We are a happy family

Russell received one of those little wood train sets from us for Christmas. He really enjoys it and gets hours of fun out of it--from the very minute he wakes up until he puts them away for the night. He loves his "choo! choo!" We had to help him set it up at first, but he can put the tracks together on his own now. I'll find him playing away quietly in his room.

I got an awesome deal on this train set. I saw it at Aldi around the beginning of December, and it was $20. I couldn't bring myself to spend that much money on it. Then the week before we left for Arizona, they had it in their clearance cart for $10.99! I was happy. So was Russell when I handed it to him as he sat in the cart.

It originally had 80 pieces when we bought it. Every time we clean it up at night, it seems like there are fewer and fewer pieces in the box. I'm pretty sure that when we move we will find a ton of little pieces in every imaginable place in this apartment. Among those 80 pieces are these four  people.

Ben and Russell have affectionately assigned each of us to someone in the family. It is really strange when Russell is calling out "MAMA", and I'm sitting right there with him. He clearly doesn't want me, but is wondering where my little figurine is. There are times when I see him giving them hugs and kisses during the middle of his playing, and once he starts with one of them, he has to hug and kiss them all. And, then I have to hug and kiss them.

Can you tell who is who?

PS. I made Robert Redford for dessert. It was delicious! And, totally satisfied a big craving I had been having. There might not be much left when Ben gets home from school tomorrow.

PPS. We rearranged the furniture in our living room and have given ourselves so much more space! It is wonderful. Russell has been super excited to have more room to run around. Ben and I keep congratulating ourselves over how smart we were at 10:30 last night when we figured out the new arrangement, and it fit!