Winter Wonders

*Lots of photos*

I appreciate the way schools celebrate half Birthday's.  Having a summer Birthday I was thankful to have a special day to celebrate during the school year.  Now I am thankful that M gets to have that day too.  M helped me frost a couple of the cupcakes for his class.  They were gluten and dairy free and the class loved them.  It warms this mama's heart when her son gets to feel "normal" and provide a "good treat" for his half Birthday.  I later learned that some kids just bring super easy pre-made stuff.  The jokes on me!

M: Frosting cupcakes was a lot harder than I imagined.

Last year we started an annual Super Bowl tradition of Tamale Casserole and Tapioca Pudding in the living room while we watch the game.  The kids love it.

M: I love watching Football! 

T: Daddy is a good reader!

One morning, while waiting for T's bus, Brandon did some shoveling.  T decided to help him.

T:Shoveling is hard work!

T: I needed a little break to catch my breath.

T: Then I started up again!

We caught T trying "clean" M's desk area.  His area is always organized and neat. Her area is never neat.  We called her on this, but by the time we grabbed a camera she had shoved her stuff into a corner to make it look neater.  Since taking these photos we have attempted to store a large portion of the craft supplies in a bin up high to prevent some of the daily destruction.

T: I had to move quickly.  My desk really was clean!

M: I had to get everything organized again. T: Whew, I can get some things out again. 

M: Did you all know that orange slices make great mouth guards? 

T: This is my brand new baby bear.  I just had him this morning. 

T: I wanted to look sporty for school, but I also needed to wear two skirts because I am a Princess!

Brandon was working from home one afternoon while M and I were at therapy.  After leaving T alone for just a few minutes he came in the family room to find her all set up for dinner.  She over turned the bins and was feeding her family game pieces.  She is a busy girl!

T: My babies love Bananagrams!

Someone in our family learned some cutting and serving skills.  Not bad!

He was proud of his work!

T: Mommy, these are my sunglasses for school!

T: Do you like this boring look better? 

I attempted to do some boy clothes downsizing!  I was thrilled that a dear friend is about to be an aunt and was able to share some things with her future nephew.

A bit of downsizing. 

Sometimes when T doesn't have school we have special cozy days of fun.  One day we made cookie dough and popcorn because the plan was to watch a movie.  T decided she wanted me to read instead.  A great overall decision, but selfishly I wanted to dig in to the treats too and my mouth couldn't read and eat at the same time.  Luckily T let me take a few snack breaks! 

T: Mommy and I are having some special time, just the girls!

February was a blur of sugar!  In between M's half Birthday and T's Birthday came Valentine's Day.  M got quite a stash of candy.  I let the kids go crazy at one sitting and then stashed the rest.  Luckily they are pretty picky so they open a lot more than they eat which means more can get tossed!  They did indeed have four suckers open at once!

M and T: Sometimes our mom is really fun! 

T: Just practicing for the circus with Mommy!

Once a month our family host "Friday Night Group" in our home.  We love having families in our home to eat together.  The kids get to eat first.  Many of them were sitting so nicely at the counter so we decided it was the perfect opportunity for a photo.

M: FNG is the best night of the month! (His true thoughts)

This Spring has been so confusing weather wise.  We enjoy the warm days when they come.  M was so excited to wear his biking jersey outside!

M: I look just like Daddy!

T: The pretty OT teachers were talking with me about my book!

M: Sometimes I just need to strum!