The Girls, an Odd Winter, and Other Stuff

This is just a random post with a few updates on our life so far in 2012.

Delia



Stu and I will be registering Delia for kindergarten very soon! We have a Kindergarten Parent Info night next week, and then Kindergarten Round-Up is on February 9th. Crazy! She knows all of her letters now, as well as what sounds they make. I am working with her on learning how to sound out letters to read words. She has done this successfully a couple of times, and I am very excited about helping her learn to read!

In other Delia-related news, she is taking a break from gymnastics and trying ballet for a couple of months. (Since Stu and I both work full-time and Delia is only 4 years old, we have decided she can try one activity at a time.) So far, she is really enjoying ballet! Parents are not allowed to observe classes, so our first reveal of her progress will be the last day of class when they do a short program.

Delia has a number of friends that she plays with at daycare/preschool, and I am thankful that she seems to enjoy school. The daycare provides the preschoolers with additional "enrichment activities" including yoga, Spanish, and music. I think I am going to try to surprise Delia by showing up for yoga one of these weeks. As an aside, one of her best friends is Owen, whom Delia informed me she plans to marry; she told me they will live in our basement.


Alaina



This week is the first in quite a while that Alaina is not taking any medication. Woo hoo! As you may know, she has been plagued by colds, upper respiratory infections, ear infections, and un-fun antibiotic-related junk. We REALLY hope that she gets a break from illness for at least a couple of weeks! She does have an appointment with a pediatric ENT on February 22nd. I am also looking into other alternatives with her diet, including possibly reducing/eliminating dairy to see if that helps.

Alaina is SO much fun these days. She is such a busy and persistent girl! Stu calls her "Tank." ha! She is crawling so quickly now, as well as cruising and standing independently. I know it is only a matter of time before she takes her first steps.


Look, Mama! No hands!

I am especially excited that just this week she seems to say "Mama" with purpose and conviction. It is usually said between shrieks/screams of demand and frustration of not being able to talk with us. She is starting to do a bit of signing though and she is starting to sign "eat" and "more" between screams of demand as well. Alaina will be 1 year old in a little over a month. Crazy!


Winter



I am feeling a bit conflicted about winter this year. Last year we received about a billion inches of snow here in Minnesota, and I was so DONE with winter and snow. This photo was taken just a couple of weeks ago in our backyard. We do have about 2 inches of snow now, but it is supposed to melt (again) by the weekend due to more temperatures in the 30s+. While I am happy to have more temperate weather, it would be fun to actually go sledding!


Other Stuff



As you have probably seen, I am enjoying the 365 (366) photo challenge so far this year. While it is fun to use the camera again, I am really staying busy enjoying time with the girls as often as I can.

January has been a bit hectic for both Stu and I at work. He works for the U of MN and has put in a lot of overtime preparing for the start of spring semester. He also enjoyed his time at jury duty this week. I am transitioning into a new role and team at work, so that has its own set of challenges.

We are also trying to be more active as individuals (and hopefully as a family!) this year. I purchased an elliptical machine earlier in January that we try to make use of, and Stu is still biking, of course. Now that Alaina is older, we will be able to go on family bike rides this summer. Yay! It is also fun to think about the two girls running around parks together.

The four of us will be heading to Wisconsin Dells soon for a weekend at a hotel and water park. I think we can all use a change of scenery during this dreary time of year.

That's about it from us. Hope life is going well for you.