where have i been?

It'd be kinda fun to say i've been somewhere super exciting but mostly, i've been at home. at home realizing more each day that this whole 4-kid thing is a bit harder/more time-consuming than i thought...anyway, life has been busy and good and i'm excited to show some things i've been working on this month but for now here are a few pictures and some highlights from december.

* one night at bedtime i gave the girls a big potty pep talk. we talked about putting potty in the big potty, getting "dora" panties, calling grandparents, eating treats, being big girls etc. Sophie was really keen on getting dora panties and was full of enthusiasm as we talked about it. Madeline on the other hand listened intently the whole time with a little furrowed brow and didn't say too much. I figured it went in their ear and out the other but low and behold 2 days later Madeline excitedly announced that she needed to go poopy! Of course it was right after church when everyone was tired and hungry so it was kinda hard to take her seriously, but i did and she went! miracle.
Two days later, sophie, apparently not wanting to be outdone, announced that she needed to go poopy, sat on the potty and went. miracle again.
They have each gone several times since then and I'm sorry to say but its getting more and more inconvenient...it had been my plan to start talking about it in december with the hope that they'd be geared up by january, after the holidays but nope, right in the midst of christmas craziness and needing to get places, all sophie wanted to do was sit and sit and sit on the potty. Or wait until 2am to wake up and insist on going potty...(what??!!)
It has also become a bit of a competition- as soon as one makes an announcement that they have to go, instantly the other girl races into the bathroom trying to rip her diaper off and beat her to it. good grief, girls. But we're encouraged and hopeful that maybe they'll take to the potty easier than they've taken to sleeping in there beds....

*Ben had a dr. visit this month and our little shrimp is now 13+lbs! Considering he started out at 6lbs 4oz, he's become quite a chunk. and speaking of ben, he is the BEST baby in the whole world. we love him to pieces and are so grateful that he has been such a wonderful, easy baby. by 2 1/2 months he was sleeping about 7 hours, loves to smile, hardly ever cries and is generally just a fabulous little boy.

remember this from september?

3 months later

* the 3 big kids have recently taken to piracy- we were a little hesitant to indulge this fetish but Will often informs me that they are "good pirates" and have even been seen handing out bibles to the "bad pirates"
I overheard a cute conversation he was having between some of his little pirate stuffed animals the other day:
will: "we don't allow bad guys on our ship, if you're all bad you can't come on but if you're 1/2 bad and 1/2 good then you can come on"
me: what do you mean "1/2 bad and1/2 good?"
will: well, like me
(apparently he knows himself pretty well. "all good" would be an impossible standard for even him to meet! :)

* Andrew and the kids had a great time cutting down a christmas tree w/ andrew's family. speaking of which, here's the whole gang. Next year we will have complete symmetry when Joelle and Bryan have their new baby! yay for a cousin! :)

* we haven't had hardly ANY snow this december- this could not make me more happy. it's been warm and sunny and mild and i just love it. unfortunately, will, on the other hand has been mourning its absence...i've tried to muster a little sympathy but its pretty hard to do...i keep telling him that Christmas comes in the very beginning of winter so he will no doubt see plenty of snow in the next few months.(bummer)

*we did a christmas activity advent "calendar" this year. I made  25 little felt pockets and each one had an activity we did as a family. it was really easy and lots of fun. We had hot chocolate days, a pizza picnic dinner under the christmas tree, scavenger hunts, christmas themed puppet show, car drive to look at lights, made gingerbread houses or as sophie says "ninja bread house", read christmas stories under the tree, baked cookies, made presents, did crafts. It was a great way to make memories and actually get some things done in the midst of the busyness.

*andrew had to fly the 23rd-26th this year which meant we got to have even more celebrations to make sure he was included in some too. here are a few pics from our christmas marathon which included: early christmas w/ schmidt fam, our own little early christmas with just us, christmas w/ my mom and brother, christmas dinner w/ extended schmidt family in ft.co. day after christmas w/ dad and extended family, 2 days after christmas w/ mom and sis and her family...whew, we made it through another year.

Well, here's to a happy new year and lots of new resolutions to make and keep. one of which is to be a more regular poster as well as [finally] show you some of the things i've been hinting at. although that being said, the last time i "hinted" at some "changes and news" i got several inquiries as to whether i was going to announce another baby in the works. i'm here to confirm most definitely that the news i have is not nearly that noteworthy... :) 

p.s. if you've actually made it all the way to the end of this post i am most impressed. just thought you should know.