We've had a busy, wonderful month! A few highlights include: Evelyn's amazing piano recital at the Blattman's house. Evie played "18th Century Dance." This was her first recital and I was so proud of my little girl! Her execution was perfect! She played dynamics appropriately, fingers curved, and even bowed at the end....she is such a talent. I love seeing her enjoy the piano as I did growing up (and still do). It has always brought me so much happiness and I can see that she feels the same (except at those moments when she doesn't feel like practicing!)
On another note, I've noticed that my two boys are becoming best of friends as of late. The two of them get along like peas in a pod. I credit Dane mostly, as he is a loving and patient older brother. He is the consistent peacemaker of our home and I don't know what I'd do without him! He includes Grant and enjoys his company; this behavior is a model for our little rough and tumble Grant who is a little quick tempered at times and has the tendency to throw hotwheels at one's head in the heat of a battle! The two boys have so many common interests... board games, hand ball, wii, hotwheels, legos... they really are quite the pair and nothing makes me happier then seeing the two of them together. And when I can get all three of the kids to play together nicely.... no words!! I'm thrilled! In fact, the above picture of the color coded hotwheels I took on a day when the three of them engaged in this "project" together and were all thrilled to show me their work. They'd taken each hotwheel car and placed it in line according to color. It was cute... they wanted a picture and I was happy to take one! Love when my kids get along.... and really dislike when they don't!
And on that note, Evelyn came home from school one day bound and determined to set up a behavior system in our home that was similar to the one that is in place at school. The "clothespin" system. All children start off at "ready to learn" and then either move their clothespins up or down according to their behavior... helpfulness, kindness, obedience, etc. I created the little visual reminder and it's been a hit ever since. I can always count on Evie to be passionate and consistent if she believes in a certain something... and she most certainly believes in this method and has passed that eagerness and excitement down to the boys.
Moving on.... Anna is just about as sweet and darling as a baby comes. She is 8 months... crawling around, playing with toys--- mostly the boys toys as pictured above. Evie's toys are full of choking hazards, and Dane and Grant are always leaving their toys out, so it works. She is so happy when the kids are home from school. She is such a tremendous blessing in our lives. The joy she brings to us is hard to express in words!
Lastly, I've included a few pictures of our fun Christmas traditions we've begun this month. Putting together gingerbread houses... a huge treat for the kids. I love Christmas trees.... they are my very favorite decoration during the holiday and so I tend to focus our crafting on various forms of trees! Also pictured is our gum drop tree-- we did this last year and the kids begged to do it again. They stick gum drops with a toothpick and then attach to the tree. Pretty cute. Trying to steer clear of too much candy this year, we went with an activity advent instead of a chocolate one (I know, kinda sad for the kids, but they sure didn't seem to mind!) Every morning they select an activity and a fun christmas joke to start the day. It's really been fun. And then of course Fiddlesticks our Elf on the Shelf! Evelyn discovered this year at age eight that Fiddlesticks is not real. She's pretty mature for her age and she's having quite the trouble believing in Santa Claus too.... although, she is sticking with it for one more year I think! Despite my sadness that she's growing too quickly, I must admit I've enjoyed her help when it comes to hiding Fiddlesticks!!! She does it every night and it is a wonderful, blessed relief! I'm always forgetting to do it and she picks up the slack.
So, there you have it.... our little life in a nutshell.
