Q's New Year Goal: Check!

Chair practice

You may remember that on the eve of 2015, we each made a goal for the family for the new year. And I made a commitment to blog our progress on the goals ... (partly to hold us accountable and partly so the kids can see that they had input even when they were little). Quinn's goal was to go ice skating.

We've actually accomplished the goal twice. Mike took them skating back in January to a little outdoor rink by our house. Dec was napping, so I stayed home with him. One parent and two new skaters meant that photographic evidence was not in the cards. The gang did return with glowing reports of the fun. It was very clearly a first experience - but they enjoyed it and wanted to go again (which really is the point at this age).

She really wanted to play hockey

Last weekend, in the midst of "the stones" drama, we had our second annual college gang sledding/skating party to attend. Our buddy P and his neighbors flood part of their backyards to make a rink. And butt up to a golf course with AWESOME sledding hills. Mike felt good enough to come with and we spent a wonderful afternoon outside with our friends and their kids on the rink and sledding hill. And our friends are amazing, because anyone with a free arm was willing to hold Declan so that we could have man-to-man coverage of the wobbly skaters (apparently my balancing act of me on the ice with D on my hip and holding Bugs with one hand looked precarious).

Bucket balancing

The girls were great - and we employed a chair and a bucket for balance. Fiona has a bit of trouble controlling her feet (combined with her desire to try to run), but she was getting much better as we went along. Quinn is nervous, but wants to learn. And they are learning to not be afraid of falling - or to feel like falling is failure. Uncle B and Daddy explained that even they still fall sometimes.

The sledding at the party was so fun too. We didn't have quite enough snow, but we made due. And we were SO proud of our brave girls, who fearlessly hurdled head first down the hill time after time. Because of the head first sledding style and the hard snow, I was more than okay with them still wearing their helmets from skating!

We are hoping for a few more warmish weekends so we can continue to get them out on their skates. Both Mike and I love to skate and want them to develop confidence on blades as well.

I also recently learned that a small-person-sized set of skis are on their way to our door. So there will also be skiing lessons. Winter is AWESOME!

Mike's New Hangout

So ... Mike has a new local hangout. The ER. He has been there twice in the last two weeks. And saw the same doctor each time. I've explained that there are potentially less expensive ways to make friends!

The first trip was not intended to be an ER trip. He had been working on the camper/ice house to prep it for a weekend of ice fishing with his dad. Somewhere in that prep was a need to shave down the shaft of the auger with a dremel. He did all the right stuff - wearing goggles and putting the shield on the dremel. Later in the evening - when we were putting the girls to bed, his eye started bothering him. When I was free from the girls, he checked it out in the mirror and could see a metal sliver in his eye. Best we can figure, it was on his hand and he rubbed his eye.

It was bothering him enough that he headed off to Urgent Care. Unfortunately the eye equipment was in the ER ... so he got routed there instead. Metal extraction went well and other than antibiotic ointment that he had to put in his eye several times a day, it was a pretty easy ailment.

His second trip was not quite so pleasant. Friday night, Declan spent the night in the kid room (and not in ours!). At 6:50 in the morning, I heard lots of giggling from across the hall. I whispered to Mike that I thought the girls had discovered the new roommate. He didn't answer so I asked him something else. Still no comment. I rolled over to find that my roommate was gone.

I found him pacing the basement in pain ... where he had been for a couple hours. The internet told us that it was probably kidney stones. The pain was bad enough that he decided to head in and verify our diagnosis - and maybe get some pain relief. His new friend the ER doc confirmed that he had "the stones" (as Q calls them. Bugs calls them "crystal rocks"). They were small enough that he could pass them on his own. So far, three have come out. He's doing okay, but still has some pain and discomfort.

The gang and I are mostly supportive ... except we can't stop saying "kidney stones" like one of my favorite clips from Friends. Luckily, Mike thinks it's funny too!

Bribery at its Finest

It's January - so that means more than we want unexpected time out of day care. It's usually a perfect storm of our gang being sick and Ms. A's gang being sick. This January was no exception. Which put me home with the gang yesterday.

We had a good time and I had the pleasure of watching Declan achieve a major milestone. D learned what glass was ... as he crawled full steam ahead into the slider in order to touch his puppy (who was outside on the deck). He led with his forehead and looked more than a little perplexed when he couldn't crawl through. Instead of crying, he settled down on his belly and used both hands to check out this magical clear obstacle (maybe there was also an invisible path through ...).

The sisters thought it looked like fun and popped down on their bellies to hang with him. After a while, he did a tummy spin to see where I was. I quickly grabbed the camera and shouted out that anyone who would be on a belly next to Declan and smile would get an M&M. Victory!

Q-isms

I love two-year-olds. As they discover their world and pair that with their language discovery, funny things happen. Here are a few of the Q moments that I want to make sure we don't forget:

• It's really dry in our house right now. Winter air, you know. So we tend to shock each other. Except when Q gets shocked, she says, "You snicked me!" I guess it does make a "snick" kind of sound.
• She watches me get ready in the morning, including putting in my contacts. So now, she pretends to put stuff in her eyes and says "I putting my tacks in."
• She watches the older kids at day care come home from school and do their homework. Yesterday, she was pretending that she was holding a nook and listening to music. Then she put her "ear muffs" in her ears.
• As a new potty trainee (more on that in another post), she spends a lot of time in the bathroom. When she gets lonely in there, she asks for someone to come keep her "comfy."
• She mixes up warm and cold all the time. She asks for a sweatshirt "so I won't get warm" and takes it off because "I cold now."

Doing the "elevator" with Dad

They'll fight for their right to party

Ice Castle

As soon as Mike and I heard that they were building an ice castle in EP, we knew we had to take the kids. In case you've missed it, Frozen is kinda a big thing around this place. Visiting a real, live "Elsa castle" seemed like a sure way into 4- and 2-year-old hearts. But it's outside and made of ice ... so we wanted a milder winter day to attend. And the V family doesn't like crowds ...

Mike decided we were going tonight. He picked up the kids early and met me up in EP (the castle is like 5 minutes from work). What a beautiful evening to be there! No wind, mild temps, and manageable crowds. Which meant only a short line for the ice slide. Yep, there was an ice slide. The girls (the biggest, mostly) were in heaven. The castle also had tunnels, caverns, an ice maze, ice benches, an Olaf snowman, AND a princess. A PRINCESS.

Fiona marched right up to the princess and asked "who built this castle?" The princess immediately answered "Elsa." To which Fiona, in all her fourteen-year-old-with-an-attitude glory, responded with "For. Real?" Q loved the princess. That was her preferred gig. The ground was covered with about 3-4 inches of powdery snow that we had to walk through and it was tough for her 2-year-old legs. Fiona blazed on through the snow and did great. She did tell me after we left that the walking made her really tired. But it didn't slow her down while we played! Q has already asked if we can go back tomorrow!