January Journal

January seemed to fly by this year, which is always welcome in my book since I am not a fan of winter!

Yes, we made our gingerbread house in January

We saw some snow this month. The kids loved it, especially Philip, and we spent hours outside. I got them a sled this year (last year I didn't think about it until after the stores had all sold out), so that was a fun addition to the snowy festivities.

 

Body surfing works too!

I took a photography class at the beginning of the month and am trying to experiment with the settings on my camera. I also went on a day-long retreat for my bible study program, Walking with Purpose. It was a wonderful day!

Andy went on retreat the last weekend of the month and had an amazing experience. He also spent much of the weekends preparing for some major presentations he will be giving in February.

After dinner Bible stories with Dad

We took the kids duckpin bowling one weekend and they loved it. This was the first time they were able to last through a full game! We also took them to a bounce house place on MLK day when Andy was off of work.

Julia beat us all

We were able to participate in the March for Life as a family this year. The weather was perfect and it is always an inspiring day when you see so many young people stand up for life! We also visited a couple Catholic schools this month and we are praying about what will be the best option for Philip next year as he enters Kindergarten.

The kids are a lot of fun. They have started to go off and play alone together for short bits of time. It is amazing, and oh so helpful to have them occupied (without getting into trouble) for a while. They started off the year on a healthy kick, trying to exercise with me each day. Their zeal has since passed, but it was fun and so cute to see them trying to imitate the moves on my exercise DVDs.

Philip is convinced that summer is nearly upon us, now that Christmas is over. He likes to find out when he will be different ages, "When will I be 9? When will I be 16? When will I be 43? He also likes to ask us, "Do you promise?" especially when we haven't agreed to what he is asking for yet. "Can I have a special (dessert)? Do you promise?" And he cracks us up by randomly telling us, "Speak the truth!"

I'm afraid that Julia has a case of the twosies and she is getting increasingly impatient and hysteric about lots of little things each day. I am trying to wrap my head around this whole paradigm shift - Philip (who was tough from the beginning) is getting easier, and sweet little Julia is getting to be the challenging one.

Julia is very much into being independent and especially exerts herself when getting into and out of the car.  She is getting into more trouble these days, but is often quick to snap out of it. When she realizes she is being taken to the stairs for Time Out, she will quickly tell me, "I'm going to be nice." Sometimes it's true, sometimes it isn't...

She loves stories, but it can often be difficult to read to her because she is constantly interrupting to ask questions. She also continues to "read" stories on her own and it is amazing what she remembers from different books and also fun to hear what she makes up. She usually makes up a sentence for each page and then repeats that sentence 3-4 times before turning the page. She likes to have us sit down and read a book aloud while she sits next to us reading her own. She also loves to ask "Why." I know all this inquisitiveness will serve her well. Julia is enjoying being at the counter with me while I cook and also likes to "wash the dishes," which always leads to puddles on the floor and wet clothes, but at least she stays busy for a while! She likes to know who gave her each article of clothing, book, and toy she owns and will let us know who she got each thing from when she is using it. I have certainly got a sharp one on my hands!

 

These two little ones are growing up much too quickly for my taste, but they sure are fun to watch!

Julia's Jokes II

At the playground:
"There are two slides here. One for Daddy and one for the cat."

Seeing my pjs.
"Maybe one day I can get jammies like those. "
Pointing to her ballerina footie pajamas.
"Maybe you can have some like these one day. When you get tiny, you can try these on."

While watching a show where Santa loses his reindeer:
"Mommy, Santa lost his donkey."

At the tree farm, which was a pumpkin patch a couple months earlier. Julia noticed that the pumpkin patch had been mowed over and asked, "Why is it all pump'ed out?"

Trying to zip up her jacket:
"It's not zippening!"

"This is baby Jesus. I'm not baby Jesus. I'm a girl."

"Now I'm going to drive to South Carolina. Everyone hold on tight!"

After showing her some new socks, Julia wondered why she needed new ones.
Me: Well, you are getting older and so your whole body is growing, including your feet!
Julia: My feets are growing up! Why are my feets growing up?

Me: Why don't you read a story?
Julia: No, I  can't!  'Cause I'm too old!

Andy: Who do you want to pray for tonight?
Julia: Ummm...Christoff and the reindeer.

What I Remember from December

December - what a fun month! I love how joyful and cozy it feels even though the days are short and cold.

 

When we returned from our Thanksgiving trip it was already Advent. We were staying home for Christmas this year which meant more cleaning and preparations than usual, but also the joy of being at home on Christmas morning. I have learned the last couple years to tone things down in December - I don't take the kids out to as many activities during the day and we try not to schedule extra get-togethers with friends this month. It helps me to get my list checked off at a more relaxed pace, and allows us to focus more on Advent.

We did have some fun, of course!

A "wild" lunch we had with friends

I had planned to go out in October or November to get Christmas pictures of my kids, but of course I put that off and then got stressed about personally capturing a good family photo for our cards. We ended up going to a photo studio and getting some classics for the photo albums:

Naughty and nice?

Julia did not like having all the attention focused on her and was especially mad when Mommy wasn't able to hold her for the sibling shots.

 

We did get one good one for the Christmas card, so it was worth it!

Philip and I went on a Mommy/Son date to the Symphony with Philip's preschool. They played songs from Duke Ellington's Nutcracker and a dance company performed as well. It was all geared towards children and was a wonderful event. Philip had fun riding in a school bus for the first time!

We celebrated St. Nicolas Day. Each child received an orange, a bag of gold coins, a small toy, and a Saints for Little Boys/Girls book.








We took the kids to a local nursery to visit their train garden and then picked out our Christmas tree on the way home. Philip and I both saw our tree and knew it was the one. It was beautiful. The only beef Philip ended up having with it was that it was so tall we couldn't put a star on top. He is still telling us that next year he wants to get a smaller tree so we have room for the star.

Andy and I got a baby sitter one afternoon and went to the mall for lunch and shopping. We always used to love going shopping together at Christmastime, but we haven't really done it since we had kids. It was a lot of fun to get out together, but the time flew by quickly!

My parents arrived the weekend before Christmas and we had a great time with them! Philip loves to build things with his Grandpa and Julia loves to read with Grandma.

Having Christmas morning at home with the kids was so special. We opened stockings and presents, had a nice brunch, and then went to noon Mass. Julia was so exhausted by then that she fell to sleep at Mass - there is nothing like having a child fall to sleep in your arms - such a great Christmas gift! The kids happily played the rest of the day away and we had a nice dinner together.

Hmmm, what to open next?

Wow, Andy's jacket is doing some crazy stuff in this picture!

The following day my Mom and I did a little shopping and that evening we packed up the family and went to a Christmas Light show. So pretty and fun!

We also took my parents to one of our favorite museums - the Fire Museum of Maryland. They still had their train garden up, so we enjoyed that in addition to all the beautiful fire trucks and the play room. Andy and I went out that evening to a friend's 40th birthday party and then caught a late movie afterwards.

My parents departed a few days later and their presence was missed by all. We had a nice New Year's Eve at home, playing games together and drinking hot cocoa. The following evening we took the kids to another light show, which was great too. Now we know the best ones to go to in our area!

The kids had a doctor's appointment tucked into the month. Philip shot up more than 1 inch over the last two months. He is growing fast! He was so excited about Christmas this year and really got into Santa Claus. Amazing how much they pick up on Santa without the parents ever saying a word - school, TV, random strangers all teach your kids for you.

Julia is a girly girl. She loves her baby doll and dress up clothes, but is also happy to play with cars and other boy toys. She is silly and likes to make us laugh with her funny faces and silly expressions. She asks to read stories (and eat peanuts) as soon as she wakes up and many times throughout the day. There is never a dull moment around here with these two!

Philip Funnies XV

The kids love reading this preschool devotional book. One day it showed a sad little girl and asked what they thought her problem was (they had no idea). Next question:
Me: "Do you sometimes have problems?"
Philip: No, I never have problems. I think Baby does. Baby has a lot of problems.

 

A package arrived on the front step and the kids were excited to open it. I prepped them by letting them know it was a gift for a friend's birthday and that was all.
Philip: Maybe there will be something else in there.
Me: Well, maybe there will be air bubbles for you to pop.
Philip: Or maybe there will be donut holes. That would be awesome if there were donuts holes in there!

We found some animal droppings outside.
Philip: Look at the poopy!
Me: It looks like it came from a rabbit.
Philip: Or maybe it came from a moose.

Recapping a recent field trip:
"And even my teachers were there and all the kids that live at the school!"

After I fished a few cars out from under the couch:
"I love this one! I have been looking for it for eight years!"

On Show-and-Tell Day at school.
Me: What do you think the other kids will bring to show the class?
Philip: Maybe cars or a robot or a train or a dinosaur or a spaceship.
Me: What do you think the girls will bring?
Philip: Maybe a tree or a door or grass or a car or a fire engine.
He knows girls so well! (He brought a T-Rex.)

While on a road trip he was trying to look at an app that required the internet.
Me: You can't use that one in the car because you have to have the internet to use it.
Philip: But I thought you bringed it!

"Jeremiah wasn't at school today because he was having a baby."

 

I took the kids along with me when I went to pick out a new toaster oven. While I was looking at some of the display models Philip told me, "Mommy, the one you touch is the one you have to take."

While taking a shower just a couple hours before company arrives at our house for Christmas, the kids make a huge mess in my bedroom involving a bag of popcorn. I introduce the concept of Santa's naughty list.
Philip: "I'm not going to be naughty on Tuesdays or Saturdays anymore."

November News

November came and went in a flash!

 

What happens when Mom takes a shower a couple days after Halloween -

notice all the empty candy wrappers on the floor under the dinner table.

 

The culprits

Andy had a conference in Baltimore and we went up to stay with him for a couple nights. I recall my words after doing this last year were, "Never again," but what do you know, one year can make a big difference in how easy it is to manage two young kids in a hotel full of people your husband works with/for. I promised Andy we would stay one night, be we stayed for two and would have happily spent another night, if Philip didn't have school. 

While in Baltimore, we enjoyed Mass and lunch out on the Harbor, a fun morning run/breakfast out/visit to the bookstore, and a couple trips to the indoor pool. We discovered a nearby playground and it was hard to tear the kids away from there when it was time to go home. We barely got to see Andy, but the three of us had fun!

 

When Andy returned home a couple days later, we celebrated his birthday. The kids loved decorating the house and birthday cake for him.

The next week, we departed for Georgia, via Uncle Danny's house in Raleigh. After spending a night there, we went to Milledgeville for our nephew's wedding. We had a great time exploring the town and spending time with family.

 

From there, we went to my parent's house for a few days. The kids went crazy for a bounce house place that we visited, we caught up with a friend and her boys for lunch and a park day, and we had pizza at the awesome Mellow Mushroom.

 

A few days later, we were on the road again, heading to Andy's parent's house for Thanksgiving. Uncle Pete was gracious enough to host us all for a big family Thanksgiving dinner. We also got to visit Uncle Matt and all of his animals (dogs, bunnies, chickens, goats) and got to go to one of our nephew's concerts. Lots of fun was packed into our trip, and by the time we returned home it was already December! What a busy, fun month we had!

We had parent-teacher conferences at Philip's school. He is doing well, but is quiet at school which was expected. When we ask him questions, he has started responding with "Of course I did." "Philip, did you wash your hands?" "Of course I did." When we tell him we are doing something he is not fond of he will say slowly and seriously, "Not a good idea." It can be hard to drive at this time of the year because it seems that the sun is always in the kid's eyes. Philip will get really mad at the sun and yell, "Go away sun! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" hoping that it will magically move when he reaches the end of the countdown.

 

Wearing every pair of pants he could find.
 

Just last month, Philip's doctor asked if he was drawing people yet and the answer was no. Suddenly, this month he got really into drawing and is creating all sorts of things - people, houses, cars - anything he can think of. I love seeing the little people he draws with their looong arms sticking out of their heads, no bodies, and a pair of legs.

Dinosaur Truck

 Every turkey he drew this month had this loooong wattle hanging off of it.

The kids started taking dinosaur bites of their food at meals. They will say, "Watch me take a dinosaur bite," and then proceed to take a big bite with sound effects. They take all sorts of bites now - Transformer bites, lion bites, Spider Man bites - it is a good way to get them to eat their meals!

Julia got a new car seat, which she is super proud of. She talks about it daily. She has taken to reading her stories to us and it is pretty much the cutest thing ever!

Happily taking Philip's car seat for a test drive.

Introducing...Julia's Jokes

 

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Philip: A fire engine.
Andy: Do you mean a fireman?
Philip: No! I want to be a knight!
Me: What about you, Julia?
Julia: A butterfly.

"Mommy, I want to do Arts and Crabs."

Andy walked into the kitchen to find Julia painting.
Andy: Hi! Are you busy?
Julia: No. I Julia! I not Busy!

Holding up her toy necklace: "I want to put on my rosary."

Playing on the computer: "I'm trying to get my e-marrow."

One morning I made stoplight toast. I colored a couple mini marshmallows red, yellow, and green and put them into a piece of toast shaped like a stoplight. Julia's response, "I don't want mushrooms on my toast!"

Me: What is your favorite part of fall?
Philip: Jumping in the leaves!
Me: How about you Julia?
Julia: Me!

Julia: I Julia
Andy: What is your middle name?
Julia:
Andy: What is your last name?
Julia: nails our looong last name
Andy: What is your middle name?
Julia: I am so big.

While having a meltdown
Philip: Julia is being funny.
Julia: No! I not being funny. I being crazy!

Handing me a pictures she drew:
"This is for you. Don't spit on it."

While finishing up a snack of peanut butter and crackers.
Me: Okay, we need to go pick Philip up from school.
Julia: I'm going to take some peanut butter with me in my mouth.

We stayed at a hotel overlooking the Baltimore Harbor. A week or two later we stayed at a hotel overlooking a parking lot. While looking out the window.
"There is no water. It's all dried up."

While looking at a book about a Mom and baby.
"There's the Mama and there's the baby and I am Julia, and you are Mommy Kristen, and that is Daddy Andy, and that is Philip...What is Philip's name?"