3 things we're all about this March

 1. Basketball for Josh--his excitement is contagious.

2.  Being brainwashed by 3rd grade Gracie Propaganda.  She's becoming quite the persuasive writer. Somehow she persuaded her teacher to print out several copies of this fine essay to post around our house for literate parents to find.

3.  Finding and moving Lego "ships" created by boys.  Each one is precious and can't be put back into the massive bin of separate pieces.  My piano top has become a Lego art gallery.

NATURAL OR UNNATURAL?

A fun guessing game for you...TWO of the following THREE picture sets are UNNATURAL moments in our month of December.  Can you guess which is which?

1.  Gracie with Carrier Pigeons at school--natural or unnatural?

2.  Josh making crazy face pictures on my phone--natural or unnatural?

3.  "Mi" Micah Man sleeping peacefully while snuggling a stuffed animal--natural or unnatural?

Answers:
1.  UNNATURAL!  Gracie's teacher let her class let go homing pigeons that she'd brought back from her parents' house in Idaho...and they reported back to the class when they arrived!  It didn't take them very long!  Grace has had a fun year with Mrs. Cong doing all sorts of intriguing projects like this one...
2.  COMPLETELY NATURAL, I admit this was way too easy of an example...
3.  UNNATURAL!  Micah hasn't been a snuggler of blanket or stuffed animals now for quite some time...he usually fights bedtime and wants to read, get a drink, use his headlamp, ask me one more question...so when he finally sleeps I take pictures, to remember these peaceful moments.

Micah, These Days

 He loves:  books, his binky, helping on his stool in the kitchen, helping with the laundry, singing "Happy Birthday Dear Micah," and...

...opening every locker within reach at the YMCA.

Screen Time

Less than 2 hours/day--"just five more minutes!"--your brain is a big ball of MUSH! Don't tip your head or it may dribble out your ear!--go outside and play!--can i play a game on your phone, mom?--can we watch a show on Netflix, Mom?--put the phone down, Josh--today we're not fighting it--Dad.  Daaaaad!--i hate my phone--Let me look that up...--"Mom, Micah's pushing the keys on the computer!"--we are taking a vacation from screen time today

Everyday Moments

Climbing, taking pictures with Mom's phone, and legos.  All in a good day off with BOYS.

What we are up to, these days...

Micah flushes toilets, unrolls toilet paper, and torments his mother

by going for the plunger when she's not looking.

Joshy takes pictures on Mommy's phone whenever he spots it lying around, without a chaperone.

He also plays well on his Mondays home from preschool,

and still spends quality time in front of the movie wall at the library.

Micah uses anything his height that moves as a walker,

and continues to think that the dishwasher is his jungle gym.

Joshy loves his legos.  (this one arrived from Yancey for Valentine's Day!)

And Gracie continues to lose teeth.

(EIGHT baby teeth gone, folks.)

Oh, and Micah is often seen tossing a baby doll into a stroller and driving her into a corner before asking for, "Hep! Hep!" to get the stroller turned around.

What a sweet life we live.

3 Kid Accomplishments in 1 Day

 1.  Plates can play peek-a-boo.

2. "iTV" cards can be found.

3.  Lists can be made for the day. (Notice how Grace edited my "To Do" list to become her "Today" list...my other favorite is "usleep")

Micah Boy…These Days...

Sleeping in his own room.  Pulling out his own binky.  Liking the sound of his own voice.  Giggling now and then--usually when his arms get stuck in his onesie coming off.  Reaching for toys on the mat--and now the highchair.  Holding his head up for a few minutes during Tummy Time.  Still scratching his head, so often his hands are in time-out inside socks.  Smiling with his whole body--smile, wiggle, wiggle!  Cat naps in the morning, long nap in the afternoon, 5-6 hours at a time at night!

Big Kid Quotes…These Days

"Mom, Mom, Moooooooom!" said tugging on my arm probably when I was talking with another adult. "Yes, Josh! What do you need?"  He looks up and asks, "How do you turn four?"  He wants to be prepared!

"Mom, if Judas didn't believe in Jesus, where did he go when he died?"  Great question, Gracie.  She's a thinker.  And my kids are terrified of Judas.  At Christmas time they confused him with Herod.  Usually Judas is the answer when I ask them what their nightmare was about.

Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Music listened to the most in January:  the Frozen Soundtrack!  We found this on Spotify and the kids have been HOOKED!  Grace's favorite song is Let It Go; Josh's favorite song is Summer; my favorite song is Love Is an Open Door.  I'll include a video just to show off some of their dance moves.  (And by the way, the living room seen above is what it normally looks like these days--the kids are into making special areas or "Super Fab Labs" around the house.  I prefer to call them rats' nests…and I try to love the chaos!)

Some days...

…you've gotta dance.

And when those times hit, pants are optional.

Cousin Love

These three adore each other!  I don't think it will ever grow old watching them play together...

One Really Long Shower

The floor was clean when I got into the shower…  

October iPhone Collage

I'm taking more and more pictures of everyday life on my iPhone…and they must be recorded in our family photo album!  This has created a new technology challenge for me--but one that I'm having fun with.  :)  Here are a few randoms from my phone...

I ordered the kids' costumes online this year, thinking that at 8-months pregnant, shopping around at stores was not going to be happening!  Josh knew that his costume was coming, so for two days in a row, we stalked the mailbox.  I've never checked the mail 4 times each day, but Josh thought that was completely normal.  This is the triumphant moment that took place after the package FINALLY arrived...

One Friday while Gracie was in Kindergarten, Josh and I had a coffee date at Whitworth with our Linnea--having a kid on campus is almost as attention-getting as a puppy.  Not a lot of deep conversation, but plenty of messy muffin all over the floor, coloring at the table, and "oohs" and "ahhhs" from friends as they walked by.  :)  This is a pic of Joshy recording Linnea recording our date for Instagram...

 School pictures came back!  I had to take pics to send to Daddy at work…pretty darling!

And I couldn't get enough of this view earlier this month.  Did I like it best with the sun streaming through the trees or the fog enveloping them?  Love our backyard colors!

We were so proud of Gracie!  She volunteered at school with her friend, Ivy, to stand up and recite the phonics challenge…"A, apple, /a/...B, bat, /b/...C, cat, /c/..." and she was rewarded by getting to go down to the principal's office to get a pencil!  We had heard of this challenge and weren't sure if our quiet girl would ever volunteer for such a challenge…but she did it!  Good work, Gracie!

And one morning Daddy felt inspired to make Mickey Mouse pancakes with the kids…love these grins.

Tricky Mom

Tuesday Morning is a store that we've fallen in love with.  So after a McDonald's lunch play date with our friends, Patricia, Emma, and Ashlan, we decided to just go LOOK at the items in the store.

 Of course, we want ALMOST everything we see...so what does a smart mom with a smart phone do?

"Let's take a picture of you with your favorite item and then we can put it on your Christmas list!"  American materialism at its finest!  Sigh.

Some days they just REEK of cuteness...

 This is Joshy--all ready for picture day at preschool!

And this is Gracie carrying around her "Pumpkin-the-size-of-her-head"

on her field trip--more field trip pics to come!

Things We Love...These Days

1.  Football!  Especially those Seahawks.  The kids squeal when they learn that it's a "watching football in the basement with daddy" night.

2.  Mommy's class!  I have a great group of kids this year and am enjoying my Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays with them until Baby Peanut arrives.  This was an unplanned twin day that I had to record via my new iPhone.  :)

3.  Writing Love Notes!  Gracie is quite the writer, and we are so pleased that these are some of her first written words.

4.  Imaginative Play!  The kids are building houses and campers in the living room, making toy stores in the basement, and going fishing off the end of our bed.  It's so fun to watch them play together.

5.  New Clothes!  Or should I say, Thursday mornings when both kids are in K and PreS and Mommy can shop on her own!  I'm not sure who loves these mornings more...

6.  Silliness with Guests!  We loved having Auntie Cassie all to ourselves this week for dinner..and we were excited to have our Whitworth students over for a brunch last Sunday.  Both occasions struck a silly bone in our son and we're finding he's quite the ham when he has a new audience.

 7.  Guitar before bedtime!  Daddy's been playing more recently and the kids LOVE it.  As do I.

8.  Hide the Beetle.  Everyone has been getting into hiding this crazy creature in surprising places around the house.  Daddy's toothpaste drawer, Gracie's pillow, inside Joshua's slipper, on the bathroom soap dispenser...you never know where this little guy will show up next!  (And watching the kids get sneaky cracks me right up!)