A New Year~

The weather was so warm and beautiful on New Year's day we decided we just had to go to the beach. We actually hadn't been in about 3 months so we were long over due. Seems like we usually get to go once a month and I really feel like it's so good for us. There is just something about the air and water and the sound of the waves that gives me peace and clarity.

My handsome man. Been stuck with me now for almost 20 years.

Landen looooves the beach so much. As soon as we get there he gets busy playing in the sand.

Sometimes daddy takes him down to the water, but he is kind of scared of the waves. I don't blame him, the water is usually quite cold.

Landen is starting to understand that we are a family. He likes to go around the table at dinner and count us and say all our full names. I don't know how he knew, but he knew Jeff's name was Jeffrey, but he didn't know mine. No one calls me by my name very much. Jeff calls me honey most of the time. I don't think Jeff calls me Christine unless he's irritated with me, which of course is never! He also will say "Landen's house" when we come home. Last night I shouted upstairs that I was going to go to Trader Joe's and that he was going to stay with daddy. He shouted back, "Get some yogurt smoovies(smoothies)? I stay wif (with) my family." Ha! He also asked for cliff bars, of course.

Mikayla is now 5'4.5" and wears the same size shoe as me. She got 7 A's and one B on her report card. And she just got cast in our church's spring musical Fiddler on the Roof! It was a little cool at the beach so all she wanted to do was sit and read. She still loves reading!

"Mommy, I tan't fin my water squiter...do you know where it is?" Landen asked me that a couple days ago. Seriously, it's like a compound sentence. He's just getting so smart! He is also 36.5 inches tall and 32lbs. About the same as Mikayla was at this age.

Take a good long look at those golden curls. We chickened out and didn't get his hair cut over the holidays. But now that his hair goes below his nose I think it's going to get a trim this week. We also chickened out on potty training him. We were having such a nice break from school and activities we just never got around to it. He really is ready though. He has such an amazing memory we just need to go for it.

He and I went for lunch at an outdoor mall we haven't been to since July and after lunch we started walking toward some stores and he said, "Go find the choo choo train?!" I couldn't believe he remembered. He didn't even get to ride it last time and we were pretty far away from the actual train area. Blew me away!

Zach is now 5'1.5". He loves to play football with Jeff on the beach and play in the waves when it's not too cold. He is in Math League at school, he loves it and it is very easy for him. He is truly gifted in math. He is going to play baseball again this year and continues to do lego class after school. He was also elected class representative.

We kept saying how gross this watermelon rind was that someone left on the beach, but it ended up being a very beautiful picture.

These two have the most beautiful brown eyes! Three years ago this would have been a great blog header, now it just seems so incomplete.

That's much better! Never even knew we needed a Landen, but he makes our life so much richer. He definitely brings more love and happiness into our lives than we ever imagined.

He was so irritated with the sand on his hands he just kept asking to go home to wash them.

You can see the Channel Islands out there!

A great ending to a great day, and a perfect beginning to a new year.