Our very own winter games

Last winter was the season of "Musical Footstools".  I had the three brudders run around three footstools at break-neck speed, then sit as fast as they could when the music stopped.  Whoever sat first would win.  Anyone who passed another would be out a turn (to protect the two year old in the mix).

I was pregnant and sat at the computer to turn the volume up or down, playing music from the special Musical Footstools playlist.  It was a great way to burn off winter energy. This year we haven't played it at all, which surprises me.  The few times I've suggested it have left me high and dry.

This winter has been the winter of Hide and Seek.  We played it quite a bit earlier in the season, usually on teams.  Jamie, the baby and I would hide while Diego and Truen sought.  To prevent peaking and allow for last-minute scrambles, we would alternate hiding upstairs and down, with the seekers always counting downstairs if we were upstairs and vice versa.

Jamie could hardly stand hiding longer than a few seconds and would start squeaking and saying "hoo-hoo!" the second they came looking for us, so I tried to help him find his spot first so he couldn't rat me out immediately.  Diego and Truen always found him right off the bat, then Jamie would join the seekers.

I also hide the baby in clever spots, which all the brudders loved.  I would lay Eliah down in odd spots or tucked away in corners; he would lay there kicking and looking around while his brudders came looking.

I thought about all that this afternoon, when Diego asked if we could play Hide and Seek.  I realized . . . holy smokes . . . we wouldn't even be able to play it like that anymore.  Baby Eliah would just crawl off and endanger himself the second I sat him down.  Things change so fast this baby year.

They loved finding him in his "hiding spot" and would lavish all kinds of baby talk on him and laugh about how cute he was, then Diego would pick him and up come looking for me.  I have such fond memories of it all.

More recently the game is usually "kitty".  Today Jamie was "Extra Extra Ice Cat" and hissed at anyone who talked to him.  Truen was "Snuggly" and pawed at my hair playfully.  Diego played himself as a dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks cat named  "Hungry" who tried to eat my hair like it was grass.  Eliah was my baby kitty.

The boys have also been spending 1-2 afternoons each week outside playing with our neighbor boys.  The wind has blown amazing drifts in the native grass that we planted to the south of our driveway and they've been having so much fun running and rolling up and down them.  A nice break for mama too.