It's been a long time!

Well, things have begun to slow down again. My neighbor is out of the hospital and has healed super-quickly, so she no longer needs my help. Thank goodness! It was a lot of work; I do not know how moms do it when they work outside of the home! I was exhausted not being able to do laundry, pick up the house, clean the kitchen, go grocery shopping, except for after the kids went to bed. Not to mention having so many kids together at once. I am sincerely glad that we never had twins or triplets. Yikes!

The family is doing well. All of us have been sick lately except for Jason, but we're all healthy for the moment :) It's still snowy and cold here, but there haven't been extreme temperatures for the past week or two. It's a little depressing when temps in the 30's sounds warm!! Especially when those of you in Arizona call me to let me know it's 80 degrees out. Thanks so much.

Rowan is no longer the easy, always happy, you could leave him playing on the floor for hours, baby you all know and love. He is now a VERY mobile baby! He crawls, 50% of the time on his hands and feet instead of hands and knees. And I am no longer surprised to walk into a room and see him standing somewhere, where he was previously sitting. He also now has opinions about things and isn't afraid to let you know. We have finally seen his tears! For the longest time I wasn't sure if his tear ducts were working because I had never seen tears on his face. But he really has a sweet personality, with a smile for everyone. Oh, and he loves to show off his two new top teeth :)

Ellie has been quite a handful lately, in good ways and not so fun ways. We have been trying really hard to find ways to have her play with other kids, because she really needs that social stimulation. I'm looking into a part-time preschool for her next school year, but it is expensive! We really don't have ANY extra income right now, so we'll see what happens with that. She has an unending thirst for knowledge, which is awesome, except when she asks you a million questions at inconvenient times. We have always been seriously thinking about homeschooling our kids, mainly for the educational benefits, but now it seems we almost have to so Ellie can continue to advance at her own pace. I know socially, as a 2-year-old, she is nowhere near ready for kindergarden, but intellectually she is at that level. She can read basic books, like Hop on Pop; knows all her colors, shapes, numbers; can do some basic addition, count past 20; etc. Learning is just something she's always liked to do. I always feel I have to make a disclaimer to other moms though, that there are other areas that she may not be as good at, since it doesn't interest her as much. For instance, I don't think she can catch a ball. Or throw with aim. Those just aren't things that we have practiced with her.

Other exciting things:

- Jason received a grading position through school, so he will be making a little extra money grading papers for two classes. Yeah!

- We're applying for YMCA membership, hopefully with financial assistance. They have some really neat classes, especially for Ellie's age. Not to mention free childcare, so Jason and I can get a break and get some exercise!

- One of our neighbors and I are sharing a garden plot this year at our community garden. We've been eating A LOT more vegetables lately (thank you Deceptively Delicious, so it will be great to grow our own. I can't wait for the snow to thaw!

Ok, now some pictures.