Christmas - Days 4 through 7

The fun continues!  Here are a few photos to share.

Catherine received some really nice blocks of wood for carving--2 pounds of it.  We look forward to seeing what she creates.  The package included an all-important thumb guard.

Patrick has a new puzzle!  The doors on the barn open to reveal magnetic animals that live within.  He's mooing like a cow here to show us what he sees.  The animals have been traveling to the refrigerator lately for field trips.

Here Patrick is cooking with his new stand mixer.  He kept trying to put the cookie cutters and measuring spoons into the mixer, so I cut up bits of orange yarn for him to happily spin.  

Thomas makes his sternest face with full battle gear.

Do you remember Sit N Spin?  You can still get them!  We have one!  Yipee!

Patrick tries to spin his mixer while sitting n' spinning.

The family gathers to watch Thomas try his new radio-controlled car.  It has a helicopter that launches from the top, so it's  fun for all the kids even if they're not running the controls.  Patrick loves to fetch the helicopter and return it to Thomas.

Catherine likes to oil paint, and she's been making due with a makeshift  easel that she sets on the bathroom counter.  Well, now she has a spiffy folding easel.  That's Step One.  Step Two is clearing out some space in the basement to outfit it as a little art studio.    Updates to follow, as that's a larger project!

Anna enjoys her ColorWonder princess book.  

A new pint sized swiffer!  Really!

Thomas studies plans for a new lap desk that  he will help  build.  What's more fun, getting a lap desk or  getting to use a table saw, a miter saw, and hand tools to build your own?  

A purple flowery dress!

Christmas - Days 1 through 3

We celebrate all twelve days of Christmas according to the liturgical calendar.  It's so nice that it's not just one day but a whole season in which to celebrate the beauty and mystery of Jesus's birth.  To that end, we're trying something new this year:  for each child, opening a few gifts on Christmas Day and then one or two gifts each day until we run out.  So far I really like it.  Everyone gets to thoroughly enjoy each gift for a day before moving on to something else, and we extend our celebration with yummy treats and gifts throughout the season.

Anyway, I'm posting some photos of our Christmas so far.

1st Day of Christmas:

Steven wearing a wool scarf that Catherine knitted for him.  It's the longest-term project she has carried through, and it looks and feels great.

Catherine peeks into a package.

Thomas walks around shooting his gun (realistic battery powered shotgun sounds)...um...all the time.  Thankfully he doesn't wear the hat all the time!  He, Anna and Catherine have played Hunter & Prey -- kind of like elevated hide & seek

.

Patrick makes toast and eggs with Catherine's help.  Thomas is in the background intently assembling his Playmobil battering ram.

An old suitcase, a fabric sash, a bunk bed, and kids excited about Christmas.  Santa (Anna) urges on the airborne reindeer (Thomas).  Notice the box of gifts in the back of the suitcase sleigh.  This was completely their own idea and a really fun one, I think.

2nd Day of Christmas:

Anna loves her new doll, which she has named Rosalina.    Patrick likes to make toast and eggs for his new baby doll, though I don't have photo to share of it.

One very happy fairy with new wings.

Patrick tries on his new pajamas.

We joined some close friends for Christmas Eve and stayed up all night (well, until 5:30am) celebrating.  The little ones had sleeping bags and slept a full night, but Catherine opted to stay up with us.  Sleep caught up with her eventually as she sat in a chair in the living room.

3rd Day of Christmas:

The kids opened packages of colorful fuzzy socks this evening and compared styles.  Also today we installed a gift that the kids opened yesterday: a zip line!  We had an unusually warm day today and made good use of it.

Stringing cable on the maple trees.  Overall the installation took about 1 1/2 hours.

Sending a weighted bag down the line to test cable deflection -- almost done!

The maiden voyage!

Ok, so Catherine is a bit too tall for the zip line based on where we originally placed it.  We'll raise it a foot on each end and work out take-off and landing pads.

Anna got a ride with a help from her Daddy.  Do you think she's a little happy?  

Patrick helps Mommy in the kitchen with his new overall outfit.  He likes the hat only because it's fun to take off.  However, earlier in the day he gathered tools and stuffed them into his pockets and put a hammer in the hammer loop.