Fun Preschool Toy

 So I'll be honest. Even though I'm doing home preschool now, it's not realistic for me to have crafts or planned lessons every day...maybe I'll get better at that though. :) I love having an arsenal of activities that we can pull out over and over again. Puzzles, workbooks, math rods, stamps, and things like that are great. The other day, I randomly came across this letter builder on Amazon for half off and jumped on it. And I am already a huge fan!

 It's perfect for small hands that can't yet write their letters, but can identify them.

 It's equally as good for those who can write their letters, but need some reinforcement for proper letter formation.

It has cards with directions for forming upper and lower case letters. They're easy to figure out, so the kids pretty much did the work on their own.

 I can see these being a hit for building other things as well...

 It's also great for fine motor skills, clipping each of the pieces together, and finding the right holes.

There are probably not enough pieces in the box to form the entire alphabet at the same time, but plenty to make sentences. Peter came up with this one all on his own. :) So at the risk of sounding like an advertisement (oh, wait- too late), I'd give this one two thumbs up! ;)

Together Again

 Paul got back late Saturday night. He was gone for nine days...in France. I'm usually pretty even keel about his business trips, but this one was admittedly a bit harder. First of all, being a single parent when your kids all have the flu is not fun. Nights were rough. Secondly, he was in FRANCE. I've never been to Europe, but it's going to happen someday...Preferably while my sister still lives there!

Before he left, Paul prayed for our family, asking the angels to bless our home. I guess it was from that prayer that Nora started asking me about them. I thought it was really sweet, and wanted to record it here:
 "Did you call the angels? I don't have a real phone to call them. I need to call the angels because I'm sick. And Peter and Lydi. They will come on the back porch. You need to call the angels."

After a good three days of all five of us staying home, we were all suffering from a bout of cabin fever. We decided to go out and see the light show at a nearby park, stopping at Chick-fil-A on the way. We totally lucked out and made it on the big Santa night. The kids were SO excited that the "real" Santa had come by horse drawn sleigh all the way from the North Pole. Peter pointed out his real white beard and hair, which is how you can tell. They each wrote their letters to him there and tucked them in his box. The light show was a fabulous end to a perfect night with my four littles. It was magical.

The rest of the week was mainly about survival, and lots of online Christmas shopping. We did start reading "The Christmas Carol" together, which I've never read before, and I'm really enjoying it. I'm surprised at how well the boys comprehend it too.
On Saturday, the day of Paul's impending return, we were greeted with a wonderland of snow outside our window. Before I had a chance to really open my eyes, the kids were bundling up and headed out. They built a great snowman all on their own too!

The winter storms delayed Paul several hours, which made for some disappointed kids (and an exhausted husband, who had been traveling for roughly 36 hours), but he's home now and all is well. I feel like now the Christmas Season can really begin. It's just not the same when you're alone.
Another bit of relief came the next day when Paul was called in by the Stake Presidency to be released from his calling as Elders Quorum President (which he's had for the past 3 1/2 years). He has done a wonderful job, but I have personally seen the tremendous emotional weight that he's carried. So yeah, he's happy. And so are we. :)

0.667 Years

Lydia turned eight months last week. She has been changing so fast!

I know I've said it a dozen times before, but I cannot get enough of her squishy little bread-dough body. It's a shame it's so cold outside now, because we usually have to cover most of it up. She is now well into her twelve month sized clothes. I believe this one pictured was size 9 months and it needed to be retired. Ankle pants are still in, right? ;)

Lydia has started pulling herself up on things, and you can tell she feels so proud of herself. She still has a gummy grin- no teeth yet, which is fine by me. She's a great eater, and can mash just about anything you give her with her gums. She's figured out how funny it is to drop her food on the floor, and immediately looks down to search for what she dropped. I can't ever eat when I'm nursing her, because that food is always preferred to what she's getting.

 She is totally mobile now. She can crawl fairly well, although she often gets mad when she gets tired (or can't find me). I call her Thumper, because she'll start slapping the floor with her hand and yelling with frustration when she's done hunting. She's very much a Mama's girl, and would prefer to be carried all day if I let her.

Lydia still does not tolerate anything on her head. Hats, headbands, and bows are all ripped off moments after they're put on. I used to think she looked like baby Peter's twin, but she seems to be resembling baby Benjamin more and more. Even without bows, I think she's a cute girl, and much more feminine than her brothers.

I finally got a wool rug for the girls' room. It's so much cozier to play on than the wood floors and it's already seen a ton of use. The rest of the room is pretty hodge-podge, but I'm sure it will eventually get done. Lydia adores her sister and brothers, and tolerates all their craziness. She has a thoughtful way of observing, much like Benjamin did at her age. I love her cuddliness and friendliness and overall demeanor. She's a pretty awesome little gal.

November Preschool

 I wasn't nearly as good as I was last month about documenting our home preschool activities, but I did round up a few blurry pictures. :) Peter and Nora LOVE their swimming and gymnastics home school group at the Y. Their swimming teacher is probably at least an octogenarian, and is so sweet with the kids.

They're really coming along, too. They've gotten a lot more confident in the water since we've started.

We spent a few weeks learning about the Pilgrims and "Indians" leading up to Thanksgiving. Here's Peter modeling his Indian headdress on the way home from our friend's house.

We spent time at the Science Center where we learned about bugs and got to hold a giant millipede! We also started a weekly playgroup at our church. Overall, I'm still really happy about my decision to do preschool at home with them this year. We've been having lots of great moments together, and I get love notes almost daily from Peter. That's incentive enough for me! ;)

Thanksgiving Week

 Knowing our kids are certified road warriors (a trip to Utah and Yellowstone in one summer will do that), it was a no-brainer that we should do another mega road trip this Thanksgiving. It helped knowing that we'd get to see my parents and my brother, who has been in Afghanistan for the past six months. We headed east this time, and saw nine cousins (including two new ones), four aunts and uncles, and two grandparents.

I always love watching our kids reunite with their cousins as if no time has passed at all. First we saw Paul's brother Brigham and his family. Their kids are almost the same ages as ours, and mostly boys. It was a rowdy, loud, nerf-gun-shooting, bracelet-looming good time.

We went to the Bureau of Engraving to see where money is made...

 ...and to the Air and Space Museum.

Nora and Lydia were delighted to have baby Claire around. She is about as sweet as they come!

 We also saw a play based on a children's book series with our cousins: "Lyle the Crocodile," which was great! I was surprised at how much Nora enjoyed it. She was up dancing, mimicking jazz hands, and desperate for a "flower hat" of her own as soon as it was finished.

On our way from Washington DC to Southern Maryland we decided to make a quick stop through Mount Vernon. It was cold and wet, but we had a great time learning more about George Washington and where he lived.

It was wonderful to see my brother Bryan again! We missed him during our reunion this Summer. I got some practice with my new camera and took a few family pictures for them. They also have kids the same ages as ours, although in almost exact reverse; two girls, then a boy and a girl. Nora was in heaven here, with two big girl cousins to look up to!

 The kids loved playing with Grandma and Grandpa!

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun.

 As wonderful as the food was, it was even better to be sharing it with so much family! The kids had a great time with their cousins- also as if no time had passed since last they saw each other.

 The next day we went to the local Marine Museum to get a little Southern Maryland flavor. There was a cute lighthouse there that we got to go up inside.

We saw aquariums full of sea life, fossils, and boats.

 Last on our trip was a stop through Richmond to see Paul's brother Mike and his family. They have a new baby, Elliot, who also has red hair!

 Benjamin has declared him to be the new cutest baby (sorry, Lydia), and claims that he looks like his twin.

 Baby date with Lydia and Elliot. Of the seven cousins born within the same year as Lydia, he's the closest in age.

It was a wonderful trip, and we were grateful we could do it. And now, we're grateful to be home!