Each time we see Maddy she has a very special sewing project planned for Grace and Jack. Baby Eve will join in on the fun too when she is a wee bit older! I just love seeing how excited Grace and Jack become to be able to sew with Maddy. On our recent visit to Vermont Maddy had chosen very special John Deere tractor fabric for Jack and yellow flowered fabric for Grace (her new favorite color is yellow!) to make pillows. 
Jack-a-roo loves everything about Maddy's sewing machine. He loves sitting with Maddy, choosing different stitches, pressing the buttons on the sewing machine and pushing the pedal to make the needle move. 
Grace and Jack both really enjoyed filling their pillows with batting. They both decided to sprinkle some of Maddy's lavender inside of their pillows too! 
Grace has learned so much about sewing from Maddy. In the picture above, Grace is studying Maddy's sewing machine.
I think it is wonderful how much Jack loves to sew. We were in L.L. Bean today and Jack was most excited to see a 1914 sewing machine that was on display in the lobby area. I think the entire store heard Jack say "OH MY GOODNESS....A SEWING MACHINE!"
Here is Jack's finished pillow. Thank you so much to Maddy for sharing your love of sewing with Grace and Jack.
We couldn't wait for Thursday to arrive because we were going to Rutland to see Great Grandma!! We enjoyed a beautiful morning outside together at a nearby park. Great Grandma was so excited to be with her three great grandchildren!
This was the first time that Eve met Great Grandma. These two girls quickly became the best of friends! Eve loved sitting on Great Grandma's lap.
Grace loved seeing Great Grandma. Grace told Great Grandma how much she loved her and how very pretty she was!
One of Maddy and Poppy's neighbors is a professional ballerina. Her name is Barbara and she has danced in New York City and Boston! Grace was invited to one of Barbara's ballet classes while we were in Middlebury last week. Grace was so excited to attend the class. I love this picture of Gracie girl ~ she stood perfectly still for a long time as she watched the ballerinas practice.
Eve came to watch the ballet class too. She stood on Maddy's lap during the class. Eve let out many loud and happy squeals to express how much she loved watching the class too!
On Wednesday morning Poppy, Grace and Jack got together for a very special project. Poppy gathered several of his old clocks for Grace and Jack to take apart! Grace and Jack loved this project. Grace enjoyed examining all of the tiny pieces inside of the clocks to determine how a clock works. Jack especially loved the tools and the process of disassembling the clocks. This was a fascinating project and it is definitely one that we will be replicating at our home too! Thank you, Poppy.
Here is a picture of our happy Eve taking in all of the sites in Middlebury on our way to the Ilsley Library last Tuesday.
For over twenty-five years I have attended Middlebury's Festival on the Green with my parents. It is an event that we all look forward to every year. I love passing along this summer tradition to my own children now. Middlebury's Festival on the Green has been acclaimed as Vermont's "favorite festival." We attended the Festival's Brown Bag lunch series each day, which featured music, juggling, storytelling, and dance. 
Jack sat perfectly still each day during the Festival. He was in awestruck by of all of the performers! 
