January….how is it STILL January? Didn’t January start at least 4 MONTHS ago? Anybody else? I know we have been blessed with the mildest winter that I can remember, but for some reason the days have felt LONG and gray and so, so dreary. I’m so ready for Spring but we haven’t even finished the first month of the year! I think it has something to do with how fast November and December seem to fly by, and then we hit January and it just slowwwwwwssss way down.
We also didn’t have the best start to the year. A close family member was hospitalized on Dec 31. We weren’t sure how serious the symptoms were, so Theo decided to go out of state early in the morning on Jan 1st to visit this family member. He was gone for the entire day. The following day was a Thursday, and both Tera and Ezra were hit with illness- Ezra’s landing him in the hospital, and Tera’s putting her down and out for en entire 9 days. Phew, it was a tough time!
After those two scary sicknesses, I became a total germaphobe and didn’t want to leave the house at all! So our January has been extremely boring. I didn’t take many pictures at all! I’ve also been off social media so it feels like I have slowed the pace way, way down. It’s nice but sometimes makes me feel like I’m going to crawl out of my skin!
A couple new things that have happened this month: Ezra is sleeping through the night (FINALLY) and Theo is on a new shift- day shift! I was slowly weaning Ezra, and then finally external life circumstances just got so stressful that I quit cold turkey. Ezra didn’t even notice, and almost immediately started sleeping through the night. It’s been such a blessing!!!! Last week, Theo started day shift. He has to leave for work at 5:30 am, but he gets home at dinnertime everyday! I don’t even know what to do with myself now that I have a husband who comes home during waking hours every single day. He still has to work weekends, but we are starting to enjoy this new shift. In our 8 years of marriage, this is only the third time we have a period of time where he gets home by dinnertime everyday. The first time was when he was in the police academy, the second time was when he tore his hamstring and was assigned to light duty for 6 weeks, and this time he gets to be on this shift for a year.
Winter always means more indoor play, and my kids are really enjoying play dough! Unfortunately, they have gotten into a bad habit of mixing the colors, but there is something about buying some fresh, new play dough that gives them hours of entertainment!
One BIG announcement that we have this month is that OUR HOUSE IS UNDER CONTRACT. Oh my
Winter = Messy House. Yes, it drives me nearly insane. But my kids don’t just park in front of a TV for four month. Instead, they play SO CREATIVELY and destroy every INCH of our house.
Missionary kids have MK in their blood always. This month I got to see one of my fellow Niger MKs…I haven’t seen Heidi in many years and it was so great to be able to catch up!
Tera got a new tea set and has loved playing with it! One day it was almost 70 degrees outside, so we had a tea party on the porch! Also, Tera was about a week out from her illness, but she still looks SO SICK! Poor kid.
My kids are Ohio born and bred, through and through. The winter doesn’t seem to bother them at all. Granted, this winter has been extremely mild, but I’m so impressed out how eager they are to get outside. All three of my babes LOVE being outside. I hope this continues for a long time!
I know I’ve talked about magnettiles before…but I’m going to say it again….if your kids have ONE toy, let it be these. My kids (and husband) LOVE them.
Also, Sleeping Queens. We’ve played so many rounds of this game!
Time away from social media has allowed me to get in a lot more reading! I have a book review post coming up, but I have enjoyed spending times in the afternoons and evenings just reading my book!
I finally went and got my hair cut! I hadn’t cut it since before Ezra was born, so I was in desperate need. I love the way it turned out, but wish that the cut itself hadn’t taken so long (2 hours…but it wasn’t THAT complicated?!)
Oh, look….more magnetiles! I told you they are popular around here! Also…can you tell that I have a baby who has figured out how to climb and open drawers and throw shoes off the shoe shelf (eye roll)?
After having such sick babies at the beginning of the month, I was really nervous to take them anywhere. Admittedly, I get extremely anxious over the health of my babies. It’s something that I am constantly working on. There is a delicate balance between wisdom and fear/foolishness. I finally was able to overcome my fear and take the kids to the Boonshoft museum. I’m still working on overcoming my anxiety, but this was a huge win for me.
Ezra John keeps me on my toes!!! This kid! He walks around all day causing trouble and yet we all adore him and can’t get enough of him!
Kiah is our little ham and always keeps us entertained! He’s incredibly silly and also incredibly sweet, and I love seeing his creativity bloom!
Tera has been begging to make slime for months now, so I finally grabbed a kit at the store. I think she was a bit disappointed, or maybe I did the recipe wrong. It’s been an interesting experience in humanity trying to tell my kids that something isn’t as fun as they make it out to be in their heads. And then not say “I TOLD YOU SO” when it turns out exactly like I said it would. Instead, just letting them learn that lesson on their own is HARD for me!
I thought this was too funny to not take a picture of! Ezra was not impressed with the teeter totter.
There is something about a freshly made bed and sunshine streaming through the windows. It makes my heart so so happy!
And that is a wrap on January!