Family Mellmann

We're half way there. The kids eagerly get ready for school so that they can rush down to do their Advent Calendars...hmmmm - how am I going to get them to get ready for school again on January 4th when there are no more treats to be had? Today's treat was Sweet Tarts...emphasis on the tart. :)

Saturday, Advent Day 12. Today is a non-edible treat day. Patrick received a few snakes to add to his collection. Katherine received a special glue bottle that limits how much glue comes out (let's see if this helps her with her gluing projects) and some mosaic paper tiles for gluing to paper and projects. We're half-way to Christmas!

Patrick's birthday party theme this year is animals - not the barnyard variety. We planned out animal games and animal decorations, and I decided to take a stab at an animal cake (hopefully it won't end up on Cake Wrecks ). Can you tell what animal I was going for?

Advent Day 11. Today's treat was a bag of Lego-style candy blocks. Patrick went right to work building something with his...Katherine started eating them. Hmmmm....a picture of things to come?

Advent Day 10. The kids have a routine now for doing their Advent Calendars. They even know that they have to wait until I'm standing there with the camera poised for a shoot.

Today Katherine discovered that she was tall enough to reach the pocket without getting a chair. The treat was licorice laces, which Patrick really likes. Katherine, on the other hand, licked one end and decided she didn't like it. She actually likes a surprisingly small range of treats. Good for her, but it makes filling an Advent Calendar a little challenging.

Advent Day 8. Gold coin chocolate. Katherine seems to understand now that one of the benefits of the Advent Calendar is that you can calculate how many days are left before Christmas. The excitement is building. Today I have a bonus photo for you. This is Katherine sitting in the living room in one of the leather chairs (our favorite reading spot) reading a book that I hope to have time to read soon. The irony is that I bought this book to (hopefully) get some ideas on how to understand and successfully work with a willful child. It's called "10 Days to a Less Defiant Child". If only she could just read it and save me that step...we could just move on to the next step...whatever that is. :)

Advent Day 7. Have you ever stopped to think about what advent is? I looked it up online and found this: "arrival that has been awaited (especially of something momentous)". So, what are you waiting for?

Day 6. December 6 is not only the sixth day of the Advent season, but the day that Patrick celebrates his birthday (but more on that later). Today the treat was wearable candy. How much better can it get? You can wear your sweets until you're ready to eat them! Or you can just eat them and throw away the rest. :)