January Recap

January was a super eventful month with I feel like an entire years worth of events happening all at once, but maybe that is normal with so many kids!  We sat down and came up with lots of specific goals and desires for the year and then got to it!  We've hit the ground running this year and as I look back on the first month of this year I just feel like it was a really sweet time as we got back into routines and spent so much time together as a family!  

The year started off with a trip - what could be better than that!

The kids got to ski again, Sabrina for the very first time, and they all loved it!

We got out on more dates in the month of January than the entire year last year! We are definitely focusing on spending more time together this year and it is already proving to be so nice! I really do like my husband!

Something super important to the kids that surprised us a bit was their desire to resume Sunday tea time. So we made that a priority and it is a time we all look forward to!

We also "dated" all the kids on their day. So for example Malachi's birthday falls on the 16th so that day every month is his day. With so many kids we can't do extravagant dates but we can give them a little quality time. Malachi's request was a family game of football!

Sabrina requested cookie baking and some video games with mom and dad. 

I feel like all of a sudden all of the big kids have grown up so much, but it is fun having big kids too!

We read a super good book as a family and Sabrina made some beautiful art to go along with it! 

Ayla had her very first official date with Daddy!  They were adorable! 

 

We have been watching HGTV a lot and that really motivated me to want to lighten up the house because even though we have a ton of windows, it still feels dark.  The stair project is a project we knew we were going to conquer early this year but painting a large portion of the house was not on the list.  We are starting with just a few rooms but the ultimate goal now that we have gotten started is to paint all of the common spaces in the house and replace all the floors too. All of the trim in the house is an off white color so we have been going nuts painting walls, trim, doors. Ordering what we want for the stair railing and treads.  It is fun to see things transforming but it is also a lot of work!  Eventually we will continue on through the rest of the house as far down as painting the kitchen cabinets!  I feel like we started down the rabbit hole and now we can't stop it! But it is going to be good and make such a difference in modernizing the house! 

I also am trying my hand at making all sorts of new and yummy foods that would normally intimidate me but everyone seems to approve!

Like I mentioned, we went down the rabbit hole and doing the stair area turned in to redoing the hallways. We are hard at work painting, getting rid of carpet, replacing doors and trim. It is gonna be so nice when it is done. 

In the midst of all of this we started sleep training. Something we have never had to do before but just proof that even after 6 kids there is still stuff we have no clue about!  By sleep training I do not mean crying it out or anything crazy but Peter has gotten a bit tired (literally) of being up until 1-2 in the morning with our boy.  Leeland has been a night owl who has his days and nights mixed up. So we have spent time trying to help him adjust, meaning waking him up between 7-8 in the morning, not letting him sleep more than 2 hours a time during the day, making him stay awake during the day for 90-120 minutes.  Just trying to teach him what daytime is for!  It has been going well and we've at least been getting him down closer to 11-12. We still have a bit of work to do though but we are so grateful that once he is asleep he sleeps in 6-8 hour stretches! 

Ayla has changed and grown so much this month. You can just watch her brain growing as she's using new words every day and mastering new skills. She is a hoot and entertains us and makes us all laugh. She is even more fun now that she's talking and says the funniest things! She reminds me so much of Malachi with her entertaining personality and desire to learn and her chattiness.  

Another major accomplishment for her was potty training! She picked it up so fast and we are thrilled to have the savings on diapers because whew, we were buying a lot of diapers with 2 in them! 

We jumped right back into school and I am glad to see that the kids just got right back into routine after a little bit of review. Taking 2 1/2 months off I knew it was a big ask to jump right back in but they've done amazing! Mal loves to snuggle "baby boo" whenever he can! 

Baby Boo continues to grow and change rapidly. As he gets older and wants to be awake for longer periods of time we have had to work harder to entertain him. His most recent milestone is rolling from his back to his tummy - that first sign of impending mobility! 

 

To finish up the month LB had her 7 1/2 birthday. We celebrate half birthdays with the dinner of her choice (burgers and fries) and dessert of choice (brownies). She also asked for a family video game night which all her siblings were happy to participate in! 

Then we celebrated one final date night for the month. The kids were so good entertaining themselves upstairs so we could have a very nice quiet dinner. The fresh local steak was incredible and we had put away a very special bottle of wine from our wedding year that I wasn't able to open for our actual 15th anniversary but indeed, that bottle has aged well - just like us - ha! 

We are really trying to find ourselves back into a normal routine after baby, and new job, and this darn virus.  We ended the month with Leeland's first park playdate with friends.  We aren't quite back to "normal" life just yet but I hope we can get there again!  January seemed to pass in the blink of an eye and based on what all we have planned coming up in February I expect much of the same. But what a sweet start to the year we have had!