Procrastination 102 (January)

I am starting 2020 with a promise to not allow this blog to be sure a burden. It is so time consuming and when I feel forced to write it, I'm just doing it to do it. So! Going forward, I will do my best to get monthly blogs out, but if we are busy and I end up having to combine months, so be it! I want this to be a fun way to keep track of how the kids are growing and changing, and also to show them "Look at how much fun sh!t I did for you!!!!"

January was one big hangover month for me, but I would not allow myself to fully deactivate until after Blair's golden birthday! So hard to find the motivation to find new gifts to give her 8 days after Christmas, but I cannot allow myself to fall into that trap! Per tradition, we had birthday donuts, followed by cake & presents in the evening. She had a great birthday!

We took the kids to see Frozen 2 in theatres...not great. Blair lasted an hour and Chris had to sit in the lobby, and Colin was very restless after 80min of the movie. Our kids are just  not moviegoers!

Auntie got the kids Kiwi crates for Christmas - man I love those things! They are so much fun for me and the kids. Blair's kit allowed her to explore with color, and Colin's was building a disc shooter, which was perfect because we definitely don't have enough things that shoot projectiles in our house.

 

Colin had two birthday parties in one weekend; first was a roller skating party! We hadn't gone since last year, and this time Colin was able to skate all on his own. He did excellent and was proud of himself. The second party was at a gymnastics studio, and so much fun! He was able to bring home a piece of cake for Blair, and to say she enjoyed it is an understatement.

I was getting a little cabin fever, doing things just in town, so I decided to check out a museum about an hour away. It was fun, and the kids had a blast.

My friend Charlene hosted a mac and cheese party! This is honestly such a great group of adults and kids - I am always so surprised at how well all the kids play together. At one point the kids were telling jokes and Blair was laughing thinking she was such a big girl and in on the joke, and the kids loved it. A really special group.

A different gymnastics gym had open hours and, I wanted to check it out because I'd heard about it. It was a little costly, at $10/kid for an hour. Colin definitely got his money's worth out of it, but Blair just rode this roller coaster car 84 times, happy as can be.

We are starting to go back to the Nature Center (shout to Grandma Karen for the season passes!) and went to a snake encounter program. Both kids were very patient and respectful, and gentle when it came time to pet the snake. Blair said "Oh hi snake, how are you?"

Onto the kids.

Colin - man, there is no grey area with this kid. He is either the kindest, sweetest, most thoughtful kid or he is back talking and not listening or just being a general jerk. I guess I would pick hot & cold vs boring and normal, but he warms my heart and tests my patience every single day. We have successfully eliminated YouTube from his life and ever since there has been a marked difference in his behavior, for the better. He is watching less, and creating, building, playing more and it makes me so happy. Lately I have noticed I don't have to get onto him as much in the AM, as he knows the routine. Breakfast, get dressed, brush teeth, put shoes on. Colin knows and can write his letters, and often asks "What is this word?" and we sound it out together. Can't believe before I know it he will be reading independently!

Blair - this girl is talking up a storm! She had her two year checkup, and she's 90th percentile in height and 25th in weight. No wonder she still fits in 2T (though the pants are always short, don't I know about that). She can now speak beyond just broken sentences, and can have conversations (as much as a two year old can have). She loves to do puzzles, learn about shapes, and inserts herself into whatever you're doing full force. Her father is her softest spot, and she knows it, so she " Daddy, daddy"s him and it is game over (see reference picture below. She had a plate of her own food but ended up eating Dad's). Where Colin is very affectionate, she is more stand-offish and will say "No, I don't like that!" unless it is on her terms. Blair is also developing quite the sense of humor, and she loves to laugh at jokes.

The last picture I took this month is of Colin escorting Blair into his school on a day I had to work in the classroom. It touched my heart because he just held out his hand and she grabbed it, and they just walked away on their own together. As a parent it is what you want - kids to grow away - but they are both getting so big and need me less and less every day. Tugs at the heart strings, but I am so thankful they have such a strong and meaningful bond together.