House Full of Munchkins

It’s hard to believe how quickly 2011 sped by and since we’re almost halfway through 2012 I’m guessing the same will apply to this year. After Christmas was made good use of passes to Jump Street to work off the extra energy the kids had. Trust me, the adults could have used a nap but we went anyway

Evelyn on the “snow tube”

Dodge ball on trampolines

This is the all done face

New Years Eve was in the 80s and the perfect weather for bike riding.

Lucas was very good at sister fetching when Evelyn rode too far away.

It is so nice to have children old enough to enjoy decorating the tree and be able to decorate it to the top.

We got a new ornament to represent the whole family. The little heart on my snowwoman’s belly is Gus

A new tradition - sibling gifts opened on Christmas Eve after our annual party. The kids all bought for one sibling and did all the shopping themselves (which a little guidance from Mom & Dad). Despite the rather solemn looks in this picture they loved it!

Lucas has developed quite a love of the piano

The magnet board was a big hit

Reid somehow convinced Evelyn to donate the first floor of the dollhouse so it could be converted to a garage.

Making the pecan cinnamon rolls

This year was the very first year Aubrey and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. It was wonderful to stay home and have a leisurely schedule for the day.

I even made cranberry sauce

Ella loved watching the parade

Reid showed Max how to do it, too

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted! I am going to catch up and then hopefully get back to posting weekly or so now that our new addition has arrived.

Back in November we started adding some short lessons in All About Spelling for Reid. He knows all of his letter sounds but hasn’t been interested in combining them into words quite yet.

Evelyn finished up level one of AAS and has now moved on to level two.

Reid really enjoys computer based learning so he has been playing www.readingeggs.com and wakes up every morning asking when he can do school. It is fun to watch their individual learning styles develop.

Max’s favorite part of the parade was the planes

Reid’s favorite part of the parade

This summer was brutal, but the fall was lovely. We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went to a local play village with structures just the right size for the 6 and under crowd.

Eleanor was so excited

Max explores

Reid wasn’t happy about the group photo, he wanted to move right along to the candy.

A trip down Halloween memory lane

Chris in 2002

Lucas 2003

Evelyn & brand new Reid in 2007

Reid in 2008 (we got good use out of this ninja costume!)

Evelyn 2008

2009

2010

One of the ideas that I loved from our time using Oak Meadow was the seasonal table. The buffet in our kitchen is usually a catchall for paperwork and quickly becomes cluttered. We decided to have the kids make some art projects and see if it helped keep the space clear of clutter. It worked! As a bonus, the kids loved moving the decorations around each day for a new look.

Before

After

Art in progress. This was Max’s first time with paint.

Reid kept all his colors separate

Eleanor preferred to mix hers

Evelyn’s pumpkin

Eleanor was not happy when art time was over

Max was very excited about his first trip to the pumpkin patch

Chris wasn’t overly impressed by the pumpkins and spent his time drawing Minecraft worlds

Hardly my baby girl anymore, she’s grown so much this past year