Mid-winter break

This week is mid-winter break and it is going by really fast! It ends up that I am actually glad this year for this generic & non-necessary Seattle school break. I have realized that I really get sick of all the back & forth driving for co-op. So it is nice to have a break from that.

It is also great to have less on our schedule because this is underwear week for Etta. So far things are going well. Over all she is having a really good attitude about it and not giving me power-struggles. A big part of the success so far is setting a potty timer. She has to sit on the potty about every hour or a pee accident is inevitable.

Addie has an amazing ability to hold pee for numerous hours. To the point that I still wonder at times how she holds it all in or if she is not drinking enough water. Even when we first started potty training Addie she held her pee for long amounts of time and quickly transitioned to underwear at nap and bedtime because she could go all night without needing to pee.

Etta seems to be another story. She does small pees more often. She is respecting the timer and following through when I tell her it is time to sit on the potty. But I know to be truly potty trained will require her to listen to her own body and get herself to the potty in time.

I am only doing underwear at home for her. I told her that once she gets good at wearing undies at home & listening to her body, then she can wear them out. I just need to be careful not to get stuck in the trap of her wearing undies at home then pull-ups outside the house and peeing in the pull-ups because she knows they can hold it. Sometimes wet clothes are necessary to help a kid remember the importance of listening to their body.

Speaking of babies...

I have been lazy about blogging the last month or so. Which means I am almost 3 weeks late announcing a birth (bad auntie!).

My sister Allison had her beautiful boy Isaac on Feb 2. He joins big brother Asa.

And if babies could be special ordered (with no ethical or moral implications), I would request one with the personality of baby Isaac! Who knows what he will be like when he gets older, but right now he seems to be the best sleeper & do the littlest crying of basically any baby I have met. Oh what I would give for a content baby who is an amazing sleeper! And while I am at the special order counter, I would have to say that Etta with her baby chub and full head of dark hair was a spectacularly good looking baby, so that would be on the order form too. But really, as all parents can agree on, what matters most is having a healthy baby. So many things can go wrong. Some you could find out about before the birth, so you might not. Some could take multiple surgeries , some might heal themselves, and some might be beyond repair. I try not to think about it because so very little of it is in my control, but each and every healthy baby born is an incredible blessing not to be taken lightly.

1,2,3

1) A baby boy due to Mike & Becka in late March (to join big sister Ellie).

2) A baby due at the end of July to Myron & Lori (to join big brother Coen).

3) A baby due to Matt & I in the beginning of Sept (to join big sisters Addie & Etta).

So that is 3 new grandchildren for Papa Loren & Grandma Karen.

And that will be 3 kids for us!

Snow Days

I felt like a shut-in this week. The roads were, in all reality, probably quite drive-able but I made the choice that since I did not HAVE to go anywhere it was wiser to leave the car where it was. Co-op class was cancelled on Tues, and on Wed, and on Thurs, and on Fri (not that Addie is in a Friday class, but still). I cancelled my childcare spot at the gym. And we stayed home. And we stayed home some more. I wish I could say we had an amazingly fun time in the snow and I loved it, but that would not be the truth. I am grateful I guess that we got all the snow because I got snow out of my system and saved us a couple hundred of dollars... Matt and I had decided we wanted to do a weekend-away with the girls (probably to Leavenworth) so we could get lots of snow play in. Probably I would have enjoyed it more if it was a snowy vacation spot we went to instead of my regular life and routine interrupted. We decided, though, that since we had so many snow days right here in Seattle we could skip the trip.

A large part of my bad attitude towards the snow is that I have a cold so I just did not have the energy or desire to get all bundled up and get out of the house. I seemed unable to rise above my apathy and lack of energy. (There were a lot of people who lost power and who truly were snowed-in, so I know I have no real reason to complain, but still I did) It felt so good on Friday to scrape the car clean and re-enter civilization by driving to the grocery store. The drip, drip, drip sound of the snow melting made me extremely happy. I even had enough energy and enthusiasm to make home-made playdough with Addie that afternoon (which I will need to search for a slightly different recipe for next time because I am not in love with this one).

Addie liked the snow. She liked touching it and commenting on it and watching the kids in it. She liked sledding but actually did not have as much perseverance for it as I originally anticipated. Etta would say she wanted to go out, then she would say she didnt want to, then Addie would go out so Etta would want to, than Etta would want to go back inside after about 10 minutes. So I was really glad that Matt worked from home both Wed & Thurs. In the morning before starting work we could bundle the girls up and they could do a little snow-walk with him (Etta in the backpack), after lunch we could bundle Addie up and she could sled with him while I got Etta ready for nap.

All we had to do was cross the street to reach a sledding hill. It became apparent very early on in the snow week that it was the sledding hill for the surrounding 5 or more blocks. There were people on this hill from 9:30 am until 10:30 pm (teenagers at that point). There was a constant flow of parents with kids, various sleds and often dogs that would go to our hill. There was one day that someone put cones at the top of the hill to stop cars from using it. Because this hill was a street. A street that goes straight down to Aurora Ave. I was pretty wary at first. I mean, that is a busy street and it just does not seem wise. But I never heard a honking horn or even really saw anyone limping home (and trust me we had a prime view from our windows so saw a lot of the coming & going). The hill is not super steep, and it levels off well before reaching the stop-light at Aurora. So it was safe & fun & convenient. (Note: yes the hill was safe & not very steep. I still did not want to take chances with my girls. Have you seen the statistics on sledding related hospital visits for kids and head injuries? I required helmets!)

By next winter I bet I will be wishing for snow to play in with the kids. But for now it is out of my system and although I do not look forward to the rain I know we will have for month-after-month, I look forward to the tenacious flowers that will start to poke their heads up before you know it.

Let it snow!

Starting Sat night we had snow! 

It was not a large quantity in our neighborhood. Driving was not a problem. 

We are waiting to pull out the sled until more piles up. It is just enough snow for the girls to enjoy. 

Etta surprised me by enjoying playing in it - usually she gets cold really fast and wants to be inside.

 I think her endurance was boosted by the fact that daddy, not mommy, was outside playing with her. 

And also there was a light snow falling at the time so that made it special. 

I went out with them today and Etta lasted about 2 minutes than lost interest. 

Addie could have kept playing with the meager scrapings of snow left on the grass for quite a while. 

They are predicting more over the next couple of days. 

I will take snow, but not ice, almost any day of winter!

Growing up in SE Portland we got a lot of black ice and freezing rain.

I am sure we got snow as well, but it is the slippery treacherousness stuff that I remember.

This is possibly the shortest video clip ever (but that is nice in a way because I did not have to edit it). It shows (briefly) Etta doing her favorite thing - stomping on & squishing the snowballs Matt made.

Marston family Christmas

We had one day of "small" Marston family Christmas celebration in Kent, 

then on New Years Eve day we spent time with a large portion of the extended Marston family. 

I will let the pictures tell the story.

 (it is hard to read, but Coens shirt is announcing that he will be a big brother!)

(We have no pictures on our camera from the two Marston Christmas gatherings, 

so these are all from May's camera. )

We had a wonderful Christmas season.

But, as always, I was ready to get back to our normal routine.

We are slowly putting away the Christmas decorations at our house, 

but are not in a big hurry.

I enjoy Christmas music and the Nativity scene and the photo Christmas cards from friends, 

so why hurry past it?

(but if I am still saying the same thing in Feb I might need a little 

kick-in-the-pants!)

Addie's 4 year stats

39lbs (75%)
42 1/4 in (90%)

The height percentage does not surprise me, but I thought her weight would be more in like the 50%.
But she is a healthy growing girl and I am very happy about that.    :)