Looking back at January

We become hermits of sorts in January.  After getting through the holidays it's nice to just hunker down at home with our little family.  Plus, January = snow and I hate driving the snow.  The key to me enjoying winter is staying inside as much as possible.  And this works!  I actually like winter now, especially when I mostly take it in from our house.

 

1) I'm pretty proud that Luke's current favorite toy (besides his beloved lemur) are the Duplos we got him for Christmas.  It took him a few weeks but he's gotten good at snapping them together and making his own cars, trucks, planes, helicopters, jet skis, buses, and boats (all of which pretty much look the same to us).  He'll play with his multiple times a day for long periods of time.  I love watching him!

2) Typically snowy view out the kitchen window.  I love snow covered ground.

3) Luke finally got to play in the snow for the first time.  He really liked it and has been talking about it daily since ("Snow. Boots. Fort. Brrrr.").  He would have lasted longer than 25 minutes but Matt and I were freezing!

4) An icy fog on a morning before work.  It can be a lot of work to get out of the house, drop Luke off (when needed), and get myself into work before 9 (mad respect for working parents who do this daily).  This day I was especially dreading leaving the house because of the roads.  And then it turned out to be gorgeous outside.  I wished I could have driven around more, just to take it in!

5) Luke knows the best way to spend winter - with a book, under a blanket.  That's my boy.

6) Luke showing off his flexibility while watching some Colts.  This sparked a big discussion among my sisters and I in our group texts (apparently Luke's more flexible than most of us).

7) Happy boy eating his frozen blueberries while I bake.  He knows this is the routine now.  Mixer comes out and he's asking for blueberries. Healthy and it keeps him busy.  Works for me!

8) My dinosaur super hero hanging out with lemur on the "heat".  He likes standing here.

9) Because, you know, one pair of sunglasses just wouldn't be enough.  Inside.  In January.  He finds this hilarious.

10) Ending a weekend with some family Wii time and homemade chocolate pudding.  

11) We were never the kind of people who would wake up early enough to shovel before going to work.  Only on the very rare, blizzard days when it was necessary to get out of the garage.  That means I am now the primary shoveler in our family.  It's a nice bonus workout and it's usually pretty gorgeous outside too!

12) After a week straight of clouds we finally had a nice sunrise.  I can deal with the snow and cold but I need at least some sunshine to keep my spirits up.

13) I just can't take the cuteness of this kid some days.  (Very biased mom speaking.)

14) Waiting to "boo" Daddy before bedtime.  After we did it together many times he decided to wait on his own.  It was adorable.

15) He wanted to "wash" the walls.  So I let him.  Maybe if I start paying him in pennies he'll do it every day?

16) Luke's typical spot when I vacuum.  Couch, lemur, puppy, penguin book, cape optional.  He now gets up here with all this and requests the vacuum almost daily.