January

There's really not much to tell about January. I think Shad and I went to the theater every weekend. It was fun! That was also when the toys were taken away, and still haven't been given back yet. The kids have gone and grabbed one or two a couple times, and been told to put them back. We've let them keep building toys and dress up clothes, games and puzzles. And you know what? They've been happier and get along better. I love hearing all the imaginative games they come up with. We read more. And sometimes they ask me if they can play with toys and it's such a treat to them that they're overwhelmed with gratitude, and don't fight. They also clean up well afterward. I think I'm going to thin out the toys that we've got and find a different storage system for them, sit in in a few play sessions to help teach communication, and see if that helps with some of the problems we were having before.

Thora is a chub. At her 3 month check up in January, she had doubled her weight, something that is expected at 6 months. She chubbed so much that she had chaffing in all her creases. I had a hard time keeping up with all the new ones as they'd develop! Weighing  12 lbs 10 oz, she made the 75th percentile. Pretty sure all of my kids have always been under 50. I delight in all her rolls and squishiness because it serves as a reminder that we're not having trouble breastfeeding like I did with Dancy. I did clip Thora's lip-tie myself back in December, I think, and she's done fine since then. I also learned at that check up that the crustiness she had behind her ears was not a result of me forgetting to wash there, but it was strep. Yeah, strep on her ear. Who knew?! So a couple weeks of colloidal silver (natural antibiotic) and a couple baths soaking in green tea water (the acidity helps kills the strep) cleared it up. Here's my thunder-thighs girl crashed asleep during tummy time.

Dancy chose to skip lunch one day, and dinner ended up being late. She was so hungry when I finally gave her her plate, that instead of carrying it to the table, she squatted and ate on the spot. Mmmm, pigs in a blanket!

Thora asleep again, but this time chewing her finger. She loves to chew her fingers! She has recently discovered that she can grab someone else's finger and chew on it.

Dancy pulled her shirt over her head after breakfast. Cute look, kid!

Shad had a meeting in Kearney one Sunday, but he didn't remember until we were at church. Instead of spending the rest of the day apart, we decided to all go to Kearney. We got to see Bumpa, too, because he was also there for the meeting. Waiting for the meeting to start, Shad and I entertained the kids with games and dancing in the gym. Tom and Katie were darling dancing with each other. During the meeting, I entertained the kids in the nursery with an obstacle course.

Well, I have officially tried to blog on my tablet and will never do it again. It kept changing my words, deleting my pictures, and I could hardly see the writing space when the keyboard was up.