FHE: The Final Countdown

We've been slacking on the Family Home Evening front. I blame it on the baby.

Monday, I got all ambitious during the day and had a little activity ready to go for after dinner.

Opening Song: Twinkle Little Star (betcha didn't know that, eh?)

Opening Prayer: Daddy.

Lesson: We talked about having a new baby in the house and what that might mean for the kids. They are both really excited about Baby so I think this is going to be a bit of a culture shock for them. Really, when was the last time someone kept them awake by crying at all hours of the evening? When was the last time someone pooped or peed on them? And for the first couple months, babies are pretty boring. They don't open their eyes very much or smile. They're also notoriously horrible at playing catch.

I tried to talk a little bit about how Baby (and Mommy) will need a lot of help for a while, that's why Grandma G was coming to visit. But not only that, I would need them to help, too. Again, they were both very excited about the responsibilities of being the older siblings. Let's hope that lasts until Baby is ready for college.

Activity: Using pink and purple paper, I cut one inch by 8 inch strips. Then, I used a funky patterned paper to make two more strips for a total of 30. Using an index card, I listed the month and date for every day up until Baby arrives (according to the scheduled c-section, so it might be a little sooner than that...), including Thanksgiving.

Boo became the writer, taking one strip of paper at a time and writing the selected date on it, using the index card as her guide (I marked off each finished strip so she knew where to start next). I had her alternate between the pink and purple. The fancy paper was reserved for two special days: when Grandma arrives and when Baby arrives.

Boy and the Man teamed up and made the strips of paper into links. The Boy slipped the paper through the last link and bent it, while the Man taped it together because really, who is going to let a 3 year old have control of the tape?

The finished product:

We hung it from our FHE board. Every morning, while I'm getting their breakfast, they get to tear off the link with that day's date. And to save myself from dealing with the arguments, I designated the pink links to Boo and the purple links to Boy. I get to tear off the fancy ones.

Closing Song: Once there was a Snowman...repeatedly.

Closing Prayer: da Boo.

Treat: Ice cream sundaes. I'll take any excuse to douse something in chocolate syrup.