End of January - Into February...

You're reading that correctly... -25 degrees on January 24th. Jeff & the kiddos all stayed home since the school gave them a "It's too cold" day! Later that day, Jeff did take the kids into his room & Norah enjoyed playing on the xylophone. We frequently have deer in our backyard, but I often don't photograph them - as the kiddos currently believe that they are Santa's reindeer - watching after them to see if they are "naughty or nice." These two were "spying on us" & I convinced Noah & Norah that I would take only a few pictures.February brought my 34th (gasp!*) birthday. Noah & Norah loved celebrating, having candles, balloons, buying gifts and the such...they made my birthday extra special.Norah, again in costume, can often be found caring for her dollies. Dressed as Wonder Woman, it was a perfect time to read to her baby, Lola. We still laugh at how one day Norah started calling this specific baby Lola & it's just stuck. Not sure how she came up with the name, but Lola for whatever reason is the "prized baby doll."And...we have snow. Lots & lots of snow. We have to remind Norah to keep her mittens on & not eat the snow...And Noah - he said he was "making cement" - I'm always surprised at how long our kids will play in the snow - we have to drag them inside! I forget which day it was, but Noah was actually crying that he had to come in after being out an hour!

Proud as a Peacock

Rara J. made these jammies for Noah for Christmas and they are his favorite. He requests his "construction cozy jammies" nearly every night. Not only am I thankful that Noah loves them, but I'm thankful that Jeff's mom makes such cool stuff for the kiddos. Another thing I love about Noah, is how he loves to cuddle, be warm, have blankets, cozy jammies, etc. - just like me!

Dress Up Fun

I initially saw Norah dressed like this: as she watched Jeff shovel the driveway.Norah is in dress-up clothes as soon as she gets up every morning... she tells us she is a ballerina-princess.I went out to the kitchen, came back - and somehow she added her poodle costume "coat" to her ensemble. Silly girl.

Visions of Sugar plums dance in their heads...

Both our kids still nap. Everyday. Noah goes to morning Pre-K session, so by the time he gets home he is: 1: starved and 2. tired. I love that they are both willing to lay down & rest. It does give me time to get a few things done, but more so- it gives me a chance to watch them for a brief moment when they aren't flitting around the house...and pray for them. I love these kids with every fiber of my being...
Noah, you are turning into such a fine little-man. You amaze me everyday.
And sweet little Norah. You remind me much of myself, so curious about the world around you. I pray you both grow to love God with all your hearts... I pray for your future spouses, where you will live, your futures. It's amazing to me to know God already has these things planned for you... we love you both, dear children of ours.

All About: Noah

The week of January 17th was Noah's "About Me" week at Pre-K. Noah, who just turned 4-and-a-half on January 10th, was very excited. (*not the best picture, but this is what you get in the busy morning of Pre-K)
Noah got asked several questions & his responses:
Favorite Food: hotdogs and mac n'cheese
Favorite thing about me: I'm good at rhyming
Favorite Book: Tractor Book
What I want to be when I grow up: A construction worker
Favorite color: red
Things I enjoy doing: driving my gator, playing outside, playing with trucks & tractors

In other news, Noah is doing superb in Pre-K. We recently got his 2nd-quarter report card & he did excellent! We're so proud of him & so thankful that he enjoys school so much. It's been so fun watching this little sponge learn! His letter-recognition is amazing & he already knows 6 sight words. He pauses the TV & points out the letters & numbers he knows... I love age 4! It's been a blast. I hope he continues his love for school. We're so proud of you, Magoo!

No More Diapers!

Norah turned 2-and-a-half on January 15th. Sunday, January 30th we started potty training. We knew it was time. Norah would go pee-pee in her diaper, tell us she wanted her diaper changed, take off her pants, her diaper, grab a clean diaper, & basically change herself. We had 1 accident that Sunday, 1 accident Monday, and NO accidents Tuesday. Woohoo! Potty-trained. The following week she wanted to wear her "pretty undies" to bed - and that was that. She's such a goofball - but we're so proud of her! She really liked putting stickers on her Potty Time! Chart. (even though she doesn't really know who Elmo or any of the other characters are!)"I do it all by myself - I a big girl!" She's so proud of herself. I can't believe we have no more diapers - and I'll admit, I'm pretty excited to return the great big boxes of unused diapers to BJ's!