It's 2017 (just fashionably late)!

#bestnine2016

Happy belated new year! That's a thing, right? :) I started writing this as a look-back to 2016 in early January...and then the weeks just kept passing by and I couldn't muster the energy until now. That's been the tone of this year so far...nonstop busyness and always feeling late and scatterbrained with everything. But if I've committed to anything, it's to try to be less rigid, shed the daily guilt of not being as "productive" as I'd like, and to just chill more (not to be confused with watching more Netflix). So hold me to it!

2016 was an eventful year and I am relieved we got through it in one piece! Looking back, I am proud of how it was spent despite how haphazard it often felt at the time - lots of memories with the family, meaningful moments with friends, and new challenges taken on at work. And when I consider the full year and all the change we went through (new home, my new job, new school for the kids...and me back at the wheel!), I am thankful for God's grace and provision that always came at the right time.

2017 has already started with a bang. It's been COLD. The kids got back-to-back stomach bugs. There's been lots of change at my company (although, it may mean actually more opportunity on my team). And I've been getting more involved in church leadership. I'll be honest, my main worry is that I will break from the day-to-day pressures, but I'm trying to pray more specifically (for energy, capacity, help) and also just trying not to think about it. We'll see which strategy works!

Josiah's Taekwondo & Sammy's "Tiana" ballet

We squeezed in a family vacay in January to the Nickelodeon resort in Punta Cana. I'm always a basket case during the days leading up to vacation, but the perfect weather, unlimited food and drinks, and glee on our kids' faces made it all worth it. Josiah's highlight was dancing with the Ninja Turtles!

The kiddos are at an age now where they love playing together (while fighting over everything as well). They constantly battle over who will be first...whether it be the first to come down the stairs, the first to get a drink, the first to check the mail, even the first to pray! Josiah can outwit Samantha intellectually, but she makes up any gap with confidence and sheer force! We signed them up for new activities this year, which actually ended up being such a great thing for them to have their own thing to feel proud about. Watching Josiah brimming with pride while he's doing Taekwondo is so gratifying. And seeing Sammy twirl in front of the mirror with her tutu is so cute...yet cringe-worthy because her princess girly phase is in full force now!

Josiah - 4 1/2 years old

Our big boy is growing up too fast...but continues to be the sweetest soul! He still asks for hugs, loves to sit on our laps, and spontaneously expresses his love to us. And for the past few months, he's come to our bed every night. We don't have the heart or energy to send him back...and secretly I love it.

He's a sensitive boy, but very even-tempered and generally happy. He's slow to react to things, thinks a lot, hesitates when making a decision, and likes everyone and everything (at least at the outset). Basically, he's me. But he is way more imaginative than me! He makes the funniest observations ("why is it so dark? are the sun and moon taking turns?") and loves recounting stories ("wuhmember..").  He uses big words (chameleon, frustrated, hy-pop-esis), pushes back on us ("um, can you please don't do that right now?" or "you need to trust Daddy"), and is starting to tell me things that he's learning at school. The lesson about MLK Jr. was so surprising and sweet ("they weren't allowed to go to the good school with ice cream and parties...is that fair???").

The biggest change I see in him these days is his focus on friends. He used to just play with anyone who was around, grown-ups included, but now he has a consistent crew of friends at school. He really does get along with everyone, but he cares more about being accepted by these few friends that he mentions regularly. They are so sweet together and I only hope he makes friends like these in Kindergarten when he has to start all over in the Fall! I sometimes worry about him keeping up physically since he appears to be the shortest in the class and not as adventurous as his peers. But nobody is sweeter and sillier than him, so I shouldn't worry.  I love this boy!!!

Samantha - 2 3/4 years old
Sammy is our little spitfire. She is decisive, makes her opinions known, and whines a LOT because nobody seems to do things the way she wants it. Our poor Amazon Echo gets a lot of attitude from her. Every morning she yells "Alexa, what's da weather!" or "Alexa, I not talking you!"

But when not yelling or stomping around with a scowl, she's actually quite sweet, silly, and playful. She likes to tease and say funny things, even if what she says makes no sense. But we know better than to correct her! At the heart of her assertiveness, she's actually super sensitive. She gets really upset when we scold her and will start screaming "stoppppp" at the top of her lungs whenever any voices are raised even slightly. She's also a big scaredy cat and freaks out at the sight of animals and any life-sized character (Ninja Turtle sighting did not go well).

Sammy plays the victim a LOT. But it's hard to tell if she's manipulating us, or if she really does believe it. Whenever she and Josiah get in a scuffle, she will immediately say things like "he's hurting me!" even if he didn't even touch her. And whenever she starts to get in trouble, she'll deflect and say things like "ouch, my leg hurts! I need a bandage!" And her favorite phrase these days for every situation is "it's NOT fair!" Classic. She even knows how to deflect. When I catch her doing something she shouldn't, she'll say, "I just pretending" or "Meow. I just a cat".  She's either crazy or brilliant.

Sammy is quite girly and loves her dolls (one is named after her new baby cousin!), playing dress up, and stares at me when I put on makeup (then again, Josiah also wants "boy makeup"). When she sees something pretty, she gasps and says "it's so beautiful!" She's still really into Elena of Avalor, and all the Disney princesses for that matter, so we plan on going to Cinderella's Royal Table in Disneyworld this Spring. So it begins...

The biggest milestone this month is that she's nearly potty trained! And we didn't even do it ourselves! Her teachers insisted on trying at school, despite our efforts to delay the struggle as long as we could (like Josiah, who started at 3.5). She had many accidents at school...but after a few days, she was accident-free and proudly said she didn't want diapers anymore. Unfortunately, that only applies to #1...so we are not out of the woods yet. But she knows she did good, and demands all the rewards that she believes she deserves! As she reminds us daily, "sharing is caring!"