Here's what else kept up busy in January!
Some ladies from the ward told me about a singing time at the Northwest branch of the library so we tried it out with Miss Maggie. It was a lot of fun!
Halle wrote a letter to Jarvis Seegmiller in TN - we miss our friends from Lubbock a lot!
"Dear Jarvis, I miss you. I love you. I've been having fun but you're gone. I'm sad because you're away. I miss you. You're funny. I'm glad you like your new house. But I'm so sad. You were so fun and nice and sweet. I'm so sad you're gone. I love you so much. Love, Halle" :( :( :(
One day in his jumper, Seth ate his own arm! It was completely gone!
Also, I told the girls to keep an eye on him while I was doing something and came back to find him asleep with Halle's big blue teddy. :)
Cora and I made hats out of magformers!
We almost made it a whole month before they asked us to speak. It was a bit of a stresser for me, because they asked us during the week when Andrew was in Austin - lots of quite time for him to put together his thoughts, but I was on my own again all week trying to piece something together. Let's just say it was not "Brother Sharon Smith's" finest moment.
Our backyard here is really weird. Full of little shrines, random brick paths that lead nowhere, and strange decor. The girls are making the most of it though!
Enjoy it while you can, cause it will all be ripped out whenever we manage to finish the inside of the house. Maybe next year on the backyard?
We have three big trees in the front yard and one of them had a big, long branch overhanging the driveway. Not anymore!
Yard work in pjs is a thing, right? And barefoot....
Seth's been breaking in his highchair as he becomes more accustomed to eating baby food! He still looks too little to be in it!
He developed a lot of congestion and a sad cough, so the doctor told me to steam him. He wasn't sure about it, but politely complied. Cora had to be steamed too and was not so cooperative.
We celebrated National Pie Day on the 23rd with chicken pot pie, lemon meringue, and a hot chocolate pie (that one was a new one for us and was pretty good!).
It's adorable how much Seth loves Andrew!
It's also adorable when he fusses all night and won't sleep and ends up in our bed....
Abigail had another bout of tummy pains resulting in lots of sleep and lots of throw up :(
Halle made it! She survived 100 days of kindergarten! She's halfway there! :)
Since we moved to Amarillo, Cora's been in the pack n play in the room she shares with Abigail. Not anymore! We finally bought her a mattress, plus a new one for Abigail because hers was really old! (The same one Candace gave me to use when I moved in with her my last year at BYU and I've had ever since - and it was old when she gave it to me!)
They sell mattresses rolled up in boxes now, which is very weird. But also fun!
You cut the plastic and it just springs out and takes shape! And then you dog pile on it.
The boxes were tons of fun too! Until Mommy suggested with stand Halle and Abigail up in them and FaceTime Grandma Larsen and they could spring out and surprise her! Unfortunately, the boxes are really tall. And narrow. And when they tried to pop open the box, they both fell over with no way to catch themselves. Ouch. My bad!
Cora's first night in her big girl bed!
Abigail wanted her bed to be on the floor like Cora's :).
Overall, Cora's done pretty well without restraints. Except that she and Abigail don't like to stay in their room at bedtime, so the baby gate is usually put up to keep them in.
Saturday, January 26th, was the BEST day! It was Stake Temple Day and we got to go to Lubbock!!! We all went and the kids played at our friends the Bassett's house while Andrew and I attended a session at the temple. I was so happy to be back home and was in the best mood!
After our session, we picked the girls up and Andrew was ready to hit the road back to Amarillo. Um, no way! My mood kept improving over the next couple of hours as we hit a few spots around town....while his worsened by the minute.
We took the girls by the temple after picking them up then headed to the library to say hi to Miss Tiffany!
She was out at lunch, so we made a Costco trip while we waited for her to get back. I miss you, Costco!!!
After Costco, we got to see Miss Tiffany (Why didn't I take a picture??? Although I think she at least got one on her phone....)
Oh, wait - look! She did and I borrowed it from Facebook :)
The library in Amarillo is just not the same.
Anyway, after all that, Andrew finally had enough and we headed out. The farther we drove, the more his mood improved and mine worsened. It just felt so nice to be home and it was really hard to leave it again. Not for Andrew, though!
Back to Amarillo and a typical Sunday afternoon mobbing Daddy!
And *someone* (cough - Abigail!) took about 50 pictures of Seth on my phone. Here's one I kept. Silly boy and silly girl.
On Tuesday the 29th, we met Abigail's new Amarillo oncologist, Dr. Kaylani, for the first time. Abigail loved that the waiting room had a motorcycle! The doctor seems very nice and we look forward to working with him as we manage her tumor going forward.
Daddy reads stories the best!
Sometimes all this noise is exhausting! And Seth actually prefers sleeping with the commotion. When I don't lay him down for his nap some enough, he takes care of business on his own.
So no Costco in Amarillo, but we do make frequent trips to Sam's Club just across the street from our neighborhood. The girls love to try out this swinging seat every time we're there and keep begging me to buy it.
We can't take the frequent night feedings anymore and with the pediatrician's approval, started Seth on baby food at the end of January. He's not sure what he thinks.
Oh, wait, yes he is!
Don't let that fussy face fool you - he loves his food! The first couple bites he always makes that face ("Get this nastiness away from me, Mom!.....Oh, wait, this is actually kind of good. Never mind, keep it coming" is usually how things go every meal.) Also, spoiler alert, he's now almost 7 months old, eating TONS of baby food and STILL getting up for two bottles a night. <Insert face of me crying here.>
