Happy Sunday

The day after I posted the last gem Stuart outdid himself. He realized he had one nose but TWO nostrils. Yah! I laughed so hard that I'm pretty certain he'll continue this behavior. He's just so cute though, I couldn't not laugh. He also likes putting his fingers in his ears these days. I was concerned that maybe he had an ear infection but I think he just likes to explore his face. Today I am also going to start posting some pictures of the new house for those that haven't been able to visit us yet. Here is the kitchen being the cleanest it has ever been, EVER. I documented it then because 3.5 minutes post-picture it no longer looked much like that. I used to think I was a fairly good housekeeper. Then I had kids. It has since occurred to me that nobody was ever in our house before. We went to work and school and when we came home we quietly read, or studied, or watched a bit of TV. Now I could furiously clean the whole day and my demolition duo would (and do) happily follow me around. I miss having those moments where every space is clean. Now I can get one room clean but in the time it has taken me another is soiled. Anyhow. The point is that you will not be getting a blog tour of the whole house in one single day. We love the kitchen. Some of the other inconveniences of living in a home that was built in the 1940's (tiny closets, no attached garage, no master bath) are made up for in other ways. This is what the front of the house looked like when we moved in. Green, bushy, fun.


January, not so green and bushy, but still lots of fun. It has been a cold one I understand this year. I don't think we got above freezing until a few days ago. We built a snowman earlier this winter. I'm from Vegas so it was pretty much my first snowman and the kids' first snowman all at once. It leaned foward pretty badly and fell over after a few days. (Note to self: Snow is heavy when packed into a ball. Having a solid foundation really does matter.) We were crushed but our neighbors brought us a condolances gift that made us feel much better--a book about what snowmen do at night! Snowmen at Night by Caralyn and Mark Buehner (Married, from Salt Lake City, seven kids) is a must read for all those suffering from the drooping--or in our case collapsed--snowman. Here he is before the sorrowful day. Also, we'd like to thank our neighbors across the street. Hi Matt and Kara, if you read this! They brought us this snowman decorating kit for Christmas. Isn't that the most darling and clever little thing. The pieces all keep in a painted little box with a latch and a handle.

The babies love being outside. It is a bit harder these days but they still want to go. They bring their gear and bring Ryan and I our shoes. Here we are on a winter morning (around 8 AM) enjoying a walk in front of our house. Yes, the babies are wearing their footed jammies inside their shoes.

Because this January has been pretty chilly, we spend a lot of time inside thinking up activities. Alison and Stuart have become amazing little cooks. They love to help make all meals and cookies. They would like to help Mama make creme brulee, but haven't mastered the kitchen torch yet (yes! I got a kitchen torch for Christmas, its awesome!).

Mmmmm... Cookies

This here, this is flour, it makes yummy cookies.

You dip.

I dip.

You dip.

I dip. You drink.
I drink.

The only thing you need in life besides cookies is milk.