Our Little Owlet: December 2013

OK... this was written weeks ago, but here you go.

We had a very nice, healthy Christmas! We were SO glad that we were all healthy this year... last year, we were sick for Thanksgiving, and then got sick again on Dec 26 which lasted well into January. (p.s. we currently ALL have bronchitis... Asher for 2 weeks now, me for 1 week, and Ross is about 3-4 days in. NOT. FUN). It was SO much fun having Christmas with a toddler! SO much better than his first two Christmases. He still doesn't quite "get it" of course, but he was SO excited for everything about the season! My dad and step-mom were here for Thanksgiving and will be coming again soon for a belated Christmas. Ross' parents were able to visit for a long weekend before Christmas. My brother and sister-in-law came in from Alabama for Christmas day along with my mom and step-dad, so we celebrated at my sister's. It was a great Christmas season!

We started listening to Christmas music in October, pretty much non-stop because Asher adored it so much. Of course he memorized all of the songs! He requested it (specific to songs) each day... he kept asking for it after Christmas too! His favorites were Michael Buble (jingle bells) and Pentatonix (little drummer boy). He seriously couldn't get enough. He LOVED the Christmas tree and after maybe 2 times learned that he was not to touch it, and could just enjoy looking at it, which he obeyed wonderfully. He didn't even bother the wrapped packages under the tree. He looked through magazines we got in the mail and would show me what he wanted, though he had no concept of what that really meant. He LOVED the snow, and loved Christmas lights even more. Ross' mom got us an online advent calendar that we did daily with him which he really enjoyed for the most part. It was a special little break in the day for him and he loved that. He also loved the decorations and songs at church, and though he has no idea what it means, he knows who Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus are. He loved his gifts on Christmas morning! He loved one so much (little people A to Z zoo) that he played only with it pretty exclusively for a week or two after! We went to "Christmas at the Zoo" in Indy since we have the membership and he really seemed to enjoy it despite the cold. Although, he was a little confused and disappointed about certain animals being unavailable due to the cold... he has a crazy scary memory, and remembers ALL of the animals that we've seen there, and wants to see them all again each time. This time it was at night all lit with Christmas lights, so that was pretty fun! He asks now every day if we can go in the car and see the Christmas lights. It's hard to explain how this part of winter just kind of sucks now.

It's January now, and we recently got a monster blizzard. Like, a legit blizzard. It was crazy! We experienced the blizzard in Chicago in February of 2011 (17 inches or something like that) that shut down Lake Shore Drive. This, this might be worse. I'm guessing we got roughly a foot of snow, the winds were fierce, and the temp dropped about 40 degrees, so it was in the negative range with wind chills in the negative 30s and 40s. Crazy cold. Our heat is pumping constantly to keep our house warmed, but it's keeping up, and we have power, praise Jesus. Asher was able to play in the snow before the temps bottomed out, it was a balmy 32 degrees before the wind and terrible cold set in, and it was just DUMPING snow all day. It was awesome, and gorgeous to watch in the woods behind our house. Last winter was our first winter in Indy and we got probably just one bad storm (which was nothing compared to this). Indy kind of shuts down with bad weather, I think mostly because we are in a different weather band that the Chicago area, so it's usually noticeably warmer down here, and we usually get much more ice/sleet than snow. Since Indy doesn't have the snowfall that Chicago does, it doesn't have the fleet to deal with terrible roads, so when there IS bad weather, they don't do a great (or quick) job at clearing the roads... they just don't have the trucks or manpower to do so. For that reason, school is often canceled or very frequently delayed due to weather. I don't mind the snow or the cold, as long as it's not dangerous, like it is now! Looking forward to spring already, both for myself, and for my very very active toddler!

We've been looking into different classes to possibly try out with Asher. We were planning on trying Kindermusik despite the cost, because we know he would love it, but they don't have any openings. He's at an age where outings or "things" to do greatly help his day and development, though we have to be very careful with his compromised immune system so he doesn't get sick :( Recently he's been kind of a little monster, with LOTS of constant screaming (ALL. DAY. LONG) and not sleeping at all. No fun for anyone. I think part of it is from a natural sleep regression, part of it is definitely teething (2 year molars), but part of it is also food intolerance (dairy, orange veggies, and corn all have this effect on him). Whenever people tell me that 2 is just the perfect age and is oh so fun I want to punch them in the face most of the time... while it IS very fun and enjoyable much of the time, it's also VERY hard to have a toddler, particularly a very spirited and intelligent one. I think those people are either generally ones who have never had kids, or old ladies who think they know everything and forgot how terrible the 2s can actually be. Every kid is different, so I prefer when people don't judge me/us based on his intelligence or age or whatever, assuming he's a constant, beaming, angelic joy to be around. Granted, he's absolutely amazing and we adore him and he's such a special special gift to us... and we are very grateful for him, of course... but that doesn't mean it isn't unbearably challenging at times. The way I see it, if you are doing parenting right, most of the time it feels hard and challenging and you wonder if you're screwing it up! Here are a LOT of pics from a busy and fun month.

Visiting the farm and riding in Papa's tractor!