Happy Noon Year

When we got back from Ohio, most of us got sick. Scott, Oliver, and I got nasty colds. Phoebe had some kind of bug that made her sometimes feverish, sometimes sleepy and tired at weird times, and all the time whiny. Random photo above: that would be Oliver posing for a picture at the piano, one of his favorite places to hang out. He loves playing, then stopping and clapping for himself like it was a recital.

She was bummed about missing church (really), so I told her we could do something cool at home. She chose to have her hair braided, which is remarkable considering that 99% of the time she doesn't let me touch her hair at all.

Once we recovered, we headed to the Children's Museum on New Year's Eve. We got a membership as a gift from Scott's parents, so we tried it out.

 The kids had a blast of course, and they tell me they want to go every single day this year.

 A few minutes before noon, we huddled in the museum lobby and watched a "ball drop" to celebrate the "Noon Year." We counted down, got sprinkled with confetti, and went back for more play!

Christmas 2014

 We went to Ohio for Christmas this year. The weather was great and there was hardly any traffic on the day we drove, so the trip there was relatively quick. The kids were eager to get to "Grandma's House" to play on the four-wheelers, run through the backyard, play with the collection of Legos that has been building for 40+ years, hang out with cousins, eat cookies, etc.

 We got to meet two new nephews - Jacob, this little guy pictured above, and August - both born in the past six months.

 Uncle Ben was nice enough to ride with Phoebe, who has a thing for the throttle.

 Scott was happy to grow a Christmas Beard. It got scarier for a few days after this photo, and then the miracle happened: he shaved.

 Christmas morning was wonderful as always. The kids loved tearing all the wrapping paper off of everything and loved playing with their new stuff even more.

 Phoebe got this giant stuffed giraffe, which was tricky to hide in our place for a few weeks and then haul to Ohio and back. Somehow it was still a surprise on Christmas morning. She tells me that "Giraffe" (pronounced jur-RAF-fee) is the sister she never had and insists that she eat at the table with us, sleep in her bed with her, and so on.

 My parents have a lot of wooded property and we did a lot of wandering through it. We got very muddy, but had a lot of fun hiking around with Grandpa.

Christmas is coming

 The kids are so excited for Christmas. The day after Thanksgiving, we pulled out the Christmas decorations and put them up. We have been baking holiday cookies at least twice a week and delivering them to a few locals.

 We often bake in small batches for two reasons: 1) if we mess up, we lose a smaller amount of ingredients, and 2) the fun is in the baking so we can bake more often.

 Phoebe may resist cleaning her room and picking up her stuffed animals throughout the house, but she will always help bake cookies.

 This little man has been eating more and more solid food and sleeping for longer stretches too. Last week I warned my neighbors and hunkered down for some sleep training. After two rough nights, I'm happy to report he is sleeping for seven hours straight - not quite through the night, but I feel sooooo much better. This is good because I just signed up for the Boston Marathon! I got a waived entry (so no qualifying time needed to enter) from my track club, so in a few weeks I'll start training for the marathon. I'm not going to impress anyone with my time this year; I think I'll be happy just to finish this time around.The 2014 race is going to be amazing though. I am really looking forward to it.

 Oliver is finally rolling over a bit. He is seven months old now, so it's about time!

 Phoebe provides plenty of entertainment.

 Not only is it the holidays, but there are all kinds of end-of-the-year things going on. Phoebe finished up a ballet class and had a little recital. She enjoyed dancing around in front of mirrors, but when I gave her the choice between ballet or T-ball for next year, she chose T-ball.

 A friend of ours gave Oliver a Santa suit that he wore to the ballet recital and a few Christmas parties. He has the big belly, but is working on the beard.

We celebrated my birthday this week. Scott and the kids picked out a cake and presents, and we had a little family party. I got new running shoes (my current shoes are way too old), a tiny mouse for my laptop, an awesome winter coat (my coat was so old that the inner liner was deteriorating and flaking away every time I took my coat off), and a skirt and tights. Bruce told me he thought I was so lucky to have a birthday in December because then I could get presents twice that month. When I told him that sometimes people would give a gift and say, "this is for your birthday and Christmas," he was appalled. I think he is okay waiting until May for his birthday.

O Christmas Tree

We have had this $15 drug store tree for a few years. The top third of it is tied to the bottom of the tree and leans a little. I have a bunch of Sesame Street ornaments and lights from my childhood that grace the tree along with an eclectic mix of other items. The kids found a few ornaments in a box of free stuff on the sidewalk. There are a few preschool creations from Bruce and Phoebe. Running medals and any toy with a loop now hang on the tree.

I love our mismatched tree. The kids redecorate it every day so there is always something new on it.