January 2020

After our winter break, the two littles had a rough time transitioning back to our school day routine. They both fell asleep on an 11:30 am car ride across town the second day back to normal. 

Coraline was super proud of selecting her own outfit (I was behind on laundry) and doing her own hair for Church. And my level of parenting on this particular day is called "autonomy helps them grow."

Nell wore this name tag to school one day. She was pretty excited about it. 

Poor hot mess Mara. She had a rough mid-January. One morning as we were leaving the YMCA I knicked her eye with the sleeve of my jacket as I was putting it on. As far as I could tell it was just a little contact, but she acted like it was the end of the world. Luckily, Coraline reminded me we have those eye band-aids. It seemed to cure her, and she eagerly agreed to a nap. When I awoke her to return to the Y for my evening shift she screamed and screamed that her ear hurt. Thankfully the Doctor's office had an opening available right away, and sure enough she did have an ear ache. We were only about half an hour late to work. I don't love my job, but I do love that it is so flexible for my kids. 

And the girls love having a room full of toys and friends to play with. Reid (the home body) complains a little, but I think he secretly loves the freedom and exploration the Y gives him. He comes into the room with us if it's nice and slow, but he usually goes swimming and/or finds a friend to shoot hoops and watch TV with. The Y really is great for youth development. 

Thankfully Mara was feeling better just a couple days later. 

By the next week she was begging to go outside and play in the fresh snow with Coraline. Even after the bus took her big sister away, she stayed out and played on her own for a bit. 

The kids spent a *little* time playing with their new Christmas toys, but honestly just a little. I better remember not to splurge in 2020. Such a mistake. 

We woke up one Saturday to the most beautiful winter landscape. The snow actually started coming day Thursday and didn't stop until Saturday morning, but the thickest flakes definitely fell Friday evening and into the morning Saturday. Ben was scheduled to speak in church the next day, so I'd promised I'd take the kids out of the house for a bit and give him some quiet time for study and reflection.  

We hit up the biggest sledding hill in town. It's nicknamed "garbage hill" and kids are definitely NOT suppose to go down the backside of the hill. But that is -- of course -- exactly what they do! Reid basically just took off and wasn't seen till it was time to leave. The girls and I stuck with the west side of the hill. Ironically, not a single person had gone down the actual frontside of the hill. All the paths were down the back or sides -- the steepest parts. It was seriously such a fun adventure. Reid seemed to make friends the moment we showed up, and I think he had a blast flying down that danger hill. Mara and Coraline giggled and giggled the whole way down the west side as well. Nell could take it or leave it, but comes along to spend time with the people she loves. 

The winter reading programs are Nell's jam! Both the school and library have been hosting fun reads and Nell jumped in to both with tons of enthusiasm. 

*Add photos of Nell's playdate with Ellary and Reid's swim with Austin and Trevor