A New Month and Another Milestone

Weekly Happenings: This past week was pretty regular as far as events go. We pretty much just did what we always do. We did welcome in February, though. It’s hard to believe that January is already come and gone. Time sure flies!

The Weekly Weather: We’ve had typical January/February weather. Cool days and a few rather cold nights (I pulled my outdoor succulents into the garage so they wouldn’t be negatively impacted…which was good because we did get frost covering everything one night). Smatterings of rain, but no big storms. The past few days have been rather pleasant. We haven’t even needed jackets in the afternoons.

What Paul’s Been Up To: He’s been busy at work and at home. He also went in for a day of jury duty which was LOADS of fun. 😉

What Sarah’s Been Up To: I’ve been pretty much just pluggin’ along with my normal stuff, too.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: He’s scootin’ along in school (loves his GT class that he goes to once a week) and enjoyed getting to build a “secret base” at the park with friends (no pictures because a) I left my phone in the car and realized it too late and b) it’s secret!). I love that our park has a ton of big oak trees around which the kids can run around and play.

What Abigail’s Been Up To: We’ve moved her from her high chair to a booster seat at the table (this is the milestone referred to in the title). We’ve also taught her (for the most part, haha) that plates are vessels for food and stay on the table…they don’t get upended, sending food skyward.

This Week in Pictures:

Sitting in her new-to-her seat (it used to be Joseph’s). She loves the fact that it happens to be a cow, haha. She also loves getting to use her Minnie Mouse plate and fork.
Walking home from picking Joseph up from school. She’s independent but not able to bolt, haha.
The ever-so-popular “after school snack” is a must in our house.
I decked out the piano with my “Love Day” decorations.
I also put up my door decoration. I can’t believe it’s held up this long. I used a chunk of burlap ribbon, pipe cleaners, and string. It probably cost less than $5.00 to make and I’ve had it for several years now.
I also put up my paper hearts. I’m so grateful my friend Mandy gave me her stash of scrapbook paper when she no longer needed it. I’ve done a lot of fun things with it.
A new quote for a new month. This was said (or written) by someone named Zora Neale Hurston. She was an African-American anthropologist and author from the early 20th century. Her most popular work is the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.
Joseph and Paul had a fun day at the park the other day.
I love the big trees there!
Joseph used his Christmas money from Grandma to get Beyblades.
He was able to get the starter kit where two Beyblades come with a battle arena. He was pretty excited.
We went to the farmer’s market in Old Town Helotes today, and Joseph had to pose on this tiny wagon. He wanted a “stoic wagon-driver face” which I agreed to…
…as long as I got a smiley picture, too. 😉
Bonus video! Abigail loves to “lead” the music when I sing our nightly “Happy Family” song.

An Awesome Lunar Experience

Weekly Happenings: This past Sunday, we had the opportunity to see a “blood moon” lunar eclipse. It was so cool to see how bright it was and then to see the transformation to the full eclipse. Since we knew the next day was a holiday, we let Joseph stay up to see the full eclipse (it was at about 11:00 PM) since he would be able to sleep in the next day. He really enjoyed getting to see the transformation. Monday, we got up and took a family trip to the zoo. After that, we settled down to have a normal rest of the week. 😉

The Weekly Weather: We’ve had a couple of regular cold days (I keep having to pull my succulents into the garage to avoid the freezing temperatures at night), but mostly just regular cold days.

What Paul’s Been Up To: He enjoyed the gaming convention he attended this past Saturday. It was a good break from the mundane for him.

What Sarah’s Been Up To: Not too much on my end…just the regular stuff, I suppose.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: He enjoyed seeing the cool moon. He also enjoyed getting to tell his class and GT group all about it.

What Abigail’s Been Up To: She’s been sweetness and sass this past week. She has a firm grasp on what she wants to do and how she wants to do it, which can sometimes make us butt heads. Her sweetness (like when she comes over and kisses my leg as I’m making dinner, or when she asks for a hug many times throughout the day) makes up for it rather quickly, though.

This Week in Pictures:

Paul at his gaming convention.
While at his convention, he took this picture of one of my favorite downtown structures: the Tower of the Americas.
The moon before the eclipse started. It was huge and bright!
The moon during the eclipse.
Since the camera always makes it look smaller than it actually is, Paul zoomed in so the color was more visible.
This is what it looked like through the viewer, though.
Paul got this cool picture of one of the giant anteaters at the zoo.
He also got this great shot of the tiger.
Posing on the hippo statue.
Joseph was having a hard time with the sun and Abigail just wanted to be let go to climb all over the statue.
This was the moon on Monday night: big and super bright again.
Trying to work the door to get out.
She insisted on wearing her hat.

Settling Back In

Weekly Happenings: This past week was rather uneventful. I don’t mind, though, because after the crazy rush of the holidays (which I also love for different reasons), it’s nice to slow back down to normal pace.

The Weekly Weather: It’s been a real mix. We have had days that have been sunny and warm, days that have been foggy and cold, and even days that were sunny and cold.

What Paul’s Been Up To: He was able to get all the neighborhood decorations taken down. He’s also been busy as all get-out at work. Today he’s gone off for a much-deserved break. He got himself a ticket for the gaming convention downtown (table-top, RPG, video gaming, etc.) and is meeting up with friends down there.

What Sarah’s Been Up To: I got to attend my monthly book club meeting, which was a hoot as usual. I also got to attend the temple this morning with some of my sweet Relief Society sisters. It was a wonderfully spiritual experience.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: He has been ticking away at school. He was bemoaning the fact that his little toy recorder (it was a prize-box quality one, so it didn’t really work) was no longer around, so I dug out my recorder from college and gave him that one. That was two days ago and he’s already got a modified version of “Hot Cross Buns” memorized. He was also excited that I was the “surprise guest reader” for his class yesterday. Basically, parents are able to sign up for time slots on Friday mornings to come read to the class. The kids never know who’s parent is going to show up, so it’s super fun for them.

What Abigail’s Been Up To: An allergy attack of epic proportions has her a little runny-nosed (luckily with a regimen of allergy medicine in place, the crazy cough has finally abated), but still happy as always. She is starting to pick up on the routine things that we do and will remind us in her own way if we have forgotten a step, haha. The other night, Joseph and Paul were out while I was getting her ready for bed. After I got her into her pajamas, she immediately folded her arms, ready for prayer, and said, “Pray?” Then, after we finished prayer, she started to wave her arms around like she always does when we sing a fun I love you song…so of course I needed to sing the song. Then she was ready for bed. Sometimes, if she’s still awake after her night-light turns off (one of them is on a timer), she’ll say, “Oh no! Light!” and then occasionally she’ll add (rather tearfully), “I sad!” If I happen to hear this through the monitor, I’ll go up and comfort her a bit, after which she usually settles right down. It’s sad sounding, but cute to hear her little communication. She’s becoming rather parrot-like, which is entertaining for all of us,

This Week in Pictures:

I love stumbling onto sights like this!
I added another succulent to my indoor collection (so now I have a grand total of two, haha).