Mid-Month Randoms

Jack acquired a taste for hot chocolate this winter -- perfect for the days when the winter weather makes his cheeks red and cold ....

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We haven't had a lot of snow this season (or so it seems anyway), so the kids have taken full advantage of it whenever they could; sledding, shoveling and making snowmen.

Our neighbor joined in the fun with us one morning.

Jack was pretty proud of the masterpiece.

Sledding down the hill in the backyard on one of our five "snow days" that we have had already:

Even James got bundled up for some time outside:

Using his Tonka trucks in the snow:

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Gathering wood for our fire using the wheelbarrow that he got from Papa and Grammy for Christmas:

It has already gotten lots of use since Christmas and I think that Jack will find an excuse to use it year-round.  Gathering twigs, yes.  Gathering pine cones, yes.  Picking up leaves, yes.  Raking grass, yes.  Anything and everything.

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The girls had to take in a "stocking stuffer" for their Christmas parties at school along with a stocking that had their name on it.  The girls both opted to give their friends chapstick (a useful item!), so Sophia performed the diligent task of separating the chapsticks into a bag for the girls (pinks, purples, etc.) and one for the boys (soda flavors, blues, reds, etc.).

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I love puffer vests and I *may* have instilled that love in Samantha too!

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Jack craves the outdoors.  Most mornings, he is dressed and outside by 8 am -- and really, he would be out there even earlier if I didn't insist on him having breakfast first.  He moves wood, he shovels, he rides his bike.  Everything that he does is physical and he LOVES it.

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Samantha ran for class president after winning the primary election.  We are SO proud of her and the time/thought/effort she put into her campaign. 

She designed her own poster and slogan:

And then I helped her make it come to fruition using craft supplies that he had in my closet (well, I did purchase the poster board in town):

Such a fun thing for us to do together.  Even though she didn't win, we talked about how hard she worked and how excited she was to be able to make it into the top 2 for 3rd grade class president!

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Jack is now my helper at home when it is time to put stickers on my students' papers.  He loves this job and takes his role seriously ... just like the girls did when they used to be my special helpers.

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On the day that Samantha had her election at school for class president, Sophia decided that she wanted to dress up too:

When her kindergarten teacher asked her why she was all dressed up, she quickly replied, "because Sam is running for class president!"  I'm not sure that Sam had a better advocate and supporter than her younger sister.

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One of our neighbors got a little bunny and brought it over to show us.  The kids were all so excited to meet Hazelnut, but the happiest one might just possibly have been Jack.

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My boys.  They really love each other and I can't wait to watch them grow up to be the very best of friends.

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Christmas Catherine

As is the annual tradition, Christmas Catherine left us on Christmas Eve -- flying back with Santa to keep him company over the upcoming year ... soon to return during the holiday season again.  It was such a special year because Jack was SO excited about finding her each and every morning.  The magic is still alive for the girls, but the pure joy that Jack exuberated was incredible.  He would giggle every time that he saw her and was eager to tell everyone over the course of the day just what his elf had gotten into.  Now, to be fair, CC doesn't always get into trouble and her antics are pretty mild ... just enough to invoke a little hilarity among the "barely 8 and under" crowd.

Her debut, a North Pole Breakfast, early in the month of December:

She decided to decorate a pine tree in the bathroom and got all tangled up in the garland:

A snowman out of toilet paper rolls, complete with a sign asking where all of the snow had gone ...

Stringing a necklace out of Apple Jacks cereal for herself and her snowman friend:

(Side note: I smile whenever I set this snowman out for the kids each year.  It was a gift that Steve's mom had purchased for our kids and then never had a chance to give it to them before she suddenly passed away.  When Steve's dad found it, he gave it to us and then I let the girls unwrap it that year on the day that our first snowflakes fell.  I had them go outside to open it in the swirling white snow and wrote on the box that it was from Grandma.  And I made sure to take pictures.  Barb would have loved that).

Christmas Catherine got into a bunch of candy and snacks and apparently had a bad belly-ache the next morning:

A candy cane hunt:

Sophia loves these play glasses left over from my Halloween costume and often wears them around the house:

Some of the candy canes were easy to find and others were a little trickier:

The kids laughed for DAYS over this one:

One morning, the girls and Jack woke up to find CC stuck in a red balloon that was hanging from the ceiling fan in the family room.  She had the most perfect view from up there of every ... little ... thing ... that they did that day -- good and not so good!

Christmas Catherine set up a kissing booth (with lots of lipstick!) for all of her friends:

Rolling down the stairs in a roll of toilet paper:

CC got caught with a marker adding a few details to Samantha's picture in the hallway:

A tea party (the set is from China, the year that I was pregnant with Sophia and Steve made multiple trips over there for work):

Hang-gliding with some ribbon and a candy cane.  Somehow, she kept moving up and down the ribbon at various times of the day and this was so intriguing for the kids:

Spelling fun with M&Ms:

Christmas Catherine made a beard out of a cotton ball and then drew on the bathroom mirror with a little note:

One of my personal favorites -- FREE candy canes for CLEAN rooms!

The night before she left, Christmas Catherine stuck bows all over the wall in the hallway and then perched in the wreath on the door.  The blue envelope was a letter than Sam had written to her before she left, complete with a rubber band bracelet that she had made for her.

Such a fun tradition for the kids that I hope to continue for quite a few more years ...!

James is Eleven Months Old

And just like that, almost a year has passed since this little man joined our family and made it complete.  I am finding myself reminiscing a lot these days; thinking about how much my life has changed and how much more it will continue to change in the next couple of months. 

The baby stage is almost over now and I won't be able to experience that anymore.  I am beginning to wean Jimmy and am watching him start to become more mobile -- scooting across the floor backwards on this belly and rock back and forth on his knees, ready to begin crawling.  He is saying sounds now and has definite inflection in his voice, like he is carrying on a complete conversations with us.  He eats only table foods and has for months, and before long, he will be moved out of his baby car seat and into a toddler one.

Sometimes I miss that squishy baby cuddling, him fitting perfectly into the crook of my arm and laying on my chest.  So I am relishing these next months, loving on him as much as I can before he begins his toddlerhood and doesn't want to sit still for more than a few seconds at a time. 

All of my kids were given a blanket as soon as they were born that then became known as their "special blanket."  It was the one that they always had when they were feeding and used exclusively for naps and bedtime.  We took it with us in the car and whenever we knew that they would be resting.  It didn't take long for them to make the association and then they could continue to have it on their beds as they grew.  (And I always have TWO of them, so that when one was in the wash, the other was accessible).  James has known for a long time that this gray one is his and as soon as he sees it, he buries his head on my shoulder, reaches for it and puts his thumb in his mouth.
This boy loves his bath time -- every part of it: the wash cloth, the toys, the bubbles, the splashing.  Every night, he gets his bath around 7:15ish, followed by pajamas, milk and then into his crib (with this blanket) before 8 pm.  He will often sleep until about 7 am.  The last couple of weeks, he has been waking up to eat once in the middle of the night, but I attribute that to a growth spurt, followed by teething and some wakeful dreams.

I don't think that there is anything that James does not eat.  He has six teeth right now, but will gum anything that you give him.  Very little food gets spit out and we often have to simply take the food away because he has very little self-control.  My kids are good eaters!

James is really beginning to take an interest in his toys.  We will sit and play with them now, especially if someone is there to play with him.

And there are large attempts made to reach for anything that is (purposely) placed outside of his grasp.

After a while, he does this:

This means that he is tired.  Too funny. 

I'll ask him if he is sleepy and wants to go "night-night" and he will often repeat -- "ni-ni."  He says, "uh-oh,"  "mama," "dada" and "poo."  I'm sure that there are others, but those are the most prevalent right now.  He also raises his voice and yells for the other kids when he wants them.

Samantha and her buddy.  The two of them have such a special relationship.  And I love that.

One more month and I will have a one-year old.  It really does go fast ...