Knights, holidays and cousins

January has been a pretty low key month at our house.  Jack is still talking about Santa, and wondering if Christmas is coming again tomorrow. After a while of trying to explain that Christmas was 10 months away, I finally broke down and explained to him that Santa wasn't the only game in town.  I know that probably isn't the best way of dealing with the issue but we are now excited about Valentine's day and Easter.  

We went to a playdate hosted by the Naval hospital. To prepare, we had to make cookies and then decorated them there.  Jack does a great job of making the cut outs, and Sophie does a great job eating all of the extra cookies.  At the playdate, Sophie surprised us all when she quickly figured out how to unplug the family's water table.  It was a quite a mess we made that day.

Sophia is almost TWO. I still can't believe it! We are less than two months away.  She weighs 26lbs and is quickly gaining on her brother who weighs in at 32lbs.  She is really into Mickey and Minnie, her purse, cookies, popsicles and reading.  She reads SO many books each day. 

In January, we went to a dragon and knight birthday party. Knights are now all the rage at our house.  Superman is still very important but knights have become a new fave. Jack's speech and phrases crack me up.  He is constantly telling me something is "crazy" and when he gets in the car from school he says, "You know Mom, I have been thinking about....and I think we should do this."  

Two new exciting things of this month are that Sophia is now able to put on her shoes all by herself (which is totally crazy to me and seems to rarely ever put them on the wrong feet) and Jack wears a belt every day which he can now undo and put back on by himself.  Jack is totally into belts and ties.  He also has strong opinions about what he wears.  I am sure most people think that he doesn't own anything besides Superman shirts.

Sophia is my child with the independent spirit. Every time she screams or yells, Carl reminds me that she is definitely "MY" child.  Sophia now wants to be a big girl, which she says often.  She refuses to sit in her highchair which causes some big fights at the island.  We are trying to serve all meals now at the dining room table which is probably better for us anyway. Hopefully, we can start eating outside soon.

Jack has an amazing memory.  When he started his school year, the teacher mentioned it to me.  Now, I totally see it! He remembered this old bubble machine that he got as a baby and we haven't used in a year and a half.  He always says "Remember when...."  He begged me to take it out.  Now, you can't get them out of the tub!!! This pic was taken in the morning the night after their bath.

So I totally just missed the sidewalk and projected into the air at the Town Center. As I look up (flat on the sidewalk), my 3 year old son looks down from the stroller and said "Wow Mom, you really can fly like Superman!!! We need to get you a cape."  Thoughts from a great superhero....

 Although we wish the circumstances were better, Thomas and Eloise came down for a visit.  Their great grandma was sick and so they came to visit her.  We got the benefit of a day trip of the kids, Ally and Scott.  Jack and Thomas are ridiculously close and love each other so much. Their isn't even a moment of shyness; they start right back up where they left off.  Now that Sophie is older, she is now part of the gang.  Eloise is scooting everywhere so I am sure she will be be in the mix soon.

Sandbox on a sunny January day!

Sophia LOVES George. I have so many great shots of her loving on her big puppy!

Playing nicely!

Yup, this is my ride!

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Loving the river

Throwing our old lemons to the fish

Cousin Thomas 

Having fun playing with the boys!

She got a lemon just like the boys!

Silly boys, slow and steady wins the race!

Running to the river

We put them to work!

Our knight and Chase

Someone's hair is getting long!

Pigtails!!! Sophia is talking a lot.  She loves to sit on my lap when I sit cross legged.  She runs over to me throughout the day, grabs my legs and holds on and says, "Momma, I love you." It is totally unsolicited and that's what I love most about it.