BOO!

The 3rd Annual Holt Halloween Party has come and gone, again. I was the White Witch of Narnia, Finn was a Power Ranger at the last minute (we also had a ghost, a skeleton and a partial Shark Boy costume in the waiting) and Jack was a long, tall cowboy. (Several of my girlfriends commented that Jack should dress as a cowboy more often. Wink wink.)

The yard was totally full of friends and neighbors, the trampoline was a big hit and too much candy was eaten by all! After trick-or-treating we came back and showed outdoor movies. All the babes cozied up with pillows and blankets to try and calm down. There was a LOT of sugar coursing through veins by that point though.

Finn had a hard time this year. Hosting such a huge party takes days of getting ready. By the time the party gets here he's pretty worn out. I spent a lot of time this year in his room with him just chillin' out. My heart was heavy knowing that my boy would have preferred that we be "just us three." He also wanted to spend more time trick-or-treating than partying. I think that's the last one we'll do for awhile. Of course, the next day he was adamant that we do it again next year. I think that, perhaps, Halloween is thriling enough without throwing a party into the mix.

For the 3rd year in a row we forgot to bob for apples at the actual shindig. Finn and Jack and I bobbed for a few days afterwards. Bobbing is not just for Halloween anymore. I highly recommend it, it's so FUN!

Y'all come on by and we'll bob!

Love,

Jack, Michele and Finnigan the Curious

And now he reads...

Finny has been "beginning reading" for ages. He could read his name when he was in his twos. He's been actively trying to read for several months now; sounding out letters, reading contextually, writing letters, asking questions, etc. It's so marvelous to watch a child learn absolutely naturally - we've never "taught" him a thing, only modeled for him and answered questions.
Last night as we were all cuddled in bed getting ready to read. Finn picked out an old Star Wars book that we hadn't read in awhile. I read the first page. I turned to the next page and then Jack and I were talking about something. A moment later Finny said, "I know what that word says." I looked at the page and he was pointing to the word Obi-Wan. I asked him what it was and he said, "Obi-wan." It occurred to me that he had probably seen that word so much that he was reading it from memory, but I complimented him wildly anyway (of course). But THEN he said, "See, it says O (he pointed to the letter O), B (he pointed to the letter B) and ONE (pointing to the "i" which he mistook for the number 1). He was actually looking at the letters and sounding them out!
Then, today, as we were driving to the library he was counting all the Obama signs - something we love to do. He was quiet for a minute (rare) and then said, "Obama is just an O and a B and then MAMA." HOLY COW! SO right!
This is real reading. Understanding that each letter makes a sound, putting those letters (sounds) together makes a word.
SO EXCITING! What a marvelous, magical world awaits him. I feel the door creaking open and am picturing all kinds of characters tumbling out to welcome him to glorious world of STORIES! Sort of like a Disney movie when the magic portal opens and all the storybook characters come frolicking out.
This picture was taken in our tepee (yet another wonderful gift from Grandmary). Now that the weather is cool we've been climbing in there and having tea while reading The Dangerous Book for Boys (Grandmary again!). Yesterday we had tea, made paper airplanes and read some of Prince Caspian.
I must be dreaming...it's all so fabulous...my life...his life.
Y'all come over and we'll make some tea and climb in the tepee.

Love,
Michele, Jack and Finnigan the Curious

Shakespeare wrote...

"When he shall die, take him and cut him out in little stars

and he will make the face of heaven so fine that

all the world will be in love with night and pay

no worship to the garish sun."

This is one of my favorite pictures of Finn. It captures his beauty so perfectly; those ruby lips, skin like peaches and cream, eyes like a deep and ancient forest dappled with sunlight. He has such an old soul and such old-fashioned beauty to match. Whenever I look at this photo I think of this quote. I used to know it by heart as I love it so. I found it almost impossible to even type the words, "when he shall die..." But, die he shall someday and when he does the face of heaven will be so fine that all the world will be in love with night and pay no worship to the garish sun.

I find it hard to breathe when I think that I almost went through my life without this child. What would my heart be without him? Nothing. Nothing at all compared to what it is now. I love him so.

How do planets float?

Mama Holt

Oh, um, well,

it's because, well, they're not

really floating.

I think...

What do YOU think?

Finnigan the Curious

I think it's because of gravity.

Mama Holt

Right! I actually think that the planets are not floating. I think it's because they are orbiting the Sun and they're going really, really fast so it looks like they're floating. So, maybe that means that they look like they're floating because there's actually NO gravity and it's the pull of the Sun (or maybe the other planets) that keeps them in order and moving along?

Finnigan the Curious

Is that true?

Mama Holt

I'm not sure. Let's go look it up on the computer.

Finnigan the Curious

Nah. I'll just wait 'till Dad gets home and ask him.

Seriously! Isn't that hilarious?

And for those of you still wondering how planets float:

They do not "float." The planets are in motion, and that motion is governed by the gravitational pull of the Sun. The position of the planets and their respective velocities is such that there is a balance which keeps the planets in their orbits, as opposed to either flying out into space or being pulled into the Sun.Everything in space floats because there is no gravity. Gravity is produced by objects in space, so when something in space nears an object, it begins to "fall." It's speed depends on the size of the object.

My man.

Photo by Autumnfawnphoto.com

Not a day goes by that I don't feel grateful that Jackholt is my man. Here are just a few of the reasons why:

He makes me a delicious latte every morning on his fancy espresso machine.
He is generous with his money.
He has now assembled, unassembled and reassembled an intricate bunk bed (now fort) for Finn without ever batting an eye or acting grouchy.
He still tells me I'm pretty.
He always says, "love you" before he hangs up the phone.
He gets up in the middle of rain storms to roll up the car windows or bring in things that we left out.
He acts like it's OK when he comes home from work hungry and there' s no dinner and Finn and I are jumping on the trampoline and we've already eaten.
He's a great cook.
He drives cool, old cars, but is willing to give them up to spend more time (and money) with us. Ditto for cool, old airplanes.
He's got a scientific brain, but is always open to listening (and often believing) my alternative, radical ideas.
He's down with unschooling even though he's as educated as they come.
He cries in movies, especially when they involve children and families.
He knows how to fix, make, create, build ANYTHING. ANYTHING!
When he comes home from trips he always hides a gift for Finn in his suitcase.
He has a great mind for navigation and can read any map with ease. I always feel so safe traveling with him.
He's so dreamy and I'm so lucky.

Love,
Michele

"Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar."

Isn't that a wonderful quote? It's by Bradley Miller who founded The Humane Farming Association.

We were THRILLED to find this caterpillar in our garden, chowing down on the milkweed! After he gets his fill, he'll turn in to a pupa and then a Monarch Butterfly! Isn't he gorgeous?

I had to thin out the lettuce last week as they are growing so profusely. The seed package suggested eating the baby shoots. What a great idea! I pulled them all up and showed them to Finn who promptly tried one. He said they were DELICIOUS and then proceeded to eat them voraciously. He said he was just like the caterpillar. I asked him if he was going to turn into a butterfly. He said, "No, just a superhero."

I'm telling you, there's nothing more exciting in the world (other than having a baby, I suppose) than growing your own food. It makes me so happy and makes me feel like everything is going to be OK. Despite all the untoward things happening in the world right now, the garden still grows, the sun still shines and little boys still want to be superheroes.

Soon we'll have our own spinach, lettuce, carrots, peas and potatoes. Y'all come by - we'll make some corn bread and pick some fresh veggies together.

Love,

Michele, Jack and Finnigan the Curious

The Love Tree

I saw this Love Tree on The Sparkling Martin's blog and I just had to make one with Finny.

You simply find a tree branch and strip the leaves off. Then you make little hearts and write the names of those you love on them and hang them in the tree. We had a little stuffed bird that we added to ours. This project was so cute that Finny even worked on it for, oh, about 10 minutes which is a crafting record for him. He thought that folding the paper and then cutting half-hearts out (which unfold into full hearts) was the coolest thing ever. I think Dayna and her babe, Ivy, made the hearts out of felt and stuffed them. I had to go for quickie hearts cuz my boy wanted me to jump jump jump on our new trampoline with him. But, really, it's the sweetest little thing ever. I just love it. I think we'll make them for Valentine's Day too. It will be hard to top the Love Boxes I made last year, but the Love Trees just might do it.

Here's who Finny put on his Love Tree:

Finn

Mama

Daddy

Grandmary

Meema

Uncle Roo

Aunt Mara

Mimi

Bridget

Bowie

Coston and Braeden

Gus

I'm SO grateful he could think of so many people that he loves. His life is just full of love.

I have been feeling so close and tender with my family of late. We had good, good friends who lost their homes in hurricane Ike. They lost everything, really. Every little thing. I am so grateful that they are safe and sound, but my heart is so raw for them. I hope they know how much we love them. Maybe a Love Tree is in order for them too?

We sure love y'all,

Michele, Jack and Finnigan the Curious