The last day of January is here, and honestly this has felt like a really long month! We generally have a good bit of down time during January, but this month was especially slow. I don't think we had weekend plans at all this whole month! Chris is typically very busy at work during this month, so the combination of him working late and not having too much going on outside of school and home left the days feeling long for me. I know things will pick up in February - since it's birthday month around here and all - but first I want to document some of the things we were up to during the month of January.
Like I said above, January is a very busy work month for Daddy. We're not used to him working late, so when he has to put in some extra hours the kids really miss him. He's so good to spend time with them once he gets home, and they just soak it up!
Brooke, Daddy, and Brecklyn
Watching my babies grow is such a privilege, and it seems like they change overnight sometimes. The twins are becoming more and more helpful around the house, and I almost have a hard time remembering how difficult it was to keep up with all the housework myself when I had four little tinies at the same time . . . almost! *grin*
Brooke loading the dishwasher
I decided to rearrange our living room and add some new furniture and rugs with money we received for Christmas. I also purchased a set of new chairs for our bar because we only had two and sometimes need more. Brenson was great to help me put everything together once it was delivered!
We haven't had a TV on the main floor of our house since we moved in over four years ago, but I finally decided to put a small one in our main living room for the kids to use when the one in the playroom upstairs is occupied. I ordered this pretty accent table for the TV and two accent chairs to go on either side of the table.
The table was packed really well, but sadly when we got it out of the packaging we noticed the hinges on both doors are broken :-(. I was so upset! I think they were packed broken and not shipped that way. We're still trying to work out getting replacement doors.
When we get the cabinet fixed, I'll post photos of our new furniture and living room arrangement!
I have always disliked the towel bar in the kids' bathroom - and it was partially pulled out of the wall - so I finally asked my dad if he and Bren could build something I liked better. This is what we came up with, and I am thrilled with how it looks!
For the past few months, all the kids except Brecklyn have had teeth falling out of their mouths left and right. Brooke lost her second tooth a few weeks ago, and Brianna lost two molars this month. The tooth fairy is going broke!
For almost three years, Bren has been taking guitar lessons at the local music store in our town. Back in September, we were having trouble coordinating schedules with his teacher, Mr. Jeff, and decided to take a break from lessons for a few months. The break ended up lasting through the end of the year, but around the last week of December Chris started contacting Mr. Jeff to get Bren back on his schedule. Mr. Jeff isn't a strong communicator, and we struggled to get anything scheduled. We decided to ask Mr. J if he'd be willing to teach Bren guitar, and he readily and happily agreed. I'm satisfied with this arrangement because Mr. J comes to our house for lessons (yay!), he charges the same amount for a 45 minute lesson that we were paying for a 30 minute lesson at the music store, and he's teaching Bren to read music more than play by ear. It's really convenient for Mr. J to come do a piano lesson with Bri and immediately follow that up with a lesson with Bren. So far, Bren has really enjoyed Mr. J's lessons!
I always enjoy watching my kids play with toys they receive for Christmas. They are creative little players, and the scenes they set up often make me smile. Recently, Brooke and Brecklyn have been all about playing with their Barbie stuff, having them rescue and nurse little animals.
One evening, they asked me for my phone and this is what I found later, haha:
Even Bren held her and played with her a bit!
Poor thing didn't have any attention, haha!
Brianna loved helping me care for Lia.
Brooke and Brecklyn were a little disappointed that she slept SO much . . . they just wanted to play with her!
Brooke, especially, was a bit of a baby hog. But how cute is she reading to Lia?!?
Brecklyn got in on the reading action just a bit, too.
The kids keep asking me when we can have her again!
I ordered Brooke and Brecklyn new swim suits that came in the mail this month. I had the girls try them on, and they were ready to go to the pool right then, haha! Brooke asked me if summer is almost here . . . not quite, sweetie!
Brooke and Brecklyn had about a week this month where their noses were runny, they were sneezy, and they had low-grade fevers. The weather had been cold and often wet, so a combination of all these factors meant that they were stuck inside a lot more than usual. I tried to come up with some creative ways to keep them occupied . . . painting fish with Q-Tips for the win!
Brooke
Brecklyn
They love to paint, so any variation of painting is a big hit!
On Christmas Eve, we let the kids open a large Christmas word search I had ordered online. We all enjoyed working on it for a few days, then forgot about it for a few weeks. We finally finished it up yesterday, whooo-hooo!
Ever since Brianna was born, February has been my favorite month of the year. I love celebrating the blessing my kiddos are, and birthday season is the perfect time to do that! While we certainly enjoyed the downtime and slower pace of January, we are looking forward to all the excitement and celebrating February brings!
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