Ewww - February!

January may have been glorious, but February has sent me face first into the snow! I don't even know what more to write - this month is NOT off to a good start.

Did you come to this blog to read my bad attitude? If I keep this up, I'm going to start sounding like Cora!

Okay, I guess life isn't all yucky. I am loving getting involved in youth group. Did you know it's way more fun when you're not a youth? On Monday night all the girls got together to sew Valentine's aprons. That was a cool time to get to know them better. The other women around youth group are their mom's age, so I think it's great to have a twenty-something to bridge that gap. When I go into a youth gathering, I try to do all the activities with them, to really blend in and be a part (minus the cool leggings and miniskirts). I think they don't know what I'm trying to do, they're used to the moms sitting at the edge of everything, but not acting as free as a teenager. You know I'm shy, so when I don't know what to do I just go stand by a group of talkers and try to break into the conversation. I'd appreciate more tips on how to do this, if anyone has a better idea! For me, being shy is a big hurdle to overcome. I don't think teenagers realize how intimidating they can be to an adult...or at least this adult.

Cora has officially reached the 18 month mark, and she's pretty fun these days. I'm enjoying listening to her sound out new words. Like Wesley, she's slow to talk, but she's been working on it lately. Her new word is please, only it sounds more like "beesh." She's a great helper, good at putting what belongs in the trash in the trash. Her biggest problem is her attitude about food. She dislikes the dinner meal and usually goes to bed hungry. She is strong-willed! Recently we decided we wouldn't let her eat until she at least tasted some of her dinner. At 10:00 the next morning, I found her digging Wesley's breakfast waste out of the trash. I sat her at the table and she finally agreed to eat all of her dinner. She's a real booger because she doesn't really dislike the food like Wesley used to, it's more that she prefers her favorites and so she'll be stubborn and hungry until her favorites are served a couple meals later. Unfortunately, a hungry Cora is a mean Cora.

Wesley is making progress in "growing up." He is motivated to do almost anything he dislikes when he hears that he will be growing up when he learns to do it. So now my boy eats all sorts of veggies, beans, sauces - you name it. You could tell when he ate new foods that it truly was awful to him, but his tastes have adjusted so much that now he ends up liking everything sooner or later. This "growing up" motivator is also working to help keep his bed made. Formerly his bedding came off every day and became a pile of "yucky junk" anywhere and everywhere in the house. He's able to do lots of cool stuff now. In the kitchen he's starting to really help clean up, and today when we made pb cookies he was able to shape them, dip them in sugar, and make criss-crosses on them all by himself. We're looking forward to Sunday - he's going to recite 7 memory verses in front of the whole church. What a big boy!

Eric is off to Germany again on Monday. He'll come home Friday night, so this trip shouldn't be too bad. This is his third big trip since April. I think we're both over work travel now. I guess I've got more to look forward to than he does, though. My parents are coming for a couple days, and I've got day trips planned to visit Lydia and Charlene. Still, we're all going to miss Daddy!