A Little NYE Bingo

Baking NYE Cookies

New Year's Countdown

Hard to believe, but I am still not recovered from the illnesses that hit our house this month. Yikes!

Anyway - we celebrated NYE with a fun countdown at home tonight.  I just made four different countdown packages for the kiddos to open every "hour" before bed - we started with aprons and easy cookie mix so we could all bake together (something we all love), then some coloring sheets with new clipboards to color on while Andrew cooked up a burger and fries dinner, then we had our cookies and milk while playing Bingo for prizes from the dollar bin, and ended with a dance party before bed.  All in all, a super fun family night which the kiddos thought was pretty awesome too!

Puzzles with Big Brother

Thanks From This Silly Crew!

We quickly snapped this photo right before we all had to say bye to Nana tonight - thanks so much from our wild and crazy little crew for all that you did while you were here! We miss and love you!

Perfection

So entertaining to watch them as they await the buzzer and all the shapes pop out!

Nana is Here!

We are beyond grateful to have my mom staying with us for a 4 day streak.  This morning the kids helped make easy cinnamon rolls for a small bday celebration for her, she made Andrew and I go on a date last night, we did some family bowling this morning, she has played and read with the kiddos a whole bunch, and even completed a daunting, dangerous, long overdue paint job with perfect edges and not one single drip which was such a weight off of our shoulders.  I have not been feeling too well due to sickness and some other health issues (hence some delayed blog posts while I have focused on that), so this rest and extra time has all meant so much to me and has been a huge help in so many ways! And next up, she is even watching B for the next two days so we can work while he takes a few more days of Christmas break.  Thanks a million, Mom! We all LOVE when you are here!

Bryn's Snow Smiles

Lover of all things fun, this one.

They Love Sled Rides!

These kiddos are always, always up for a ride on the sled. I love our neighborhood because there are some great paths so we can all get out for a stroll together.  I love their zest for fun everyday - and Bryn, oh how she cracks me up - the faster, the better for her out there!

New Map

Bennett received a big, new wall map from my mom for Christmas -so perfect as the boy is in his element when dealing with books, maps, puzzles, art, and so on.  He and Bryn got it all set up this morning, but we still have to add all the rivers, continents, etc. which were accidentally excluded from our box.  With all the new toys that Christmas brings, I also do a huge purge and re-arrange of the house every year at this time.  So, the kids' closets and rooms have been purged, cleaned, and moved around a bit to make room for the new.  Here's a few extra photos of the minor updates in B's room; he has a few stations set up throughout with his favorite things always readily available (art (pencils, crayons, workbooks), music, puzzles, reading/books, pillows/chair, legos (up a bit where baby sister can't reach), etc.  I'm off to tackle the play room next!

Lego Obsessed

Bennett  received a Lego race car and a new LegoCity from Santa - he put the car together yesterday, then started first thing this morning on his Coast Guard city, completing it not long after.  This boy has a genuine love of building Legos and I am amazed how his little brain can interpret the instruction booklet and so efficiently put it all together!

Happy