Right before the holiday break from school, Ty's class had a party. Dad attended and enjoyed watching some of the projects the kids were given. First they made votive candle holders that they decorated with paint and stickers. Fun, but challenging for some of the kids.
The next project involved lots more freedom, and the results would get eaten. Each child was given a sugar cookie that they could decorate with frosting and glitter among other edible items. Ty waited patiently as certain items got passed around until he could expertly apply some cherry lines as captured here on film.
After careful work and some selectively placed "snow", he declared that he was finished and began to eat the cookie. He even let Dad have a bite and it was indeed beautiful and delicious.
The best way to avoid the crowds is to go when no one else does, right? Well it doesn't have the same effect during the day, but we visited the scaled down version of Austin's holiday lights this year. I surprised Ty with this secret adventure and we walked through the park checking out all the displays. This one with the penguins was his favorite.
And this is why we all are amazed at just how fast they grow up. First shot was taken when they were just one year old at their first meeting. The second shot is from this past Thanksgiving at age six.
We made a very quick visit to the Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk one afternoon. When I say quick, it was because we were not aware they closed much earlier the day before Thanksgiving so we basically had about 30 minutes to see everything.
Ty spent a big chunk of that time in this room where they had interactive water activities. Here he is pumping one of the valves and sending a surge of water through a pipe to push along some boats. Dig the fashionable smocks they had the kids wear!
The next few posts are some shots from the annual visit to CT for turkey day with the family.
There is an antique slot machine in my parents' kitchen that Ty loves to play with. It takes nickels and is also very hard to pull (I imagine in the old days at casinos some people had some big biceps from all the slot pulls).
Well at some point, Ty pulled the handle and up came the jackpot of 3 bars! Now mind you the machine doesn't pay out big (this is for amusement only), but it may have been one of the only times a jackpot was hit since my parents got the machine a few years ago. So of course, dad was there to capture the moment before the next pull cleared away the evidence.
When Ty realized one of his classmates and good friends was on the opposing team of a recent soccer match, his whole face lit up. The two of them giggled and waved each time the other took the field. During one of the breaks, I managed to capture the two of them hanging out in the shade.
