2012

January

 February

March

 April

 May

 June

July

 August 

September

October

 November

 December

Acting class

Nora took a two-day acting workshop after Christmas at the local children's theater. She was excited to go.

The play was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

They made some of their own props (crafting!) and helped come up with their lines. She had a great time. They had a performance for the parents at the end of the second day of class.

Christmas Day

Mark's mom had sent gifts with us last time we visited. 

The kids each got two indoor frisbees (or berets) from her as well as a complete collection of state quarters. She sent the placeholders from the coin folder and the kids had fun matching them to the state they came from. A quick holiday geography lesson for everyone.

This year the kids bought gifts for each other. It was fun to see them make decisions about what to get. Henry bought everyone an individual carton of goldfish crackers, including himself.

Mimmu and Iso and the aunts and Steve came over and had breakfast. They brought a mountain of presents. We made coffee cake, an egg casserole, and fruit salad. The kids had one round of breakfast before the guests came and we had to stop them before they consumed all the coffee cake. Next year we might need a bigger one. Or two.

We opened presents and played with gifts throughout the morning. It snowed, but we didn't play in it since there was enough activity inside. Had we known it would be almost the only snow of the winter we would have gotten out in it.

There was salmon and mashed potatoes for lunch with carrots and Brussels sprouts. Followed by some stocking candy.

We had turkey sandwiches for dinner. Nora got several craft sets. The day finished with a completed potholder made on the new potholder loom.

Merry Christmas!

Before Christmas

Nora dressed up in all of Anja's winter gear.

We started our holiday on Sunday with a turkey feast.

Do you see our paper chain hanging in the back? We did some Christmas crafting earlier this month!

On the move

This photo is blurry because the baby is scooting across the floor. Today's the first day she's moved much from one place to another. She's moved just a bit recently as she has reached for toys but today she figured out how to cover more ground. She's being baited with the lego car.

Nora and Henry both scooted on their bottoms instead of crawling and it's so funny that Camilla is doing the same thing. It's an awfully cute way to get around.

The Nutcracker

This year Grace was going to be dancing in the ballet, so we were excited to see her!

The whole family went out to lunch together before the show and then Nora, Helena, and I went to the Nutcracker with Mimmu.

Henry got to deconstruct one of his toy cars while the little girls napped at home. It's hard to say who had the most enjoyable afternoon.

Christmas coffee

We had some Finnish friends over for an afternoon of chatting and eating.

The table was set with our favorite dishes and decorations from Finland. It was such fun to visit!

You can see our Christmas tree in the background. I didn't take a single picture while we were decorating it on Wednesday. The big kids did a great job this year of distributing the ornaments evenly over the tree. It was a constantly changing display over the month as people refined the placement of favorite ornaments, but the tree always looked festive.

Lost in a good book

She is a girl after my own heart.

She's reading Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild here, a book I have read many times.

Eating

Camilla is pretty good at feeding herself these days. She's been making the most of those two little teeth.

She loves being more in control of her food selection, vegetables are favorites and usually disappear first from her tray. She is able to eat much of what the rest of us do which makes mealtime even easier.

These things happen

Mark left his cup of tea undefended and it was attacked by dinosaurs.

After Thanksgiving

 On Saturday morning my dad and I cooked up ohukaisia (Finnish crepes) for everyone.

 We had three pans going to keep up with the crowd. Bacon, fruit salad, and cookies rounded out the meal.

Nora has a little of several toppings on this one. It can be hard to choose what to have. After brunch we had an unexpected chance to see a house that was going to be for sale.

That night we had sandwiches. Nora's creation was cheese, salami, and a potato chip topped with herring. She says her everything sandwich was better than the one she made with turkey.

Thanksgiving

After our exercise the kids and I came home to finish cooking. Maryann drove over and made it in time for lunch. I made festive mashed potatoes (peeled!) with the ricer that is on long-term loan from my sister.

After lunch there was game playing and napping and reading and relaxing.

Desserts with coffee in the afternoon and turkey sandwiches in the evening. A good day with family remembering all we have to be thankful for.

Turkey Trotting

Two years in a row makes this a firmly established tradition.

But if we run into bad weather it's one I'm ready to relinquish. This year that wasn't a problem and we had another lovely sunny morning for our walk. Penny walked some and rode in the stroller some. Millie and Mark stayed home with the actual turkey in the oven.

Henry did some running and was our fastest finisher. It's fun to see the costumes that some of the runners wear.

Pre-Thanksgiving festivities

Anja brought facial hair for everyone.

It was a hit. By the end of the evening Henry had a mustache, beard with sideburns, and thick eyebrows. 

The baby did not think this game was funny.

A wedding

A friend from our church had a lovely fall wedding. Mark and Henry stayed home to take care of Helena, so Nora, Penny, Millie, and I represented our family.

They had a brunch reception with lots of delicious food.

Penny was my helper that morning when we dropped some things off at the church. She is able to ask the same question repeatedly despite getting the same answer every time. 

We wish them a long and happy life together!

Little patient

Poor Helena got sick just as we were gearing up for Thanksgiving preparations.

We are glad for antibiotics and that a few days of rest had her back to normal.

Gratitude

We collected different kinds of leaves and made some crayon rubbings.

Then we cut out some of the leaf shapes, took turns thinking things we were thankful for to write on them, and hung them up.

Among other things, the children are thankful for...
air
turkey
Blue dog and Butcher bear  (stuffed animals)
Daddy
friends
stars
pumpkin muffins and pumpkin pudding
sandbox and shovels
chocolate
being tucked in by Daddy at night
family
candy

We are certainly blessed.

Roll it and pat it

Penny helped me shape the rolls for dinner. She had a great time.

 And the bread dough can take rough handling.

Can you spot the ones made by kids?

They love to eat their own creations.

Crafty

Nora has taken to weaving mats out of the iris leaves.

I think she was inspired by playing with a potholder loom that belongs to a friend.