And we're back...

And somehow it's been over 3 months with no post. Oops! There are December pictures in the album on the sidebar.

Life has been a bit bumpy for our extended family lately. In the midst of it have been frequent reminders that God is good and we are blessed beyond measure. Ethan and Ella really enjoy each other now, and will often go off together into the playroom and play together happily for a while. This is a welcome respite for me, but doesn't always come without a cost. Somehow even with me staying within hearing distance they have managed some creative messes; our recent bouts into potty training with Ella have added extra challenges to this mix. The potty training is entirely at her request; she becomes indignant these days about putting on a diaper. She is relatively good about using the toilet, but again I am reminded that buying stock in the manufacters of oxiclean might have been a good investment. It works for all kinds of unimaginable (at least in my pre-children life) stains.

Ethan is still my constant sous-chef, and while Ella enjoys stirring things with us, she's more of a laundry fan. When our old vacuum died and we got a smaller, quieter model they both decided vacuuming was great as well. I see the humor in the fact that by the time they are actually helpful in these processes they will have absolutely no interest in helping me with them!

Ethan learned to hop correctly during our Christmas travels, and proudly does this all over the house. He loves to build elaborate structures with his blocks (frequently they're foundation heavy, and he will give you a long explanation of why you need a strong base for your towers). My brother in law Bruce might have said it best when he remarked at Christmas that Ethan often takes 5 sentences to tell you something a lot of kids would tell you in a few words. This was really validating to hear, as it frequently feels like I've heard far more than my quota of words in a day! He's really taken on the role of big brother, and loves to teach Ella things (and boss her around about them....)

Ella loves taking her of her baby dolls (and a dinosaur of Ethan's that she loves to bottle feed). Her vocabulary and verbal expression are just funny---you don't expect to hear such complex sentences consistently from a not yet two year old. Last week in the car she and Ethan were debating about whether we had gone through the gate at the park (which we had). Ella kept insisting, "We didn't go through the gate!" with Ethan getting increasingly frustrated as he told her that we did. I finally told Ethan to stop worrying about it and just let Ella talk. She repeats it again and Ethan protests...she then wails, "Ethan's not letting me say what I want!!!!" I think we're in for our share of challenges ahead.

Both kids are currently obsessed with listening to Peter and the Wolf, and will narrate the entire story to you as it plays. This leads to some funny questions that they repeat multiple times. You get some funny looks in the store when your kids keep asking, "What does greedy eyes mean?"

Hopefully I can get back in the habit of documenting our life on a more regular basis. So many funny little things happen that get almost immediately forgotten.

Off to make dinner before kids are up from their nap.