The Blessing of Time Gone By

Time sometimes feels an enemy drifting by way too fast, speeding by, despite our best efforts to hold on to it. Yet, sometimes, it's our best gift.

Logging into this account for the first time after several years has been enlightening. There was an entry I never published. Full of angst and fear, I raved and ranted about situations we faced and needed to address. Life altering decisions. Road-not-take decisions. The entry was more a prayer seeking answers, a cry for help. It was also clear how lonely the situation felt.

Years in the future, those prayers were answered. I shake my head thinking how desperate I sounded not because they were trivial matters, but because those prayers were CLEARLY answered. Then, taking a look at the earliest posts - the post partum posts, the NICU posts - I am reminded our prayers are ALWAYS answered. It may not be in the way we wish, in a time of our choosing, but they are always answered.

So today, I am grateful for the reminder of answered prayers.

So many answered prayers in this picture.

Craptasticness!

If Momma ain't happy then ain't nobody happy.

Unfortunately, that tends to be the case in our family too.  Not that Momma was necessarily unhappy so much as not feeling well.  The drastic temperature changes we tend to experience in Texas wreck havoc with Momma and the kids allergies/sinuses.  Add to that an unfortunate event of melting a green halloween makeup crayon in the dryer just prior to drying new beige linen, throwing out her back somehow, mix in a nice migraine headache...and, well, you have a pretty NOT happy Momma.  And, pretty cranky kids too.

Bubeaner contemplating a hiding place in the living room.

Not sure why the formal living room holds so much appeal to the kids.

Although they started out on a good note for them. Since Momma could barely move, the kids were thrilled to have yet ANOTHER pajama day.  Seriously wonder how they will function once school starts if all they want to wear are pajamas. At least they were clean pajamas. Some days you just have to count your blessings. And they also got a couple of episodes of the Disney channel.  Pretty sure the kids secretly rejoice when Momma is ill because they get to watch TV.

Found you!
Gotta love that smile!

However, they were actually pretty helpful and cleaned the nursery and playroom. It was not immaculate, but all the toys were put away.  We did not check the inside of the tent in the nursery.  As of late, they have discovered they can hide toys in the tent and the room will look "clean."

Discovered these last spring when we visited uncle Jan and aunt Lena.

The kids love them.
And we love them because of the fine motor skills they require.

The kids then entertained themselves playing a game of hide-and-seek.  Momma could not really figure out which one was actually hiding and who was seeking.  It appeared they were both doing it. But it kept them entertained for almost a half hour!  

Bubita playing a solitaire version of Memory.

Most toys are in the play room.  Any toys, such as the small Lego, that need adult supervision which mainly includes craft project and small manipulatives are kept in the family room.  This allows us to keep an eye on them regardless of what we need to do.  Before they needed to ask for permission to use some of the toys. But now that they are "big kids" they can pick what they want to work on so long as an adult is present.  Today, they did a good job keeping themselves entertained while Momma kept an eye on them.  These projects/toys have the added benefit that they tend to keep the kids quiet while they concentrate on them.

Turn away for a minute and suddenly our bedroom is invaded by all the kids' babies!
It was actually a little freaky.

Bubeaner and Bubita are old enough that most days they can do without a nap, especially the days they are at home.  Momma usually will ask them if they want to take a nap after lunch time. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.  On days Momma is not feeling well, there is no choice.  Everyone naps!

Bubita requires a lot of Momma cuddles when she is cranky.

And, boy, was she cranky and emotional.

Most of the afternoon the kids spent it playing with manipulatives or craft projects.  The afternoon actually went by pretty fast.  This was just as well since they were picking up on Momma's crankiness and getting a little prickly too.  Bubita especially tends to pick up on Momma's emotions.  Poor Bubeaner has to deal with two emotional women all on his own.  He was thrilled when Daddy-o got home.  Of course, this  does not bode well for Bubeaner and Daddy-o's future when Bubita enters the teen years and Momma enters menopause. Eeck!  Better not let them think too much about that.

Amazing what a little cuddling will do for Bubita.

Of course, she then started milking it.
But anything to keep her happy and not crying or screaming.

On the bright side, tomorrow is another day.  And we will get out of the house even if it is to drive around.  And the kids will get dressed in something other than pajamas.  Surely 3 days of pajamas cannot be good for morale. And Bita & PapaPepe will be getting here tomorrow too. So here's to a better day tomorrow.

Bubeaner and Bubita playing Chef for Daddy-o

There were many, many, many tears and crankiness from Bubita.
Bubeaner dealt with it as well as any man can deal with it; he survived.

Hello 2014!

Welcome 2014! 

We had planned on staying up playing board games with the kids while watching Star Wars movies.  The intention was good. And we even made it through Episode IV. However, 2014 found us sleeping in bed cuddling with the kiddos. 

The many faces of a mini-drama queen in training.

The day was quiet and relaxing. Bubeaner and Bubita kept to their normal (way-too early) morning routine, which Daddy-o thankfully handles.  A bit of breakfast, which included Bubita gobbling up Momma's bunuelo as soon as Momma was out of sight. The grapes we were supposed to have at midnight were also enjoyed as a morning snack.  It was a pretty laid back day.  The kiddos only made on request: pj day!

Sous Chef Bubita assisting Momma making pineapple tamales.

She insisted on scraping the side of the bowl as well as managing the mixer controls. 

And since the weather was so nice, Bubeaner and Bubita took advantage by spending a good bit of the morning outside on the playset.  There is a bobcat, and in previous years a mountain lion, that roams the community.  The mountain lion had a nice meal in a neighbors yard last year. And, we caught the bobcat resting in the kids slide a few weeks ago.  This has limited their play time outside to only when an adult can be with them.  We do not want the animals thinking the kiddos would make a good snack. So today, they played to their hearts content while Daddy-o had a fill of the day's many bowl games on the TV outside.

Bubita concentrating on her artwork for Daddy-o

Momma made her first attempt at pineapple tamales.  Bubita helped out with the preparation of the dough and filling.  And Bubeaner helped out with the actual assembling of the tamales.  They both have shown a great interest in cooking and baking.  And they love to help.  They are still not allowed to use knives or mix/stir anything on the stove.  However, they help with almost everything else.  And Momma has an ulterior motive in getting them excited about the kitchen.  Momma hates cooking.  So if the kids LOVE cooking, maybe, just maybe, they may take over that aspect in a few more years.  Nefarious, I know!

Cannot start the new year without blackeye peas for good luck.

Goodbye 2013!

There have been a few years we were glad to see the last off.  We had some challenges and stresses in 2013, but overall, it was a good year.  Or at the least, a year of acceptance. 

We came to terms with Daddy-o's diagnosis of early-onset Parkinson's. We were blessed with a wonderful supporting reaction from his work and unconditional love from family and friends. We still don't like it.  If we could, we would wish it away.... But considering everything, we are very blessed.

Cuddling watching our New Year's eve Star Wars movie.
Oh, how times have changed.

We said goodbye to good family furry companions. We miss our furry companions terribly, but are learning to enjoy this in-between time without the downsides of pets.

We have re-established long-lost or damaged relationships. Ended damaging ones.

Unlike Bubita, Bubeaner is completely enthralled by Episode IV.

Through it all we have grown closer together. Learned to love each other more every day acknowledging our weaknesses and strengths. And above all remain always aware and grateful to our many blessings.

So we wish everyone a wonderful new year. Bring it on 2014.

Longhorns and Messiness

Life with children is never dull.  However, it is rarely tidy.  It is a constant, never-ending battle against clutter and messiness.  Pre-kids Daddy-o and Momma were used to a clean, clutter-free home life.  We both inherited serious OCD tendencies.  Even when Bubeaner joined us, there was only a slight change to home life.  Bubita made it more challenging, but we were still able to keep a decent home life.  Having two toddlers.... Yeah, we have learned that things are never going to be the same.  It has taken a little more work to relax and learn that things are never going to be as clean as before.

LEGO are entrancing. Kids of all ages love them.

Momma always swore she would never have toys through the entire house.  We set out a specific play room to confine the toys.  However, we soon learned kids want to be near us and in the middle of all the activity.  Little by little toys have started to invade every room in the house including the previously "sacred" Daddy-o's office.

Unfortunately, they have realized that the floor makes a better platform for their creations.

We have not given up completely.  The Bubeaner and Bubita are actually pretty good at picking up and helping clean up.  The OCD tendencies are strong in these two. However, they are kids.  And kids need to play. And as long as they continue to help with the cleaning, we can live with a bit of a mess.

One of Bubita's newest past times is applying make up on Momma.
We did learn eyeliner does not make good blush.

Daddy-o is a die-hard Texas Longhorn.  He has tried to indoctrinate the kids into loving the Burnt Orange.  And it was working.... Until the kids started spending more time with MeMeliann and uncle Gary; both are HornedFrog fans. Much to Daddy-o's deep chagrin Bubeaner and Bubita both claim to be Horned Frogs and love wearing their purple and white.

Mrs. S found DisneyJr for Bubita.
We lost her until Sofia the 1st ended.

However, they are occasionally willing to wear burnt orange for Daddy-o.  Tonight was one of those nights.  The entire family went to a friend's home to watch the Longhorns play in the Alamo Bowl.  They were the only little ones.  However, they did a pretty decent job behaving.  A big reason was the two papillon puppies at the home.  They were sweet and playful with the kids playing chase and slobbering them with puppy kisses.

Sandy, our 13-year old cocker spaniel, died back in July. We all miss her terribly, especially the kids.  She was their constant companion. Wherever they played, slept, or ate, she was always there.  We have been considering a new companion.  Daddy-o wants a lab; Momma wants a boxer. However, something became very clear after having seen the kids playing with Grandma's JackAttack during Christmas and now with these two papillon puppies.  The kids need a little dog. A dog they can both handle and that won't overpower them. A lab and a boxer may yet join our home in the future. But it looks like a little doggie is in our more immediate future.

Bubita and her new furry friend. 

Sadly for Daddy-o, the Horns lost.  But the loss was more bearable since we were in such good company. How bad can you feel when you are enjoying amazing BBQ from Pecan Lodge? Those ribs were jaw-dropping good. And there was also nice strong coffee, yummy pecan pie and vanilla ice cream.  It was a long night for the Bubeaner and Bubita. But a good time was had by all.

It looked like the puppies enjoyed the extra attention too.

We are Back!

We are back!

It has been way too long. And actually it took me several days to even figure out what my login and password was for blogger.  Amazing considering updating the blog was almost a daily event at one point.  We are grateful for the wonderful memories saved because of those posts.  And recording future memories is the reason we are back.  Life with 2 young children was more challenging than we ever expected.  As a dear friend recently said, expectations sure change after the second one.

Bubita (3-years old), Momma, and Bubeaner (5-years old)

Life has not gotten easier, not has it slowed down.  However, we are hopeful that we now can manage a daily update again. Although in the time the last 2 paragraphs were typed Bubeaner attempted to take crafting supplies to the playroom, Bubita started unwrapping a neighbors present, and both are currently attacking Daddy-o.  Yup, it will be challenging.

Our first stop for lunch at a Denny's on our trip yesterday.
Not the wisest choice; no food poisoning thankfully.
We should have gone with DairyQueen as Daddio wanted.

Our little family has undergone some changes in the last 2-3 years.  It would take too long go over them all. So we are just going to start from this weekend and update as things come up.

On our trip, yesterday:
Yelp! To the rescue for our dinner choice.  

It was messy eating, but delicious!

We were able to spend the weekend with both sets of grandparents and just returned late last night.  The kids did an amazing job through the 12-hour drive.  They are actually really good travelers. Of course, the DVD player did not hurt. (We have given up on the "no-TV" for them.  Live and learn...or survive, as the case may be.)

We did venture out once today for nourishment.
We cleaned out the fridge before vacation.
Ms.-I-Don't-Need-A-Nap was out cold before we left the neighborhood.

Today we were little heathens and had a PJ day recovering.  The kids LOVE pj days. Unfortunately, it also means they have a lot of energy.  Right now, they are wrestling on the floor. But at least, we are back.

We are BACK!!!

Long, Long, L O N G Day

It appeared today would never end.  Our days are usually limited to at most one major activity outside the home a day.  And we try to spend at least 1-2 days at home with no outings; this does not include walking to the park or enjoying the nature trail just "car" outings.  Experience has taught us that more than that tends to make for cranky babies, and parents too.

Today's schedule:

1. Bubeaner's Gym class
2. Grocery shopping (unplanned stop; out of toilet paper and other items)
3. Rush home to eat and get kids to nap (Bubeaner fell asleep in car before eating)
4. Appointment with Dr. Z (make sure kiddos only suffering from allergies)
5. Grocery store (forgot toilet paper!)
6. Rush home, change Bubeaner into swim trunks for make-up lesson
7. Dinner
8. Bathe babies
9. Bedtime

It was exhausting.  But Bubeaner and Bubita were amazing. There was only a little crankiness during the second grocery store stop from Bubeaner and some complaining from Bubita for being back in the car seat after rushing from the grocery store-home-swim class.  Bubeaner even enjoyed his sushi dinner.  His favorite was the miso soup loving what he call "panecitos" (tofu squares).  Bubeaner gave up on the spoon and used a straw to drink it.

Bubita was quite a trooper.  It cannot be comfortable to spend so much time strapped to the car seat.  Sometimes it is just necessary.  During Bubeaner's gym time, she stays in the car seat because usually she's finishing up her morning nap and later because it's a safe place for her.  Bubita is pretty mobile and would not stay put otherwise.  This is one of the reasons we are trying out a gym class for infants next week.  We'll see how Bubita enjoys it.  We assume it will not be a problem since she currently loves to crawl around, climb on anything she can and cruise along the furniture.  It's good to see him enjoy some of the simple pleasures of childhood playtime.

Bubeaner will also be trying out a gym class with a new coach next week.  This particular class is immediately after Bubita's (if we decide to enroll her) which would eliminate the need for an additional outing a week since it's on a different day than Bubeaner's current class.  However, we are not in a hurry to transfer Bubeaner if the fit is not right.  Bubeaner has come a long way from his shy demeanor and cautious class participation.  He was actually complimented today on how well he socializes with other kids and participates in class.

At our doctor's visit we found out the kiddos have not gained much weight from their last visit... actually even from their last well-child check up.  Bubeaner weighs 29+ pounds and Bubita weighs 16+ pounds.  It's pretty strange to us considering how much they actually eat on a daily basis.  They do appear to have gotten taller but we won't know for sure until their next well-child check up.  As to the coughing, sneezing, nasal drainage, et. al?  Dr. Z assumes, from lack of any other symptoms, that the kiddos are just dealing with some nasty allergies.  They are now to start taking Claritin on a daily basis along with using the saline rinse several times a day.  Bubeaner and Bubita are probably the only kids under 3 that know about saline rinses.

Thursday Activities

We finally made it back to the Thursday church group after months.  Battleing with colds, travel and other things made it difficult to go.  Bubita had absolutely no problem staying at the nursery.  Bubeaner whined and fussed a little despite being eager about going on the way there.  He did not cry for long.  Soon he was entertained playing with the trains, cars and horses.  Thankfully, neither kid was upset about leaving either.

They were treated to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.  It was a win-win situation.  Bubeaner got to play and wear himself out at the playground bound to take a long, long nap afterwards.  He loved it.  Bubeaner immediately made friends with a little boy bonding over naming the different kinds of cars in the drive-through line.  They were later joined by another little boy and a little girl.  Bubeaner is communicating so well these days.  Of course, he also wanted to share some of his favorite words with his new friends.  Imagine the shock of hearing Bubeaner's favorite hockey word (He heard it a lot at the last hockey game and t's NOT "puck") drifting down from the playground being repeated by all of the kids.  O! M! G!  Our kid is THAT kid!  It reiterated a couple of things: 1) Bubeaner is not going back to another hockey game for a while, and 2) it was time to leave.  Thankfully, non of the other mothers were in the play area.  Wonder who will get blamed for their kids' new vocabulary word.

Bubita also enjoyed the excursion.  She loved getting all the attention and cuddling from the nursery staff.  She was even pampered by the restaurant's staff.  And after nursing, she was eager to join the boys playing.  She was so eager to play she walked to the playarea holding on to only one hand!  She did great.  One mom suggested Bubita might only be a week or two from walking on her own.  And considering how fast she's been improving it might be possible.  She started the week walking holding on to both hands, moved on to standing using the hand-held walker but not being able to control it, to using the walker to speedwalk across the playroom to now walking holding only one hand... all in less than 4 days.

Of course, her temper tantrums have also "improved" with time.  The girl can scream!  It takes strong determination and will power to ignore them especially since they have become more frequent.  Bubita is determined to make her point be heard.  Thankfully, they usually don't last too long once she realizes no one is paying attention.  Then she just goes back to her sweet, easy going attitude.

We have been working on counting with both of them using flashcards along with "baby channel" programing and regular toys.  Bubita is mainly working on her animal names.  But Bubeaner is actually leaning to count.  He was doing a great job counting up to ten (that's how high the cards went).  We though he was rote counting, but he was also able to count when the cards were shuffled or when asked about a random number of items.  Bubeaner can count!  But only up to ten.  After that he just goes a little crazy with the order; he's pretty fond of the number 16.

Artic Blast 2011

We usually joke about the winter weather coverage on the news.  Their "sky-is-falling" chant usually does not pan out.  However, it appears (we trust the National Weather Service more) we are in for a doozy with temperatures dropping into the single digits within the next 24 hours.  And to think we were enjoying weather in the 80 a couple of days ago.

In any case, we spent today getting our refrigerator filled and running some errands prior to our upcoming hibernation.  And since Momma had put off grocery shopping the last couple of weeks... the cart was full and heavy.  We took an hour where Bubita complained most of the time from being strapped in the baby carrier.  She usually loves it; she's close to Momma AND gets to see everything.  Not today.  Bubeaner not to be outdone decided to scream BLOODY murder at the top of his lungs on and off (mainly on) for the duration of our trip.  We were that family.  We got pity looks, sympathy looks and aghast looks.  We attribute the last ones to non-parents.

We are not having any more issues with Bubeaner at night time.  At Bita's suggestion, we moved Bubita's bedtime up to match Bubeaner's.  Problem solved!  He no longer complains, and, other than for a few minutes, neither does Bubita.  Yay!!!

Of course, that would make life too easy.  Now, we are having problems with nap times.  Bubeaner keeps pushing his afternoon nap later and later every day.  He's still sleeping about 2-3 hours.  So Bubeaner still needs it.  Thankfully, when he fights us it just means he stays in his bed talking to himself until he doses off.

Bubita suddenly went from napping every 90 minutes to taking two long naps during the day.  Unfortunately, she fights us for those.  We are convinced the neighbors think we torture our kids from all the crying.

Bubeaner continues working on his potty training.  Every night after his shower he asks to use it!  We even decided to buy extra pairs of underwear; next week we will attempt to go from diaper to underwear during the day.  Surely 14 pairs should be enough.  Right?

He's learned two phrases that he uses constantly: "I don wanna" and "That funny".  When something makes him laugh or when he does something he considers funny, Bubeaner will say "that funny".  Of course, he expects us to agree with his observation.  And most of the time, it is funny.

The other phrase is becoming more annoying than "no".  And we did not believe that was possible.  Almost every single time we ask him to do something he will say he doesn't want to do it.  Even if it's something he likes....  Sigh.  This one pushes a button, but we are trying to not let him know.

We did learn something interesting about Bubita today.  She does not crawl yet.  When we try to teach her, she gets angry and tries to roll away.  Yet, we learned it's not because she can't.  Bubita was on the trundle when Bubeaner wanted to use his potty (a couple of feet away).  While Bubita thought she was "unsupervised" she rolled on to her tummy, looked back to the left and right, then proceeded to scoot backwards.  Once her legs went over the ledge, she looked back again and then proceeded with the scooting reaching out with her legs to find the ground.  By this time Momma was right behind her ready to help if needed, but also wanting to find out what Bubita would do.  Well, Bubita found the ground and then continued scooting until she was standing holding on to the trundle!!!  Sometimes we get the feeling she's just pretending to be a baby.

Night Terrors

The little ones are not having night terrors.  At least we do not believe they are having them.  But they have become little terrors at night.  They are not sleeping.  Oh, they are taking their daytime naps without a problem or fuss.  Nice, long naps.  But then something happens at night.

Every girl needs an Ipad!  (She actually nows how to move things.)

Bubeaner starts fussing and crying not wanting to start the nightly routine.  He fusses about eating dinner.  He fusses about bath time.  He fusses about reading books!  Once he starts eating, bathing or reading, it's OK.  But the mother of all fits starts putting him in bed.  Crying fits.  Hysterical, not the funny-ha-ha-ha fits, but the what-in-the-world-is-going-on kind of fits.  They are a little better if he's in our bed, but they are still bad.  Then he fall asleep.  If he's in our bed, we have some hope of a decent, undisturbed, night's sleep.  If he's in his room, we can look forward to a few crying bouts if he awakes... followed by Bubeaner coming to our room.

Lately, it's nothing but attitude from these two.

And Bubita is not far behind on her fits.  She doesn't have fits for the nightly routine; she actually really enjoys it and gets excited when she guesses what comes next.  However, she refuses to go to sleep in her crib.  We must rock her to sleep.  This may be due to Bubita falling asleep while nursing at night lately.  Then if she wakes up, she wants to be held and rocked til she's asleep again.  We know the answer is to let her cry.  But if she cries, Bubeaner wakes up.  And if Bubeaner wakes up, we are ALL going to be awake and not happy.

Bubeaner tries to use his sister as a pillow unsuccessfully.

With Bubeaner we wonder if it may not be due to sinus issues.  He actually asks to use the saline spray on a daily basis.  And he's been messing with his nose and rubbing around his eyes a lot this weekend... about the same time when the fitfull issues started.  We started giving him 1/2 a dose of Benadryl before bedtime in case it was allergy issues aggravating him.  No difference.  Seriously, NONE!  Well, none at night.  He does appear to be in a better mood during the day. 

Bubita wanted so badly to eat some of the Thai food.

As to Bubita, no clue what could be causing the changes.  Our best guess is maybe a growth spurt.  Although that generally happens around 6 months and she's now 7 months old!  But then again, this girl likes to do things her way.  And she's been eating a little more frequently during the day and most definitely eating at night.  Before she ate at 730p and then again at 5a or 6a.  Currently she's wide awake, in our bed and rolling from Momma's side to Dadda's side of the bed while kicking us.  And, it's almost midnight.  Bubeaner has woken up twice already crying.  He's still in his bed... for now.

Bubeaner absolutely enjoyed his Tom Yum soup. Yummy!

This weekend we all got a scare that has affected Momma and Dadda's sleep too.  Saturday morning, while we were out, our home alarm went off.  The police was called.  And when we got home, the patio door was wide open.  There was no sign of forced entry.  However, we ALWAYS dead bolt the back door.  ALWAYS.  And before we left it was locked. 

A girl's gotta do, what a girl's gotta do.  Bubeaner will learn not to leave his sippy cup unattended.

Nothing was missing, other than our peace of mind.  The only thing we can assume is that maybe someone using the "master" key may have opened it and got scared off by our "watch/attack" dog (or more likely by the alarm going off).  The builders give master keys to "buyers" and then when the house is completed and the closing finalized, the locks are reset by using the new keys.  Well, we reset the other outside doors but failed to reset the back patio door.  So anyone with that master key could have gained entry.

Visiting with some of Bubeaner's NICU nurses.

Afterward we (Momma) did not want to stay in the house, at least at that moment.  So we ran some errands and took the opportunity to visit the NICU.  We had not taken Bubeaner in a long time.  Sadly (for us, but good that babies are healthy) the NICU was pretty empty so there was minimal staff on duty.  We did get to see two of his nurses, RN Cathy and RN Melinda.  They both agreed that Bubita is a female clone of Bubeaner.  At times, it's scary how much they look alike.

Bubeaner and his Tammie

 
Bubeaner was a bit reserved at first, but eventually warmed up enough to interact with them.  Of course, it helped that RN Melinda had a goody bag with stickers and crayons.  She knows the way to a kids heart.  As to Bubita, she was her cute, smiling self.  Being back at the NICU reminded us how far we have come.... and how blessed we were with Bubita's uncomplicated birth.  We are indeed blessed with two healthy, beautiful and absolutely precious children.

He refused to go to sleep.

 Sunday was more calm.  Church followed by lunch with RN Tammie.  We teased her about the bear she gave Bubeaner after he left the NICU.  The bear had a recording, "Hi _____, Tammie loves you."  Well, the darn thing is still working despite the fact that Bubeaner LOVES to press it over and over and over and over.  Bubeaner also got to see his godfather and watch some of the football games.  Although the highlight of his day was "driving" uncle Jeff's truck.  Trucks, tractors, and fire trucks are his current favorite things to do.

Guess, we were not feeding her enough.

Brr, It's Getting Cold Here

Bubeaner racing with Bubita

Today was not as cold as yesterday.  And it actually felt a lot better because the wind was not as bad.  However, 22 degrees by ANY definition is still COLD.  So we decided to hibernate today.  The only real plan on the agenda was Bubeaner's dance & tumbling class.  It just was not worth it to go outside for it.

Bubita looks beautiful in green.

There was a lot of playing, reading and puzzle solving.  We even had some sliding and basketball dunking taking place.  There were also some races to see how fast Bubita could walk.  We just took it easy.  Bubeaner was not feeling so well; he was a little fussy.  And Bubita must have also felt a little under the weather; she took several long naps rather than just one. 

Bubeaner showing Bubita how to dunk.

Considering our relaxed day, it was surprising that they children were ready for bed at 6!  In fact, we had to eat dinner without Dadda because both of them were getting fussy and sleepy.  We were right to be suspicious.  Bubeaner woke up twice before 9p.  And Bubita woke up at 9p and 1130p crying. 

Bath time was fun. They managed to get the floor very wet.

Bubeaner really enjoyed his bean soup...with lots of onions.