Cold

It is really, really, really cold here.

Mike has the day off today, not due to snow or ice, but due to the fact that it feels like it is 31 degrees below zero. Burr. It is so cold that when you go outside it takes your breath away and your nose hair instantly freeze. Poor Wrigley has been outside twice this morning and came in both times and peed in the house. Guess I wouldn't want to go into the freezer to pee either.

It is suppose to get a bit warmer this weekend. I think they are predicting tomorrow's high to be 22 degrees with light snow and Sunday to be 21 with snow. Although it is very cold the sun is shining which seems to make everything a bit better. Especially when I can sit in my cozy jammies with a hot cup of coffee, inside my living room with the sun shining brightly.

Stay warm today...

First Haircut

A few days after Christmas Mike and I decided it was time...time for Liam's first haircut. I absolutely love his curls and was so sad to see them go but with winter and the amount of time he spends in a hat we were fighting knots and frizzy hair constantly. I had my camera on hand for the big event so here is the story in pictures.

Before

Prior to going in I asked Liam if he wanted to get his hair cut. He quickly responded "NO" and put his hands over his head. We weren't sure how he would do but we figured we should try it. He willingly set on Mike's lap, put on the apron and was ready for action.

He was a bit curious about it all and spent a good portion of the time watching what she was doing in the mirror. He didn't really mind the water or her combing his hair although he wasn't to found of the clippers.
A few tears were shed and the binky was required to make it through it all (that is for Liam I mean) but overall a great experience. He was very pleased with himself afterward and was happy to give me a grin to complete the photo album.
I have to admit that I was pretty sad for a few days. He looks so much older to me now and reminds me a lot more of what Samuel looked like at this age. It already appears that the curls will be returning. His hair is growing in much fuller and thicker now also so we shall see. All in all he is still the cutest 17 month old I know.

2008 In Review

So we spent some time reflecting and remembering 2008. I thought it would be fun to share our highlights through both memories, events and pictures. Enjoy!

January

• Samuel is potty training
• Liam learns how to sit up
• It snows...a lot...in SeattleFebruary
  

• Whole household gets extremely sick
• Discovery of "Charlie bit my finger" on You Tube
• Katelynn comes home
• Ruby is born
• Everett is born
• We get out of Seattle for a few days to rest with our small groupMarch
  

• Samuel reads his first book independently
• Uncle Mike visits

April

• Mike turns the big 30
• Samuel discovers his shadow
• Liam stands independently
• Blog goes private
• Samuel learns there is a difference between grass and saladMay
  

• Liam gets teeth
• Tulip festival time
• MIKE GRADUATES
• The whole family visits
• Samuel has his first opinion about his hair

June

• We camp at Gold Basin
• Samuel conquers his first fear
• Many, many walks around Green Lake
• Boys eat their first corn dogs
• Mike gets his tattoo

July

• Samuel turns 3
• Liam turns 1
• We miss Hannah for 4 years
• We celebrate 7 years of marriage
  
• We play at Great Wolf Lodge
• We buy a house we have never seen
• We go on a final camping trip with Zera
• Jenn gets her nose piercedAugust
  

• We say goodbye to Seattle
• We travel over 3000 miles to Michigan
• We enjoy three weeks traveling the beautiful country
• We say goodbye to our beloved fish, Lance.
• We arrive in Michigan to see our new home and wonder what we have done

September

• Samuel starts his first day of preschool
• Jenn becomes a gym addict
• Liam walks full time
• Kasey is born
• Samuel dances in the rain in his underwear
• Samuel learns to ride a bike
• Liam drives his first car
• Jenn turns 30
  

October

• Mike gets his first colonoscopy
• Grandpa Steve turns 60
• We adopt three cats
• We participate the family traditonsNovember
  

• The season's first snow
• We move into our new house
• We travel to MN for Thanksgiving

December

• We buy a puppy
• We enjoy our first Christmas in our new house
• Both boys are terrified of Santa
• Samuel has his first Christmas program which he refuses to participate inIt was a good year but I will admit that I am really glad it is over. Hopefully our 2009 will go at a much slower pace and we will be able to spend a lot more time together.
  

I'm not tired...

Whenever there is a mention of sleeping or resting in our house Samuel's immediate response it "But I'm not tired." He could be yawning and nearly falling over because he is exhausted but he insists that he is not even remotely sleepy. Knowing he still needs a nap most days, I often spend well over an hour fighting with him before he finally falls alseep. This gets really old really fast. So about a week ago I said fine. He didn't have to sleep but he still needed to take a rest in his bed for an hour. He could sing, read books, tell stories, whatever he wanted as long as he was laying in bed. He agreed and we set him up with about five books. For the first 20 minutes or so I heard him going back and forth from this bed to his bookshelf. Then it was quite. Fully expecting him to be either in the bathroom or in the spare room messing arond I went up to investigate and this is what I found. So much for not being tired.I was estatic. No more fighting but still getting a nap! Yeah maybe we were on to something here. That lastest until bedtime when he realized what we were up to and refused to look at books in his bed or anywhere else for that matter! On to the next trick...if I could just figure that one out.