Last night, for the first time since she was born, I gave Lucia a bath. The funny thing is that I didn’t even have to do anything! I had her in the bath with Mari who rather enjoyed playing with her and getting her all washed up. All I had to do was take her out and get her dressed.
Last night we hosted Bean Sprout Early Childhood’s Wintergarden Spiral Walk. It was a beautiful event followed by a very fun and very crowded potluck. I think this year we had around 20 adults and 25 kids all crammed into our house. It is always a great group of families who bring a lot of good food!
This evening Mari celebrated her First Reconciliation. She did a great job and was very confident. She memorized the Act of Contrition and Fr. Michael said she was the first one of this year’s bunch to have it memorized. As Mari gets older she is really blossoming and displays a deep understanding of the world.
Here are a couple of pictures she drew while we were waiting for her turn. I have never thought of drawing as a form of prayer, but Mari taught me otherwise this evening.
Lucia has been in a funk ever since the time change, about six weeks ago. She has been sleeping oddly, fussy, and generally not content. All of a sudden she appears to be back to her normal self. She has been on a better schedule and is playing by herself more frequently. On top of that she has been crawling instead of scooting and she has also been eating like crazy. She has never taken too much of an interest in food, but lately she can’t get enough. Hopefully the good times will stick around.
Lucia has been scooting around on her butt for a few months. Lately she seems to have figured out there is a better way to get around without walking – crawling! She still scoots a lot, but her crawling has been increasing.
Last night we attended the Ameriprise christmas party, hosted by our advisor, Steven Klaus. The party was a blast and we all had a good time. There was good food, a live band playing Christmas carols, pictures with Santa, face painters, a balloon animal maker, and a great storyteller. It was great to be able to just relax and have fun for a couple of hours.
Also, when we got home our new camera was waiting for us on the porch. Hopefully we will have better pictures to offer from now on.
After a few years in traditional sports leagues, we (the Reagens and the Lieslands) decided to start our own league – Neighborhood Sports. It is a different model where kids of all ages meet just one night a week for some practice and play. I am really excited about the change it will bring to our spring and fall. I think this will be more fun for the kids and simplify our lives a lot. It will also leave weekends more open for us, so we can spend more time doing other things.
The first spring season doesn’t start until April, so we have a few months to get things in order. Then the fun begins!
Per Uncle Will’s suggestion, the kids and I went to Home Depot this morning for their kids’ workshop. The 3 older kids had a great time and can’t wait to go back. Lucia enjoyed the Christmas decorations on display and is also excited to return.
Jill, Will, Elsie, and Madelyn came to join us for Thanksgiving this year. With Mimi and Papa in Kansas City and the Reagens in Minneapolis that left just us for Thanksgiving. We had a nice, relaxing day – and a lot of food!
Jill, Will, Elsie, and Madelyn came into town to visit today. We managed to get all of the kids out of the house to go for a hike in the cold temps.
Lucia has been eating more lately and really enjoys feeding herself. She has been demonstrating a strong propensity toward using the same tools that we do. She likes using silverware, pens and crayons – and she does so fairly well. She is also starting to mimic other things, like putting a bike helmet or Mari’s headband on her head .
