Books I am reading Right NOW....

Free weights from home

I have begun to do free weights from home right before going to bed. Nora, being my right hand girl, of course also wants to do it too....so instead of free weights, she gets to use 2 paint tubes as weights. Here is her 'gear'.

I have a book where I have drawn all the exercises using stick figures. She then insisted on drawing her own stick figures copying the poses found in the book above. These are hilarious. Notice her depiction of a dumbbell.
Do you recognize any of these exercises?

Ballet Dancer Drawings- done by a 3.5 year old

Nora, my daughter, is obsessed with all things "ballet". I love drawing with her on nights she has a hard time falling asleep. So we sit in bed and draw in our sketchbook. The latest drawings are of a ballet girl. I will post my sample tomorrow. But Nora did a fantastic job on her own girls. In fact, they are 100% better than I could ever draw them. There is just something so special about kids' drawings.

Thanksgiving's Small Moments

Dad creates a maze from blocks.
Here is a close up.
Lelo shares a swig of his special drink.
So nice to be together under one roof.
Nora kisses Lelo.
Nora and Lelo.

Julian has a very 'toxic candy'

Luke and dad decide to try it. Luke lasts 2 seconds.

Dad lasts quite a while.

Julian shares his ipod touch with Luke.....
Auntie Mirtha reads a story to Luke.
Plenty of cuddling time with Lela.
Nora showing off how she can now write 'mom' and 'dad' on her own.
Nora and Julian.
Tea time.
Nora's bird (3.5 years old)
Nora's snowman.
Nora's flower with roots and dirt.
Close up of tea time.
Nora's dog.
Nora's cat drawing.
Nora's monster.
Nora drawing on the sand.
Nora creating a sculpture in the sand with sticks.
Nora's finished stick sculpture in the sand.
Dad and I photographed each other's shadow.
Luke found a wide piece of wood. They used it to keep from getting wet each time the water came around.
Enjoyed photographing my mom's garden.
Photographed my sister's very adorable dog, Sadie.

Back to the basics....

Although I have a studio art major from college I somehow never took any anatomy or facial proportion classes. This week I devoured this book and got a refresher on facial proportions. Very exciting stuff.

Nora and Luke's First Group Art Show

These pictures came out a bit dark.....Here is Nora next to her framed drawings....

Here is Luke making a face (or course) beside his 20"x24" abstract tempera painting. Although they allowed children to show their work....seems like Luke and Nora were the only children who participated.

Nora's 2.5 year-old drawings....

I look at my daughter and I cannot imaging a more perfect happiness than watching her drawing. Daily now we have been drawing at nights before we go to bed. She loves drawing. before she even turned one she drew her first "person". Yes, it was a circle with 2 eyes and just legs, but it resembled a person enough. Today, at 2.5 she draws everything from cakes, monsters, bugs to monkeys. To see her be so intensely interested in this medium makes me think of how much all kids would benefit from drawing in general. I have been saving and dating her drawings for some time now and the progress is remarkable. She now adds more and more intricate details to her characters and even comes up with her own characters.