And Mommy's been Tired . . . with a capital T. Yes, a growing baby has definitely played a part, but I think the weather has also been a factor. These last few weeks have been COLD (in the 20's for most of the day and lower than that at night.) And I've been ready to call it QUITS by 7:30 pm and curl up under my heated blanket. Thus explains the lack of posts. Enough said. :o)
We are very glad to see some warmer weather returning! Ah, the bliss of a 40-50 degree day! Not only can we enjoy the fresh air, but it doesn't take nearly as much energy (physical and electrical!) to keep the house warm. We did, however, stay warm during the cold snap with a combination of space heaters, extra layers of clothing, lots of blankets, window quilts, and our wood stove. Mommy has gotten quite proficient at all aspects of using a wood stove except for actually chopping and bringing in the wood. That is one job I am more than happy to leave in the hands of my very capable husband. :o)
Our window quilts have been a HUGE blessing in keeping the house at a reasonable temperature. (
Thanks, Grandma!) During the cold snap, the window was quite frosty most mornings, but the quilts kept the cold air from getting inside. :o)
And otherwise, we've just been settling back into our normal routine with plenty of indoor activities. On top of the cold, Daddy has had some rather long hours at work, so a tired Mommy has also had to drum up some extra creative energy (in addition to the energy being exerted to stay warm.) Thus explains the lack of posts, #2.
One of the kids' Christmas gifts was a set of race cars. We had to exchange one because originally one remote controlled both cars, but they now each have their own autonomously controlled car and have had lots of fun racing around. :o)
Hannah's enjoyed crafts as usual. :o)
As well as her special "paper" doll quilt--thanks, Great Grandma!
And Peter bounces from cars to Legos to Little People . . .
The kids had fun helping me with lunch train, and even more fun making peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses, although I don't have pictures of that. :o)
Peter wanted his "baby" to listen to the music, and then Hannah helped all of the other buddies join in, too . . .
And I came upstairs from doing laundry to find the kids happily rocking their babies. :o) Awwww!
And yes, not only does Peter now understand that Mommy has a baby in her tummy, but he has a baby, too. Notice the smaller pumpkin on the tummy of the pumpkin bear--that's his baby. He now refers to two buddies by specific names. His baby is "mine beabee" and his Taggy Lion is "Raar. Mine." (The odd spelling is an attempt to communicate the accent with which he says the names.) :o)
So that's life in these parts. We're anticipating a dethawing soon. :o)
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And please indulge me, but I got quite a few pictures of our growing little girl. She looked so cute in her new haircut and school outfit, I couldn't resist. :o)
Praise the Lord for sunshine--
He likes to see the picture on the camera after it's taken and this is the picture I caught of him asking to see the picture before it had even been taken! :o)
Gotta love that smile! :o)
And here's Peter after--this was the first time I've used clippers on his hair. Ahhh! SO much easier and Mommy was much more pleased with the results! The scissors just were not working this weekend.
Here's Hannah before:
Hers was a good bit more dramatic. 
And here's Daddy with his freshly trimmed hairs. No recent before shots . . . it was bushy. Very very bushy. :o)
Till next month . . . 
Peter tried, but finally decided to stick with blowing. :o)
I love this picture. It is so classic Peter. Hannah wanted me to take a picture of both of them. Peter was happy to oblige, and climbed up on the wall to wait . . . quite patiently as Hannah was another minute or two trying to get the bubble container lids on. Peter wanted me to take his picture though while he was waiting. So he smiled for me. :o)
And here's the two of them . . .
And the one that cracks me up every time I see it. :o)
After the "posed" pics, they hopped down to play chase around the tree. Now that was a hoot!! :o) What a blast they had!
Looking forward to spring! :o)
And here's Mommy at 26 weeks. 
As of today, I am officially in my third trimester! Yikes, how time flies! Overall, I am still doing really well. As I experienced with our first two, I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a couple months already. They've not been troublesome thus far (although they started earlier), so we're just taking things in stride. As I mentioned in the last post, I have been very tired in the evenings the last few weeks. I'm hoping that some of my energy will return with the warmer weather. Otherwise, we'll be basically down to the essentials--meals, clean children, and laundry. :o)
And otherwise, we've just been settling back into our normal routine with plenty of indoor activities. On top of the cold, Daddy has had some rather long hours at work, so a tired Mommy has also had to drum up some extra creative energy (in addition to the energy being exerted to stay warm.) Thus explains the lack of posts, #2.
Hannah's enjoyed crafts as usual. :o)
As well as her special "paper" doll quilt--thanks, Great Grandma!
And Peter bounces from cars to Legos to Little People . . .
The kids had fun helping me with lunch train, and even more fun making peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses, although I don't have pictures of that. :o)
Peter wanted his "baby" to listen to the music, and then Hannah helped all of the other buddies join in, too . . .
And I came upstairs from doing laundry to find the kids happily rocking their babies. :o) Awwww!
And yes, not only does Peter now understand that Mommy has a baby in her tummy, but he has a baby, too. Notice the smaller pumpkin on the tummy of the pumpkin bear--that's his baby. He now refers to two buddies by specific names. His baby is "mine beabee" and his Taggy Lion is "Raar. Mine." (The odd spelling is an attempt to communicate the accent with which he says the names.) :o)
So that's life in these parts. We're anticipating a dethawing soon. :o)
And here's the Gingerbread "house" display. If you click on the link above, you can see professional photos of the winners in each category, but here's a few of our favorite people . . .
And favorite creations . . .
The icing work on this house was itself a work of art!
Peter's absolute favorite . . . "Ruff! Ruff!!" 
And one of Hannah's favorites . . .
My pictures do not do it justice, but here's the first place winner in the adult category. The detail was absolutely incredible.
The time and talent that goes into creating these edible works of art is just mind-boggling. It's thought provoking though to consider whether I'm investing as much time in things that are eternal as these artists invest in that which is so temporary.
