1. Sickness. We've dealt with a lot of it this year - more than usual. Which means lots of time at home, in pjs, and lots of cuddling.
2. Reese is obsessed with Pinkalicious - the book and the character. We read the book every night, and every night, she looks up at us and giggles at her favorite parts. Her little round face looks up from my lap and her eyes ask, "Isn't this hilarious, Mommy? It's too much, right?"
3. There might not be anything in this world that Reese loves as much as she loves her Pinkalicious (Pink-wishes) shirt. It doesn't even make it from the dryer to the pile of clean clothes on the couch most days, it goes directly onto her little toddler body.
4. The girls dress themselves every day. Most of the time, Avery looks presentable, and the other two look... well, like they dress themselves.
5. One day last week, I picked up Reese from school and her teacher pulled me aside. "I just want you to know that when Reese went to the bathroom earlier today, we noticed she didn't have underwear on. We asked her where they were and she smiled and said, 'At home'."
6. We have a pair of owls that live among the rooftops of our cul-de-sac. One of them perches on our chimney. When he hoots, it echos down our chimney. He's become something of a family pet.
7. Two years after bringing Lucy Kitty home for Avery, they've finally found each other. On nights when Avery spends the night in another room, Lucy will pace the upstairs until she finds her girl. We know the world is right when we check on Avery at night and Lucy is sitting on top of her.
8. Avery decided at the start of this semester that she was going to "always have good days" - as she put it. We were thrilled with the sentiment, but have been absolutely blown away by her strength of will. She has had three weeks in a row without a mark on her behavior card, which is the first time this has happened this year. We're proud of her for the behavior, of course, but more than that, we're so thankful that she has begun to really believe in herself.
9. Reese has developed a random and unpredictable disability - when it hits, she tells us, "Me not walk! Me can't walk!" This is followed by a slouching of her shoulders and a shuffle-step.
10. The master bedroom, and more specifically, the master bed, have temporarily become the Family Bedroom and the Family Bed. Mama's side of the bed almost always includes Oscar and Josh (all 80 pounds of him) cuddling up. Many nights, Reese joins the Family Bed around 1 am and snuggles in between her parents. When they're sick, the kiddos automatically claim center of the Family Bed.
11.Each morning, Family Cuddle Time is requested by Kate. Her, Daddy, and Avery all snuggle up. Reese comes in and does gymnastics all over the cuddles and often gets kicked out of the cuddle huddle, which means Mama and Reese have to relocate.
12. An opportunity came up for me to take classes part-time at a local seminary that is perfectly suited to my stage of life and my passions in ministry, and so next week, I will begin a trial-run as a seminary student while the kids are all in school. We don't know where this journey will take us, but we'll keep you updated!
13. Kate spent the day home alone while healing from strep, and she spent hours playing happily by herself. We think she's our only introvert, which would explain the joy she feels when she's left to her own devices.
14. Kate has really gotten into books. She loves listening to chapter books (right now, we're into
The Rescue Princesses) and likes to read to us all by herself from
Hop on Pop and
Dr. Seuss' ABCs.
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We had an ice day last Friday (in which there was actually very little ice in our specific neighborhood).
