January-- the other stuff...

It has been thoroughly documented that January was hellish in most ways. It has been a struggle to try to resume some normalcy in our day to day life. I can't say that the sadness and overwhelming emotions didn't sneak into most parts of each day, but I did try to escape as much as possible. With the exception of the New York trip, which was momentous, January was mostly made up of quiet moments and normal things. Attempting to focus on these small things is helping me to be thankful for all that I am blessed with.

We went to MOPS twice, and church, of course. Carver is doing a great job at easily being left with the
childcare workers and playing with the other kids.

Lea is adjusting to life without a best friend. I think she has struggled some-- she was very dependent on Delia, but she now goes almost everywhere with Carver and me. She has only been left alone twice this month, otherwise she rides along wherever we go.

Carver has been giving Lea a lot of attention-- not all of it wanted-- but she is quite patient.

Enjoying some black beans and rice... thank God for white shirts and bleach. And yes, he can use utensils, don't worry.

Carver loves "reading" with his Leap Frog Junior-- a Christmas gift from Nana and Papa.

We've played outside a lot and enjoyed the mild winter. I love watching Carver get so absorbed in whatever he is playing with. Covered in chalk or dirt or whatever. This, to me, is exactly what 2 year-old boys should look like. He also loves his basketball hoop from Grandmama and Granddaddy. Sorry, no pictures of it. The ones I have show the disaster of our garage and are not fit for public viewing.

We found out that Carver will be getting a baby brother in a few months :)

Carver survived a pretty bad haircut (both the experience and the cut), of which he is solely to blame-- he was being ridiculous. We've tried to compensate for the poor cut by occasionally putting gel in his hair to create a messy-type look. It's pretty cute but tough to get a picture of...

I've been trying to decide which pair of these new TOMS ballet flats that I need first...which is not technically a "January" event since they just came out yesterday on Feb. 1st but.... whatever. Retail therapy.

I've been using Pinterest as a form of escapism and wishing that I was as thin, fashionable, creative, and motivated as all the people I read about. Maybe one day.

We have also been taking some walks lately, up to check the mail and then usually we walk around the neighborhood for a bit. Once a started letting Carver actually walk with me I can barely get him into his stroller anymore for the longer walks.



Daniel has updated his blog recently. Check it out and show him some love so he'll be encouraged to keep doing it :)

I've also been enjoying my new iPhone which enabled me to take about 99% of these pictures. A useful gadget.

So, we'll see what February holds for us. I don't have high hopes for it, but a little bit of peace and rest would be welcome.