Catching up

Growing up in Iowa, I've had more than my fair share of ugly winter weather.  In fact, I've always said that Iowa winters are the worst nine months of the year.  But still, I haven't gotten used to it.  I hate the cold.  It saps my energy, my motivation wanes, and I just want to sleep and eat.

So right now, I'm going to blame the winter for my failure to properly blog for the last two weeks, and my failure to even pick up my camera during almost that entire period.  The pictures that you'll see below are the last ones I took before I started hibernating.

Earlier this week, I taught Zachary the meaning of the word, "dormant."  On the way to daycare, he's been pointing out all of the dormant trees.  This morning, however, we noticed that more and more are waking up ("Oh!  Look mommy!  That tree isn't dormant!!").  It's time for me to do the same.

I've had enough of feeling blah.  It's time to wake up. 

This weekend, we're going to go out and do something.  I'll have my camera to document it.  And then I'll come back on Monday, refreshed, with a to-do list in hand.

For now, here's your catch-up post:

• Samantha crawls.  When we last spoke, I was certain that all she would do was army crawl, but the day after I made that prediction, she proved me wrong.  My girl's doing it right.
• Samantha walked, sorta.  Over the weekend, we put Conor in a walker, and Samantha stood up behind it and started walking while pushing him.  
• Samantha has another tooth!  And she's drooling like crazy.  
• Conor, on the other hand...well, remember when I told you he was working on his first tooth?  Well, he's still working on it.  For the last month or so, we could see crooked little teeth right below the surface of his gums, but they still haven't popped out.  So officially, his tooth count is zero.
• Conor said his first word.  It was "Dada."  Being the sweet, sensitive little guy that he is, this was no doubt because Samantha's first word was "Mama" and he didn't want his dad to feel bad.
• The babies turned nine months on the 18th!  I neglected to document the occasion. 
• When we finally had a good snow (yes, I know it was just over 2 weeks ago), Zachary was able to build his first proper snowman.  And then another.

• When the weather turned nice for a moment just three days later, we got the entire family outside.  Zachary was able to get out his t-ball set, and has gotten really good! 

After hitting the ball, he'd run over to the babies and say, "Did you see that, Samantha?  Pop fly!!"  (I don't know why he thought only Samantha would be interested...)



•  I handed Zachary my camera phone, and he had the best time with it.  When looking through the resulting photos, it was interesting to see things from his perspective.

• Roar is still having challenges learning to drive.  But there is good news.  During the last trip, a curb check was the worst that happened, and that time, he appeared to notice all stop signs.  More good news?  Getting in the car next to him is more exhilarating than a roller coaster.  And it might even be good for weight loss - my heart races, and one of these times, I might actually throw up. 

Okay, I'm sure I'm missing things, but that's it for now.  Have a fantastic weekend!  And Spring, get here quickly!!