Des excited to be at the model train show again, despite the bitterly cold wind chills outside
Ella finding entertainment elsewhere
A morning comprised mostly of pointing and “up please!”
Eleanor shocked to learn that N guage trains can range anywhere from 1:148 to 1:160 in scale.
Brushing teeth in the morning is now a family activity
Trying really hard to draw only one card at a time…
During his bed time story, Des jumps up and runs over to the door and–without any prior reference or coaching–points out his first inanimate object face 🙂
The doorknob and dad were apparently both equally impressed.
Desmond shoveling the front porch. Fatherly pride: he moved the chairs up so he could clear out the rest. Smart fella.
Sometimes it’s hard to wake up, especially when your sister appears to be a “morning person”
Ella being silly
Desmond and mom in a competitive match of “Chutes and Ladders”
Des building his barn puzzle from Santa
“I did it [with help from mom]!”
Des practicing with his new camera. f/8 and be there, kid.
Upon reviewing, “that good picture!”
Took several weeks, but Eleanor has discovered the Christmas tree loophole: the stairs
At a friend’s house for a family New Years Eve gathering, Eleanor pulls a conversation starter card from the deck.
Des just kinda appeared upstairs with a mask. As you do.
Downstairs it was “controlled” chaos
After an hour or two of trying to put her down in the pack-n-play, mom and dad surrendered and invited Ella to the party. Flirting with the emotional disaster of sleep deprivation, she was surprisingly even-keeled throughout the night. Dad entertaining her with nibbles of baked macaroni cheese cups
“Too much haha, soon boo-hoo…” Eleanor enjoy the noisemakers at first, but her enthusiasm eventually wained
Ok, the yawns eventually settled in
Meanwhile, Des is curled up with Grace downstairs
This is not a picture of Eleanor dealing Cards Against Humanity cards
The countdown…
2018! The first year both children made it to midnight. Tomorrow mom and dad shall envy all those with skull-splitting hangovers.
Yeah, it’s time to go to bed
Des was proud of his most recent magna-tiles creation and requested a picture
Christmas brunch with friends. Playing catch in the living room, this can’t go wrong, right?
Nap time…
…shift change
More lego builds, with Luigi and Guido from Cars
Mom gets in on the lego action (don’t tell Des- we’re practicing numbers, spatial reasoning and fine motor skills)
TENS! for finishing the build
Suppose that’s one way to play with the tent
Trying a new setup for Saturday movie nights
Eleanor putting away a healthy portion of chili
Ah, they joys of foaming bath soap (“shaving cream”)
Of course he started by putting it on his leg and shaving, cause with dad’s beard, mom apparently has been the prominent shaving role model 🙂 Here we are also practicing face shaving, though following by arm and foot shaving for good measure.
