I cannot express how thankful I am that January is DONE. Ugh. I have never suffered from seasonal depression as much as I did this past month. The constant grey skies, yucky Utah air quality and inversion, and freezing cold combined with the fact that I don't have a car during the day made me feel so trapped. I felt sucked of energy and motivation to accomplish anything. Blah.
However, it wasn't all bad. We celebrated our 11th anniversary with a fun date night. And we traveled to Flagstaff, AZ for a fun weekend celebrating my new niece's baby blessing. (So SAD I don't have pictures of this.)
I did my best to fight off the winter blues by starting up a little music class/playgroup for kids in the neighborhood that are Blake's age. Also, I've gotten out a few evenings to run to the library or watch Downton Abbey with friends. :) And we've had a few other fun events to remember this month, such as:
New Years Day!
We celebrated the start of 2013 with Great-grandma Reynolds and the Willdens. Katelee was invited to sleep over on New Years Eve, which was SOOO exciting to her. She had a great time. Then we met on New Years Day for a delicious potluck lunch and dessert. Here Blake is enjoying his chocolate cupcake.
After lunch, we all went bowling!
Great-grandma, at 90 years of age, can still beat me in a game of bowling!
Cute cousins!
Katelee looks cute in Lindley's hat.
Blake was tired...ready for a nap.
Playing some skee ball.
What a fun New Years Day!
Hair Cut!
Katelee decided to cut her hair this month. She asked for two weeks straight, and we finally agreed. I LOVE her haircut. It's so easy to do in the mornings, and I think she looks adorable!
One night I was feeling tired and grumpy and didn't feel like cooking dinner. Katelee overheard me telling Gerald on the phone that I didn't feel like making anything for dinner. She went into the kitchen and made me some (lukewarm) hot cocoa and put a banana muffin on a plate. Then she called me and proudly announced that she had made dinner! What a sweetie! It made my night and the dinner was delicious! While I ate, she even went and straightened up the living room without being asked. She is such a generous, thoughtful, caring little girl. I love her!
School Spirit Week
Katelee's school had spirit week this month. She was soooooo excited. She woke up EXTRA early every single day to get ready for school.
Monday: Pajama day
Tuesday: Crazy Hair or Hat day
Wednesday: Nerd day
(notice the mismatched boots)
Thursday: Sports Team day...Go Cougars!
(she is wearing my t-shirt and Gerald's hat...not bad, right?)
Friday: 80's day
Cousin Sleepover!
Gerald went camping overnight with the scouts for their annual Klondike. So we decided to invite our cute cousins over for a fun girls sleepover. The girls ate pizza, played games, had a dance party, built a tent, and watched movies. Such fun memories!
Blake
Okay, so Blake isn't an event, but how can I write a post without talking about this little man?!? Blake has really changed this month. He's transitioned from a baby to a toddler. He RUNS everywhere. I mean RUN. He loves to pull books off shelves, dump toys out of buckets and then throw them all back in, watch Sesame Street, throw things, play with this ball popper toy, play chase, be tickled, play with friends as long as mom is close by, run the halls during church, jabber jabber jabber, and walk in the snow to pick up sister after school. He is very afraid of strangers, and freaks out if someone he doesn't know gives him too much attention. :) He has transitioned from two naps a day to only one. He is learning to go down stairs by himself, though he refuses to do it backwards, and is growing molars. He is such a big boy! It almost breaks my heart, but he's so cute I love this stage, too. :)
I had to include this first picture, because every time I see the mouth full of food and those cute baby teeth, it makes me laugh out loud and think of one of our favorite books, No, David by David Shannon. Can you see the resemblance? Ha ha ha ha!
What a happy boy!
Here is a video of Blake jabbering and of his inventive (scary!) way of going down the stairs.
He has mastered the baby dirty look, and bestows his evil eye on anyone he sees as a threat. Which is almost anyone outside of his immediate family. :)
One of our favorite family activities to do lately is play tag. Especially since Blake can now run. A rousing game of tag for five minutes can put everyone in a happier mood. After getting worn out one afternoon, I grabbed the camera to catch the kiddos playing with daddy.
Snow!
We had a couple of days in a row with non-stop snow this month. The kids have loved playing in it!
Blazing a new trail
I love kids all bundled up in snow clothes. They are like bright, squeezable marshmallows!
Katelee went out and played with friends for the afternoon, all bundled up, but I didn't get a picture until she had undressed once again. :) Here she is claiming it's "too hot" for a coat.
In the snow 'nest' the kids built.
That's some deep snow!
Queen & King of the Mountain!
Good-bye, January. Can't say I'm sad to see you go! February is looking much nicer, full of pleasant and exciting things, and spring is just around the corner now! Hooray!
