New year new things

                                        

                                        

We upgraded a few things at the start of the new year.  First up, Lorien got a new bed for Christmas--sort of.  She got a new headboard and some new blankets.  We agreed, when she moved into her own room that her room would also be our guest bedroom.  We could accomplish that by giving her a bigger bed and new bedding.  But the actual realization of that promise took a while.  This month, Will and I finally got a new mattress and moved our old one over into Lorien's room...classy.  

The other big move in the New Year also had to do with Lorien...completely.  Around Christmas, Lorien started talking about chopping all of her hair off.  Very pixie, very short.  I wanted to give her some time to really love the idea before chopping all of her hair off.  It takes forever to grow your hair out once you cut it off (I know) but it does grow so...  Last week I took her to a friend's house who cuts hair and Lorien got a brand new do.

                                                     

Lorien loves her new hair cut.  It is fun and much easier for her to style in the morning.  She is adorable.  And she has eyeliner skills I'll never have.

Stuff my three-year-old says...

Colter says funny stuff all the time.  I need to try and get him to say it on a video recording.  I don't have enough video of the funny stuff he says.  

He has an adorable love of Lorien.  It really grew last year when Lorien was homeschooling.  He got to spend a lot of time with her.  Sometimes she would take him on bike rides or walks for "PE".  Sometimes she would take him to Panda Express and when they got there she would say "We made it to Panda!"  Now every time he sees a Panda Express he says "We made it to Panda!" just like Lorien.  A few weeks ago we decided to take the kids out to eat.  When I told the kids we were going to a restaurant for dinner Colter called out "I want Chinese!"  I'm pretty sure I didn't even know that Chinese was a kind of food when I was three-years-old, let alone knowing I wanted to eat it.  Anyway, last year Colter said Lorien like "Wee-nan" now he is trying his hand at better pronunciation and her name has morphed into "Warren".  Cute and funny!

One day Will was drinking a soda and Colter asked if he could have some.  Will poured a little bit into a cup and told Colter he could have it once he finished eating.  Will left the kitchen and Colter and I stayed at the bar while Colter ate.  After a few minutes he asked for his soda, without thinking I slid the cup over to Colter.  He downed the little bit then said "Oh no!  I was supposed to eat my cereal all gone!"  Then he hid the cup behind his back and said "Quick, pour some of yours soda in de cup!  Just a yiddle bit!"  I obliged.  When Will came back into the kitchen Colter told Will the whole story.  So maybe he wasn't trying to be sneaky or dishonest?

We hired a sitter for a date night.  We usually have Lorien babysit.  (Wyatt was at a boy scout camp out and Lorien was at a friend's house.)  When we got home we asked how the night went.  The sitter said everything went just fine.  She said that Colter got out of bed once saying he and Wyatt had switched beds and Colter was "supposed to sleep up dere" (on the top bunk).  Will left to bring the sitter home and I went into my bedroom to get ready for bed.  When I walked in I saw this:

                                                   

Apparently Colter had gotten out of bed more than once.  He was sitting in my room, quietly playing with a pirate ship toy in there.  When I walked in he was pretty startled.  I texted Will and told him to get our money back from the sitter.

One night this week Will was helping Lorien study for her finals.  Will always does bedtime at our house.  I clock out at bedtime.  So the kids were up late and I was in our room folding laundry.  Colter came in and said he was "soooo tired" I asked him if he wanted to snuggle in his bed.  He declined but said he'd like to snuggle on my bed.  So he went out to find his Nokie blankie.  On his way out he heard the sound of Will putting a bottle of milk in the microwave for bedtime.  Colter said with a sharp intake of breath "Oh I think Daddy is making a warm ba.  We better hurry!  Hurry, quick!" and he ran back into my room.  He hid under his blankie telling me "I'mma hide, you stay right here."  When Colter heard Will calling out for him, Colter responded under his breath (and blanket) "I'm not in here."  When Will came into our room I said "I don't know where Colter is.  Have you checked in the bathroom?"  Colter was barely containing his laughter next to me.  Finally Will said, "Well I better just take Nokie blankie back to bed so it is there when we put Colter to bed." and he scooped up the blanket and Colter in one lump.  As they walked down the hall Colter pulled the blanket off his head and yelled "Here I am!".  Will proceeded to act startled by mock yelling and saying things like "Oh man, you startled me!"  To which Colter busted out in the best baby belly laughs.  He thought it was so funny!  He laughed and laughed and laughed.  He couldn't stop.  Even when Will was tucking him in Colter was laughing and recounting the clever way he startled Daddy.  This whole episode is all the funnier because about 40 minutes earlier Colter was sitting on the floor playing a game on my phone when Clare came in and startled him (on purpose).  And Colter freaked out, throwing a fit and yelling at Clare for startling him.  I guess he needed some experience on the other side of the startle to know how fun it is.

Last story...as long as we've lived here when we get into the gate we let the kids take off their buckles and stand up in the van until we get home.  It is about 300 yards from the gate to our home.  We call it "Surfing Time".  As we sit at the slowly opening gate the kids yell out "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTT'S SURFING TIME!"  Dragging out the "it's" until the gate opens and standing up as we pass through the gate saying "surfing time".  Colter is a big fan of this little tradition.  Recently, Will has decided to up the dangerous ante and lets Colter stand up through the sunroof in Will's car.  Colter loves it and hollers out "hello" to any person who is out walking in our neighborhood.  

                                                   

S-N-O-W

With the lack of precipitation around here we haven't had a chance to make it out to snow for the last couple of years.  This year promised to be more fruitful in rain and snow and so far, the year has kept its promise.

We decided on a day trip instead of an overnight this year.  We drove east for a couple of hours to a little town called Arnold.  We parked, geared up and headed out into the snow.

The kids were so excited to be going to the snow.  This was going to be Colter's first time in the snow.  (Unless you count the time we drove home from Utah a few weeks ago and we stopped at a rest area after it had been snowing on our drive.)  

                                                    

                                                    

We went sledding for about an hour or so and then stopped to try and make a snowman.  Sadly, the snow was too dry for sculpting.  It was perfect for making snow angles.  After a bit of snow play Colter, Adell and Clare were shivering cold.  Clare had a headache (we think from the altitude and exertion) and Colter kept losing his mittens.  It was time for a break.  

We all headed back to the van for some sandwiches and snacks.  Thankfully, I packed a change of clothes for everyone.  Once we were all dry and comfy again I stayed in the car with the youngest three and Will took Lorien and Wyatt back out for some more sledding.  

                                                    

                                                    

                                                   

                                   

                                   

And then disaster struck, on their last run down Will and Wyatt hit a bump and when they came down Wyatt's foot got caught under the sled.  Will had to carry Wyatt back to the car.  Wyatt was in a lot of pain.  We improvised an ice pack with some snow and an empty ziplock bag.  We tried to make him comfortable with extra coats for warmth and headed back down to civilization.  

                                                   

                                                    

Dave and Angela had also brought their family out to the snow.  We weren't able to meet up for snow games but we did have dinner together at Applebee's (thanks to Grandma Judy for the gift cards).  

Wyatt ended up just jamming his toe,  no broken bones anywhere.  He got a walking boot to wear and a note to skip PE for three weeks.  

Thank you El Nino for the rain and snow!

                                                    

Turns out my kids have created an independent economy based solely on the exchange of fruit snack flavors.  As part of our "car pic-nic" each kid got a package of fruit snacks.  As soon as they could get them open the chatter started "I'll take three peach for three raspberries. I have raspberry but I want orange.  Any blackberry, any blackberry?"  It was like the New York Stock Exchange opened up in the middle of my van.