Hibernating

We've been laaaaaazzy this January, and are in hibernation mode. There have been many quiet pajama days at home, lots of organizing, purging, and post-holiday cleaning. I've been trying a lot of new recipes: soups, comfort foods, and desserts. Mark and I have been on a recent Movie Night kick, and have caught up on lots of new-to us releases from 2010 and 2011 that we've wanted to see (and somehow couldn't find time to watch last year while caring for an infant). I've been reading lots, thanks to my Book Club and an increased desire in this cold weather to be under cozy blankets, snuggled up with a good book. My hibernation has resulted in fewer blog posts this month, less pictures of the children, and many relaxing weekends at home as a family.

Leah apparently got the hibernation memo, and slept through the night for the first time on Friday! We spent much of Saturday on an adrenaline high, congratulating ourselves on our first full night of sleep in recent history, thrilled about this big milestone. We hoped for a repeat performance last night, However, someone was a bit of a grouchy bear, crying from midnight until 3 a.m., which completely deflated our proud egos. I guess Leah's not interested in hibernating all winter, but you win some and lose some, and those long nights make naps even more appealing (to Mommy).


Luke and Mark have escaped our hibernation to do a couple of neat things this month. Last weekend, they went to a car show together. It was such a fun boy activity, and Luke had a ball "test-driving" all of the new models, climbing in the trunks (which he called "sleeping compartments"), and standing in the beds of all the pick up trucks. This weekend, they went to our Children's Museum, and spent a rainy Saturday morning playing in all of the exhibits.


Maybe it's because our brains are in hibernation mode as well, but Luke is starting to ask us questions that are increasingly difficult to answer: "What are antennas for?", "Why is fire hot?", and most recently at dinner this week: "How does God put our skin together?" Mark and I looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that we had the perfect person to answer this one. Poppy not only can fix anything, but has years of theological training and practice, as well as hundreds of children's sermons under his belt. So, we dialed Bean and Poppy's number, put the phone on speaker mode, and when Poppy got on the line, Luke repeated his question: "Poppy, how does God put our skin together?". We eagerly awaited Poppy's sage wisdom, and instead heard (after a few seconds of stunned silence coming from the Williamsburg end of the phone), "Luke, I have no idea!"

Luckily, Luke didn't seem to mind that his beloved grandfather didn't have the answer to this burning question, and Mark and I were secretly relieved that Poppy, in fact, does not know absolutely everything.

Because I've taken so few photos this month, some of these are actually from December, but illustrate our cozy hibernation lately:


The boys perusing the Sunday paper (Luke stole the car section from Daddy).



A dreary Thursday at home called for mini-golf in the garage (because it never rains on the golf course). Notice the bed-head and footwear!



Chilly day at the playground.



Snuggling with Beanie's dog, Mia, whom Luke referred to as his best friend.



Lounging while watching a video. This moment gave me a preview of Luke's couch-potato teenage years. He certainly doesn't look like he's 3 years old here!



Where's Waldo, I mean, Luke? Naptime today, in his toy box, hibernating with all of his stuffed animals. What a funny kid!