We rung in the new year in Arizona! The Blacks were there to join us, and we all made it to midnight. The Black boys stayed up until 9, and Hank was the happiest "cheers" person I have ever seen! He thought it was the best thing ever to clink glasses and drink bubbly juice. We had delicious appetizers and enjoyed an evening full of games. We convinced Papa to play Pictionary before he went to bed! I toggled between Kara's team and Matthew while Seth put the boys to bed. Kara and I were crushing it, and Seth continued the momentum when he joined. Matthew and I were definitely last place, and Oma and Papa were in the middle. We had some great laughs, and that game always brings back such fun memories for me. At midnight Matthew jumped into the pool! I've never seen anyone get in and out so fast, but he felt he should do it since he couldn't roll in the snow.
We went for a family walk/hike and played pickleball on Monday. Kara and Seth rescued Jay multiple times to keep him walking and moving along our hike. He was very tired and didn't think hiking was that fun. The Blacks left early that afternoon, and the house was much quieter without them. It was a tough goodbye, not knowing exactly when we'd see them again.
I was able to catch up with Laurissa Beus Stephenson and Clara Hoyle over lunch. We remembered some of our good high school days, but I also enjoyed our conversations as mothers now. Mothers doing everything we can to raise our kids to be good people. Laurissa has 4, and has another on the way. Clara has 3 littles and I've got 2. I love when you can sit down with old friends and still chat and enjoy the time even when it's been years since you've chatted.
We lost water to Oma and Papa's house for about 24 hours during our visit. There was a big leak, so we had to shut the water off. Plumbers are busy people, so there was no quick solution. We filled the tubs with water and used buckets to flush our toilets with water from the tub. We didn't shower, we used waterbottles to drink and cook. It was an adventure which made us very grateful for running water. I probably turned on the faucet a hundred times that day expecting water. It's now fixed!
Our flight home was pretty uneventful, as well as our drive home. I was so grateful Matthew got to take work off Friday through Monday after we returned. It helped us slowly resume to normal life. We took down our Christmas decor, the boys opened some of their presents they couldn't take to Arizona and we played games we got for Christmas but hadn't played yet. Matthew got a Lord of the Rings game and we've been playing it almost every free evening. We also got Nintendo Switch sports, and we've been playing that a lot too. Jay is a decent sword fighter and thinks it's very funny when the people fall into the water.
We've started taking Jay to the chiropractor to see if we might be able to help him regulate his energy and focus more. He's such a joyful kiddo, I never want to change that about him and I am excited to see his growth and progress in life. He's a master at our purple park playground, he did all the tricky things this month for the first time without any help! He's starting to use two words a lot more, saying "right there", "hi xxx", "bye xxx", "Jay hungry", "open gate", etc. His "Thank You", is the sweetest! He talks about Amy (May-mee) from school, Miss Ashley, and Miss Tiffee. He is still the biggest fan of Matthew, has the best laugh, and gives the greatest snuggles right after nap time.
Hugh turned one this month! I can't believe it's been a year! He's the sweetest, always game for a snuggle and a giggle. He loves Matthew a lot, but I think he's more of a mama's boy. He's mostly drinking bottles of frozen milk, he nurses in the morning and that's it! Yay! He will try most foods, although he's starting to get more picky. Every meal he's messier than I even thought would be possible. He has six teeth (currently cutting #7) and crawls everywhere. He's mastered going up stairs and we are working on the skills of descending. He stands up whenever he can, and will walk when he can push things. He's always curious what Jay is doing and will follow him everywhere. I love it, and it also makes me nervous! We had a great time celebrating Hugh's birthday! Grandma and Grandpa joined us, and we had a surprise drop-in with Uncle Brad. He was in town for a conference, and we were so happy he got to join us! Hugh loved his cake, he couldn't get enough of it! I determined that 1 year birthdays should also be a celebration of me, because it's as much their birthday as it is a day I gave birth. We had my favorite cake, double layer chocolate and taco salad for dinner. He got a fun tunnel, shirts, and a shape sorter toy. He's already mastered the strider bike he got for Christmas.
The boys and I got free tickets to the Butterfly Pavilion and it truly felt like I took an elephant into a china shop. In museums, Jay is beyond curious, moves quickly from thing to thing, and loves touching. The spiders didn't move nearly enough, all the stingrays didn't move enough, and the butterflies were not noisy or grand enough. When we entered the pavilion part, they said don't touch anything....I knew I was in trouble. It was quiet, peaceful, and humid. The paths looked like running paths to Jay, so we probably spent a total of 5 minutes in that part. It was beautiful, and a lot of butterflies. The playset at the end had one slide and one little truck to play in. Jay did well there until more kiddos started coming, he got a little handsy and we left. Needless to say, we won't be paying for a membership anytime soon! My boys need a place where they can be rough and tumble and jump and play and confined spaces where I don't have to constantly run after them wondering where they went.
We're rounding out the month with M on a one-day work trip to LA to meet with a client and a sick day for the rest of us at home. The boys are running fevers, we got some fresh air at the park but it wiped them out and they were very ready for afternoon naps.
We also celebrated our anniversary at the Melting Pot! Neither of us have ever done a fondue dinner and it was a very fun experience. They did a great job providing everything GF with great options, especially in the dessert bar. I loved dipping everything in chocolate. The cheese and broth were fun as well. I loved spending the evening with M, slowly eating dinner, chatting, and having time to simply be together.
