January in Arizona is PERFECT! We spent every moment we could outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Highlights include: Abby’s budding art talent (the drawing is of Calvin – of Calvin and Hobbes – when he’s angry), James’ first haircut, and cousin Anya came to visit.
Jake and I got away to San Diego, CA for a delightful “just us” weekend in early December. We, of course, forgot to take any pictures. =)
The kids loved getting ready for Christmas: decorating the tree, visiting Santa (both kids liked him this year!), buying and wrapping presents. Abby asked Santa for a tea set (the only thing she asked anyone for), which he delivered – to her delight.
We spent a few days at a cabin in Williams, AZ enjoying the snow and the cousins. Thanks, OngNoi and BaNoi!
Then, Nana came to visit!! (Jake had to go out of town again, Nana came to help and play!)
Jake did a lot of traveling, for work, in November, so I took the kids to Utah for a couple weeks. The kids loved the airplane, the snow (James was ok just looking at it, but didn’t want to touch it; Abby, obviously, enjoyed every minute she could outside), and the family!
Jake and I took Abby to see the Nutcracker, which we all enjoyed. We played outside a lot. And we found out Baby #3 is a BOY! (Abby was devastated at first, “but I wanted it to be a girl!”), but came to terms with the news and is now looking forward to a second little brother. =)
Highlight of the month: Ben, Jessica, and Cami stayed with us for a month (ish) while Ben did a rotation in Scottsdale. The kids had a blast! (their parents did, too!)
Halloween was a hit. James (a skeleton) thought it was great fun to carry around his trick-or-treat basket. And anytime anyone asked Abby if she was Princess Belle, she’d reply “Well, my real name is Abby.”
We had an ultrasound today (only 10 1/2 weeks to go!), and Baby looks great! We think he looks exactly like his brother, James. What do you think?
We are excited for Baby’s arrival in April!
Baby #3
James, as a baby
Abby is, and has been for a month now, FULLY POTTY TRAINED!!! We are, as you can imagine, ecstatic about this, and have been rewarding her for this most-desireable behavior. This week’s prize was a trip to the Children’s Museum. They had a Peanuts exhibit, and the kids LOVED it. My favorite moment was watching James play the replica of Schroeder’s piano. Awesome!
We spend a lot of time at home lately, due to the fact that I am 2 months pregnant and, consequently, am suffering from all-day “morning” sickness. The kiddos have been forced to entertain themselves more than usual, but have been really good sports about it. Now that James is walking, he is perfectly happy to follow Abby around and do whatever she is doing (including, to my slight embarrassment, wearing girly things like crowns and pink hats with matching gloves). Abby loves an audience, and knows just what to do to make James laugh. James claps every time he does something he thinks is cool (builds a block tower, walks across the room, finishes his milk…). Abby loves to show off the things she has done (artwork, making her bed, dressing up James). Have I mentioned how much I love these two?
Abby turned 4 in August. She wanted a princess party, but she also wanted to invite mostly boys to her party; so we decided on a princesses and knights theme. The kids made crowns and/or shields, went on a treasure hunt to find wands/swords, ate strawberry cupcakes (Abby requested pink cupcakes, BaNoi obliged!), and opened gifts. James LOVED the cupcakes so much, he tried to fit one in his mouth whole. Love these two!
I know it’s been a month since I posted last, and in the life of a one year old, a month is nearly a lifetime. James has acquired, and improved on, several new skills: He walks (wow!), he talks [dad, bottle (ba ba), drink (dink), dog, puppy, bubble, and shoe]; and he discovered that his pointer finger fits perfectly in his nostril (thankfully this new skill was only practiced for a few days, then forgotten for other cooler things, like walking).
Abby has been busy playing in the rain, whenever the occasional storm blows through; helping Mommy cook and bake; playing with James (she loves that he can walk now – he follows her everywhere she goes).; and learning to read. She knows all the letters, all their sounds, and enjoys reading short words. The other day, out of the blue, she said “mommy, this says book says ‘kitten’.” It is so cool to see the lightbulb come on in a child’s mind!
We had some friends stay with us last month (you know who you are – and we love you! please come visit again soon!) Abby LOVES her little friend, and imitated everything she did – down to picking out the same outfit. Love good friends!
My sweet mom (i.e., Nana) came to visit/watch the kids last weekend so I could attend the Arizona Families for Home Education (AFHE) conference. I had a wonderful time, learned a lot, and decided that I am going to homeschool our children. I am really excited about it. I’ll post more on that later. Anyway, the kids had a GREAT time with Nana; I had a GREAT time at the conference – everybody’s happy!
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