January recap

Let's run through the photos snapped throughout January that didn't make the cut for Instagram but are good memories nonetheless. January wasn't exceptionally exciting--no major milestones for Jake or fun trips or whatnot--but as I think back over the month it was full of quality time at home, lazy weekends (a nice change from our usual "weekend warrior" attitudes in better weather) and rearranging a lot of areas in the house to make every room more useful since we can't be outside.

Deric is the master of forts around here and in the mornings when those two are up before I am (which is often), I can almost guarantee a new fort will be set up somewhere. This fort was on our bed to keep Jake occupied while we both got ready. Jake loves to climb on our bed.

Deric spent a long weekend in Gatlinburg with the students and while he was gone, I got desperate enough for two uninterrupted minutes that I actually put something from Pinterest into play. It was almost not worth it....all that corn was outta the pan in no time. 

I've started stockpiling puzzles because Jake's finally able to complete them without throwing pieces in frustration. They're a perfect activity for us to do together since I lack the imagination it takes to play pirates for more than one minute. Also a very easy way to reinforce colors/numbers/letters and its funny to hear him answer "What's this color?" with "boo", usually before I can even finish the question.

Killing time at a car dealership while a friend dealt with car repairs. Jake won't be fooled anymore, he knows good things come in brown and white cups.

Bathtub fingerprints from the dollar store provided us with exactly one dollar's worth of activity. Worthless paint, but toddlers aren't exactly art critics.

Shopping for new books at McKay's. Even with rotating books in and out, and with frequent trips to the library, Deric and I are still so tired of all the books we own. How is that possible?

Breakfast with a view, as mentioned in the last post. That was the quietest breakfast we've experienced in a while. Snow is definitely magical!

A perfect platform for a tiny climber, and never neglected on our treks to and from church.

 Finally, some decent help around here! I don't know if its normal for toddlers or not, but Jake loves to help with chores. He gets mad at me if I start to vacuum without him, so I gladly pass it off and let him wander around the house vacuuming. I found him vacuuming under our nightstands so I pulled the furniture back and let him really get at the dustiest corners of the house. He also gets (too) excited to throw things away in the trash and to wipe off his tray after eating. He's also enthralled with the sponge so I've showed him how to wipe off the cabinets. You better believe we're riding this train forever. Toilets are up next, bud.