Photography by L

It's no secret that I enjoy taking pictures and since starting POTD I've had my camera out every. single. day!  But guess what?  I'm not the only one taking pictures around here! You see, when I left for my Moms and More meeting on Tuesday, L was taking pictures {lots of pictures} and when I uploaded them the next day there were almost 60 pictures taken by L...sixty!  I'm not posting all of them (you're welcome!) but I am sharing some of my {unedited} favorites.  Enjoy...

Learning to Give

Today's Christmas Countdown activity:  "Put money in the Salvation Army bucket"

On our way to the grocery store (to get ingredients for baking and other miscellaneous gifts and to fulfill today's activity) I was explaining to L that we would be putting money in the Salvation Army bucket to help people who don't have much money.  I explained that some people can't buy things like food, warm clothing or even toys (!) and that one way we could show others the true meaning of Christmas is by giving some of what we have to them.  She then said, "but if we give them our money then we won't have as much."  "True," I said, "but God has blessed us with more than enough and we have extra to share.  We need to thank God for all that we have!"  Her response, "and that's why we pray all the time?"  "Exactly!" I said.  She then said, "but mom I didn't bring any money!"  I assured her that I had some she could put in the bucket {although it got me thinking that in the future it might be good for her to give of her own money - you know whenever she starts earning some!}.

When we got to the bucket, she took her mitten off {in the bitterly cold wind!} and put one folded dollar bill in the bucket and then another and then {since the time I take the kids shopping is also the time when kind, elderly people are out and about} an older man handed her one more folded bill and asked if she would put his in too, which she did.  This was such a simple, easy way to bless others and teach L about giving.  Later, when she talked to D, the first thing she told him was "I got a Mickey Mouse puzzle at the dollar store!" {ok, we still have some work to do on the giving and not getting!} and then she said, "I put money in the red bucket, too, it was sooo fun!"  

On the docket for later this week, "choose a gift that you would like and give it to a child who might not get gifts this year {toys for tots}."  That one could be a bit more difficult...

The Things He Says...

I Man is our happy go lucky, laid back, sweet baby little boy and is becoming more and more verbal with each passing day.  In fact, some of the things he says {and does} are so cute that I just have to write them down before I forget!

* One night while we were in the car, I Man spotted the moon which was just a sliver and said, "Moon broken!"

*  While L was counting she got to 19 and I said, "what comes next?" to which I Man proclaimed {what sounded like}, "20!"  This one might be a fluke, since he only counts to 3 on his own.  I've tried to work on 4 but he has no interest...  :-)

*  Occassionally, I will ask him if he is a baby or a big boy to which he usually replies, "big boy!" but one morning we had the following conversation: 

Me:  "Are you a baby?"

I Man:  "No."

Me:  "Are you a big boy?"

I Man:  "No."

Me:  "What are you?"

I Man:  "Monkey!"

Me:  "What?"

I Man:  "E E Ooh Ooh" {monkey sounds!}

*  If you ask him any question that begins with 'How was' or 'How is' he will automatically say, "Good!"

*  He can often be found playing mom or dad to L at the dinner table saying things like, "Sit down, Eye-yi!" or "Eat!" {You can imagine how well this is received by L!}, that is of course when he's not copying her... SIGH!

*  This morning I don't think I got into I Man's room as soon as he would have liked me to because when I opened his door he said, "Mama, done sleeping!" and then he asked me where his paci was {which we took away more than 2 weeks ago and he hadn't asked for until today}.

*  He plays well by himself but will often stop playing, grab a book and come to me saying, "book, mama, sit down!"  And when he flashes that adorable little smile how can I say no?

*  His favorite book, as of late, is Otis a book about a tractor and a calf who are best friends.  He loves this book {which is pretty long} and as soon as you finish reading it he says, "again!?"  I think D read it to him at least 16 times this weekend but that must not have been enough because today I found I Man like this...

 

hanging out on the steps reading his beloved book to Gerry the Giraffe!

Picture of the Day ~ Week 48

We put up our Christmas tree today and both kids got to 'help' by hanging ornaments and placing the star {they both put the star up, but L was the one who actually put it up to stay}!

We have been having unusually warm weather here {and we still don't have any snow} so we spent some time running around the backyard today.

I love the simplicity of shopping online and having Christmas presents delivered right to my door {except for one recent purchase, ugh!} and the packages have been piling up around here!

L is becoming very good at coloring in the lines, so I was hoping she would like today's Christmas Countdown activity which was "color a Christmas picture and send it to someone of your choice."  When I told her about it she said, "I'll send it to Cousin K!" and went straight to work coloring this Christmas tree.  I think she was more excited about actually getting to send it to him though!

The kids and I made torn paper wreaths today...obviously, I Man had other ideas!

D is so good at playing with the kids; whether it's tackle football, Bingo or hide and seek.  These kids love playing with daddy!

As part of our Christmas Countdown, we made these salt dough ornaments.  L had a blast helping me cut out some Christmas shapes in the morning and we all got in on the painting fun once they were dry (they take 4 - 6 hours in the oven).  We added ribbons and L hung every. single. ornament. on our Christmas tree, but I might have her wrap a few and give them as presents...

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

CHRISTMAS!

Last year, while I was reading my friend Lesley's blog (yes, she is the same person from whom I stole got the idea for POTD) I discovered a countdown to Christmas that I knew I would try this year.  In this post, she explains wanting her kids to have a greater appreciation for what they have and to begin to understand and practice both gratitude and generosity.  Amen and amen!  Now, I know that kids get excited about Christmas because of the presents (hello, they're human, right?!) and believe me they will get plenty of presents!  However, that's not at all what Christmas is about!  Christmas is about the gift of Jesus Christ, born to be a sacrifice for our sins!  At the very least, Christmas should be about the giving not the getting.  With that in mind {and while it was still November!}, I began to think about activities that we could do together each day to foster gratitude, generosity and good old family togetherness (oh and to keep track of how many days are left until Christmas!).  Enter our homemade Christmas countdown...

Step 1:  I enlisted the kids to help by handprint painting a Christmas tree.

Step 2:  L added some 'do a dot' lights and a star.

Step 3:  I cut out 26 ornament circles and wrote an activity on each one {most of which came from (you guessed it!) Lesley and actually, most of the ornaments are still blank as many days will take a bit of planning on my part}.

Step 4:  Each day we turn an ornament over to see the day's activity which we complete as a family {Yes, we've already started our countdown.  No, there aren't 23 days left until actual Christmas, just 23 days until our first Christmas (we have many!)}.

Day 26:  Deck the halls!

Day 25:  Write letters to soldiers (you can find more info here)

L signed her name on each card...

before D or I added a note of thanks and signed for the rest of us. 

Side Note:  Admittedly, L (and for sure I Man) was a bit young for this activity but it is definitely worth doing whether or not they understand!

On the docket for tonight..."Watch a Veggietales Christmas movie."  L chose The Star of Christmas...should be a good one!

And if that weren't enough work Christmas fun, I've also wrapped up just about every Christmas book we own...

and the kids are enjoying opening a 'new' one each day

See?

Disclaimer:  If I had seen this post just a few days earlier, I would have saved myself a lot of time and it might still be doable for some of you (you're welcome!).  Also, I'm not sure if I'll post often {or at all!} about our daily activities so here's the list of some activites I'm working off of in addition to the ones listed above:

Empty the pantry and take items to the food shelf

Family game night

Put $ in the Salvation Army bucket

Bake and Decorate Cookies

See the Christmas lights

Make gingerbread houses

Be someone's secret Santa

Make Christmas goodies and deliver to the neighbors

Go to the Dollar Tree and pick out a gift for each member of the family

Buy a Christmas gift and donate to a needy child (toys for tots)

Read the Christmas story from the Bible

Write a letter and color a picture for someone of your choice

Make a special Christmas treat

Make a Christmas ornament

Go sledding or build a snowman (we're gonna need snow for this one!)

Donate old toys/clothes to area thrift store

Have a picnic dinner in front of the tree

Make gifts for friends/Sunday School teachers

Sing in the Christmas program

List 10 things you are thankful for

Throw Jesus a birthday party

Open presents from mom and dad

Snow!

We've had a few snow showers pass through our area in recent weeks, none of which have accumulated to much or stayed on the ground long enough to play with.  However, when we woke up at Grandma and Grandpa's house on Saturday morning, there was snow all over the ground {only about an inch}!  L saw it and proclaimed, "It's finally Christmas!"  Then she asked about 500 hundred times if we could go outside.  After breakfast and bundling the kids up as much as we could {we hadn't packed snowpants or boots as the forecast wasn't calling for snow} she got to go out!

She was ecstatic!

She made tracks, jumped, ran around and even made a snow angel (I didn't get a picture of that, as I was too busy saying, "Good one now stand up and dust your pants off!").

I Man wasn't so sure about the whole thing {that or he didn't want me to take his picture?!}.

I think L was a bit disappointed that there wasn't any snow at home.  I, on the other hand, am thankful for this long, dry fall and am hoping that it will make the winter shorter!

Picture of the Day ~ Week 47

D, L and I made turkey cookies today {I Man was napping}.  They turned out pretty cute and they were delicious, too!

Laundry day means washing, drying, folding...and letting the kids play with the hamper {why do we buy them toys again?!}.

Today we made painted turkeys to take to Grandma and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving.  Thankfully, I Man likes to wash his hands after projects almost as much as he likes painting...almost! 

I Man came into the kitchen today wearing his firefighter hat with llama under one arm and zebra under the other.  When I turned the camera on, he even said, "Cheese!"  :-)

We spent Thanksgiving Day at D's parents' place enjoying food and time with family {including cousins that L rarely sees but enjoyed playing with very much}!

We girls got up early today {as in 6:30am, not as early as some of you, I'm sure!} to do some Black Friday shopping.  We hit 6 stores in as many hours and ate at the Chinese Buffet before we were done.  This is what the car looked like on the way home!  Do you see D's mom and sister?

Side Note:  This photo may have been altered so as not to ruin anyone's Christmas surprise!

(There they are!)

It snowed during the night {only about an inch} and L was SOOO excited to get out and play in it!  Grandpa was more than willing to pull her around too!