Last year I started a new thing here on my blog where I posted a monthly recap at the end of each month. I really enjoyed doing these, and it served as a great way to recap the month and tell about all the little things that happened that normally wouldn't "make" the blog. So, I decided to continue them this year (2019), too! Here are some of our happenings during the month of January.
The big kids generally head back to school after winter break around January 3rd, but this year they didn't go back until January 7th. I loved this as it gave us time to really relax and enjoy being home after Christmas, and the kids loved being able to play and play with their new Christmas gifts! The girls each received some new dress-up clothes, so of course they had to wear them while they sang on their new karaoke machine!
The day after the big kids went back to school, the little girls and I had appointments to get our hair trimmed. I had quite a few inches cut off the girls' hair, but it looked so healthy afterwards! I will say though, I'm pretty sad that Brooke's hair is looking so straight these days 😢.
After our haircuts, we ran a few errands and grabbed lunch at Chicken Salad Chick. It was a really nice day, and I'm so thankful for my little girls!
January is a very busy month for Daddy at work because it's one of their big reporting seasons. This meant he worked late a few days each week, and the kids really missed him being home in time for dinner. They couldn't wait for some Daddy time by the time he got home!
One day, Brianna came home from school and announced that she was dressed just like one of the Kindergarten teachers at her school. I love that Brianna wasn't a bit embarrassed about this, but actually thought it was really fun. It was a great surprise to receive this photo through FB from the teacher (who's never had one of my kiddos in her class), and the photobombing librarian was just a bonus :-)! It's wonderful to see my big girl enjoying school so much!
As is pretty typical for January, we've had lots of wet, dreary, and cold weather. My kids LOVE being outdoors, but that's not really been an option too much lately. Thankfully, we have plenty of inside activities that they enjoy as well. Play-doh is always a hit!
In 2018, Chris and I purchased annual passes for Science Museum Oklahoma in OKC. We knew we only had to use the passes twice to make them worth the cost, but we only went one time last year. We needed to use them again soon before they expired, so we planned a day trip to OKC on Saturday, January 12th. On Friday evening, the Hubby walked in the door from work and said, "I've had a stressful day. Let's go TONIGHT." I had already fixed dinner, so I fed the kids while he booked a hotel room. After dinner, we threw together an overnight bag for each of us and headed out of town. It took a little over two hours to drive to OKC, but it was good for all of us, I think!
The kids love staying in a hotel room. We had a two room suite with two queen beds and a pull out couch, so plenty of room for all of us!
Brenson, Brecklyn, Brianna, and Brooke
The next morning, we slept in a bit, ate some breakfast foods we'd packed, and headed to Science Museum Oklahoma.
Brianna, Brooke, Brecklyn, Brenson
There were plenty of exhibits that we didn't get to last time, so the kids had lots of new territory to explore.
Bren recruited another little boy to help him build this structure!
At the same time, Bri was having fun with this giant Lite Bright (notice it says "Bri"):
After playing all morning, we had lunch there.
Daddy, Brianna, and Brenson
Brooke, Momma, and Brecklyn
There is a large gymnastics area there, and that's probably Brianna's favorite area. I even took her back there to play more while the others explored other exhibits.
Brecklyn and Brooke really enjoyed building rollercoasters while Bri did gymnastics.
We even got to see a science "show" complete with an explosion! I didn't take photos of even close to everything we did. We left around 4:00pm to head home after being there for about seven hours. We could have easily spent another whole day there . . . hopefully we will :-).
The kids have really been enjoying their Christmas gifts. Bren received this miniature terrarium for Christmas and was so thrilled to watch the things he planted grow.
Look at that root system!
Bren also received a marble run for Christmas, and all the kids have enjoyed it! I love seeing their creativity.
Another big hit has been the little girls' teepee!
I'll eventually do a whole post on just this, but for the kids' birthdays this year we painted and redecorated their rooms. While I was out shopping for things for their bedrooms, I also purchased a few new pieces to spruce up our mantle. I love how it turned out!
And, I purchased a few new items for my hope chest in our entryway. Not everything is new . . . some things I just moved around to freshen things up . . . but I love how it all came together!
For the kids' room redos, I did all the prep work while Chris was at work, but he did the majority of the painting. We make a good team! While I was prepping the twins' room to be painted, I moved their little beds into our room for a few days. I sent Chris the photo below and said, "Our roommates have arrived!" :-)
The first night they were in our room was pretty rough. They wiggled and rolled and squirmed and made all kinds of noise. It was much better after the first night, but just look at how crazy this girl (Brooke) sleeps!
We also ended up moving Brianna's bed out of her room because it was just too big to work around. The easiest place to move it was right into the living room, so she slept out there for about three nights.
Bren's room is large enough that we were able to leave his bed in his room while we painted, and he just slept upstairs on the couch.
We try to join the big kids at school for Rise & Shine a few mornings a month. The twins LOVE going to Rise & Shine, and it's hard to believe how soon they'll be going to school, too. When we go, they always want to sit with Brianna's class (they would like to sit with Bren's class, too, but he wants none of that, haha). They fully participate, and even know many of the moves to the songs! They'll definitely be ready when it's their turn to start school!
We're also still going to the library every week for story time. Again, it's hard for me to believe that my tenure with story time is almost over 😢. Brooke and Brecklyn have become so independent with their crafts that I mostly stand back and visit with the other moms or Ms. Tena. I have even dropped them off at the door and let them go in without me while I parked the van due to weather conditions. They think they're SO big when I do this (and truly, they are).
I love the age Brooke and Brecklyn are now. They have really outgrown the tantrums and can be trusted to do the right thing most of the time. Also, they always have hilarious things to say. One day, Brooke was surprised about something and exclaimed, "Oh my roasted marshmallows!" Hahaha!
The kids were out of school for MLK Day, so we planned a trip to Kansas to visit my friend, Kendall, and her kids. I wanted to leave the house pretty early that morning, so we got to enjoy the sunrise on our way out of town.
It took us about three hours to drive to Kendall's place, but we had a great time! Our kids play really well together mostly, although sometimes they fight like siblings. We have eight kids eight and under!
Julia, Brianna, Jack, Annie, Brooke, Brenson, Brecklyn, and Caroline
We both have high energy kids that love company and get kind of wild when with other kids. Even with all the craziness, it was still so wonderful to get to visit with Kendall for a while.
All of our kids love dress-up, and at one point in the day they came around the corner from the hallway one-by-one all dressed up. It was adorable!
Brianna and Annie adore each other 💜.
Last week, I took the girls to eat lunch with Daddy at work. They love going to eat with him, so we drove into town and had Subway with him in the break area.
Then, we went with him to his cubicle, and the girls "helped" him answer a few e-mails. It was a super cold day, and when we went outside to walk to the van, it was snowing. The girls got SO excited . . . they were jumping up and down and yelling, "SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!". Almost everyone around us was completely amused by their enthusiasm, and several commented that they wished they could feel that excited about the snow :-).
All of my kids have had or currently have a favorite doll or stuffed animal. Brooke's very favorite stuffed friend is her deer, Timber. We got Timber at the gift shop on the top of Trail Ridge Road when we went to Colorado in June of 2017. Brooke totes Timber everywhere I'll let her, and one day Brooke was on the verge of a meltdown because she couldn't find Timber. When I opened the refrigerator to make lunch, guess who I found?!?
Just a few days after that incident, Timber was lost again. Brooke didn't act overly upset about it, but if I would say Timber was lost, she would adamantly tell me that Timber WAS NOT LOST but that we just couldn't find her 😂. She would also say that "Timber runs away and hides", which is fine until we can't find her anywhere. I seriously looked every place I could think of for Timber . . . I checked every obscure little hiding spot that Brooke has ever hid anything. After eight days, I had just about given up on her - thinking that maybe Brooke had taken her somewhere and left her so she was gone forever - when I finally found her. She was closed in the garage of the Barbie Dream House upstairs, because of course. I found her after Brooke had already gone to sleep for the night, but I woke her up to give her Timber. She was SO happy, and Timber hasn't hidden anywhere since then!
On January 30th, the kids celebrated the 100th day of school. Brianna's class didn't do anything special for it, but the first grade all dressed up like they were 100 years old. Bren hates dressing up, so he really didn't want anything to do with it. However, I talked him into dressing up for the day, and I'm glad I did!
He really played the part of grumpy old man so well!
I shared a few of these pics with my Granny via text, and this was her response. HILARIOUS!!!
There were several other boys in his class who dressed up super cute, as well. By the time I picked Bren up from school, he had taken off his suspenders, bow tie, glasses, sweater, and had brushed all white powder out of his hair, haha. I guess he was done with the dress-up.
Another beautiful sunrise!
Finally, I'm feeling allllll the feels this week with the twins' fourth birthday coming up so soon ðŸ˜. They a such joy, and I'm trying to just soak up every minute with their little three year old selves that I can. Just look at these precious girls 😘.
Brecklyn, Brooke
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