Snow Days!

I personally am very thankful to be a resident of Louisville and so to have missed most of the snow that hit many of our friends and family members back east (you have our sympathy!). But we have had a couple days of snowy fun...one back in January and the other earlier this week.

The snow day in January was a fun day...not only did the girls get to play in the snow (and yes, Caroline is in her pjs in these pictures), but we also had an "American Girls Day" in which we did several activities revolving around the American Girls Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly (remember them?). I had a Samantha doll growing up and was pretty into all the series of books. I was amazed recently when I started checking out the books for Katie from the library...there are about 10 different girls now! Katie's favorite girl changes with every different book she reads. It'll be interesting to see which one she settles on as she grows up.

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Our American Girls Day started off with Kirsten's breakfast of rice porridge (I had retrieved the American girls' cookbook from my mom's house on my last visit home). I should've known before I devoted the hour it took to make it that it probably wouldn't be a hit with the 4 year old. *sigh* During Caroline's morning nap, Katie and I worked on a gingerbread house just like the one Samantha built with Mrs. Hawkins in Samantha's Surprise. Aldi had had gingerbread house kits on sale the week before, and I had picked it up in anticipation of needing snow day activities. "Molly's lunch" definitely went over better than Kirsten's breakfast....pb&j roll-ups and cut out sandwiches with carrot and celery twirls. We played in the snow after lunch and then drank hot cocoa and watched the Samantha movie together during Caroline's afternoon nap. Then came preparations for "Samantha's dinner"--cream of carrot soup with homemade croutons. Given how exhausted I was already from the day's nonstop activity, I should have aborted the mission upon seeing how many steps and dishes were involved with this recipe (no wonder my mom never seemed overly enthused about doing any of the recipes in this cookbook...they take forever!) But I persevered and made a delicious cream of carrot soup that no one else in my family ate (I loved it though). So that was Snow Day #1.

Snow Day #2, which was this past Tuesday, was much more my style. Preschool and seminary were both cancelled for the day, and so we rolled out around 8am to take advantage of Denny's Free Grand Slam Day!!! I love breakfast food, Denny's, and free things, so this was just about a perfect start to the day for me. All 4 of us got free Grand Slams and were totally stuffed when we got home. I made sure that the rest of this Snow Day was more lowkey than the first...we walked to the post office and back, built a snowman on our porch, and....well, that was about it. Just the right speed.
I'm definitely hoping we've seen the last of the winter weather around here. While I love watching the snow fall from inside a cozy house, I quickly grow weary of slush, layers, and scraping. I easily fall into discontentment and grumbling about the weather (and many other areas of my life) and often struggle to wage war on my negative attitude. Recently, the Lord has been using Katie's struggle with complaining to convict me of my own struggle. I often quote Philippians 4:8 to Katie and have realized that I need to apply that verse myself (can we say "plank in my eye?")! Oh, how lazy I have become in taking every thought captive and letting no unwholesome word come out of my mouth! The Lord knows that I need my child to challenge me to think on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. I'm thankful for verses like Isaiah 1:18 and Job 37:6-7 that point to our experience of snow as a way to illustrate truths about our relationship with God. So even as I wait and long for springtime, I am striving to receive what God wants to teach me through this season of cold and ice.

Are you a perfect mother?

My dear friend Ashley directed me to this article. If you are a mom, this is a must-read.

First Day of Preschool

Today was a big day in the McCulloch household. Katie began her first day as a preschooler. Adam and I had been talking about preschool for several months when we were becoming more aware that Katie's need for activity and busyness was exceeding my ability to provide opportunities (especially since Caroline's naps are still somewhat unpredictable in terms of length). Because Katie is such a social butterfly and so intense when it comes to living life and has thrived being in a classroom setting during Sunday School, Adam began looking more seriously at preschools in the area. By God's grace, even though we were late in beginning our search, St. Matthews Baptist had one opening left for this semester in her age level. So...for three hours a day, three days a week Katie will be enjoying snacks, playground/gym time, storytime, daily crafts, new friends, and all the other sweet activities found in preschool. Visiting SMBC preschool on Monday was fun for me...I was instantly transported back to my preschool years and was filled with warm, happy memories. There has been not one moment of fear or hesitation on Katie's part--just pure, unadulterated excitement. Her first words this morning were, "Today I'm going to preschool!!!!" When I peeked in her classroom on my way out the door, I saw her hands covered in fingerpaint, and I knew that she was in heaven. Her teacher poked her head out the door when she saw me and said, "Katie acts like she's been here all year! She's already been playing with the girls, who all love her because she's the 'new girl'." Music to a mother's ears!

Pray that God would use this new realm of Katie's life to draw her closer to Him and to teach her how to better love, respect, and cherish others. Pray that I would be a good steward of these 9 extra hours I now have and that God would give grace to our family as we acclimate to a new rhythm of life. And pray for little Caroline who will be in the car at least an hour a day now (15 minutes there and back, twice a day). We are so thankful for this opportunity!

Christmas photo shoot

Feeling bad about not having any professional photos of my children and being inspired by my friend Emily to take advantage of natural lighting, I recently set out to do a Christmas photo shoot of the girls similar to the one I did when Katie was one year old (see any family resemblance?). I feel pretty good about the results (especially after using Photoshop.com to tweak them. I love this website....it makes it nearly impossible to take a completely irredeemable picture!) Enjoy the photos! And Merry Christmas!

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9 months old! and also what 4 year olds talk about

Caroline turned 9 months old yesterday. Unbelievable, and yet she totally seems like a 9 month old to us. She loves to laugh and smile and "talk." She even started waving last week! She is on the verge of taking off crawling but can get around pretty well by scooting backwards or maneuvering while sitting. Her favorite food is broccoli (and Cheerios of course), but you should watch this girl go after the little florets we give her! She also is developing quite the little attitude: she is a very happy baby most of the time and plays by herself very well, but if you take a toy away from her...watch out! She's also very clear about when she's done eating and has quite the swat to tell you.

Here are the stats from her check up today: 18 pounds (50th), 27 inches (25-50th). Her weight percentile is down a bit because she hasn't been too interested in nursing. She may be weaning herself which is kind of a bummer--not only because I had hoped to nurse her until she was a year, but also since I'm not sure she can drink as much out of a cup as she needs to in order to get her daily requirements. So, please pray for CG when she comes to mind, that she will be getting enough liquid nutrition.

Katie also had her 4 year check-up today. She's been pretty nervous about the shots, even though at her 3 year old check up she cried because she didn't get any shots (oh, the power of band-aids). Today she got 7 shots, and wow, what a brave girl she was. She is now 35 pounds and 40 inches tall (a gain of 5 pounds and 4 inches since last year).

As for what Katie's been up to these days, she's really into jokes and riddles. She loves this great blonde joke (one of my favorites) and laughs hysterically at the end, even though I am quite certain that she has no idea why it's so funny (even after I've tried to explain the humor to her). She especially likes knock knock jokes and has finally nailed the timing on the "interrupting cow." When she was first starting out with them though, her rendition would go something like this:

KJ: Knock, knock.

Me: Who's there?

KJ: Orange.

Me: Orange who?

KJ: Banana.

Me: Banana who?

KJ: Don't cry it's only a joke.

As with most 4 year olds, Katie is still very much into imaginary play. It gets a little out of control though when she wants to play "the Boxcar Children pretending to be Peter Pan and Wendy." Really, Katie?

She also says incredibly funny things by accident all the time. The other day she was playing "magic wand" but at one point reported that her wand wasn't working. I told her that she should try saying the magic words, thinking she would say something like "Bibbity-bobbity-boo." Instead, she points her chopstick (I mean, wand) at a toy frog and said, "Oh, little frog, won't you please turn into a horse?" At least she's learned something from Barney!

Finally, the other day when she was exhibiting her usual cuteness, I grabbed her by her shoulders, looked her square in the eye and said, "Katie McCulloch, I just love you. You are so much fun and so smart and so creative." To which she replied with a great big smile, "Aren't you glad you had me?" Yes, Katie, I am.

Pinkalicious Party

Because the playgroup Christmas party was on her actual birthday, we decided to have Katie's birthday party on Friday the 4th. Now you may recall that at Katie's birthday party last year, she requested that her next birthday party included more kiddos. Attempting to be an attentive mother, I took note of this, and so this year we invited every girl we know who is over the age of 2. 12 little girls attended, and it was so much fun! (And thankfully did not take place in our home but in the church basement.) Katie had decided several months ago that she wanted a Pinkalicious party. 'Pinkalicious?' you ask. Yes, Pinkalicious. It was a simple party--one hour long, one game of musical chairs, a little time for dancing, some sugar cookie decorating, necklace making, and, of course, a dramatic reading of Pinkalicious. Every guest wore pink and took home one of the many cupcakes you saw in the photos yesterday. I think it was a success, but it would not have been possible without the hands-on help of Adam, his friend Josh, and our neighbor Krista...thanks, y'all!

The Birthday

Katie's 4th birthday was this past Thursday. Wow, I can't believe that I'm the mother of a 4 year old! If I'm honest though, Katie has seemed more like a 4 year old than a 3 year old for some months now. She is a sweet and smart little girl, and I am so happy that she is my daughter. She says the most hilarious things....but that's a blog for another day.

We started the day with chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and the opening of one present--a mega-art supply kit featuring the Disney princesses (way to go, Aunt Jen!). You gotta love a kid who eats half of a chocolate chip pancake and says, "I'm done. This is too rich." Of course, her mommy finished it off for her!

We then headed off to our church for our playgroup's annual Christmas party. Tons of fun with friends as always.

We had a relaxing afternoon, and then headed off for Katie's secret surprise destination! Across the river to Indiana and on to....the Bass Pro Shop! Katie seriously loves this place...all kinds of taxidermied animals and a massive fish tank. But today's trip included a holiday special...a visit with Santa. Katie knows that Santa is just a story that we like to tell at Christmas, but she was still excited to see the man himself as well as his reindeer. I was a little nervous about how she would do when her time came...a couple years ago she totally freaked out when a Santa at Wal-mart talked to her. All I could think of the whole time was this scene from a Christmas story (and of course this one too). Her turn came and she did just fine. I think she told him she wanted roller skates or maybe a tutu. You can't tell in this picture, but in the one taken by the Bass Pro Shop, Santa has the grumpiest looking face ever! Hilarious! And I love how Caroline is eyeing his sleeve, surely thinking, "Hm, how can I get this stuff into my mouth?"

Fun at the Bass Pro Shop was followed by dinner at McDonald's (her request), and then home for pink cupcakes and presents!

And as if that day wasn't awesome enough, the next day was even better! Part two of her birthday tomorrow...