IN RECENT NEWS

Guys, I need to get internet. This whole no-blogging thing is no bueno. I feel like I’m not capturing important moments that I want to remember! (And I'm at the library currently and the internet is the WORST and I can't upload any pictures. UGHHHHH. At least I'm posting something. Pretend there are pictures and I will add them later.)

WHAT NATALIE HAS BEEN UP TO LATELY:

+loving dresses

+the movie Hairspray

+reading everything – I love when she asks to read more books, probably the only bedtime procrastination technique that we will gladly allow

+pretending to catch the snitch like Harry Potter (her mouth never quite remembers how to say it: switch, squish, snish, smitch are all frequent substitutes)

+playing in her kitchen – she loves using my real kitchen tools to flip “pancakes,” make “soup,” put “eggs” in the pan, and fill up her cup with “water.” I LOVE that she plays pretend already. anyone have any tips to continue encouraging her in this kind of play?

+she pretends to “go to target” and “shop for groceries” in her room, always coming out with her hello kitty bag filled with toys that are “groceries.”

+loving her baby doll – she wraps her in a blanket and says “nice and warm” and gives her kisses and tells me “she’s tired” and brings her in the crib. so sweet.

+she’s been having bad dreams – “scary horsies” and “burrito” have been featured, as she tells me afterward when I go to comfort her. we say a prayer and she knows and tells me that “jesus takes it away.” precious.

+still waking up at least once a night. I don’t mind when it’s for bad dreams because that’s not really her fault, but I wish she could just roll over, put her bink back in, and fall back asleep without us having to come in and re-bink/tuck. (sleeps 7:45pm-6:45am/7ish.)

+speaking in SENTENCES! this one is huge. I swear all of a sudden she just exploded into phrases and then morphed quickly into full sentences. this all happened right after she turned two, I just haven’t had a change to log it yet. It is SO FUN to have real conversations with her, going back and forth instead of just repeating words. She’s always had a wonderful vocabulary and can enunciate extremely well, but when she turned into a sentence machine so early I was surprised and thrilled!

Our Natsby absorbs EVERYTHING – she has an incredible memory and always surprises me by knowing things that I only said once or recognizing a place we’ve only been once. She doesn’t hit, bite, yell, or screech, and she plays nicely with her friends. She’s been known to snatch a toy or two from a pal mid-play, but her niceness and non-roughness are some of my favorite traits about her.

She’s playing with little Kleenex packages and for some reason she is calling them “hobbits” hahaha! She came over to me with one in each hand and said, waving them, “two hobbits, mommy!” Haha she is creative and fun and beautiful.

WHAT STOCKTON HAS BEEN UP TO LATELY:

+demolishing books, even board books. he loves to look at them, but the allure of the rip, tear, kill a la basilisk is too much sometimes.

(Natalie just gave me a Kleenex pack and said “hobbit for mommy!” ha)

+practicing standing, and taking a couple of steps here and there. he crawls SO FAST when he gets excited about something, and he always gives me the biggest smile from across the room when I catch his eye.

+being the greatest sidekick ever – he goes along with whatever errands or plans I have during the day, and lets Natalie dictate pretty much all activities at home haha. he is an excellent follower to her leader.

+still is glued to the TV any time there’s a song in the movie – he is TOTALLY entranced by music

+sleeping well mostly – wakes up once sometimes for a bottle and then usually falls right back asleep, but lately no matter what time he has his bottle he thinks it is time to wake up, so he has to jabber and roll around in his crib for a while before he falls back asleep. (sleeps 7pm-6:30/7am)

+LOVES his blankie. we left it at my parent’s house and couldn’t get it back until the next night, so we gave him a replacement but he knew immediately that it was an imposter and was disgusted by it, swatting it away and refusing to be cozy with it haha.

+could live off of mac and cheese. he LOVES that stuff. good thing it’s cheap! also eats a lot of pb and honey sandwiches, gogurt, and goldfish.

Stockton is such a sweetheart. He LOVES LOVES LOVES giving big, open-mouthed, slobbery kisses and it is so fun. I love when he sees me and just HAS to race over and climb all over me to say hi. His beautiful blue eyes and smile light up the room and his personality is becoming more apparent. So fun.

WHAT AUSTIN AND I HAVE BEEN UP TO LATELY:

+Austin had a seizure in October and can’t drive for three months (better than last time, it was six whole months then!) so we’ve been his chauffeur and get to take him to work, etc. It’s fun to have more time to see him as we drive around, but it is a little harder now that it’s FREEZING outside!

+we have two more episodes in season 6 of Psych, and then only two more seasons! I’m already sad that it is almost over, but at least it’s the type of show that just gets better each time you watch it. (You know THAT’s right!)

+I’ve been in a reading drought – I can’t get into any of the books that I’ve tried to read lately, so I need suggestions. Hit me up!

+hating the cold. It is so restrictive – getting two kids sufficiently bundled and then quickly (pre-meltdown) buckled into the car when it’s so cold is a challenge. The other day I HAD to get out of the house so I marshaled the troops and went to Target, but the wind was so bitter and the kids were so ticked that they screamed the whole way through the parking lot and I had to stay there for a loooonnnggg time so they weren’t as sensitive for the trip out to the car. (not that I was complaining about having to stay at Target forever!)

+trying to keep the house clean. is anyone truly successful in this endeavor? I feel like as soon as I proudly get rid of a pile, another one appears almost instantly. Right now I have three bags to drop off at Goodwill just sitting on my table – we’ll see how long they stay there. The dishes always refill no matter how often I load and unload the dishwasher, the laundry sometimes stays downstairs for a week before I finally am forced to go get it, and five minutes after vacuuming the floor looks crumby again. All part of the joys of homemaking, right? : )

+playing games with friends. we tried a new one this week – qwerkle – and it was super fun! And I won. No big deal.

+having friends over for dinner frequently – it is fun to chat and eat and share and enjoy. we have wonderful people in our lives. it’s fun that the kids have little friends too.

+Austin is starting school in January again, this time at big boy UNL! woo, go babe!

Oh, and we’re pregnant! By the way : )