After all of the holiday fun it was nice to begin the new year with a little bit of a rest. The kids didn't go back to school until January 8th so we enjoyed having that second week of Christmas break being at home and being able to unwind from all of the December festivities and start the new year fresh. After the zoo on Monday the 1st we just kind of hung out the following week-we did enough to keep everyone busy with going to parks and playing in the cul de sac but nothing else too crazy. And since Julia was under the weather for the first half of the week it was a perfect time to just do that.
Although that always means that things end up getting kind of crazy around the house by midmorning :).
Hanging with neighbor Julia on January 4th.
Feeling back to herself by the 4th.
Since we couldn't hike Torrety Pines on New Year's Day, which has been our tradition for the past two years, since Rich was at the Rose Bowl, we met up with the Ozecks, Nani, Poppa and Bubba to hike on Saturday the 6th.
Checking out the length of a rattle snake.
And, of course, they ended up in the ocean!
We were back to school on the 8th so it was nice to get back into the routine but on the 9th it poured all day so we had to whip out some of the birthday gifts to occupy everyone after school. Slime from Uncle Bubba and Aunt Hollie for the win!!
Nani watches Julia and Charlotte every Wednesday while I volunteer in Joseph's classroom and then normally go for a run or get some things done and she sent me this picture of the girls today. They had talked her into Starbucks after playing at the park and going for a walk! I have a feeling this may become a weekly tradition now!
Ella has taken off on her bike!!! She mastered it without training wheels this summer but didn't have the confidence to do it without Rich or I really helping her but something clicked int he past few weeks and she is now flying around the cul de sac and has total control! She's awesome on it and LOVING it!!!
We just love our after school daily routine of playing in the cul de sac with our neighbors from 4:00 until 5ish.
With Ella riding her big bike now all the time, Julia has shown an interest in the balance bike so she can keep up with Ella and the other kids. She is also doing awesome on it and can go really fast!!
Charlotte, Charlotte, Charlotte. This girl is giving me a run for my money recently. She has definitely entered the very busy, testing out the waters, drive you somewhat crazy toddler stage! In the same token I find the things that she's doing also hilarious (most of the times) but I do think she is going to be the strongest willed, most testing of our limits toddler as she is doing things already that none of the other kids would even think of! Last month I posted a picture of her in the bath with her pjs on since she decided that she wanted to break back into the bathroom with Julia still int he bath once she was complete and jump back in. Well, this month, she took it one step further. We had a leak in our downstairs bathroom so we were bathing the girls upstairs for about a week and one night I finished with Charlotte, brought her downstairs to get her dressed but left Julia upstairs with Rich to finish up. Well, right after I got Charlotte dressed she basically bolted out of her bedroom and as I finished putting her towel away I heard her footsteps going up the steps...I knew exactly what she was doing!! I ran to try to catch her but she was so fast that made it to the tub (Julia had gotten out) and jumped right back in. That stinker!!
She was having the time of her life splashing around in there!!! Thankfully she realized that she wasn't that comfortable being soaked in a diaper and pjs so at least didn't put up a fight getting out.
I took the kids to Target because Joseph and Ella had some birthday money that they wanted to spend and Joseph came home with this beauty. I tried talking him out of it since I figured it'd be a one shot wonder but he insisted...it is a zombie head that makes "spooky" (aka disgusting) treats. We've made two of them so far and he didn't like either of them and hasn't asked to use it again...should have listened to his momma :).
On Saturday, January 13th Poway had their annual "snow" day so we went and checked it out. The kids had a blast playing in the snow in 80 degree weather!
Nani and Poppa met us there which was a treat!
Nani, Poppa and I took the girls to check out the crafts while Rich stayed with Joseph and the Laugesen boys to have snowball fights.
They had a blast!
She LOVED the snow!!!
We didn't have school on the 15th for MLK day so we went to Carlsbad to meet up with Lindsay and Finn at a new park. The kids loved it, especially because there is a really cool skate park where they rode their bikes on and it was a great way to spend the morning, since Rich and Paul both had to work.
Charlotte is ready to keep up with the big kids, too! Speaking of being a big kid, she is totally weaned from nursing and has done great. I'm pretty sure we were both ready and although bittersweet we are both doing well with the decision. She took about a week to get used to going to sleep without it but now we are in a great routine of singing "Hush Little Baby" and then putting her down and she normally goes right to sleep. She is napping for about 90 minutes during the day and sleeps from 6:30 to 6:00 at night.
Ella received an arts and crafts tub from our friends, The Tirados, for a belated birthday present, and was so excited about it!! She literally slept with it for the first three nights. Too funny!
On Saturday the 20th, the older three kids and I ventured down to Balboa Park to see a production of "The Magic Tree House: Pirates Past Noon" put on by the Junior Theater. It was a great performance and the kids all really liked it but the only picture that I got was Joseph (and his buddy from his class that we ran into) climbing this huge tree outside of the theatre.
On the 21st we got together with the family to take our official annual Christmas PJ picture since Finn and Paul weren't at the exchange back in December. We also celebrated Poppa and Hollie's birthdays-always a good time!
Future Army-Navy football stars!
Nani gave everyone outfits for Valentine's Day which the girls immediately put on after opening on Sunday and then wanted to wear them the following day, too.
Char still in her pjs but wanted her picture taken, too. She'll come up to the phone and say "eeeese"
Joseph had crazy hair day on January 26th and wanted to go blue with a mohawk. That drip on his forehead drove me crazy all morning but he insisted that he keep it there since it made it extra crazy.
Due to a flat tire on my stroller on the 26th I changed up my typical Stroller Strides Friday workout and ended up at Lake Miramar with the girls after getting the tire fixed. It was a beautiful day to feed the ducks!
Movie night!!!! Charlotte totally gets into it now, too, and wants to eat her dinner right there with the big kids. We normally feed them while watching the movie and then Charlotte and I disappear to get her bathed and put down for bed and then I can come out and enjoy the ending at least in peace!
Our dishwasher started leaking this month and I just cracked up when Rich was down on the floor looking at it and Charlotte immediately got right next to him. So sweet.
This is from the same park in Carlsbad where we met Linz and Finn earlier in the month. On Saturday the 27th Rich had some work to do around the house so we met up with Linz, Laura and the kiddos back at this great park and had so much fun until about the last 15 minutes. The bigger kids were back and forth on the skate park for most of the morning and Syd and Joseph wanted to go one more time before we left and then Syd took a pretty good fall-face first onto the concrete! Sweet girl knocked out two teeth!!! She was so brave-barely even cried!! It could have been so much worse but thankfully after a trip to the dentist later that week Laura said all looked good and she just got really lucky. So, this is the only picture that I got from the morning but was a beautiful morning!
That night the kids had a sleepover at Nani and Poppas which was Charlotte's very first time!!! She was so excited to hang with the big kids and to stay all night long!! They had a blast!
Rich and I went to a fundraising gala for Westwood Elementary and had a fun night, too!!
The next morning while the kids went to the Safari Park with Nani and Poppa Rich and I went to Mission Beach for a run and breakfast burritos on the beach. It was a great Sunday morning!
Once Nani and Poppa dropped them off at home we headed over to the club to meet up with some friends to swim for a bit. Not a bad way to end the weekend or the month of January!!
Can't believe that month one of 2018 is really done!!! 2018 is off to a great start!
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