stockings

For the past couple years we've given the kids their stockings the day after Christmas. They had a fun time opening everything. I made Malcolm a wolf finger puppet and Jane a polar bear one, of course!

Malcolm worked on a lego set he got for Christmas!

Christmas

We spent Christmas with Grammy, Nana, Uncle Abe, Uncle Ben, Aunt Amy and cousin Reagan. It was a great day!

I made dip with cheese, sundried tomatoes and pesto.

Lunch was delicious. Reagan likes to sit in between Jane and Malcolm!

Malcolm made himself look very fancy.

Anna received a basketball outfit!

The kids have been talking about this lego set for months. They were so happy they got it!

Peabody Essex Museum

The day before Christmas we spent a few hours at the Peabody Essex Museum.

Photography wasn't allowed at the Calder exhibit. It was amazing, though!

We also enjoyed the Nathaniel Gould furniture exhibit.

The museum wasn't crowded at all so we spent a long time there, and we saw almost everything.

Jane's favorite part was reading books!

last night of Hanukkah

It was also pajama day at school and the last day before vacation.

Malcolm got Bumblebee!

Jane got a watch!

more Hanukkah

Jane and Malcolm opened new pjs on the fifth night!

Nana, Rayna and Samara visited on the sixth night - except it was during the day!

Jane's dolls got the cutest little menorah!

At night the kids had a great time coloring Malcolm's new cape!

beginning of Hanukkah

We're having a good Hanukkah so far! On the first night the kids got books. Jane got a book about polar animals and Malcolm got a Dinotrux book.

The next day I made Hanukkah cookies. Those got eaten up fast!

I was worried the kids wouldn't be excited about new clothes but they promptly put them on and pretended they were at a wedding.

The next night, Hanukkah Harry brought some gin from the Berkshires to Mom and Dad.

Again I was worried they would think new sheets were boring, but they played all kinds of games with them.

I finished a knit menorah wall hanging. The kids can touch these candles - they go in and out of the pockets!

2014 gingerbread house

Our gingerbread house was a team effort! Nate used the same recipe as last year but he figured out a new way to cut it to make the house bigger and have no scraps. I did the frosting.

The kids helped put candy all over it (and ate just a little)!

Once again it served as Susie's birthday cake!

train show

The kids were excited to see a train show at the Museum of National Heritage in Lexington! They brought their cameras and took photos and videos of the trains.

They wanted to pose with George Washington.

crafts

Last weekend we went to the library to do some crafts. First the kids made cars.

Then they made birds that can peck.

This is Malcolm's.

The kids made marble runs and that was Malcolm's favorite activity!

They also made bears that pop out of a package. This is Malcolm's.

At home on another day the kids mixed shaving cream with paint to make some marbled paper. They really just wanted to rub shaving cream on their hands!