January 29 - Steps

Lately, we find Nora going from sitting...

...to standing on her own!

And even taking a few steps!  She LOVES being on her feet.  Only a matter of time before she is running around & dancing!

January 28 - Tunnels

I love seeing what she writes on her easel. 

Our Family Tree: By Andlie Allen

Today while Andlie was at school, we got the tunnels out!  Haze & Nora were laughing & crazily crawling around our living room.  The room was filled with happy squeals!  They had so much fun!  I, of course, had a blast watching them!

January 27 - Cabin Fever

It was a sunny 46 degrees this afternoon.  As soon as we saw that it was sunny, we set up camp outside.   We are all starting to get cabin fever!  So getting some outside time in made us all very happy campers!  Andlie made several cups of "ice cream" out of mud.  And Hazey kept getting his cars wet & then dunking them in the "car wash."

January 26 - Nora Jane

Looking cute as ever playing with her toy from Santa.  She is really starting to take good steps now!  She will take several at a time without any help and is so proud of herself when she does.  She loves standing and only sits or crawls when she needs to get somewhere fast.  Like to the table for a meal.  Or to her room for her blankie.

She put her dinner down her shirt tonight.  I guess I use my shirt as a pocket more often than I realize!

January 25 - The Lion's Den

Another good day in Sunbeams!  Here is (L to R) Sister Fin, Sam, Camilla, and Haze looking in to the Lion's Den.

January 24 - Haircut

Andlie got a haircut today!  Haze loathes haircuts, so I wanted him to come with so he could see that they're easy & painless.  He was nervous about Andlie getting hers, so he figured she probably was too.  he made sure to hold her hand for comfort when she was getting her hair washed.

She is looking so sassy & grown up!  She is so funny and witty!  And she is so confident in who she is.  I love her so much!

January 23 - Kids

I love that Andlie & Hazey love doing homework.

While Andlie was at school today, Mommy & Haze played some bowling.  Nora was a super duper helpful helper.  Haze didn't love her help so much.  He tried to be sweet about it.  He'd say, "Nora, sweetie.  Sweetie baby Nora.  I need that!"  In a high-pitched little sweet voice.  And then he'd walk up to her & wrench the pins & balls out of her hands & make her little body shake a bit.  I couldn't help but laugh.  Nora didn't even notice.  She was having the time of her life!

After Andlie came home, her & Haze went & played in their hut.  When I went in to help them clean up, I found this sweet sign on the door.

"Andlie, Haze, Nora

Only kids can come in.  We are kids.  Are we going?  Yes."

At least I know the rule.

January 22 - The Beanbag Gang

It was 8:30 pm on a Winter night.  They wanted to watch the tube so Mommy got them some snacks and their milk and put them in their lounging chairs.  The little one make a fuss that she didn't have the same snacks as the older two, so Mommy got her her own fishie crackers and milk.  That seemed to satisfy her.  

So there they sat.  Looking like the sweetest, most adorable kids in all the land.  And their Mommy & Daddy watched with happiness in their hearts.

January 21 - Well-Checks

Andlie & Nora had their annual well-check exams today!  Andlie even got to have her blood pressure tested like a big girl!

Andlie is getting so big!  She did so great & did everything the nurse/doctor asked her to do with a giant grin.  When the doctor asked her what her favorite vegetable was, she looked at me, made a face, and started giggling.  I can't believe she is SIX.  

Nora didn't like people touching her & being by her as much.  She furrowed her eyebrows at the nurse/doctor most of the time.  And when they weren't in the room, she kept herself busing tearing the paper on the table to shreds.  Poor baby girl had to get 3 shots and WAS NOT happy about that.  I hate shots.  Almost as much as she does I bet.

We are thankful to have two beautiful, smart, happy, health Princesses in our family!

It took a minute, but Nora bounced back to her usual pleasant self after about two hours.  Once she noticed the band-aids on her legs, she took them right off and threw one on the floor and tried to ingest the other.  She is always busy.  Every single second.

And Hazer did some homework today!  I want to start working on holding the pencil correctly & tracing lines & shapes with him.  He did so great tonight!  He loves spelling & writing his name.

January 20 - Mirror Smile

I usually put my makeup on in the kitchen/living room so I can watch what Haze is doing to & Nora are doing.  Haze usually gets distracted by what I'm doing to my face and ends up watching me most of the time.  Today was no different.  But when I looked back in the mirror today, I saw the sweetest, purest little smile coming right back at me.  I love him so much.  

January 19 - Day Off

Daddy had the day off today!  We had to do something fun, so we used Andlie's gift certificate that she got for being on time every day in December and headed to the bowling center where:

Andlie & Haze thought they were super important because they had to wear special shoes

I forgot my socks

Nora got super worked up & squealy every time anyone's ball would roll down the ally

Haze told me to "back up so he could bowl"

Andlie bowled a strike and a spare

Bryan threw balls down the ally at 20 mph

I got beat by my husband (by almost double)

I got beat by my children who are 3 and 6 years old

It was such a fun time!  We we glad that we went!

After bowling, we just hung out at home & enjoyed Daddy's company.  We finished our day off by dressing up as super heroes and heading to Dairy Queen for some ice cream!  Haze made sure to take off his mask & tell me with a somber/calm face, "Mom, it's just me.  Haze."  

Perfect way to end a great family day!

January 18 - Primary Escort

Haze is LOVING being in Sunbeams!  He thinks it's way cooler than Nursery.  Nursery is for babies.  But he won't go without Mommy yet.  Which means that I get to be his Primary Escort and take secret pictures while he gets to hold up signs during singing time.  And bonus points: Andlie was in the picture too!  Our kids are the cutest ever.

Haze loves his teachers: Sister Fin & Sister O.  Today, he got to color a house.  He made sure to write his name.  The "H" is on the door.  The "A" is under the "H."  The "Z" is under the right window.  And the "E" is on left right about the bushes.  He was super proud.  And so am I! 

In other news, we are getting quite a good base built for our food storage!  We now have: 

A bucket of emergency supplies like a radio & a big candle & a long burning stove

A case each of peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, and canned chicken

Five 72 hour kits

Approx. 75-80 gallons of water

104 pounds of dry pasta

$250 cash

I'd say that's a pretty good start!  Happy & so so thankful to have wonderful friends who force help me along the way!

January 17 - New Seat

Baby girl is getting too big for infant car seat!  Today, we went shopping for a bigger one.  She was totally loving being the star of the show.

Since we were close to Toys R Us, we had to make a stop.  Haze jumped on the 4-wheeler & told me that he was "just like Bret."

I think Nora was happy the car seat that we walked away with.  Hopefully this helps her attitude about long trips in the car.

January 16 - A Message

 "My favorite food is macaroni.  My favorite color is all the colors.  Love, Andlie."

I just saw this lovely information drawing on Andlie's easel on my way out the door this morning.  Made me stop in my tracks & smile.  She's getting really good at writing.

January 15 - Hello, Target

When Haze felt well enough to go to his favorite store, we went!  Target, here we come!  He LOVED (in case you couldn't tell by the mile-long grin on his cute face) that Target had a new giant bin full of cars for him to enjoy!  He loves cars.  And he loves show them to Mom one by one by one by one by one by one.

This afternoon, Hazey asked if we could "do that thing where you squish the thing into the thing and it makes the things."  After a few more clues, we got out the soda & vinegar!

Nora got to try out the beloved jumping toy tonight!  Andlie got it for Christmas 2010 (see here) and now all 3 kids have loved it!  Nora knew exactly what to do & dove right in on the bouncing action.  She thought she was pretty big stuff bouncing her little body on that toy.  She loved it.  It made me laugh & my heart smile.

Like it made me so happy that we had to document how cute and happy she was after jumping on it.  (And part of the happiness is probably due to the fact that she saw herself on my phone screen.)

January 14 - Toys

It's just too bad that Nora doesn't have any toys.

Hazey is continuing to get better & better each day.  Today's activity that made him smile was playing with his playdough truck.  He thinks it's the funniest that his truck can make snakes/worms.  I can't blame him.

January 13 - Treat Cup

Nora is loving her new treat cup that she got for her birthday!  She loves that she can get her own treats out of it.  She thinks she's the biggest of all the kids when she can do things on her own.

She can't resist a good Mommy show when she's getting her bum changed.  I can get her every time.

Andlie is a total reading pro now!  She can read almost any word - even the big ones!  She is very good at sounding things out and is learning to love books!

Nora was just hanging out with her toys & her treats.  Lounging like a baby gangsta.

January 12 - Rocking Horse

Almost all better today!  Still has an upset tummy, doesn't want to eat, and is mostly grumpy/sad.  But he is definitely improving and getting back to himself.  He has been loving the new train game we loaded to the iPad.  I let him play it today & got a sweet smile as my reward!

I think it's safe to say that Nora loves her new toy from Santa!  She can get going pretty fast & high on her own.  And then come the giggles & flexed toes!  I love it.

 

Of course a vigorous run on the rocking horse will tire a girl out so she'll need to get ready for her nap.  With her little toes crossed.  Love.

January 11 - Getting Better

Hazey was feeling well enough to "smile" this morning.  We knew he was feeling a bit better last night when he requested his normal routine.  "I want to brush my teeth and say prayers and sleep in my own bed."  And then he did the same thing this morning.  "I want to watch cartoons and sit in my beanbag."

The swelling has gone down quite a bit today and the hives are pretty much gone.  Now we just have to deal with an upset tummy from the drugs and a sad, snuggly boy.

Andlie wanted a mohawk today, so I gave her one!

January 10 - Sick Boy

Poor boy wasn't doing much better this morning, so Mommy took him to the doctor.  The doctor checked him out & told me it was all external (relief).  He thought it was a "virus that Haze's body was very sensitive to and so his immune system was reacting with hives & swelling."  He prescribed us some steroids to get his immune system to settle down and something that he referred to as "Super Duper Benadryl."  He said that we should probably get Haze in to see an allergist since this is the 4th time he has had hives.  (See here.)

Meanwhile, Andlie & Nora felt pretty cooped up since today was an "At Home Family Sick Day," but they had fun hanging out together.

Andlie used one of her new birthday presents to write out what we were all thinking: "I don't want to stay stuffed in here all day!"

And then she melted my heart by drawing a "monster truck for Hazey so he can see when he gets feeling better."