Post Christmas Week

I scheduled the living daylights out of the children each day Matt was not at home with us during the break. When he was home, we tried to get some things done around the house and relax together (or i tried to relax alone while Matt and the girls relaxed together . . . this usually turned into Matt holding Ella for a nap and Madi watching a show on the iPAD while kicking in the bathroom so I could take a bath with my kindle for 24 minutes. I guess that means we almost relaxed almost together haha)

All these new toys and we just want to play with the box!

The day after Christmas was Organization Day! We had the awesome fun of sorting through what we don't use anymore in the playroom and then finding homes for all of our new toys. Madeline was actually very helpful with this since she loves to clean up, Ella however was not so helpful. We also prepared for Eleanor's birthday party. This meant Madeline and I did more baking (yay) and made lots more frosting (double yay)! We also went to Madi's favorite store for some last minute items . . . any guesses which store that is?

On Monday, I took the girls to Legoland with our new passes (Thank you Jim and Sue). I should have considered the fact that everyone one their mother (literally) would be at Legoland since most kids were on vacation. It was PACKED! We went on a few rides, saw a show while we waited in line for lunch (perfect timing), and spent at least an hour in a little park area that has slides, lego play places, and climbing things. Madeline went down a huge slide all by herself and loved the play area. Ella loved just getting to walk around with freedom and get into things. Next time, I will plan a little bit better!

Tuesday we drove up to Orange County. We had breakfast with Grandpa Dave, visited my Aunt Sue, and lunch with Grandma T and GrandKarl. It was a nice full day and led to a wonderful car nap on the way home. Ella is getting much better at being in the car (as long as she is sleeping or eating) and doing especially well going out to meals.

Bundled up to go visiting

 Wednesday was New Year's Eve. Matt worked from home in the morning and we planned to be gone so he could work. Since it was raining, we met Naomi and her boys at the Children's Museum downtown. It was filled to capacity by the time we left. Yet again, I should have considered that everyone had their kids at home this week! We had fun even though it was crowded. The kids played on a climby thing, rode the trucks around, and generally ran their hearts out. Naomi and I hauled the giant small kids around and organized snacks. Naomi got lucky and both her boys zonked out after the museum. I was not so lucky and only one of my kids chose to sleep. In the evening we went to the Gross house for a kid friendly East Coast New Year Celebration. Madi fell asleep on the couch by 8:30. She has never really stopped playing when people were around to play with, so she must have been exhausted. Greg (with Steph's direction) made white chocolate martinis that were so yummy and we missed the ball drop due to Matt changing the channel. It was a great evening and will likely be repeated in future years to come!

Ella was very unhappy when I set her down to play. Blame it on the molars.

Snack time

I managed to end up with a playdate group from Madeline's school and we met up both Thursday at the park and Friday at our house. While I love having Madeline get the time to play with her school friends (who she "super-missed" over the break), it is hard for me to hang out with the parents being that socializing with new people is scary for me. I tried on my pointers from Amelia (no weird teaching stories) and it seemed to go okay! We have even been invited to another playdate this weekend! Somehow we filled Saturday and Sunday up with errands and a dinner at the Johnson house. It was also freezing cold here in San Diego for these days, which meant hats, scarves, and generally being bundled up. What a great reminder of why I don't live in other parts of the country!

While I complain about how many days in a row I had to fill with my kids, I am very lucky to have so much time to watch them growing up. Ella's walking improved greatly over the break and now she always prefers to walk versus crawl. She is also working on climbing onto the couch, standing up on the bed, climbing off the bed, and all sorts of other dangerous activities now too! I am predicting that Ella will be in a cast of some kind by her second birthday. Ella also started blowing kisses over the break, so cute. She is trying really hard to communicate, but is frustrated that I don't always understand what she wants. Madi is such a little mom. She loves to play with her dolls, pat them to sleep, and dress them. She wanted lots of snuggle time over break with Mama and Daddy. Madeline is improving her fine motor skills and completely surprised me by starting to write the alphabet outside in chalk. She asked me daily to write letters for her to trace. Matt and I are so looking forward to see how the girls change in 2015 and how much easier our daily lives get!!