These are a few of our favorite things

Since we didn't get many good shots of the Christmas gifts, I decided to get some pics of a few of the gifts being enjoyed. Be sure to read the description by the art set for a crazy story from today!

Connor continues to love his sword and hook. Some days I'm not even allowed to address him as Connor, but rather he only goes by "Captain." He also got a Leapster, a video learning game system. I will fully admit I am not a fan of video games, but I am OK with this b/c it is educational. He is figuring out how to work it, and has really had fun playing with it. Isabel loves watching him. And how cute is this picture? She totally was resting her head on his shoulder yesterday morning and watching him play:
My parents bought Connor some Wedgits. They are "construction toys that add geometry and symmetry to play time fun." They were awarded Toy of the Year for Best Learning Product. A woman at the learning store insisted that these are so popular, and she was right! My kids fight over who gets to play with them. They are fun! Even I have fun playing with them. :)
The Hoberman Sphere is a big hit. It expands from this:
To this:
Isabel has been loving puzzles, and got this Abby Cadabby puzzle (a little fairy on Sesame Street). Isabel LOVES it.
She also got her own Cotton Candy scented lip gloss:
She got a new baby doll, and this play set for her doll (notice the baby sleeping in the pack 'n play):
She loves to do artsy things, especially paint, so she got this art set, which contains paint, clay and molds, crayons, markers, chalk, sponges and stickers. So this afternoon, we were doing art time, and I was leaning across the table to help Isabel with something. Connor said something to me, but it didn't register until it was too late. I heard a distinct "snip!" and suddenly a chunk of my hair fell onto the table! For real. It was then that I processed that Connor had said, "mom, I want to cut your hair." See those green scissors sitting there so innocently on the table moments before this incident?) I went shrieking into the bathroom to access the damage. I think for the first time in my life I am glad to have thick curly hair, as I don't think it is too noticeable. Any straighter and thinner and it just might have been seriously obvious. After I calmed down and looked at Connor, he was sitting silently in his chair with his hands covering his face. All of a sudden he burst into tears and ran upstairs to put himself in a timeout. I actually felt bad for him; after all, he did give me fair warning and I just didn't register in time. I gave him a huge hug and we had a nice chat about how he will NEVER cut anyone's hair again. My sister found this extremely hilarious payback for a certain incident involving me, and her, and some scissors, and her bangs that ended up being roughly a quarter of an inch long (some parts longer, some shorter) a week before our dance recital. Trust me, I was nowhere near as my mom was that day. I can still hear her screaming my name throughout the house as I hid in fear.
Lucas with a few of his new toys:
And last, Brian and I got a set of the Blue Planet/Planet Earth DVDs. We are LOVING them, and have been watching one every evening we can. We love nature programs, and think these are fantastic: