New Year's Week

It's been fun to see the kids play with their new toys and pursue their own interests in the downtime of break, but I'm starting to get itchy to get back to our routine on Monday.

I'm looking forward to hitting the Early Middle Ages, and working on more art projects.

Speaking of art, Brianna did some painting this week.

This is a work in progress shot.  It turned out quite nice when she finished it.  I like the way the background blends from dark to light.

With the exception of the canvas, which I bought in a pack locally, the supplies she's using came from a class my mom took.  Grammy passed the art stuff, including the book, down to us, and Brianna was inspired by one of the projects in the book.  

And the finished piece.  I think following the step by step instructions (for the most part!) was really helpful to her.  

Lots of construction toys got played with this week!  Eli's K'nex were built into planes and go karts.

Brianna's Magna-Tiles were built into all sorts of towers and shapes.

Eli is helping Jack work on his Snap Circuits set while Sam gets to play with the toddler Bristle Blocks.

The Snap Circuits were a big hit, and I got called to see and hear several new projects during the week.  I don't seem to have any pictures of the Lego creations, but 3 new sets were built this week.

The tree came down 12/26 (remember, our Christmas was early) to make way for...

a project that took Paul, Josiah, Eli, and myself to complete.

Ta-da!  One of my Christmas gifts was a new couch for the front room.  The old one has gone into the playroom, and to replace the previous playroom couch, which the kids destroyed.  We're hard on furniture.  I think the next step here might be some aqua sheers for the windows.

Miss Hannah shows off her completed puzzle.  (Katie got a 35 piece puzzle, and Hannah got a 60 piece one.)

See the necklace?  It's an H on acrylic.  Eve's Addiction has all sorts of unique, personalized jewelry.  Click here for 25% off!

I've noticed both girls need to be encouraged to actually play with their new toys, instead of just hoarding them into a pile.  I think it's the result of not having personal possessions during their early years.  They do okay with direction, though.  Here, they're playing with the Beads and Lacing bucket, since Katie got some new wooden beads in her stocking.

You see why I'm ready for the big kids to go back to school?  Brianna is flapping the box "wings."

And Sam is a Wii zombie.  The Wii is actually our first video game system.  It was a family gift from Annaliese.  Suddenly, I get it.  The kids will sit in front of the TV and play together reasonably well instead of having to be wherever I am.  How did I not know about this years ago?

Another fun thing about the Magnatiles is their translucency.  I really want to make a light table for the kids, so they can play with these against the light.

Katie, Hannah, and Brayden take a break from playtime to enjoy a handful of leftover gingerbread house candy.  We still have candy canes, too.

Excited to be starting a new year and hoping that this one is a better one for our family.

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