January Catch-Up...

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I am going to cheat a little bit and include some of December in my January catch-up post. I hope you'll forgive me. Our days have been spent mostly indoors. We've had a few warmer-ish days where we've ventured outside but for the most part, my little girls don't last long outdoors when it's chilly. We're all a bunch of summer loving softies, I tell ya. 


Our evenings and weekends have been packed with sports- primarily all for Kate. Matt coaches Kate's basketball team and they have practice two evenings a week and tournaments nearly every weekend. Matt also plays basketball one night a week. Volleyball has also started for Kate, and CJ started basketball a couple of weeks ago, which Matt also coaches. The little girls and I are home together a lot but I thoroughly enjoy watching the girls play their various sports. I see many, many years to come sitting court side or field side.




Speaking of Kate, she turned 11 this month! She is a super girl. 11 reasons why I love this girl:
1. She loves to read.
2. She has a big heart for animals and people.
3. She is enthusiastic about playing the trumpet and has learned a lot in a short amount of time.
4. I LOVE watching her block shots in basketball. It makes me so proud.
5. She is unbelievably tall at 5'6" and although I act all sad about her almost catching me in height (I'm 5'9") I am secretly thrilled. I find it to be very exciting.
6. Kate is a great artist.
7. She is not afraid to be herself.
8. She is super goofy and makes us all laugh.
9. She is adventurous.
10. She loves her sisters.
11. She is sensitive and sweet.

Happy birthday, Kate!



I also love it when these four get along. It gets awfully loud in our house at times but the sounds are usually joyful...until they aren't. ha!


My mom is so funny. She swaddled our cat, Nacho, the other day. Nacho paid her back with a little scratch on the arm. She'll have to get her baby fix from some other household.


Our kids are very fortunate to receive so many wonderful Christmas gifts but they don't get played with much. Does that happen in anyone else's house? I don't know if they feel overwhelmed or what, but we're bursting at the seams with toys that largely go ignored. Here is Natalie playing with a toy she desperately wanted. I think this is the only time I've seen her play with this. In fact, Natalie begged for a house for her pets (read stuffed animals) and that's exactly what we got her. The exact one she wanted! She played with it for two days and decided she didn't want it anymore. First world problems, I tell ya! My girls make TONS of art, chase each other around the house, and make-up various performances. None of which require toys but at the same time you have to give them something to open, right? Boy, I'm going down a rabbit hole, I think. Anyway, I love these girls! 



Maddie got her first haircut right before Christmas. She sat really well and the stylist even gave her a little pink streak. She was super proud of the pink streak but insisted on washing it out as soon as we got home. Ha!


So long January! 2018 has treated us pretty well so far and I hope that becomes a trend for the year.
Basketball is coming to a close just as volleyball season ramps up, followed by soccer season.
Life's an adventure here!





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