Family Game Night

Last night we had a Family Game Night. I was supposed to have had the kids fed before Brad came home so we could sit down and play games, but I just couldn't get there on time, so we ate dinner while playing. It was the best I could do. So here we are starting to play Jenga, or Junga as Kaeley would call it. Notice Alynna's scrunched up face? I think it's her competitive face. I saw it a lot last night. It's either that or she doesn't like carrots.

Alynna was in a very interesting mood. When she's tired she seems to get very loving, and goofy, and loud, and silly. Here she is loving on Nathan. Earlier, when I didn't have the camera with me, she put her arm around Nathan's shoulder. They sat there together while discussing Brad's Jenga move. By the time I had my camera with me she was done cuddling with him. That turned out to be okay for me though, because she was more interested in kissing Nathan's cheek over and over again.

The baby had to go to "jail" while we were playing. Being buckled into the highchair was just about the only way we could keep him from climbing on the table to eat game pieces and throw cards into the air. Here Brad teaches Simon how to use the whisk as a telephone.

Brad - yellow. Kaeley - green. Alynna - red. Nathan - blue. Janna - a grape tomato. Candyland only provides four game pieces. There were some jokes, I must say, about me "ketchuping" up to the others. Alynna won the game. Our gracious winner went about cheering that she was the winner, or sometimes, the "wonner". And I think I heard her sweetly tell her siblings that they were "losers". Sigh. Kaeley has learned to be a good sport when losing. Nathan? Yeah. Not so much. He sat there for a while, next to his little lovey-dovey sister, and just sat for a while. Then the lip poked out. Then the Then the mouth opened. Before one could say, "Don't worry, Nathan, it's not a skill based game." Nathan was covering his face with his hands and bawling his eyes out. He'll learn.

So, after three games of Jenga and one game of Candyland it was off to bed. Fridays are now Kaeley's favorite day what with choose-your-own breakfast, long park days, and game night. She loves games. I guess this means I need to keep planning Friday Game Nights! It was a nice change-up from the norm. Playing a simple game with the family encouraged waiting and self-control for the younger children. Teaching moments are available for the winners and for the losers.

Birds? No. Butterflies. It doesn't seem to matter to Simon. He loves things with wings.