more snow....

Here are some pictures from the weekend. It snowed (again) both days, a couple of inches of nice, wet snow. So, the kids and Brian played outside both Saturday and Sunday. They sort of helped Brian make a snowman, although you can see from some of the pictures, their help was sporadic. They really enjoyed doing other things like making snow angels and throwing snow with the shovel.

So, our illnesses continue, if you can believe it. Both Xander, Will and I have had ANOTHER cold. Poor us! Will has just had his normal cough and runny nose, so we've been pumping him full of albuterol three to four times a day. I'd love to calculate how many hours of his life that kid has been attached to the nebulizer machine. When he gets albuterol for the coughing, he still also gets the steroids twice a day. So, he's sitting at that machine up to 6 times a day for 10 minutes each. That's so long, and he's such a trooper. Poor Xander also has been coughing with a gross nose. I finally broke down and called the doc on Saturday morning. They had us come in and we found out that he had a (and I quote) "raging" ear infection. The doctor thought the coughing was related to that. So, Xander's on antibiotics again and seems to be getting better. Let's hope this is the end of the colds for a while. I think we're about due for a healthy streak.

The kids have been very helpful lately, which I really like. They love to help me do chores around the house. I've been having them dust their bedrooms and living room and they actually do a pretty good job. I give them swiffer dusters and let them go to town. Grace still thinks she needs to dust the walls, but as long as it keeps her busy, I don't care. They've also started getting into making their beds. It's so easy now that the side railings are gone. Grace has actually been making her bed in the morning and after nap. Kind of nice! They've also been picking up things lately, which is a big help.

I think they've been setting food consumption records lately, especially at lunch time. The amount of food they have been consuming is amazing. Grace has been eating everything on her plate, having seconds of some things, finishing her milk, then asking for another sandwich at the end of lunch. I'm constantly amazed at how much she eats and how skinny she still is! Xander still consumes food at his amazingly slow pace, and he'll eat pretty much anything. Will is still picky, but is more willing to eat bites of things to get the good stuff he likes. He's become more vocal about what he likes and doesn't like. He'll say things like "I'm getting tired of vegetables." He'll also apply that sentence to things he doesn't want to do everyday like "I'm getting tired of going to Gina's" or the most recent "I'm getting tired of watching movies". Most of the time, he'll do it anyway. I told him he didn't have to watch our movie night movie with us on Sunday, but he did anyway. Amazing how that is!

So that's all I think. Happy February!