The Week in Review

It's been almost a week since I last posted anything. I've continued to click that shutter button despite a bit of frustration this week. I truly believe that children are one of the most challenging subjects to photograph, and mine are no exception. They just never stop moving. Well, I powered through and got off a few decent images that I believe reflect their true spirits as well as the spirit of this family. So here's the highlights from our week. Enjoy.

SUNDAY:

Mark decided to teach Taylor how to carry in addition. She really got the hang of it and kept asking for more practice problems.

Mark was so proud of her that he took her (and Charlie) out for ice cream after dinner.

And that's all it took. A little extra attention, and she was back in his arms cuddling with her daddy that night during the Super Bowl.

The kids really enjoyed the Super Bowl and waited patiently for the commercials.

We sent them to bed right before half time and upon awakening both kids wanted to know who the victor was. Go Giants. Next year, it'll be the Bengals. (Hey, a girl can dream.)

MONDAY:

I found myself in charge of watching the four little ones, Charlie, Jacob, Addison, and Morgan, for 4 hours on Monday morning. In following suit with my favorite blogger, Kelle Hampton, I tried to "reframe the mundane" by dressing Morgan up in one of Taylor's retired princess dresses.

She worried me initially because she was not too happy with Addison. She has not been feeling well this week and seeing another baby in her mama's arms sent her over the edge.

With extra snuggles from mom and several sucks from the trusty thumb, she felt much better.

She began to embrace the idea of a real baby in her house. Literally.

Addison was all smiles as usual.

It reminded me of these days:

Of course back then, there weren't two active boys upstairs building a castle.

To close out our busy Monday, Grandma came over for dinner and played Uno and Charades with us.

TUESDAY brought more of the same. Math and princesses.

WEDNESDAY: Morgan and I found ourselves with a little extra time before we needed to pick up Charlie from preschool so I grabbed my camera and headed outside.

THURSDAY: More tears from this one.

More math from this one.

Taylor's reading book from school was the Three Bears. I'm amazed at how well she is progressing with her reading.

This one was written in play form so of course it needed to be performed. She even got Charlie on board. (Notice the three chairs of different sizes. I was impressed by that.)

The show was after dinner, but Morgan wasn't quite finished so it was a dinner show for her.

I love these kids.

After Taylor's show, it was Morgan's turn to entertain us. She discovered a discarded lamp shade just begging to be explored.

We have finally arrived at FRIDAY. I had a meeting so Grandpa came over to watch Charlie and Morgan. Morgan is still not feeling great so she snuck in some cuddles with her Grandpa. She's never been able to resist that comfy belly!

Mother Nature has finally decided to get with the program and give us some snow. So far it only looks like this.

But we are supposed to be getting more tonight. Who knows. Maybe I'll have some snow pictures for next week. Until then, I hope you enjoy your weekend!

Birthday wishes

Aside from our nation's forty-sixth super bowl, tomorrow also marks the birthday of my cousin, Alison. Alison loves my children so much as well as my sister Jessica's kids. They hold a special place in her heart, and let me tell you, the feeling is mutual. She has a way of making them feel special, and she always makes time to play with them at every family function. Which is why we jumped at the opportunity to surprise her at a lunch date this afternoon.

After eating, Alison took all three of the little ones to the play area. Then we topped it off with some yummy cupcakes that Aunt Jan brought.

Morgan is Alison's little buddy. In fact she's also her God-daughter. At first, Morgan was a little shy, because she hadn't seen Alison in a while. She came around, though, and had fun playing peek-a-boo with her big cousin.

Thanks for the great idea, Aunt Jan. We had a nice visit. Happy Birthday, Alison. We love you!!

Let's Play Charades

Are you ready? It's time for a virtual game of charades. If you've never played this game with a 4 or 6 year old, you are missing out. The first challenge is figuring out what your daughter is talking about when she says she wants to play "shrates". After many tries, you finally figure out that she means this:

Sounds like fun. Are you ready? Charlie's up first:

Umm, driving? No. Steering wheel? No. Give up? Suntan lotion, of course!

Okay Taylor's turn. This should be easier, right?

Dancing! No. The Twist? No. Give up? A Chef. (If you say so.)

Alright Charlie, show us what you got.

(If you think this is unfair because I saw this in person and you are only seeing snapshots, you are wrong. He literally stood there like this while we guessed.) Oh, there's the steering wheel!

Okay, ready for an easy one?

This is almost too easy. What, an alligator? Nope! A stapler, duh!!

Okay last one:

I'll jump to the chase and tell you that this one was 'peeling an orange'.

And so goes the game of charades. And for all the ambiguous motions the kids make and I desperately try to decipher, I stand there and clearly depict my clues while the children give me blank stares unable to muster up a guess. This is why this game leaves Charlie looking like this:

However, Taylor loves it and so it goes that whenever it's her turn to pick a game, we find ourselves lost in a game of "shrates".

February Sunshine?

How often do you see pictures like this in February?

Well, maybe if you live in Florida. But around here, 61 degree weather on the first day of February is a rarity. In fact, it's cause for a celebration.

So we broke out the bikes, the soccer ball, the sidewalk chalk, the bubbles, and the jump rope and headed outside!

Okay, now bring on the snow!