January in Photos

I'd love to say that January has been a relaxing month for me, but that would be a lie. After our extended visits north in December, I feel like I've been playing catchup all month. It took me forever to get all the Christmas gear unpacked and put away, and just when I felt like I was organized, we have to turn around and repack for Disney. NOT that I'm complaining! It has been a much more social month for me than any I've had since our move. I feel like we're finally starting to make some friends here in Georgia. We had two different playdates and I went to two movie nights with the girls from church. We went out to dinner with a guy Brent works with and his family. I had an Army Wive's Coffee that I planned this evening, AND Brent and I went out on a date this week. So in addition to home life, our social life has expanded. I'm loving that I have some new social outlets and I can't wait to expand my new friendships. Here's the overview of January in pictures.

Early this month, we met our friends Carolyn, Will and Walker at McDonald's for lunch. Carolyn and I enjoyed visiting after the extended break and we just let the kids run wild in the playground. Maura made friends with a slightly older boy who was able to help her up the tower and into the tunnels. She loved it! Will wasn't so lucky. The same little boy wasn't as keen to help Will up the tunnels, so he stayed grounded. Will is three months younger than Maura.
Tristan certainly enjoyed all the action. He loves commotion and just giggles at everything the bigger kids do. Walker enjoyed hanging out and talking to Tristan. He's only six weeks younger than Tristan. We're looking forward to many more playdates with our friends.
Aunt Amy and Uncle Matt got us this floor piano for Christmas and the kids both love it. Maura's "favorite" song is one of the demos and she plays it at least fifty times a day, complete with ballet moves. Tristan just loves to move around on the piano and makes noise.
Tristan and Daddy cheering on their Titans during playoffs. Sadly, Brent's Titans didn't win, but my Steelers are in the Superbowl!
I love this photo. He looks like he's saying, "Hey, loved the black beans Mom!" Tristan will eat anything I put on his tray--with gusto! I'll have to post a video of him drinking from a sippy cup soon. It's hilarious. Can you tell that this child is excited about swimming while we're in Florida? I can only pray that the weather warms up down there. The two things she's most excited about are swimming and meeting the Little Einsteins.
Since Tristan's birth, Brent and I have tried to be conscious of spending alone time with both kids. We've instituted Daddy/daughter and Mommy/daughter dates where Maura gets to go do fun things without her baby brother tagging along. Maura LOVES these times to be alone with one or the other of us and gets so excited when we tell her she's going on a date. Brent had a four day weekend over MLK weekend, so it was the perfect time to get some one on one time. Brent took her to a local arcade/indoor amusement park and later to Chik-fil-A. They had loads of fun together.
Meeting the mouse. We've been to Chuck E. Cheese several times, but generally on weekdays when it hasn't been busy. I guess they don't don the suit for a small crowd, but we were there on MLK day and it was busy. Maura got to give Chuck E. hugs and high fives. I figured it was good training for Disney next week!
One of our rare willing smile moments. So cute. She's almost too big for this booster seat, but I REALLY need her to be strapped in at mealtimes.
>Little man in a big bed. He loves being made up in the bed. He was laughing so hard about it that I was afraid he was going to wake up Maura.
Not the best photo of Tristan, but definately the first to show off his upper teeth in all their glory. Double click on the photo to enlarge it and you'll see those choppers! His teeth look huge to me--much larger than Maura's. I hope he doesn't have buck teeth but he'll be cute even if he does!