Ok, first things first – do you have a Smartphone? Do you send pictures online with it! Well WATCH THIS and consider turning off your GPS setting on your pictures. I honestly don’t do much photo taking with our phone, I am much happier with the camera I bought last year… but this does make you think. Please please please consider when taking pictures of your kids that there ARE people out there who are NOT part of the majority wanting to keep them safe!

Yesterday we finally managed to coordinate a visit with the den Otters to meet baby Izaac (and more importantly – according to the kids – play with big sister Isabella and big brother Alexander). We went after supper so Ken could spend some time visiting with Alan as well. Echo was rather impressed by entire experience and wowed her aunty an uncle by finishing a whole banana as well as breastfeeding while there.

Xinny, Alan and Izaac

Izaac is such a little cutie, the smallest of den Otter babies, he was born at over 9 lbs but dropped down to 7 and some. (still bigger than the biggest Reinsch-Johnson!) I got in my own little newborn baby snuggle time while Echo visited with Alan and Xinny and daddy. She has gotten much better about being held by people other than Ken and myself.

Newborn cuddles

After getting in some play time for the kids and a snack (thanks to Xinny’s mom), we had to take our worn out brood home. Of course we made plans for ANOTHER visit. According to Chinese tradition Xinny (and Izaac) are to stay home for a whole month after the birth so we are making a few visits before that time is up to entertain her and to let our kids get in some much requested playdates before we head an hour and a half away. Hopefully they will be able to visit us in our new rental as well. Of course we WILL come back here for visits! After all Alan and Xinny are Emanuel’s god parents and we are blessed with Isabella as our god daughter.

I could not resist playing with the camera...

Fast asleep

I gave Izaac his little gift yesterday as well. I used the same pattern that Zander and Gavin have been using and made him up a little teddy bear. You can get the template here.

Handstitched

Our Math Week is going well. The boys have been teaching everyone their dice games, doing more addition colour by numbers and Gavin even started the paint by numbers he got for Christmas from his god mommy Christine.

Painting by numbers

They even sat down (and while I was in the tub!) and worked out a word sheet that matched numbers 10 and higher with their number names! I was so proud of the sounding out and the thinking things through. Of course ZANDER checked the wall where we have the numbers 1-16 listed, which shows he thinks about the problem and finds a way to solve it (right?). Gavin decided to go the slower route and work on sounding things out. But both did their best and got awesome results!

Our goal for tomorrow is to play some boardgames that are math related… at least until their facilitator shows up (at 2pm). He is coming for their second assessment so while Ken is gone with Echo to take her to her 6 month appointment with the doctor I will be collecting all the completed work they have done and tidying for the visit. I am actually rather excited about this visit. I feel that we have been doing our very best and that it shows! The boys are really progressing now and are happy and proud of their work. That is really all I can ask for!

Math practice game

As an artistic venture the twins sat down today and made art for Fat Sheep. Today’s finished pieces starred not only Fat Sheep herself BUT also Karyn! Be sure to check out Fat Sheep’s website to see her current blog posts, follow her on Twitter if you have it (she is VERY into quotes as well as daily updates). I do believe today she fulfilled one of her bucket list items – visiting Karyn’s work!

Aunty Karyn on a walk with Fat Sheep

Aunty Karyn and Fat Sheep playing ball in the house during a storm

Aunty Karyn, Fat Sheep and Mommy in the car in the rain

I am on the hunt for a jar now, something cute and unusual for MY Lucky Stars. Dollarama didn’t have anything remotely like what I had pictured in my mind. BUT I managed to pick up some Velcro to use to finish off the infant clips I have for Echo. So that will be part of my weekend goals. (Pictures to follow)

I finally got another bit of fun mail! My 50 French Barrettes got here from Hong Kong. They are just the little ones, but I am hoping to use them on all the bows I have waiting. The seller was great, our post is SUPER slow and unpredictable right now and they actually contacted ME on Monday to check on the shipment. That is the last of my craft items off of eBay. The price on these was great. Around 4.00 for 50. Much better than buying them at Michaels!

Barrettes

Now my evening is a lot quieter with the kids in bed but the list in my head is keeping me hopping. So much to do an so little focus!

OUR little baby

The weather has changed and this time it is definitely for the BETTER. With the temperature topping off at over 0 Celsius the kids were overjoyed to spend most of their late afternoon in the backyard which is full of packed down snow.

Sunshine, snow and warm weather!

Perfect for a mini sledding hill!!

Mini sledding hill

This gave Ken and myself the opportunity to attempt (notice I said ATTEMPT) some pictures of Echo in the snow in the FRONT yard… she really was having nothing to do with it so our best image is one from the BACK.

The best shot!

Today was the first day of our Math Week, and I think a success. We started off with some dice games – Balloons and Mountain. They have in turn taught Daddy how to play Mountain. Tomorrow Gavin is going to teach Emanuel to play Balloons.

Teaching Daddy

We then moved to colour by numbers where you have to do addition equations to find out what colours to use. This had them reading their own colour words for the most part (YAY). And best of all – dinosaurs! Those finished we worked on our Math workbooks. Mid week the plan is to play with our cash register and see if we can work on recognizing money.

Our Math Week supplies... well some of them

The wish to sew more bears has continued over the weekend, so I started Zander on another bear and have hunted down a bunny pattern for Gavin. After all, if they want to sew I am more than willing to work with them on that!

And now for the pictures… way later than I had originally planned, but here are the new 7yr photos of the twins to pick the best of the best out of! So please email, comment here, etc etc which you think is the best to put on the wall as an 8X10!!

A

B

C

D

E

F

Fat Sheep has continued to blog, add photos and of course expand the bucket list! You can follow her HERE or add her on Twitter (phatsheepette).

Modelling one of MY tutus!

Last night I took a little crafting time for myself and finished my last few printed out photos!

Trinity's

Echo's - note BOTH have Hello Kitty die cut pieces

So life is busy busy here, we are hoping to meet baby Izaac tomorrow, the immunization replacement appointment is maintaining an illusive status, and I have a  thousand unfinished things rushing through my mind. The short list is still intensely long – there is the lucky stars I have yet to fold for girls unnamed, my stepsister’s wedding present, helping Chris and Chris with their August wedding, packing, embellishing an old dress for Trinity… and that is not even the whole short list! ACK!

She has been in a pretty good mood the past few days!

Well, day 2 of the weather working AGAINST us. Another frigidly cold day of -23 Celsius has us once again grounded to home. Yesterday our decision to stay home was influenced by two circumstances – a frigid day AND Ken getting another contract. So yesterday was a workbook/copybook day again. Zander actually finished his reading book! We have finally had a breakthrough with sounding out the words instead of GUESSING. Errors are still made, and there is still frustration but now I feel like he is actually TRYING.

Proud completion

For two days now we have had Play-Doh filled afternoons coupled with Handy Manny and Cyberchase. Thankfully the twins are big enough now that the fall out of having two seven year olds, a 5 year old and an almost 3 year old play at the table is easily handled by them. That and they are willing to help their younger siblings make things. It is always a GOOD day if there is sharing involved.

Emanuel and Gavin with the little Play-Doh kitchen

I have gone through our upstairs craft cupboard as a precursor to packing which worked in my favour today – foam bookmark kits. So the twins, after some workbook and copybook time (of course) got to sit down with the foam, glitter glue and some sequins and have at it. I think Zander wants to send his down to Minnesota for one of his god-parents’ kids. We are also working on making up envelopes to send down beginning of next week – one for Zander’s godparents (Andy and Darcy) and their son (our god-son) Anthony, and one for Gavin’s Godfather Cory.

Bookmarks

I am not sure if this is lucky or not but we got a call today rescheduling our 6 month boosters with Echo. Apparently the nurse in charge of the immunizations is home with the FLU!! Seriously, how sick is everyone outside of our little house bubble??? I am starting to think that our being stuck home our of necessity has helped us to avoid the bulk of whatever has been going around lately. Which is terrific since we spent much of December and January with one or more sick kids!

With Giraffe

We had a wonderful drop off today though – our photographer dropped off the cd from our 2010 photo shoot AND our 2009 (both Christmas) so now I have ALL the photos taken by him on cd and ready to be packed away. I LOVE his work and am rather crushed that we will be over an hour away from him after this. I am undecided as to what this will mean for our Christmas pictures THIS year as having them done is a tradition I do NOT want to give up on.

Today we broke out the paints. The kids all got a palette style paintbox from Nana and Baba last visit so I let them go at it. Emanuel didn’t quite understand the damp brush to get the paint working and flooded his paints a bit but they had fun and kept pretty clean!

Paintings done

The little ones requested time with the Starfall site. So Trinity spent a bit of time with me on my computer and then watched her all time favourite video – “Do You Want to Date My Avatar?“, she has loved that video since she was a tiny one.

Mommy likes this video too

Ken’s netbook got commandeered once the basement was tidied and Ken was done with it in the basement (he takes it down to the quiet room to use the phone in peace when need be and work while on hold). We really need to get our funding sorted by April so we can get some sort of simple computer for them to use of their own!

On the netbook

We are doing REALLY well not eating out though our meal plan has been switched all over the place due to the cold weather and not wanting to go to the grocery store. Last night was spaghetti and sauce with buns… of course using just a bit of our new spice from Ted. The kids found it a bit spicy and were gulping down the milk and water but LOVED IT! I love it when the kids are adventurous with food. Ted has offered to bring another major Ethiopian spice for us to try – but this one is MUCH spicier I guess… Ken is not sure he is game but I bet we will all give it a go.

Yum

So tonight I am hoping to get in some quality crafting time… that is definitely dependant on the Little Tyrant though as she is still in a bit of a mood after having her siblings wake her up over and over again today. Poor thing. I would love to  get in some quality scrapbooking time, or work on my large project stitching or make some more lucky stars… BUT doing so with her up… not so easy! Wish me luck.

Echo in the standing play toy. We got this for Emanuel back in our tiny apartment as the baby can slide back and forth along the track and play... nice and compact but good exercise