Good Thing It's Pizza Night

With preparations for the retreat talks this week, among other events, things have been piling up.

Maybe just a little too much; my counters and stove top tell the story.

TGIF!

Have a good weekend.

The Ballet and the Beach

The kids played a little dress-up this week.  Can you tell Brian's sibling is female?

Getting Brian ready for some dancing!

Don't miss the video below. 

Yesterday we went to the beach!

We swam, played with a beach ball, had a lifeguard, and floated on rafts.

In the family room.

Made the winter seem a little more fun!

I find that I'm often too much of a fuddy-duddy (or distracted by household tasks) to really play with my kids, but when I do the day is a lot brighter; entering their world of imagination is super-duper fun!

How have your kids been snapping you out of it this winter?!  Sometimes it's just about being a little less selfish and a little more engaged, right?  So put on those snow pants or build a sheet tent, and watch your kids make the fun happen!  You'll find your creative juices start flowing, too.

If you don't have kids, you should do something silly today as well; no one's stopping you.  Have a great day!

"Cuddling" with Dad

Nothing like a nice, calm snuggle with your kids after a long, hard day at work.

Playing Cards

Elizabeth got a set of playing cards for Christmas. I thought they were some special game because they say "SNAP" on the tops. But it's just a regular set of cards...except that the directions tell you to play memory with them. And, oh yes, a few of the animals are slightly misnamed. Here, in order from least to greatest:

If you can't sleep,

count yourself some goats!

And all along they've been telling me they're giraffes!

The prize-winner!

Brian's Funniest Videos (BFV)

Brian teaches himself about balance and the inner ear.

I didn't even have to write a lesson plan!

This is a video and can't be viewed on Facebook.

Check out http://pressingonwithgreathope.blogspot.com

Brian - 18 months

Today Brian is 18months old!

He is funny, active, tactile, inquisitive, squishy, busy, curious, and (if a mom may say so) cute!

He weighs about 30 pounds (has for a while), but is getting taller. He's lost some of that protruding belly.

He goes to bed at 7 and gets up between 5:15 and 6am most days. He's taking one nap in the middle of the day, around 11am, sometimes for 3 hours! And sometimes he doesn't quite make it:


He has a hilarious way of running, says a handful of words (daddy, mama, hi, bye, ball, car, naa-naa (hermana, sister in Spanish), and he still calls milk nah-nah), likes cars, trucks, buses, trains, airplanes, and Dora, eats pretty much anything you give him (but is particularly fond of fruits and desserts), adores his big sister, will sit sometimes a look at books for a long while, likes peek-a-boo and being chased, loves to sing and dance, and brings us so much joy, sometimes it can bring tears to my eyes.

Rock and Roll,
or at least bounce...

Peek-a-boo!

Say, "Cheese!"

Warning: We're grooming him for a future in professional wrestling.

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY, BUBBY!

Togetherness