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January “Blahs”?

Weekly Happenings: I must admit, January is always a hard month for me. It’s right after the awesome craziness that is the “holiday season”, so it seems to be a bit of a let-down after all of the excitement. I’ve been trying not to let it get me down, though. I finally got all the way back into my routine at home, which has made it a bit better. We have been blessed with good health and active imaginations (which were needed a lot this week because we never knew when we would be able to go outside). Monday was a holiday, so we made it a fun day by going to the zoo and then dinner afterwards. The rest of the week was pretty typical, with the exception of Joseph and I meeting up with friends for lunch one day and then going out to eat on Friday (which was a great break for me).

The Weekly Weather: It’s been pretty ping-pong like. There have been freezing cold days followed by sunny, warm days, followed by cooler days. I suppose the saying “if you don’t like the weather in Texas, just wait fifteen minutes” isn’t too far from the truth. 😉

What Paul’s Been Up To: Mostly just work and school. He got to have some quality boy time with Joseph while I was at a baby shower yesterday. They went out for cheeseburgers and then went to Lowe’s and Walmart (two of Joseph’s favorite places, by the way).

What Sarah’s Been Up To: I finally got back into my exercise routine! I feel much better after doing it. Joseph is really accommodating. He’s totally willing to be upstairs in the loft, watching a show and playing with his toys while I squeeze in thirty minutes on the elliptical as well as some sit-ups (oh, and a shower, lol). This week, my goal is to buckle down and get choir stuff organized so that we can get the choir started back up now that the holidays are over.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: We are working more on potty training. He likes to sit on the toilet and is really excited when he goes (he also loves flushing the toilet and washing his hands afterward). He is also showing a lot more independence. The other night, I was surprised to see him get almost all the stuff ready to brush his teeth (he had gotten his toothbrush wet and was trying to reach the toothpaste). He has also started to figure out knock-knock jokes (his favorite being anything that “interrupts”, such as “interrupting cow”, though he hasn’t quite figured out the timing on that one to do the “interruption” part) and has shown that he has a funny sense of humor. When I’m showing him the different parts of a book while reading to him, he will sometimes call the title page the dedication page (and will say it all silly, which shows me that he’s joking)…but now he’s taken it a step further: he has almost gotten the idea of an inside joke, it seems. There are times that he’ll look at me, say “dedication page” and then burst out laughing, which makes me laugh, too. I love him!

This Week in Pictures:

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Sitting on the hippos. He decided they were too warm to climb on.
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Checking out the rhino.
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Family “selfie”!
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After the zoo we went to one of our favorite places to eat: Bobby J’s. These are my boys being silly.
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Making silly faces at yourself is the best!
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Extreme close-up!
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Laughing at Daddy’s silly face.
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Awww! There’s a good one!
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This is what I think of their antics…
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This is the ride-on toy that Joseph got as a hand-me-down from his friend next door.
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Can you tell he’s just a “little” excited?

 

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Playing in the back yard.
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He was throwing “fireballs” at bad guys (like in Super Mario Brothers).
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He loves to run from one end of the yard to the other. We are so blessed to have such a big back yard!
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I love the pure joy on his face in this picture.
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I finally found the perfect bins to house some of Joseph’s smaller toys!
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I decided that the wall looked a bit bare without the stockings hanging there, so I put up some of the patriotic stuff that I made last year where the stockings were. They go perfectly with the patriotic prints that I have decided to just leave up all year.
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A boy and his tools.
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Keeping busy while waiting for our food at Jim’s (another favorite place).
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Eating strawberries…and making silly faces, of course.
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Outside of Lowe’s, checking out the ride-on lawnmowers (since Joseph looks at them like rides): “How do I work this thing?!”
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Playing with his first action figure. Later that evening, he found a place for “his guy” to sleep (on his bookshelf) and made sure he had a blanket (a piece of leftover fleece that I had laying around).