Winter for a bear

What do you do in the winter when you hibernate like me? My active boy (who actually has really mellowed out over the last year)- craves outside contact- so glad he is able to go to preschool 3xs a week- then they go outside 2-3 times a day- we are lucky if we make it from the house to car.  So when we do venture out, our options have been- 1. The Ymca 2. The library- in fact last week we walked in the skywalk for a bit then had a "picnic" lunch outside of the library- before heading in to check out books 3. The grocery store (those kids do love the tot spot!) 4. Church 5. We get to add one to the mix! We are getting a children's museum membership today (very exciting!)- We have cut playing at McDs due to it being so dang dirty there- and that ms. Annaliese wants to climb up into the play place- and I have no desire to crawl up there to rescue her.

Caleb still has restrictions- "No high impact/contact activity for 6 months"! 2 down- 4 to go?! So that pretty much cuts out karate that I wanted him to get into- He can't do gymnastics and us wrestling is out of the question- this poor kid! Also their Grandpa and "Nommy" got them a new trampoline for Christmas- that he can't go crazy on either- Girls are so different- mine is anyway- she is super laid back and mellow- she doesn't crave doing high dives off the couch and the slide that has taken up residency in our living room satisfys any craving for her to climb lately.

 I can't wait for spring/summer/fall- then the list is endless-  We could spend all day going outside- bike rides, walks by the lake, going to the park, oh how I love warmer weather! One day- we will live in a warmer climate- and that will be awesome!

Bye 2012, hello 2013!

I think my new years "resolution" for the last 3 years has been to blog more consistently- if not for anyone else to see, just for myself to look back on our life happenings- Lots happened in 2012, and 2013 is starting out to be an action packed year as well!

My sweet, adventurous and very detailed Caleb is 5 1/2, he never misses a thing and is very analytical- always asking questions that go way beyond my ability to give a satisfactory answer, always full of energy and so incredibly smart! He is always willing to help me around the house and is such a great brother (90% of the time ;)) He goes to Preschool 3 days a week (which he loves), loves legos and is always up for an adventure.  In November he had brain surgery to remove a cyst at the base of his brain, it went OK but it was a rough one when we were in it! So glad that time is over, and he is back to his self again!
2013 brings a big foot surgery this spring, turning the big number 6 and Kindergarten in the fall!

My funny, sassy and sweet Annaliese is 2! She is currently in speech therapy and receiving services for OT- as she has some sensory stuff that affects her eating and possibly her talking- I feel as though she is making progress with her speech, little by little. She just transitioned into a toddler bed which has been an interesting journey! It's been about 2 weeks now and she is finally falling asleep IN the bed, last night she actually fell asleep with her head on the pillow! She is still going to sleep a lot later than her bedtime, which I hope improves soon.  2013 for her is going to be about ditching the NUK, potty training, increasing her variety of foods and talking more!

And for the newest 2013 excitment- a new baby, arriving in June- we find out in 3 weeks if we will be adding a girl addition or a boy addition- Caleb's guess was girl, then boy, then girl, now boy- Kevin's guess is girl- I feel girl, but I thought Annaliese was a boy- so I am not exactly a reliable source! Auntie Cathy says boy...  So, we wait!

Here's the new baby! I always think these 12 week ultrasound pictures are so creepy

As for me- I quit my job to be a full time mom in September- I love it! Some days we are all lucky to get out of our pajamas- other days we have fun action packed outside lives- due to Caleb being such a social butterfly and craving contact with other kids- he is going to preschool 3 times a week- all day, so I have plenty of time with Ms. Annaliese- and she is a great napper- so that means I get good naps most days- which makes life a-okay!

Kevin is a busy one- in school and working one week on, one week off- and there is us- which we can be quite the time suck ;)

Life is good, I am very blessed

WE MOVED!!

She loves books!Caleb lounging They love this little cubbard!She is chewing on a pretend whipped cream bottleThe reading chairCaleb's impressive buildingAlways lugging around a book!Mr. Potato head's glasses

Well, it has been awhile- moving took a lot more time, energy and sanity than anticipated. We LOVE our new house! Caleb's teacher even said she noticed a big difference in him as he isn't as loud and wild as he used to be (due to him being able to be himself at home now instead of being shushed and corralled into not jumping and being a boy because either Kevin or baby A were sleeping!). Annaliese takes great naps now, it's been super great, A huge blessing.

The big Kindergarten debate has been on our plate as well- Do we send Caleb this year as he turns 5 in June or do we wait another year- after much back and forth and a TON of people feeling they know the answer- We decided he will spend another year in preschool where he is and start Kindergarten in 2013- crazy to write that date! His teachers also thought he would benefit to wait another year. I feel it will give him a bit of an advantage in school and then I get to spend some more time with him before he is a big school boy! Thankfully I won't have this probably with A as she is November- whew!

Running has been terrible- I haven't been doing it! But today I did go to the Y to workout so I feel it's a good start! Well- time to lay miss A down for a much needed nap!

Recent life happenings

Caleb's guilty face
She loves hats!

And she LOVES her purse!

He is so good at putting together lego sets! Go Caleb!

So I have been consumed by packing, cleaning and showing our place!! I am so sick of people coming to look at our place, we clean, we get everything perfect, then we wait... if they show up (which half the time they don't), then we give the gig about the place, show all the nooks and crannies and then we usually hear " oh OK great!!, we are super interested, but we have 1 more place to look then we will for sure get back to you..." well... we wait some more and then we never hear from them again... WHAT A WASTE OF TIME!!! My favorite people who came were the pregnant girlfriend and her boyfriend, who were very interested in the place, when it came time for the at least 30 year old guy to give his references and last landlords information- he says "well.. I don't actually have any landlords because I just crash on people's couches", so let me get this straight... for at least 12 years you have been crashing on people's couches??!! Can we say MOOCH?! Oh brother, it's been interesting!

It seems like sleep in hard come by... it never ends. If C isn't up from a bad dream, or a earache, A is up coughing or puking, and if they both sleep through the night at the same time (which is a rare happening), then I am a awake and can't sleep! I am quite used to this drooling while you are awake kind of fatigue- but wonder if it will ever end??

Running has been going great- when I get myself to the Y! When our tax returns come back I am getting a double chariot so I can take the kids running with me- that will be so much easier than having to pack us all up for the Y! Last week I ran almost 3 miles in 30 minutes. I felt great! I may try to sneak off tonight- K, my DH has been crabby from his own lack of sleep- Going for a nice run with great music will help me cope with him better!!

We move in less than 2 weeks- can we say dishwasher? Bathtub? Sun-room? Gas fireplace? Seperate bedrooms for all???

So we adopted a new sponsor daughter through Compassion International from Bangladesh, her name is Dipali and she has a very special place in my heart. She is 7 years old and very very poor. Where I am concerned about moving into a bigger place for my family- she is concerned and faced with the challenge of just getting to eat and have clean running water. I am so excited about being able to connect with her and teach the kids that they aren't the only one's who are important to me, and that there is a lot of need in this world. We are even wanting to meet her in the future and be able to connect our worlds even more.

Well.. life in a nut shell! Never a dull moment!

I have earned peace and quiet today!

Wow! He is so quiet when he is asleep!

C has been especially challenging today- Louder than usual, doing exactly the opposite of what I ask today and sneaky! During his gymnastics class he was not listening to his teacher and it took everything in me to go redirect- but they have a very clear policy of not parenting while they are in class. I don't know what was up! I guess most days we have good days- though his energy level takes lots of patience and grace, but today was a day I needed lots of deep breaths and super natural exchanges!
We are moving into a bigger place in a month- I will be very relieved to have lots of space for C to gallop, jump and be a boy! Now it's just really using the time that he is in school to pack and clean- because it's very hard when he is there to do it! As I have been going through his room and packing- I realized how he had WAY too many toys- 2 big black garbage bags full are going to Goodwill!
Baby A is good- though she must of woke up on the wrong side of the crib today because she was crabby! She still really isn't using words- I would be worried about it as today she turned 14 months but my sister who is a child educator says no need to worry! Mr. C had 200 words at 15 months- crazy!! Well- dishes, pack up C's lunch and off to bed!

A lovely day inside!

I opted out of any kind of outside world contact as it's well below zero here! So A and I are hanging out at home while C is at school- nice and quiet around here.

Annaliese has been great about no more bottles- way easier than I thought it would be! She is having a hard time learning to use her sippy cup, but it's fine if I hold if for her. Caleb and I have been working on reading, I checked out some fun materials to help him learn to read, puzzles and flash cards, also with every story I have been having him sound out some of the words- he gets very irritated though and says "ughh! can't you just read it!??", so the puzzles are more fun for him. I can't believe he will be 5 in June- where has the time gone??

I got a new camera- a NIKON 8100, so far I have just been learning how to use it! I really want to get photoshop- but right now our budget doesn't allow it. I want to get more into photography- I use to love it! amazing how much things change when kiddos come along!

Running is going really well! I got up to running 2 miles without stopping- which is good for me! I am taking a day off today but will hopefully do my Windsor Pilates video a bit later.

Here are a couple picture with the new camera.

Here, have a cheerio!

Last night, her bottle before bed, she LOVES this time!

Cheese!

She is such a cutie!