January

We rang in the new year with Grandma Trudy and Grandpa Mark! We went to see the play Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at the Virginia Rep Theatre, went to breakfast at Brecotea, visited Cabella's, and did lots of puzzles. We always love when they visit!

The day they flew out, it started snowing! The kids ended up having several snow days off school throughout the month, and were excited to bundle up and play outside. We didn't have any snow last year so this was a fun surprise. 

One weekend Matt and Lydia went to Whitegrass Resort in WV to go cross country skiing! It was Lydia's first time skiing and they both had a lot of fun. Matt found a cute Airbnb for them to stay in overnight and they spent all day Saturday skiing and exploring! 

Vivian said her first word! She said "Hi!" to Lydia and even waved! She's been saying hi and waving a lot since then, especially to Lydia and Emmi. :) She's still rolling all over the place and can be really fast! She's also sitting up, smiles a lot, coos and screeches, loves eating teething crackers, and sleeps through the night in her crib. She's 7 months old and thriving!

Elise started Sunbeams! She lots of fun in Nursery, and especially loved snack time and when they brought out the bubble machine. She really loved her leader Sister Montenaro and whenever Eliza came in to help. She was nervous to start Sunbeams, but did great! It helped that Matt was there in the Primary playing piano, and that she got to sit next to her friend Annie. We love our Sunbeam Elise!

Luke started learning sight words and reading Bob books! He really wants to learn to read, and is so proud of himself when he reads an entire Bob book! He sees the word "the" everywhere now and says "T-H-E that spells the!" He also still loves listening to Bill Pete books and has a big stack in his bedroom that we choose from almost every night for story time.

Lydia has been really into reading the I Survived series. A friend at church gave us a stack of them in December, and she dove right in. She hasn't wanted to read anything else since she started the series, and has learned a lot. She even had a great conversation with Grandpa Mike about the eruption of Mt St Helens after reading the book about it. He remembered seeing ash from it all the way in Idaho! Now that she's almost done with the books, she's requesting more from the series from the library. 

We signed up for a membership at the Y down the street and have been LOVING it. I go to pump classes twice a week with a bunch of friends from church. So fun. 

 

The cute Airbnb cabin Matt and Lyd stayed in for their overnight ski trip.

Seven month old Vivian!!
Everyone loves her so much.

Lydia and Luke drew this together. 
Luke drew the tree. :) 

Playing dress-up on a snowy day.

Elise's first day in Sunbeams!!

FHE! We talked about temples and build our own out of blocks. :) 

In line for preschool drop-off

Visiting the swans between snow storms. 
The kids named them Snow and White.

Luke with his makeshift fishing pole, and Vivian waving at Lydia!!

Matt took the kids to a Lowe's workshop. 
Love all of the dads in this picture. :) 

The snow plows they built. :)

Asleep on the way home from the gym

Baby's first blow dried hair!

Sitting up like a champ