Week 37

It was another busy/not busy week at home.  It kicked off with a zoom piano recital (which, while not ideal, allowed Baba, grandma, Papa, and my brothers and nephew to watch.   A nice perk.  

We got out our Christmas bucket and put up the tree.  

B still loves "doing an activity" right when he wakes up.  Sometimes I get something legit together, sometimes its a book or a game.

B really wanted this picture of his hair "done".

We were supposed to leave for the mountains Tuesday, but a big snow storm blew in and the roads didn't feel great to drive up there (again, perk of having our own place).  Instead we spent the day sledding with friends and watching movies.

And so I never forget how B watches a "show".  He builds himself a fort which usually consists of taking every cushion off the couch and putting it on the floor.

We finally did make it to the mountains Wednesday (with Lexi of course).  She absolutely loves the snow!  And finally turned a nice corner with potty training and sleeping.  B also fell more in love with her and played a lot of "dog".

We watched a lot of holiday movies up there.

And of course did some Thanksgiving day activities (and learning about the true history of Thanksgiving).

And started a new annual tradition of the great potato roll.

Thanksgiving obviously had to look different this year, but we did a zoom with each side of the family and one with friends and it left us feeling full and grateful.

And together, we prepared a large feast regardless of our small family. 

B did a lot of playing in Lexis crate (with and without her).

We built and decorated gingerbread houses.  Again, a little sad that we couldn't do this with my parents, brother and cousins, but grateful we could do it nonetheless and look forward to that tradition next year.

We went for a snowshoe adventure as a family, and then a date hike for just Brian and I.

And after we got home today, we had Lexi play with the neighbors dog while we chatted with them.  They were also putting up their holiday lights and decorations and B somehow scored a large candy cane, Lexi a harness, and our whole family some homemade treats.  

 

Need Something Happy?

When B and I were at the zoo last week, I looked over and this elephant was just dancing away, so happy and carefree.  I watched him for a good 20 minutes, smiling the whole time.  You can hear B ask my friend and I, "Wait!  Is he dancing?"

https://youtu.be/Er2r9YY0rkU

Week 36

As the COVID numbers get more and more grim, I try and stay focused on what we do have control over and what IS good in our lives.  This photo above was taken on a hike this past week.  While the whole world is turned upside down in so many ways, if I take a step back, so much remains the same.  Nature being one of those things.  

These pictures were taken on cleaning day last Sunday, as you can see we had some super helpers :)  In all fairness, they are all very helpful with their specific jobs and never complain about the work it takes to clean our house.

When we were quarantined a few weeks ago, grandma brought over a few activities for the kids to do and left them on our porch.  We were in the mountains when she stopped by and I had forgotten about them until this week.  

Brian went mountain biking last weekend and while he was gone, I needed to drop LT off at a friends house.  I left the middle one in charge and when I came home, they had cleaned and were doing art together.

Another activity grandma brought over was ivory soap carving, which was a big hit with these two.  Ads made a spoon as you can see below.

B will start kindergarten next year and so we have applied to the big guys school.  Part of the application is a "playdate".  This usually consists of 5 kids playing at the school.  Given the pandemic, it was just B and one adult from the admissions team, in the parking lot, masked.  He thought it was "way too short".

And on Wednesday, I logged into the parent town hall meeting and found A had changed my profile picture to ironman.  Never a dull moment over here.

Can't believe they fit him perfectly.

Hair salon is a popular, timeless game over here.

One of B's best buddies from school (and his mom and I knew each other before we had these two) is moving to Montana.  On Thursday we went to the zoo with a little group of the kids in the class as a goodbye.