Family Mellmann

Day 16. Don't you just love the way the kids pose for that opening shot now? I don't have to tell them to wait or anything. They just...assume the position. I wish it was this easy to train them on some other things around the house. :)

Day 15. Over half way. I love to see these faces; smiles, a hint of anticipation. They're looking forward to something bigger than the little treats in the Advent Calendars now. Christmas is coming.

In an effort to avoid homework for as long as possible Patrick got the hats out of the costume box. Katherine loves hats (and costumes in general) so I invited them to ham it up for the camera for a few minutes. Then it was time to get the work done. Patrick worked on spelling homework and Katherine worked on her "Fusion Fun" project (check out FunFusion here or here )...she'll sit and work on these for long stretches of time.

Patrick keeps asking if the WHOLE calendar is filled with candy. I'm just reading between the lines here, but I think he actually likes the non-candy things better...frankly, so does Katherine.

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.