exercising to do. (SO worth it!)

Our winter garden is doing wonderfully. We’ve had warm, but not hot days (think 60s and 70s!) and cool, rainy evenings. The lettuce, cabbage, spinach, and kale are thriving.

Okay, the reason it’s really going so well is probably due more to the huge amount of composted manure we added to the garden and the thick layer of mulch we covered the top with. Plant food and a warm blanket are always a good thing in November.

Phew. Our summer crop, while plentiful in tomatoes, was otherwise quite sparse.

We’re glad to have a new season and a fresh start to our garden.

Grow, garden, grow!