Fall break or fall fun?

This is one of the many pictures that I could have taken over fall break.  My kids had so much fun playing together.  I think this vacation is the one that bridged the gap for me.  It was lovely to see my kids play independent of me and my negotiating, refereeing, and judging.  It was so great to see the creative juices flow.  I think this one they were writing a play of sorts and JJ was using our backgammon game as a briefcase and Anna looks like she, MaggieMae, and RosiLee are all dressed up to do some serious shopping.  William I think was trying to hide behind his hands, but missed his face as he ran off right after I clicked this and never came back.  Andrew is diving into the picture although I am not sure he was actually directly playing with his siblings at that time.

The Bubble Master

My kids love both of their parents, however, there is one place that dad by far outshines mom - the bathtub. Rosi and William love when daddy washes them up because they get bubbles.  Well, they actually get bubbles with Momma too because I rub bubbles all over their bodies to get them clean.  Daddy makes bubbles - just for popping, watching, but mostly for giggling.  The kids just get such a delight out of these huge bubbles.  This bubble is about 15 inches long.  It starts at his right hand and goes all the way down to the edge of the upper bath tub rim.  The twins just love these huge bubbles and beg, plead, and giggle for more.  Jeff always willing to put on a good show, willingly agrees to making more.  Unfortunately it is often let to mom to be the clock-cop and tell them they need to hurry up and get out and dressed as we are late for church.

Even MaggieMae's need piano lessons too...and recitals!

MaggieMae has wanted to take piano lesson's for about a year now.  I have relented and taught her a few lesson's myself.  When she realized that we were having a recital, she wanted her own as well.  So she got one on her own.  I am happy to report that unlike her mother, she played her pieces perfectly.  She knows two or three songs and enjoys playing them.

Piano recital Oct 2012

Andrew playing Mr Brahms famous lullaby and Green Frog Hop. 

Anna playing Away in a Manger and Elves Silver Hammer.

Kristina playing Ooga Booga Boogie and Be Thou Humble.

What or who is a princess anyway?

This is RosiLee's favorite costume to wear.  She calls it a princess costume.  Obviously it is Minnie Mouse, who while she may be as rich as a princess, to my knowledge has no royal blood.  It got me thinking after hearing Rosi call this her princess costume about how she really doesn't know what a princess is.  So much of what our kids learn is not based in fact or reality but rather on trust and love for parents.  It could be very overwhelming if you let it be.  I guess I realized that we as parents are responsible to teach our children so much, it made me wonder if we really stop to think about how we evaluate what we see in the world around us and how we share it with our kids.