don’t bite your friends!, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

I took this at a local coffee shop because I knew the girls would love it. We all remember a kid that bites from our childhood. Mine was Lanae Hull who lived across the street, liked to eat butter, and bit me on the stomach (awkward spot to bite someone). Thankfully, Yo Gabba Gabba has helped us move beyond the biting stage with Cate. Seriously, I think this little song helped a lot.

potty-training adventures, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Both girls have had bad colds the last week or so but seem to be getting better. Cate, mid-cold, is the most dramatic child I have ever known. She screams bloody murder in the middle of the night and then tells us “my nose is stuffy.” Almost very funny. This is Jane in the midst of potty-training. It’s going okay. She likes the idea of being a big girl. I do not necessarily see the end in sight.

nolan lee hanson, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Nolan Lee Hanson made his safe arrival last Thursday. Nate and Claire and Nolan. A family of three now. We are enamored with this little boy. All of the sudden, all these sweet baby boys in our family!

handwriting is getting so much clearer, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Cate’s handwriting is improving all the time. I love watching her learn and figure things out. She has been so cuddly and sweet now that her cold has abated. I took a quick trip to Portland on Thursday to meet with a fellow librarian and then met RaChelle for happy hour before I came home. Of course I went to Powell’s. I bought the girls a new Elephant & Piggie book and this sweet board book. Julie Morstad is one of my favorite illustrators right now.  We have so enjoyed reading both.

This morning though has been one of those mornings where I find myself yelling “please don’t yell at your sister!” The irony is not lost on me. Telfer worked all night and is upstairs taking a nap and the girls and I are about to head off to the gym. Exercise and an outing all-in-one. Yes.

jane is in a big girl bed!, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Tonight is the fifth night that Jane has been sleeping in her big girl bed! I decided on a whim on Sunday night that she was ready and she thought it was absolutely the best idea ever. Not surprisingly, it was Cate that had a hard time adjusting. Oh Cate. Potty-training for Jane is also going quite well with notable, amazing exceptions. I do feel like I am living in the bathroom and am basically a professional skittle dispenser.

grandma & grandpa playset, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Nana gave the girls this little grandma & grandpa playset scene for Christmas. It makes me laugh a little. Sensible shoes, the popcorn, the checkers table and little grandma and grandpa. Barbie Dream House this is not. But Cate & Jane love it. Cate napped in our bed with the whole set the other day and everything was so nicely arranged on my nightstand when I woke her up.

Can I just say I am so happy the holidays are over? I finally feel like I am settling into both working and staying home. After yesterday, I realized I do need to modulate my expectations for my days off. The girls and I made cookies together, we did projects, we played a really, really fun (and beautiful) bird bingo game I got the girls for Christmas, I tried to do laundry and vacuum and run and potty train and have a tea party. And then I never left the house and Telfer got home hours later than he thought he would. Sigh. Maybe it’s okay if we don’t quite pack everything in on one day.

reading tonight, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Reading these books was one of the best parts of my day. The girls picked them out themselves and reading them was just so much fun.

Little White Rabbit by Kevin Henkes
Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems
Good Boy, Fergus! by David Shannon
Freckleface Strawberry by Julianne Moore and illustrated by LeUyen Pham
First the Egg by Laura Vaccaro Seeger.

Seriously, if you need a baby gift, any of these would be perfect. I love reading great, funny, sweet children’s books to cuddly, pajama-clad girls.

January, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

For the most part, all our Christmas finery is down and back in the basement. I did leave up a few shiny things, especially the snowflakes in the windows, because it’s just too sad to put it all away. And now it’s a New Year and I am still getting us all organized. It’s fun and I always get a little manic about it all. Rearranging closets and the basement shelves. Trying to keep all the toys and art supplies and princess shoes and calico critters separate but together is daunting to say the least.

cuddly moment, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

My girls have been ridiculously sweet. We have had such a sweet holiday together. We even went to see Monsters, Inc. rereleased in the theater yesterday. It felt like we had two big kids — well, Jane did take her blanket and did fall asleep on Daddy. No one complained about that for sure. Also, it’s been a nice change of pace for Cate to see her sister in trouble. Jane is acting like a two-year-old. Throwing things. Marching around with her lower lip hanging out when she is thwarted. A time-out here and there. You can guess her favorite words: it’s a tossup between “no” and “poop”.

finished product, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Cate is really, really into “projects” and one of my New Year’s resolutions is to be very intentional on my days off. Crafts are not my most favorite thing in the world but I am really trying. We did this snowman project that I saw on Pinterest right after breakfast this morning. I also signed us up for Kiwi Crates – they deliver a themed box of crafts and activities to your door once a month. We’ll try it for a couple of months and see how we do.

And I am breathing a small sigh of relief that tomorrow brings preschool for the girls and a work day for me. I love the holidays but it’s also wonderful too to get back into a schedule. I am also looking forward to settling into my job more fully now that the hoopla and necessary fun of Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year’s is over.

jane eating brussels sprouts, a photo by telfandrea on Flickr.

Christmas is an emotional business for kids. Add two pounds of sugar and you are in a for quite a day. After a good visit, Mom and Dad left yesterday. The girls went back to preschool and I worked from home and attempted to put the house back in order. Telfer went to work. We were going to have our cousins over for pizza and a movie last night but Alyce threw up in the car on the way over (Poor Adrielle). Cate was very disappointed. So our little family found ourselves watching Brave, eating frozen pizza and guess who likes brussels sprouts? Jane ate at least twenty brussels sprout halves. Cate won’t even respond when you ask if she wants to try them. Silence.

In other news, Telfer and I are splitting up the Christmas movie viewing sessions. He saw Les Miserables with his family on Christmas Day and I saw Silver Linings Playbook another day. Together we make a well-rounded Christmas movie viewer!

Reading: Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. I read Wolf Hall (both novels have won the Booker Prize if that type of thing convinces you) in New York back when Cate took two naps and I read novels like it was my job. Reading and eating bagels, that is. I need at least an hour to get myself really going into Bring up the Bodies. I have been reading it in the minutes before I collaspe into sleep and it’s just not enough. Mantel’s sentences are so dense and the world she creates so complete that I just need a little time. Perhaps this afternoon. Cate just had a complete, utter meltdown over nesting Santa Clauses (Jane touched them) so I am thinking a nap will be necessary for both girls.