Here is the master puzzler smiling because, "I did it!" he exclaims. We are so thankful that J has found this new hobby to keep him busy and happy.

E and J have been itching to play outside lately and with the weather up to 36 or 38 some days it has been possible to run around on the ice covered snow and get some outside time for about 15 minutes or so. E takes her snow pants to school and if it is above 25 real feel then they play outside. The kids there have manages to roll some pretty big snowballs together. How fun!!! C has been sick lately and we found out on Saturday (thank God for Saturday office hours) that she has ear infections in both ears. Ouch! She seems to remain happy though and is eating much better now that she is on anti-biotics. We are all mostly over our little colds now and hope to remain well for the remainder of winter.....Lord willing. Going to school is such a recipe for kids to get sick. Strep has been going around E's class since before Christmas. Yuck.

May God protect us all from this.

THE LIFE

Being a mom can be such hard work. Do you see the mess in the background of this picture? I am truly amazed at how often I pick up something that I have just picked up a few minutes ago....or at least a few hours ago. Still, you can see that I have lots of fun with the kids. C is sporting a jazzy scarf that Oma made. She has been such a joy to play with lately. She babbles a lot too and just the other day as she was gumming a piece of paper off of the floor, her daddy heard her say, "yeah, paper." Of course.....she was just repeating sounds that she has been hearing. We better keep a good check on ourselves.

Today E got to visit the magnet school that she may get to attend. She had a 'test' with a physchologist (with other children at the same time). We didn't tell her it would be a test...just that she was going to meet some other children and teachers that she may get to go to school with next year. She said it was fun and easy. There were a couple of other children there from her preschool and I am sure that made it easier for her. If she doesn't get to go to that school, she will most likely go to kindergarten at ECDC (where she attends now).

J has been making progress potty-training. He has made quite the effort lately, mostly b/c he likes getting gum as a treat. He has really figured out how to chew gum without swallowing it. It's a bit funny to see him munching away on it. Other than this 'work', he has discovered that he really likes to do puzzles. He has done our two huge floor puzzle everyday this week, plus a few more smaller puzzles. He seems to be addicted to them. At least, it's a great skill to hone.

Big J is really busy with school, but thankfully enjoying it. It was warmer today and some of the snow on the streets was a bit mushy. Soon we may get to go play in the snow without freezing.

I am just longing for the day when our feet don't get wet when we step outside!

Yes, this is what you let your kids do when it is so cold outside that their noses might freeze off. J has black icing all over his mouth from a donut that his dad bought him. mmmmmm

And C is really in a dolly stroller, laughing as E pushes her around the dining room table. We don't get out much.

COLD

Apparently it is really supposed to be cold this weekend. Brrrrr, maybe negative 10 degrees or so. It's in weather like this that you really wish that your house was insulated. Yep. E got to go visit the fire station today. J got a nice haircut. And C is just the cutest thing ever. She is learning how to sign 'more' and 'all done' and she official says "Hi" all the time. She is so smart, but of course I am biased. I love my kids and yes I do need a break from them at times. What do I do in this cold weather? Well, I just haven't gotten to the gym yet.