Sharing is Caring

The other morning May was playing with her farm magnet set. James was looking for something to do, but the two-piece animal magnets are a little babyish for him, so he was getting restless. I pulled out a box of alphabet magnets that have just been lying in wait for an opportune time and excitedly announced, "Here, James, you can play with these on the dishwasher!" I was thinking about how pleased he would be to have his very own space. Instead of leaping on the chance to go it alone, James immediately turned to May and said, "Look, May! Do you want to come play with these?" She, of course, took him up on the offer and they spent quite awhile parked in front of the dishwasher exploring together.

I know that you can teach kids how to take turns, and I know that you can teach them basic manners such as "please" and "thank you." But I'm not sure you can really teach them how to want to share. And my kids often do want to share with one another. Just last night James was telling us how thirsty he was and May rushed over with her own sippy cup exclaiming, "Here, Jame! Appo Jue!"

I am very thankful for my kids and for their genuine care for one another. I learn from their example daily.

Official Cupcake Taster

Chad and I have been wanting to get away from pre-packaged treats, including cake mixes. So the other night the kids and I tried out a "from scratch" peanut butter cupcake recipe. I was able to blend in some whole grain flour and it felt good to know exactly what was going to go in my kids bellies. The batter was not ill-received, but it was nothing compared to the rave reviews of the finished product.
(What's lacking in this photo is the background chant of May, "cupcake! cupcake! cupcake!")

Art Cart

Recently May and I reorganized our kitchen cabinets and drawers. We downsized a lot and found that we could completely empty our movable cart of all cooking-related items. Thus, the Art Cart was born.
In the drawer are papers, stickers, glitter, glue and a wide assortment of crafty elements.
Our paints, dough, stamps and books found a happy home on the cabinet shelves. Now art time is a ton faster to set up, allowing the kids to spend more time on:

painting
wand/twirler construction
play dough squashing
cheerio gluing
drawing
more painting
stencils

and even more painting. I love having everything organized and so accessible. Especially given our recent poor air quality - we've been amusing ourselves indoors for about a week now. I love the idea that if they like, my kids could paint every day. Now if I can just keep the Art Cart neat and organized . . .

The 7 Stages of Gift Enjoyment

Step 1: Receive package from delivery person (done by me, so no picture)
Step 2: Open box (again, done by me as it entails knives and such)
Step 3: Unwrap present - make it a group effort
Step 4: Admire the contents of the package
Step 5: Take a break to play with the box and bubble wrap (that's James' hand poking out)
Step 6: Open the actual gift and begin play
Step 7: Savor the sweet sensation of accomplishment that comes with a challenging toy.

Thanks so much, Great Aunt Mary! We love our new playmat!

Scenes from Christmas (Wisconsin Edition)

Hooray for giant family Christmases! Look at all these happy faces!
It's always such a treat for the kids to get to play with their cousins.
And of course they get to enjoy lots of snuggling with Grandma and Grandpa.
May was delighted to discover an old Dora the Explorer mermaid costume in Grandma's toybox.
Here are the kids being rowdy in Grandma's bathtub (Ariel came courtesy of Santa.)
May was a huge fan of new outfits, slippers, and shoes. The best gifts are the ones you can wear.
May was also a big helper with unwrapping other peoples' gifts.
Although she was sometimes confused as to the intended use of the gifts she discovered.

Scenes from Christmas (Utah Edition)

Our kids always get to open their presents from us and from out of town before leaving for WI each year. They also get a lot of wonderful things in their stockings to carry on the plane.
May received several books plus a plush Ernie doll that got lots of love during nights at Grandma's.
James also got books plus a CD of Little Mermaid songs and the story.
He also got a camera from his Uncle Erik, which he immediately put to use. As you can see, May received a backpack from us with the idea that she would pack it and bring it on the plane. This didn't quite work out but she still enjoys filling it with toys wearing it around the house.