Forts are an excellent source of entertainment when the weather is cold.
Crafts are something else keeping us entertained. Olivia (completely on her own) took two Christmas ball ornaments and taped a roller in between them. The secret was that she had one of her little toys hidden inside and only she knew it was there while it hung on the tree. She also decorated Daddy while he napped. How is that for creative?!?
We made bird feeders to help support the many, many birds that we have in our backyard. Mike actually moved our loveseat/chair and table to face out the back window and it is where all four of us sit together in the mornings, snuggle and see who can spot the Cardinal couple. The male and female show up first each day.
Daddy helped us make a butterfly garden stone. (he would want me to add that, "hey, i just mixed the cement"... after all, cement is more manly then butterflies. haha)
We made tissue paper luminaries and of course some Christmas decorations.
Above is a sample of all of the letters/numbers that Olivia has been consistantly able to pull from box and correctly identify. Below is something that I didn't expect. I told Olivia that when I was finished putting Gavin in his crib for a nap, that her and I would have lunch. When I came upstairs I found the table set. I love that she did this all by herself. The part that surprises me is that I don't normally set the table with anything more then a napkin and fork so for her to set it like this was great on her part. She is always paying attention and learning even when we don't think she is. (the full sets are for us and the single spoons are for Gavin, because he can't have knives and he drops lots of spoons when he eats.)
Brother and sister love.... that sometimes turns ugly.
It must be in the genes. I thought perhaps it was just "an Olivia thing" but no, it's a Gavin thing too. We can't keep the chairs pushed in at the table b/c he constantly climbs onto and stands in the middle of the table. Just having the chairs moved doesn't stop him from wanting to at least stand that high.
Look how upset Olivia is about the technical difficulty she had with her bike (above). Arms crossed and the whole bit. It wasn't long before Daddy had it up and running again. Olivia biked 3 full miles this day. (i should mention she still had energy and wanted to ride more when we got home. whew)
