1/13/10 - A New Year

Bethany rolled over for the first time this week!  She is now 14lbs and 24 ½ inches long.  She’s starting to outgrow some of her 6-month outfits already, so we’ll soon be getting down the 9-12month box of clothes.   Her sisters also outgrew them so quickly that they’re still in really good condition (until 18 months – then all those clothes get trashed in typical toddler fashion)! 

 

The kids have been sick this week, which is always a challenge.  Bethany has found it especially frustrating trying to nurse and suck her thumb with a stuffy nose, and wants to be held upright to sleep. 

 

Dave caught it as well, and had to come home early on Sunday, but he’s slowly beating it.  He’s enjoying his new job so far.   There are some drawbacks, like no Marketing Director or company cell phone, but it’s a nicer building, quality staff (with far less turnover), and a supervisor who doesn’t micromanage everything.   That alone is worth the change!  He burns off steam by occasionally riding his bike on the trainer, playing football on the computer, and reading the latest thriller by Brad Thor or Vince Flynn. 

Holidays

Christmas this year was a pretty quiet affair.  The girls woke up on Christmas morning, opened and played with their new toy kitchen, ate breakfast, and then we opened the rest of the presents as a family.   Later, Grandma and Grandpa arrived with Aunt Barocha, Uncle Caleb, Uncle Tim, and an exchange student.  We opened more presents, and I had my first opportunity to make Christmas dinner for everyone.  Mom helped out a lot, and with some helpful tips from friends on Facebook, the turkey turned out perfectly! 

 

The girls really made out like little bandits this year!  Memento necklaces from Grandma Geri, an easel for art and school, musical instruments, an activity mat that interacts with the TV (Wii-style), and so much more.  Thank you to all the aunts, uncles and grandparents for making their year!  J

 

The next week, we had all of our friends from Little Church over to our house for a New Year’s Eve party.  The kids all had shiny hats, crowns, leis and horns to play with, and the guys had a blast playing with Dave’s new Madden Football game on the computer.   We called our friends Libby & Tim (who moved away this year) on the Skype webcam, and everyone got to talk to them and see their new baby boy.  Katya & Steve and Rocio & Christopher and all their children stayed until midnight, and we were amazed that none of the kids had a single meltdown!  Amanda started to fall asleep in Dave’s arms as we counted down to midnight, but managed to wake up long enough to drink a toast from her little paper cup of sparkling cider. 

 

Puppies & Horseys

Eva likes to pretend she’s a puppy.   She barks incessantly throughout the day (if she were a real dog, she’d be wearing a barking collar by now).   At night, she wants to sleep on the floor, curled up on a blanket “doggy bed”.   She and Amanda use the beaded necklaces they got for Christmas as leashes, taking turns leading each other around the house while the other crawls and barks. 

 

Their favorite movie right now is “Spirit”, about a horse in the wild west.  Eva alternates between wanting to be a cowboy, riding her stuffed horseys around the house, and wanting Amanda to ride on her back (using a beaded necklace as a “bridle”).  She even drew herself a “horse mask” and had Daddy tape it onto her glasses (looks kinda creepy).   It started with “Small One”, and now seems to be graduating into a genuine admiration for horses.   I’d love to get them involved in Pony Club someday, when they’re older. 

When I Grow Up...

While she is fascinated by the idea that she used to be a baby and do all the things that Bethany does, Eva is eager to “get bigger”.   She’s started making comments like, “When I get bigger, I can eat my dinner and you won’t cut it up for me,” or, “Don’t cut up my grapes, Mommy.  I have a big mouth!”  Her latest is “When I get bigger, I can drive home to see you and you can say, ‘Look how big Eva is!’”  Slow down, kid! 

 

She’s been trying to write everyone’s name and keeps asking me how to spell them, so I’m starting to have her sound them out.   Eva’s also very interested in other details.  The other day when I served her lunch, she asked me, “Is this gluten-free tuna fish?”   Later she was looking at her Skittles candy and observed, “Where’s the M?  I want an M on mine!” 

 

I recently bought her the next size up of underwear and socks, and she was so excited when she saw them come out of the laundry.  “See my new underwear, Mommy?  I’m going to show everyone my new underwear!”   Um, no, that’s where I draw the line! 

Mommy's Little Helper

Amanda wants to be a “big girl” and is constantly asking, “Can I help, Mommy?”  She pushes up a chair up to the counter whenever she sees me getting dinner ready.  She likes to help me fold towels and burp rags, or peel the shells off boiled eggs.  She knows how to use the DVD player and insists on pushing the buttons all by herself.

 

She’s always trying to help Eva, too.  When it’s time for Amanda to go down for her nap, she knows that it’s Eva’s time to do “schooling,” so she’ll get out Eva’s activity book and crayons for her and say, “Here’s your schooling, Eva!”  When Eva wakes up from her nap, Amanda likes to run and get her glasses for her (Amanda tends to get up first because she goes down for her nap first).   When Eva is practicing her letters on the new chalkboard easel, Amanda holds the eraser and erases them after each attempt.