Staying Warm and Having Fun!

January sure has been a busy month!!! I have been a bit pre-occupied from blogging and other typical tasks on my end due to a hectic weekend schedule. I spent last weekend with my spectacular sorority sisters in Grand Rapids celebrating Maria's baby shower! We showered her with PINK in excitement for the March due date of her baby girl. It is so fun to watch my friends prepare for motherhood. It brings back a slew of feelings...anticipation, anxiety, eagerness, etc. As much as I loved pregnancy and bringing my babies home, I am SO GLAD it's in the past!!!

I am truly loving life these days! Russell and Sloane amaze me everyday with the their imaginations and conversations. I can't remember a day that I didn't laugh about something they said. I took the kids for their first "7-11 Slurpee run" the other day after getting shots at the doctor (I figured they deserved a good reward for being brave)...anyway, upon arriving home, Russell says to Aron, "are you jealous Dad? We got Slurpees and you didn't." Russell is always thinking and asking questions. I swear you can actually see the wheels turning in his head! I was so proud of him yesterday. While Aron was gone and Sloane was sleeping, I slipped and fell down our staircase. Russell came running. He asked if I was o.k. then brought me the phone to call 9-1-1. I explained that I was fine, but needed a "boo, boo, buddy." He quickly brought me an ice pack and stayed by my side until all was well. Thankfully, I have no lasting effects from the fall! I am also so happy to know that my emergency role playing has worked! The hilarious part is that before grabbing the phone, he ran to his room to put on his fireman's hat! I guess he relates emergency situations to the fire department! What a kid!!! He's my hero!

Sloane is becoming quite the little lady. She prances around all day holding tea parties, caring for her babies, and asking for privacy while using the bathroom. She goes into the bathroom, announces a need for "privacy", then shuts the door and takes care of her business! I must say that I LOVE having a DIAPER FREE household!!! She is constantly trying to keep up with her older brother and is anxiously awaiting her third birthday! I don't know how she is going to make it 3 more months. She asks almost daily if it is "Aipwell twetty four?" Needless to say she is very excited for a "Dowa party with Dowa cupcakes." What would the world be like without Dora the Explorer?!?! I think I sing "We did it! We did it? We did it! Hurray!" in my sleep!

Yesterday we went to a pajama themed birthday party for our neighbor friends Zeke and Casey!

A picture of the kids taken today while pretending to be "camping out."

Keeping Busy in 2010!

2010 has been off to a busy start for our family! I headed back to work on January 4th after a glorious and restful break. I am very fortunate to have a student teacher in my classroom for 12 weeks this winter. She is a wonderful addition! Both my students and myself are benefiting from her enthusiasm and hard work in the classroom.

In addition to keeping busy at work and at home with the kids, I have decided to run a 25K race in May with two of my friends. So...my running dedication is holding strong with 5 mile runs throughout the week and a longer run on the weekend. Let's hope I can keep up the training over the next few months in order to be fully prepared for race day on May 8th!

Aron and I just returned yesterday from a fun-filled trip to Cleveland. My parents watched the kids for the weekend in order for us to get some time away without the little ones! Thank you Mom and Dad!!! While in Cleveland, we visited the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame where we enjoyed a Motown exhibit as well as exhibits for Michael Jackson, Elvis, Bruce Springsteen, and MORE! It was an awesome place to see! We also ate at a Brazilian Steakhouse or "Churrascaria" similar to the one we visited 6 years ago while vacationing in Brazil. It was fun drinking and eating true Brazilian delicacies. It brought back terrific memories!

Some other fun January events are shown in the pictures below:

My mom made new blankets for the Russell and Sloane. They LOVE them and snuggle up every night with these warm and adorable blankets!

Last weekend we went to a neighbors house for a spaghetti cook-off! Aron made our sauce using my Grandmother's yummy recipe. He took 2nd place! While the adults were busy sampling sauce, the kids played hard with all their neighborhood pals.
Mmmmmm...spaghetti!
I had today off for MLK Day so I met the other neighborhood moms and kids at the zoo! We bundled up and were ready for animal fun. Thankfully most of the animals are inside during the winter so we had a lot of opportunities to warm up in the animal houses.

Lunch break with the boys!

Checking out the polar bears.

The girls take-off!

Aaaahhhhh...Vacation!!!!

This is the life! I love vacation!!!

As you can tell from the picture above, we all enjoyed a very nice and relaxing week at home. We spent time cleaning the house, playing games, building snowmen, celebrating the new year, making a cake for Aron's birthday, having dinner with friends, and play dates with the neighbors. It was great to not be on a schedule and just go with the flow of life! Would you believe I hardly took any pictures. Here are just a couple to share:

Russell and Sloane were busy painting their thank you cards.

Two of Russell's favorite gifts: Batman pajamas and a head lamp!