Just A Little January

Oh... I have some pictures.

It's possible that I might take too many.  But what can I say?  Our family is just so dang cute!

January wasn't a bad month for us.  Busy!  But, not bad.

It has been bitter cold here.  With the windchill we've seen temperatures in the negative 20's some days, and we got a bunch more snow.  Gag. Not too big of a deal for me, I just stay in.  But Tim has had fun getting to and from campus.

Poor Brinlee is going stir crazy being cooped up inside away from the cold.  We've been trying to stay entertained with some crafting.  We do a lot of coloring, some painting, plenty of play dough, baking, and the other morning, we made a "baby sister McKenna snowman" to add to our snowy little family.

Speaking of Brinlee, she is just as darling and busy as ever.  She is such a ball of fire.  She talks all the time and runs around here doing the funniest things!  She keeps us chuckling, that's for sure.

We signed her up for the Tiny Tumbler's class at the rec center.  They attempt to teach a few basics, but mostly it's 45 minutes of climbing and running around.  It's perfect!  And no surprise, she loves it.  She's a wild woman.  She's in there with a couple of her gal pals from nursery and they have a marvelous time.  It's pretty cute.

Oh this baby.  Why do they grow so fast!  She is 2 1/2 months now (just over 11 weeks actually)  and the stinker is just getting way too big.  She is a total social butterfly.  She smiles all the time, makes faces and coo's, and loves to be talked to.  In fact, she hollers pretty impressively if your attention is not on her.  She likes to be held sitting up and facing out, the little busy body.  She just has to see everything that's going on.  She is so much fun!  Let's get a good look at her face, shall we?

Couldn't you just kiss those chubby cheeks all day??  I do!  :)

At her 2 month appointment on the 13th she was 24 inches long (that's 95th percentile!) and a whopping 11 pounds 12 ounces.  Cute little chunk.

Can I just say I am LOVING being home all the time?!  It is so nice!  I love cuddling these little dollies, and I love watching them be sisters!  Brinlee just adores McKenna, and McKenna thinks Brinlee is fascinating.  They talk and smile at each other all day long.  It makes this mama's heart happy!  :)

Daddy isn't home all the time, but he sure has become quite the celebrity when he gets home.  Brinlee just can't wait to climb on him.  And to be honest, I don't think he minds the cuddles.  

Oh it's a sweet life. 

Hope you all had a happy January!

Nurse's Note: My Week

Here is a little look at my week so far.

Looks like a seriously good time doesn't it?
You know, it really hasn't been actually.  I spent all last week absolutely miserable.  I caught a bit of a bug (read: some completely awful virus) and spent several days trying not to breathe on the girls and sleeping as much as I could.  It was terrible.

I am feeling better now thankfully, but that means tackling the aftermath.  I hate that.  The sickies make me a bit paranoid as it is (the curse of a nurse I guess), but it's been even worse this winter having a new little baby.  I don't want to see my girls sick.
And so, I'm sterilizing.
Everything.
It makes for some really fun days (insert cheesy smile and sarcastic thumbs up).  
Isn't winter awesome?!

Happiness Is...

..."Mommy, can McKenna please watch my movie with me?"

Who can say no to that?!

I love love LOVE these two!

Panties

Yes it's true.  We officially have a pantie princess!  

Brinlee is a potty champion!

Round 2 was astronomically better than round one.  I think I might have mentioned that our first attempt back in September was a little unsuccessful (read: a total, tearful traumatic disaster!).  Neither Brinlee or I were real anxious to try again, for a long time!

But we chatted with an aunt via Skype who is awesome at... well, everything!  And she got me re-motivated.  Brinlee seemed more ready, and we had daddy home, homework-less, and able to help for two whole weeks.  So we decided to give it another shot.  And TA DA!  It worked like a charm!  We hung up a chart for her to put a sticker on every time she went in the potty.  It was full in no time! She has been accident free for 10 days now and is in love with her new sense of independence.  And as it turns out, we are in love with it too.  I don't miss changing those diapers.

On Saturday was her one-week-accident-free mark, so we had an UnBirthday party.  She's been watching Alice In Wonderland and loves the UnBirthday scene.  It was perfect incentive.  We decorated, and had cake, and we even served tea (apple juice) from her little purple pot and used her little plastic dishes.  She was in heaven!

What a darling, awesome big girl we have!  The little stinker is growing up way too fast  :(  

But she is totally the best!

And she's totally proud of that.

Looking Back and Looking Forward

Looking Back: We had an amazing year.
A little stress.
Some moving around.
Lots of changes.
Plenty of fun.
And a LOT of smiles and laughs!
We are so glad for where we have been and where we are now.  Our family has seen more than our fair share of tender mercies.  We have been stretched, and we have grown in so many ways. We have been nothing but guided, loved, and blessed, and we are grateful for that.

Looking Forward: There's fun stuff ahead!
You never can really tell what a new year is going to bring.  But I have a feeling (and am always hopeful) that it will be good stuff.  
We have spent the last few days getting excited for some fresh starts and thinking about what directions we want to head in first.  We're having a tough time deciding.  I have dusted off and updated my old 101 list. Where to start??  We have lots of fun options and lots of good goals.  It should be a fabulous year.

2014, you were wonderful.  Thanks for the memories.
2015, here's looking at you kid!