Pictures from the past few weeks...

Shipton AKA pie face.  

Gavin having pie too

More Shipton.  He posed himself and cocked his head to the side all by himself.  AWW!  He is at such a fun stage right now.  He is pretty independent and learning to play well with the other kids and engage in imaginative play with them.  He is talking so well too.  BUT there are still moments he needs his Mama and I am trying to soak these fleeting times up because already he isn't a baby any more.  This toddler is even showing hints of preschooler, so I try to remember to munch his chubby cheeks while they last!

"Smiling" with a zucchini he picked from the garden.

Le with beans and corn he planted for a science project.

The boys playing Legos together.  This is their favorite pass time most days.

Dad and Shipton

The kids found a grasshopper in the raspberries.  They had so much fun observing it before setting it free.

Shipton doesn't take a formal nap any more, but one or two days a week he will hold still long enough to zonk out.  He was thinking about it while helping me make lunch.

It seems like Shipton has the most pictures and movies this week.  I left the beginnings of a cake unattended in the mixer while I went upstairs for a few minutes.  Shipton helped himself and "painted the mixer" with the batter.  

Gavin and Leland playing chutes and ladders.

Leland and Shipton coloring Autumn pictures.

Sennika and Gavin.  These two!  This is about what I get when I request a smile for pictures these days. :)  They are such goof balls!

Gavin reading to Shipton.  Gavin has been branching out from just the Lego Ninjao chapter books he devoured.  This week he read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (a simplified version) and one from the Magic Treehouse series.  I am happy to see his reading take off and for him to choose to spend his free time in a book.

Sennika reading to herself.  She has been whizzing through Boxcar Children books and American Girls lately.  I have been skeptical that she will get through the huge stack we check out, but she has been.

I think I have mentioned here before, but with such late church, we have been much more relaxed about how we spend our Sabbath time.  We try to get in some family time between Dad's meeting, getting everyone ready, and before church starts. Our favorite way to do that is by playing board games together.  Here is Dad and the kids as we played dictionary.  It really is a fun age for our family.  Sennika and Gavin can play independently and Leland can play some games on his own or with very little help or prompting.  Shipton is happy to color on a piece of paper or roll the dice.

Sennika actually smiled for me!

Gavin planned a family Lego night as part of our Family Home Evening last night.  He worked so hard on it and even had "prizes" for the winners (old small toys he didn't want anymore). :)

More Lego night with a few faces looking my way.

Gavin working hard on a Lego Ninja hideout creation.

Shipton (and part of Leland) building away.

Here is Shipton talking about "lazberries" (raspberries) and the other things he likes to pick from our yard and garden.

Shipton describing the helicopter he built out of Legos.

Leland singing while doing his phonics.  It was kind of annoying and definitely random, but I thought it was pretty cute too. :)

Gavin reading to Shipton