Finishing January

 Claire

She has a new favorite movie and calls it "cats with four legs" which is a very specific name, but it is The Aristocats and asks for it whenever we sit down together to watch movie. She likes other cat shows on Netflix so maybe she got the name because those cats mostly walk with two legs and this one they walk like cats...who knows. I can say she still likes dogs though and has her collection but has created a group for dogs and a group for cats. She also has continued to have an imaginary friend and called a stick her best friend just earlier today and asked if it could come inside with her when it was getting dark. She even talks about her best friend later, after bath time and I had put it back outside. It is still pretty good weather and I haven't seen any sign of winter around because we are able to go to the park without wearing jackets this weekend. There was a good rainstorm for the first half of the week some good rain and Claire was obsessed with the umbrellas we used and wanted to use them inside a bunch. 

Shay

She has this funny new thing she does with her tough all the time and I've caught it on video for you down below, and I've heard her do it anytime she's just bored and mindlessly playing. She still is obsessed with getting picked up by daddy anytime he comes out of his room on breaks so he likes to pretend to cuddle her up in the blankets as a distraction. She always asks to wash her hands when they get dirty and is really upset when I stop her from playing with the water to dry her hands. With those few tantrums being the worst it gets, I feel pretty lucky and hope they don't get too much worse as we are only a month away from her turning 2 years old! I hope we can at least have a play date with the other 2 year old we know in the area and make her some cookies or cupcakes while I'm trying to look for something to do as a gift. She is also super fast at picking up letter sounds and is recognizing letters and able to say their sounds pretty consistently so I'm sure she will just continue to add onto the 5 letters she knows (E,F,M,O,S).

Keeping Busy

I had a craving for crepes last week and made a really good (but big) batch that we had as a treat the rest of the week. Don't they look delicious! There are other yummy things I make during the weeks but I always have the same every month of the main meals we like. I also have been getting back into my sewing and using some of the fabric I have in my sewing room like I had towel fabric that I made into Unpaper Towels for cleaning all the milk Shay likes to "spill" on the floor. I have gotten to the point where the girls don't try to ruin everything in my sewing room and they can bring in a few toys to play while I sew. It is a little change in pace for them since they don't usually get to go in that room and it's exciting and with how much Claire wants to help with EVERYTHING I do, she only sometimes gets in the way.

Jumping through January

 Claire

We had our first nail painting party together one night when Shay went to bed and I got in the mood to paint my own nails and she caught me and demanded I do hers blue. She was pretty good except when I said not to move because she could twitch immediately after just to defy me I assume. She liked seeing them in the morning and comparing our nails which made a pretty cute video to remember our first experience! We've been stuck inside because of rain for a couple days but got to go to the park this week and she met a few friends and played tag even. I know she misses seeing other kids at our old gym's kidcare and our church's nursery, so I'm hoping making these random new friends at the park is making up for some of that. Shay is more playful with her at home, but she likes the novelty of new friends.

Shay

Oh she is learning so fast! I can't believe I didn't start Claire on these flashcards earlier, but Shay is already recognizing some of the letters on her own and saying sounds so well. They love it and remind me to play it with them every day since I have it in a place they can see on the bookshelves. Shay will say "A" and point to ask to learn which is a game too because they find the picture and then I have them say the letter and sound. It is amazing that she remembers the suction game with the finger toys that Chris started so long ago at church when Shay wasn't even born! It is funny when she asks me to do it and I always worry about leaving them on too long and her getting a bruise or something, but the game doesn't last that long usually and its been a while since she has remembered.

Bedtime

So in my boredom I made a bedtime chart to help us remember to brush the girls teeth at night and it has also given me the opportunity to start scripture and prayer time together as a family instead of just Chris and I after the girls are in bed. I have to work on what scriptures with pictures we can do that will keep them interested and teach them something because all I have right now is about people and they get too excited. The prayer was the best part because we all knelt down in a circle and Shay looked at me with her beautiful blue eyes as she walked over and sat down. Then we all held hands (they prefer it because mommy and daddy hold hands during meal prayers) and the spirit was really strong. It will forever be engraved in my heart as the most important moment in my time as a mother. It is my job to nourish and teach my children to be close to the Lord.

Life in Our Rut

 Claire

It seems like all of our days and weeks are becoming the same and there isn't very many exciting things to report or document recently. Especially since December was so exciting with visiting family and traveling! I'm trying to keep things interesting, even though we don't go out much except our backyard, by bringing out toys that I've had hidden for a little. I did these pull along dogs a few weeks ago and this week I brought out a bee and butterfly puzzle that Claire loves to do over and over in the mornings. Another new things we did though was coloring for 'nursery' on Sunday! Claire was able to identify things to color separate colors even though the lines are nonexistent in her eyes they liked being given control of the crayons. We always talk about how Jesus loves them after we take the sacrament as a family, but since they are nursery age the coloring should be fun too. Part of the reason I have to distract them is because they go climbing and looking for things on my counters and TV stand instead of playing with their own toys, and I can't do flashcards every second of every day even though it MIGHT teach Claire the difference between 'horse' and 'forse'.

Shay

Most of the entertainment we have in our rut is enough for Shay because she can be distracted with going outside for at least an hour a day. It's nice that the weather has been so nice this week and the only down side is them finding the muddy spots so quickly! But Shay doesn't eat it much anymore and loves baths so she is probably doing it on purpose...who knows. Her hair is getting so long! Last week's video of the back of her head is so beautiful and this week, after a bath and braiding Claire's hair, I sat Shay down to see if it would braid. It looks so cute when I first do it but falls out enough over night an is a crazy kinky mess when I take it out in the morning that I prefer leaving it to air dry. I was just glad she sits down long enough for me to try though and it turned out like it did.

Presents

There was a delay in a package from my mom and dad during the Christmas weeks and what we were supposed to receive while we were in Idaho was forwarded to us and we JUST got it this week. Some gifts were sent along to my brother in Montana, and Claire and Shay had a mini Christmas 3 weeks late! Claire is getting pretty good at opening presents and Shay gives up on hers and moves onto playing with Claire's before trying that hard. Either way it was another fun rut breaking event that gave them some new toys and Shay loves wearing her apron around the house. I also received a fancy dancy recipe book with all my mom's recipes in it! Now I can consolidate what I have and put it all in one place for convenience, plus I have some of the recipes I forgot I used to love growing up.

Lazy January

 Claire

She is still possessive and doesn’t like letting Shay play with somethings, so I have to force her. Her most used words right now are “come on” to either play with her somehow or let her do sometime I usually have said no to. After the 50th time of telling her no or stopping her from bossing Shay around she will start the screaming/crying. She gets over it pretty fast if I don’t react, but it sure does seem like I’m the worst sometimes. There is so many times that she does what I tell her not to by walking very slowly and sneaking. Then it becomes a game and she tells me to go to sleep so she can pretend to sneak and I wake up and catch her. Her other fun games from this week were drumming and then using the drum sticks as a cane to be a nana. I don't know where she came up with the idea for the drums but I'm pretty sure she learned playing nana from the show Bluey.

Shay

I think she started the phase of sitting in every container she can find...just like cats do. Some are a tight fit, but she is always determined to sit in them. We thought she has grown out of eating the chalk so we brought it back out to draw and play with. Shay loves them and hates when it’s time to put them away until we give her responsibility of putting the bucket away. Most days this week she’s been soiled and fallen asleep laying next to or on us on the couch. It’s nice to have such cute cuddles and is hard to stand up from a laying position to put her into her room. Claire even cuddles up with us and has taken a short nap twice on the couch, once with me and once with Chris. There is a Pixar short on Disney+ called Bao that Shay picks EVERY time she sees it and if we don't watch it when she picks it she gets really mad. Both Claire and Shay like when the dumpling turns into a baby and then if they are watching on the iPad, they never finish it but start it over half way through. Oh yeah, she is trying to make animal sounds now...the video is her sheep.

Lazy

Most of the pictures you see, my girls are in PJs and it’s only a couple that it’s because it’s bedtime. Most are because they are warm and I don’t have a reason for us to get dressed in real cloths! Claire is the best because when I change her into panties she usually gets real pants. I even hang out in sweats or PJs and a sweat shirt most of the day except when I exercise. I do feel lucky to be able to be so lazy...which is why we've been able to cuddle and fall asleep on the couch so  many times this week. I have gotten out my old Just Dance games for the first time in this house and had some fun dance parties to tire the girls out, but mostly they just try to jump between my legs.

New Year

 Claire

She is starting to remember some of the letters when we do our flashcards, but is more excited about naming the pictures and organizing them. We always do it when Shay is sleeping so she is making sure to stay quite so she doesn't wake her up, but then immediately starts getting too excited again. Claire loves to play games but usually doesn't let Shay join so I am trying to force her by giving the toy she gives to me to Shay. She usually gets mad at me, but over time I'm sure it will work...maybe. Shay usually doesn't care for the games Claire likes to play anyway and often gets annoyed at being bossed around, I'm sure that this is only the beginning. there is so much energy in this tiny person that I am convinced she is sneaking caffeine or sugar right before dinner so she isn't hungry and all she wants to do is run around like a crazy child. 

Shay

She is trying to talk and uses her sounds to try to form her own imaginary sentences, it only started this week and it is so cute! She likes to point and say, "ah oh ah eh" with the cutest facial expression like she means it so much and she knows exactly what she is saying and I should understand her. Sometimes it is easy to understand because she points to something I know she usually wants like food, or to Claire who is stuck, or something that hurt her so she is mad at it. Her naps are getting later and later and there were two days she stayed up until 4 and we were convinced she wasn't going to nap but then she fell asleep in weird positions. It is hard to force her to nap earlier in the day when she isn't fully tired and wants to play, but it makes bed time hard too. She loves reading books still so maybe reading her a book before naps and bed time will make it easier, if she ever let us stop reading to her.

Anniversary

Chris and I celebrated 5 years of marriage this week and even though we didn't get to do anything big, our simple life is perfect. We did a simple celebration dinner, and traded back massages as our gifts because we don't want to spend money when we didn't need anything big or extravagant. It was fun remembering and talking about the past 5 years fondly and sharing our favorite moments and successes with each other. I love that we both love to keep things simple as long as we are together, even though we are celebrating 5 years and staying up to celebrate the New Year too. Half a decade done and an eternity to go!