Up "A" Mountain

For our latest hike, the kids and I tried "A" Mountain, which is less arduous of a drive than our usual hiking spot (being as it's right outside of town!).  Jack would have gone with me all the way to the top had it not been for his whiny, complain-y sister.  We decided that, next time, he and I are going to leave the girls at home so we can go as far as we want.

20 Months

Maggie is now 20 months old!  At her last checkup, she weighed 22.9 pounds and was 32 1/4 inches tall... not so skinny anymore!  She knows a bajillion words, can tell you where all her body parts are, as well as what all the main animals say.  We're working on her ABCs, numbers, shapes, and colors.  She has quite a feisty little personality and will kick and scream with the best of 'em.  She's becoming better with strangers and/or other caregivers; we rarely have a problem with dropping her off in her room at church, or MOPS, or wherever.  The very first time she stayed with our regular babysitter, Marrah, she ran right into Marrah's arms like they were old friends!  She can be a little moody, and her moods change so quickly.  She climbs up and down the stairs pretty well, and has even climbed up the ladder to the top of Jack's bunk bed a couple times.  Once, I caught her lying on his top bunk, relaxing with a book!  What a stinker. 

A Swimmingly Perfect V-Day

We'd been meaning to take the kids to the Aquatic Center for awhile now, and finally had time... on the most romantic of days, Valentine's Day!  Maggie was a little freaked out by all the water features, slides, and noises, but she and I spent most of our time cuddling in the "warm" pool, so it was all good.  Jack, once again, made it all the way to the top of the stairs to go down the big slide, but then chickened out at the last minute.  Kate, once again, went down with no hesitation! 

Storytime (With Goggles)

The other day, Grandma Pat stopped by for a few minutes right before we went on a special outing to the Aquatic Center.  Of course, the kids wanted her to read a few books to them.  Jack already had his swimming goggles on, and was extra cute scrunching up his face as she read...

Kate at Three-and-a-Half

So, I usually take portraits of my kids on their birthdays, or right around that time, but 2012 was my year of failure in that department.  I didn't take birthday portraits of any of them!  Time to play catch up.  Kate is now three-and-a-half.  She's my helper around the house, always taking the initiative to tend to Maggie, work in the kitchen, or put things away (when I ask her to do something, her answer is almost always a perky "sure!").  She runs at 100% all the time, whether she's being sweet or sassy.  We just pulled her from preschool for this semester... mostly to save money, but also because she had several bouts of crying there.  When I asked her why she'd been crying, she told me that she missed me.  Awwww.  Kate pretty much refuses to wear anything but dresses these days, or let me put her scruffy hair into any kind of hairstyle.  She's still growing out her bangs from her Thanksgiving haircutting fiasco.  Her loves?  Princesses, pink, and sparkles.  She's still in her twice-monthly dance class, and although she won't show me the "monkey dance" she's learning there, she'll still do an arabesque around the house once in awhile.  She loooooooves hearing a good book, or will sit and look at her huge princess books for hours.

100th Day of School

Last week, Jack and his class celebrated the 100th day of school.  They each brought a paper bag filled with 100 items of their choice (Jack, of course, brought LEGOs!).  And they dressed up as a 100-year-old person for a parade around the school hallways.  We picked up some suspenders and used my eyeliner to create a few wrinkles on his face.  I told him to hunch over a bit while he walked.  Here is our result: