Fun Times

Monday was Joshua's first day back at preschool. He went to the library for the first time and picked out a book (which I must admit was a bit lame since it didn't have any words in it and was already somewhat torn apart before it came home). But, I was proud of him for having the experience. When I picked him up, he told me the basket fell on his hand... ??? His teacher came out and explained that the basketball hoop fell on his hand as they were playing and he got quite the boo-boo on his finger. Poor guy! He said he had a good day, though.

Caleb has been really into puzzles lately since we got them out again as we've been rotating toys, and I'm impressed by how well he's doing with them. He also has specific books that are his favorites right now, which include 'Under the Sea' and the 'I Am A Bunny' book. He's talking more and more as well. He has a very sharp 'no' which makes us laugh. He loves to put his finger in his mouth and act like he's making the 'popping' sound since Grandpa Georgia does that to him. He's also starting to sit on the big boy potty. He has yet to do anything there, but he's not at all freaked out about it like the Bean first was. So, hopefully he's easier to potty train. Caleb also makes me smile when he says 'mmmm' when I put lotion on him. I always say 'mmm...doesn't that feel good?' since the Bean used to dislike it and that sort of made him think about it in a good light. Caleb, on the other hand, is so used to it (since his skin is really dry) that he starts right out with the 'mmmm.' Hard to explain, but it does make me smile. I want to remember these things since they get big so quickly!

Monday night I made meatloaf for dinner with pierogies sauteed in butter and mixed vegetables. We also finished the last of the sparkling grape juice that night. Caleb ate all the carrots out of the veggies and Joshua ate all the green beans. They are so similar and so different. :) I also baked a cake for something different. I didn't feel like anything turned out extraordinary but everything was good. That night we played 'Seinfeld Scene It' as the boys played in our family room. It was funny remembering all that meaningless trivia about one of our former favorite TV shows.

Tuesday morning was MOPS. I had a ring on my doorbell early that morning, and when I answered a guy identified himself as being from PP&L and said they needed to cut down a tree in our back yard. I told him great... trim them all! I haven't seen any work happen yet, though. Thankfully he didn't ask to come in since he didn't have a uniform or anything because this momma bear wouldn't have let him. But, I'll let anyone who wants to trim our yard!!! We left and headed to 'see Jesus' as Joshua always says when we go to church. Then the Bean told me that he would 'tell Jesus if he had to poop.' I cracked up (and told him that he'd also need to tell one of the childcare helpers). The MOPS meeting was good - again some of my favorite gals were there and we got to catch up on our holidays. Then it was a round robin about how to get along with extended family. The boys seemed to have a good time and so did I.

That afternoon, I called Shawn to see if he'd like to go to Park City after work to let the boys get out and run. He said it sounded like a great idea, and I had the boys & me ready when he got home and we climbed in my car. When we got to the mall, he got in line for Chinese while I got the boys chicken fingers and fries for dinner (real healthy, I know! We're not starting 2010 too well!!!). While in line, we ran into our friends Angel & Becca from life group (pictured below). What are the odds? We chatted for a little while and then we headed to the playground (where they had already been).

The boys ran and ran... they LOVED it! [These pictures are all from there.] We packed our own hand sanitizer for afterward since the mall has been out, but it was a fun night. We also had the boys in bed relatively early that night, and we got to spend some time just relaxing together. I'm enjoying my time off from school!

It snowed again overnight. We woke up to a dusting this morning, but it was enough to cause some major accidents on the highways, so I heard. I know Oregon Pike was bumper-to-bumper traffic, which made it take way longer to get to preschool than normal (usually it takes me less than five minutes to get there). When I did arrive, the teacher told me that her aide was still stuck in traffic. I volunteered to stay and help her out until Mrs. Hilton could arrive, so long as she didn't mind Caleb hanging out and playing too. Mrs. Ford said that would be great. So, I helped get the kids in their smocks while they painted snow flakes. She also has a new sensory table out, which is filled with cotton balls to look like snow. The kids were having fun throwing them. Many parents dropped off their kids after me, noting how long it took them to get there for what little snow there was; and finally Mrs. Hilton arrived so Caleb & I left. We had fun, though. Caleb would have liked to have stayed the rest of the morning... we may try to enroll him next year. I did slide a little in the parking lot, so I'm assuming the untreated roads that hadn't been plowed or salted may have been icier than the cleared roads. I'm just glad it wasn't me in an accident!

It's bitterly cold out. We're ready for spring already, and it's only January. But, I'm grateful for a nice, warm house and a car that gets us where we need to go and sweaters to wear, etc. I'm also thankful for my loving family; we've been having so much fun playing with our boys. :) :) :)