Life keeps on moving!

Despite the 30" of snowfall this month (did I mention that breaks a Michigan record for snowfall in January?) and despite the "polar vortex" we've been living in with windchills as low as -25, we've still managed to get out.  If I mentioned cabin fever in my last post, it's even worse now.  They're already predicting two days of school cancellations this week.  So, we've bundled up with numerous layers and braved the snow-covered, icy roads for our own sanity.

Take this morning, for example.  The roads were horrible and the snow just keeps falling, but Sean and I escaped to meet up with my sister-in-law and her family to take the kids ice skating for the first time!

While we only lasted a few times around the rink, most of which was me holding up the weight of Sean's entire body as he glided on the ice in front of me, I'm still thrilled he was brave enough to get out there and try something that was a passion of mine for years!

The trick will be getting him to go back and try it again.  I figure if I can con Sydney into going, then Sean will probably follow.  And man, did she take off!  Skating on her own!

Sean has a busy schedule starting next month when he begins indoor soccer.  He's old enough to be in a class with 3-4 year olds without any parental involvement.  It's just him, a few other kids, and a teacher.  We've been pumping it up at home and practicing a bit with the soccer ball, but I'm curious to see how he'll do.  He hasn't shown much interest in sports at home yet, so it's been hard to tell whether he'll thrive and enjoy something like soccer.  Not to mention it's an 8 week commitment.  His track record has been 50/50.  Loved swim class, hated gymnastics.

He'd much rather spend his time doing puzzles, building monster trucks on the iPad, and using his imagination to play with empty 18-gallon bins lined up as a train.  I mean, come on.  Didn't you know that Huggies boxes can be used to fly an airplane using the flaps as the wings?  That's my Sean.

Evan, on the other hand, seems very interested in sports.  The kid runs around the house.  Yes, runs.  He has to have a ball with him all the time and he's got quite the arm on him already.  So many people have commented on how well he can throw overhand at his age.  I can tell Scott is grinning on the inside about his potential in sports.  Just yesterday we spent at least 30 minutes at Detroit Kid City in the back throwing soft plush balls back and forth.  I didn't think we'd get to see the other parts of DKC, but he managed to find some time to make a pizza and ice cream.

We are thrilled that he's finally starting to talk!  While it was just "dada" for a long time, he's finally saying, "mama", "doggie", "duck", "please", "thank you", "bye-bye", "hello", "nose", "bubble", "up", "more", "vacuum", "ball", and a few other words.  Some of them are crystal clear.  Others are his interpretation of the word.  Take "ball" for example.  He says, "dalllllllllllllllllll".  It's not perfect, but I try and keep it in to perspective that a month ago he was hardly saying anything.  We've been enjoying working on the words with him and showing him picture books to help him learn.  He can point to certain body parts like nose, eyes, ears, hair, and tummy.  He can sign words like more and please.  He will do things that you ask him to do.  He's learning and growing so much every day.

Making heart shaped stamps with a toilet paper roll.

With only five days remaining in January, I'm excited to report that the boys have only had colds this month.  No ear infections with Evan!  Can you believe it?  Are the tubes working??  I'm thrilled.  2014 is definitely off to a strong start on many levels.

And of course, one of my favorite winter outings is the bowling fundraiser our school district puts on.  The organization helps give grants to students and teachers in our district.  In fact, I was just awarded a $1,400 grant to purchase two touchscreen laptops for my classroom to use with my projector and document camera.  I cannot wait to enhance my lessons with this new technology.  That being said, I joined a team with 5 other co-workers, we named ourselves, "Livin on a spare", and decked ourselves out in 80's attire to win best costume and 2nd best team name!

I had a blast last night!  It's always fun to interact with your co-workers outside of work.  They definitely know how to have a good time!

This week we'll be celebrating Bailey's 7th birthday (how is she seriously 7 already?!) with peanut butter cupcakes, we'll be taking the boys to Elmo Live, and I'll hopefully be taking Sean skiing over the weekend for the first time!  Here's to keeping busy and staying healthy!!