21/52 - mini foodies

Lily

A fun new activity that works those fine-motor skills like a boss... peeling hard boiled eggs ;)

Eli

His current fave snack - 'Ants on a Log'.

(Peanut butter and a line of sultanas on a celery stick, if you somehow missed this childhood rite of passage).

Oh, we thought we were super clever to create 'bugs on a log' too - 

hummus and pepitas lined up on celery :)

Miles

Mmmm, just noticing a food theme in the portraits this week! What can I say, it feels like these kids do little else but eat!!

Miles had half a hard boiled egg and I was amused to see him spend quite a few minutes just taking the yolk out of the white and putting it back in, over and over. I thought to quickly grab my camera as I was so charmed by his cute activity, but when I returned he had decided to eat/destroy the yolk and was busy filling the empty egg white with sultanas. Why not, huh?

Mark

His default 'chill out mode' in the evenings, as we kick back with a cup of tea, a bit of chocolate and a little TV show watching together after the kids are finally tucked into bed.

Ahhhhh, peace. 'Switch off hour' is how we survive these little years ;)

(Bonus points if you can tell what show we are watching!?)

Project 52: A portrait of my family, once a week, every week, in 2014.

More highlights from the week that was...

It's kinda like he is in chocolate bar commercial, showing of the product so perfectly, lol!!

It was one of those melting moments. A photo capture where the memory is definitely more important than the poor picture quality. It was a day when the kids just played outside for hours after school and didn't want to come in. Dusk was setting in, the chill was pervading but still these two capered and adventured happily around the yard together. I overheard sweet voices saying 'Let's just sit down and look at this lovely sky and sunset together' 'Wow, a sunset!! It's so beautiful!! Wow!!!' And so, they sat and giggled and marveled at God's creation, and I stood and marveled at the same thing, though from a different perspective. What a gift it is to see this sibling bond grow and flourish.

This book. It is amazing. I highly, highly, highly recommend. I gotta say, I am a big reader and know the gist of the many
parenting 'bibles' out there and honestly, not much feels new or helpful, but this one is really set apart. The title kind of says it all! It is filled with so many practical, varied, mindset-changing examples, my eyes were really opened to new ways to listen and communicate. I particularly wanted to learn how to be a better listener with the kids, especially with Lily in school now. So hard not to just jump in with a moral when she tells me school stories!! It's also filled with comic style cartoons that get to the point, good for hubbies ;) Anyway, just wanted to throw a little book recommendation out there. NOT saying I am 100% on board with everything in it (we all make up our own parenting recipe, right?!) but it has plenty of good stuff in it that can apply to any parenting style. I feel like I need to read it 5 times just to help it all sink in!!

Sensory Bin fun. Rice and beans are good for play too, not just eating ;) He poured and scraped and played and dug. 

His favourite thing was having me bury these glass marble 'treasures' which he would then dig for!

'Look, Mama, I made 'Eli'!!'

Exploring with a vintage set of Cuisenaire rods before school.

At the library for National Simultaneous Story time. The same book is read in libraries and schools all around Australia at the same time. Anything to support and encourage literacy, we are on it!! :) They read 'Too many elephants in this house' by Ursula Dubrowsky. A charming story and a fun morning's activity for Eli, along with his buddies Harper and Zoe (and Miles!)

Eli amazed us all with his egg peeling skills, he was the most proficient of all of us! Will have him on duty from now on ;)