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E came up with the idea for breakfast in bed. He asked for it to be served on “that thing you put cookies on”.

We got about one inch of snow and school was cancelled today. Natalie’s 5th day of cancellation or late start. :(. These New Englanders aren’t Midwestern tough.

On the bright side, in between conference calls, we got in some very creative play.

Nat made her own closet for Stella and perfected the set up in her room. (Warning to Daddy who is away – she moved her dresser and lamp on her own to make room).

And Elliott had me trace his body to make a pint-size Optimus Prime (with a chocolate bar below his feet because why not?)

And they each helped each other out. Nat helped color. Elliott helped make hangers.

Natalie also read to her bro in bed this morning while is showered!!! When we were reading before bed tonight, E wasn’t quite as happy. Nat tooted and E shouted “get me a blanket! SOS! SOS!”

And Nat organized her Girl Scout cookies! I used to love doing that with my mom and sisters for the whole troop. This order was smaller – 22 with Tagalongs taking the lead as most popular. Although Nat should get extra commission for up-selling S’mores cookies to both Grandma and Jira even though they are $1 more!

I’m such a lucky Mom. We miss our Dado who is in Scottsdale. He’s pretty lucky right now too.

Okay… now the downside, off to work on a contract. The same one I was working on at 6:15am.

These pics are in no particular order but definitely all being a smile to my face.

1. Roro continues to be a HUGE part of the family. Dad and Elliott even hold his “hands” (that little collar) during dinner prayers. Note – Elliott has also been wearing those stegosaurus pjs often to assist on his impending transformation into a Dino. He is hoping the full transformation happens by his fifth birthday, which is about 62 days away. (The countdown has begun). He says his backbone is the beginning of spikes. His tailbone is the start of his tail. And his teeth are changing to be more shell shaped which is better for eating plants. Tonight he told me he hoped he would be in the newspaper soon – as the first Dino to live in human times. “I will be so famous”

2 no idea what victory he is celebrating here but mind you, it’s zero degrees outside. And did you see that he is in the midst of housing a bag of raw almonds. What kid likes that for a treat!!?

3. Not sure what he is doing here but you can tell he loves superheroes and his construction plate from Nana!

4 and 5. His bff Ethan and he got dressed up super goofy on their play date. We hear about Ethan at least 12 times a day. The other day Elliott asked me if I knew his middle name!

Tonight at bedtime Elliott said he wished we were made together. It’s great to be so loved. We laugh about how we would argue if we went to his school or my work. We decided I would have to start teaching at his school.

And when I gave him a kiss good night he double “dabs” it in to keep it. And makes me do the same. He does this for every one, every kiss. “Dab dab” has been going on for like two months!

Costumes are starting to come in! Here’s the one for Annie! Can you believe how big this girl is?!? And she totally has the dancer smile and pose down! I think she will have three or four dances this year including her one with Dad!

misc note. Natalie read to the whole family tonight. Missy’s School Play. Reading level M! I’m so proud of her. She started first grade out at reading level d (on grade level) and has zoomed ahead to end of grade 2 expectations!!! It’s so amazing!!

After the holidays, Nat invited a few friends over for a movie bday party. It was about zero degrees outside so cozy pjs were perfect. The kids liked the ice cream sundaes before watching an “old fashioned” movie – Honey I Shrunk the Kids. The hit gift was the sequin clothes and accessories that change views. You flip it to reveal a new pattern. Emojis are super popular too. Aren’t those pjs cute?!

see the Emoji sequin hat! Nat doesn’t like gray much at all but with sequins and emojis it’s her new fav!

These angelic pics are from last weekend. This Christmas Eve, Elliott totally flamed out at the service – couldn’t break a bad mood, said he felt sick, that his bum hurt (I told him to take a bath earlier and he wouldn’t!). On the bright side, he and I read the readings and I explained them to him so he probably learned more. And now he is watching dinotrux instead of going out to dinner. I feel a little had but also like I needed to meet him where he was today.

Elliott continued with his second year of being the only cow in the Christmas gospel drama. Nat was a perfect angel. The last pic is post communion – E was uber hot so striped down out of the cow costume.

Our little Nat bug isn’t so little any more. She turned 7 on 12/19 – and promptly lost her 7th tooth!! Her big gift was a telescope – she is def interested in science. Uncle Mike got her cool crystal geodes and G legos! And Nana made a dancers dress for her and Stella. It’s gorgeous. Lucky lady!Sadly I see to not have any pics. We did get our nails done Friends bday party is in June.

The weekend before last, we went to Silver Bell Farms for our selection of the Christmas tree. Last year we went and had so much fun. For the first time in my life, I had actually cut the tree down.

So I was pretty bummed this year when we pulled up and found they were not doing cut-your-own this year. But we still had a great time. While the kids (and Erin) picked out a much smaller tree than I would have, they were happy with it so I was happy with it. We then played on the playground, the hay bales, the tractors, and the hill. Elliott and I spent a good 15 minutes acting like gorillas rolling down a hill*. We then had cider donuts, hot chocolate, picked out ornaments, and played with Legos.

Pretty great day! And the upside of a tiny tree was that it was easier to put on top of the car.

* At the end of the day, Elliott had dirt, hay, sand and chocolate all down his track suit. The next day, he came down for pre-K wearing the same track suit, which he had pulled from the hamper. Stylish.

This is Jordan. Just posting some pics from hockey night at the Springfield Thunderbirds Hockey game.