Closing out 2016 and Beginning 2017

The rest of Christmas break was spent playing with neighbors and new toys. Paul took on a building project to create a space for the kids to drop their backpacks and shoes in the garage. I took a few more trips to the home improvement store, a few more hours, and a few more dollars than originally anticipated, but it added some very useful storage space. Paul and I also went away overnight for the first time without kids to attend a retirement party for a coworker in Virginia. Aunt Lisa came and stayed with the kids, even taking Claire to Tessa's birthday party the next morning.

January brought a return to school and usual activities, like lunch visits with the boys and Toddler Time at Chick Fil A. But it also brought several firsts and milestones, like Claire getting her ears pierced (she announced that she wanted to have it done and she could not be deterred. She only whimpered slightly and shed a couple tears), her first haircut (with the lovely Jessica DeLuna), and her first lunch date ordering like a big girl (Caesar salad). There were also little extras, like a snowstorm, Nathanael loosing another tooth, and a Mommy/Claire trip to the Peace Center for a play.