Sweet boy was so tired, he fell asleep trying to eat lunch. I put him to bed and guess who showed up at our house... Grandma & Papa McConnell and Gina & Nathan! They were here for a whole 24 hours... and I didn't get a single picture. We had a great short little visit though. We played with cousin, unpacked a few boxes, and Papa helped with a few little projects.
"Do not confuse onion rings with earrings" Lol. I got some mozzarella sticks and noticed that warning on the bag. I thought it was funny.
I came home from running errands to this ^^
Here's a close up. All three asleep!
A few dishwasher woes. We probably have hard water, but the dishwasher has problems too. There was some white residue all over the dishes (like I said, that probably has to do with hard water. It was really frustrating though and I feel like some of my plastic cooking utensils are ruined now), it leaked sometimes, and the last time I used it, it smelled like something was burning. (Jacob said maybe wires or something. He told me to let it keep running the cycle, but not to go to sleep until it was done. That was comforting...) So when my Mom was here a few weeks later, we made our 3rd trip to Monroe, LA and got a new dishwasher. Still some hardwater marks on the dishes... but they seem much cleaner! (Or maybe I'm just telling myself that because I got a new one ;P) Not to mention it's a fancy new one and it's SO quiet!! That's probably why Jacob ok'd me getting one. He used to get so frustrated at our old place when the washing machine or dishwasher (or both) were going while he was trying to watch something. And now we have a door to the utility room and a super, super quiet dishwasher. He's happy ;P
I don't know how his arm got out of his shirt. Lol.
They fight all day long but when it comes down to it, I guess they can both agree that this is the place to sit. Lol.
Cute girl after church! She insisted on wearing her princess shoes.
Snapping some pics of the kids as the play outside, before the temperatures drop again. It's so much colder here than I'm used to. It's crazy to me because we're only a few hours north. I've also been told that this has been a record breaking cold winter for the area.
The boy loves sticks!!
So does she!
Just a few hours later and it started to rain. Good thing we got a little outside time earlier!
Doing my hair (aka not putting it in a bun) and putting real clothes on in the middle of the week calls for a selfie. Lol
Sweet kiddos!
Brushing their teeth and staring at themselves in the mirror. Haha.
We got a dresser and a side table that used to be my grandmas. The plan was to sand it down and re-stain it. Jacob insisted that it was my project. Now that we aren't 5 minutes from his parent's house with access to all of their tools, we had to buy some of our own. Jacob has now sanded both pieces for me because he was excited about the new tools. I wasn't gonna stop him. Lol. He started with the top of each, just to try the new sander out... but he had been out there for a while, so I looked out the window and he was working doing all of it. Haha.
They aren't supposed to sit up there. We haven't turned the stove on yet, but are trying to teach them not to play by it. But they looked so cute and were playing so sweet with each other!! So I took a pic and told them to get off. Lol.
This came up on my "on this day" reminders. I still love this quote!! "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, and invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger-something better, pushing right back." -Albert Camus
Out little helped. He pushes the cart all by himself. Jacob just has to move it in the right direction. Lol.
Holding her Star Wars toys and watching Rogue One. Our kids are both seriously obsessed with Star Wars. Haha. She ended up falling asleep to the movie. Outside Jacob had started raking the leaves in the front yard.
Wilson was having a blast playing in the big pile!
I tried to wake Kayla up because I thought she'd like it too. She wasn't very happy about being woken up though...
Wilson continued to have fun!
Then we thought if we put her in the leaves, maybe she'd change her mind... Nope. Just crying in the pile of leaves. Lol.
He was being stinking adorable though!!
Look how big that pile is! And Jacob wasn't even done with the yard yet!
She kind of calmed down after some food... Lol.
The next morning we woke up to snow!! (You can see the snow covered pile of leaves next to the tree. Haha.)
I think the previous owner may have been handicap. This ramp was in our garage and Jacob put it here to help with moving the fridge and dryer in. We just haven't bothered to move it yet. Haha.
Checking out the snow!
Jacob had the day before off for MLK day. And this day, they told everyone to stay home. He ended up not having to go in until like 9:30 the next day either. Perks of getting snow in areas that aren't accustomed to it. It was really nice getting some extra time with him!
Wilson was not sure about the snow. He avoided it as much as he could. Lol.
Kayla found the pile of leaves!
Jacob got Wilson to walk in it and he ran all the way to where I was in the neighbors driveway to get out. He kept following me on the sidewalks. I guess we know where he gets it from. Haha.
Snow angel!!
This is when she realized it was too cold. Haha!
Cute little boy!
Kayla had her fun and now she was done.
Both kids ready to go inside. Haha.
Enjoying some chicken noodle soup on our snow day. I noticed I had picked up a smile with my cracker!
Icicles the next day.
Playing in what was left over the next day.
See how crazy crooked the street looks? My camera on my phone is crazy! I've learned how to mostly make it work... mostly. Apparently it's a common issue with my phone and apple will fix it for free. Last night I finally went to a local authorized apple repair store and they ordered the new camera for me. So next week my pictures should finally be back to normal!
They always find sticks when they're outside!
Playing with his cape. This was one of the gifts from Grandma McConnell. This one is actually the same one that Jacob used to play with when he was little. She also made a new one for Kayla. They love to run around the house with them and "fly"!
They also both enjoy all the things we have to play dress-up with!
Helping push Mommy & Daddy's new bed.
Cuddling with Wilson's new R2D2 blanket and watching a movie on the iPad.
The sun shining on our new quilt. I thought it looked pretty neat.
Putting my 2 year old to bed one last time! She turned 3 the next day!
I promise she's not choking him. When I ask them to take a pic together, she always does this, and it always looks like he's choking. I don't know why! Haha.
Birthday girl opening up presents from Grandma Ruske!!
Playing with her new Sophia toys!
Pancakes for breakfast!
She's been talking about a pink cake with sprinkles for WEEKS! She was so excited to help bake and decorate her cake! (And eat it ;)... we'll get there)
Pizza for dinner!
The arcade room was kind of a let down, but they still had fun!
It's so difficult to get a pic with everyone looking!!
I know the 3 is upside down... the wick sticks out from the bottom and we've just stuck with it. (We also used it when I turned 23) Lol.
So happy to eat some of her cake!!!
Wilson really enjoyed it too!
Grandma McConnell had given me Kayla's birthday present before we left at Christmastime. It had been sitting on her dresser and I completely forgot about it until the next day. Kayla was thrilled for another present though. She loved her new Frozen book AND she happened to be wearing her Elsa dress. How perfect is that? Haha.
Jacob and I were able to go on a date night before my Mom left. (First one in almost 7 months!)
Not only was it our first evening sans kids, but we FINALLY got to see Star Wars. Yeah a month later... So behind for my Star Wars loving husband. Lol.
Also super random but also just another reason why I love my husband... He's absolutely perfect for me. Anyways, my current favorite quote from him is "I don't have to know how many pills are left to know you're about to start your period". He said it to me after I had a little crying session over nothing. He knows me so well and that comment made me laugh so much!! I love that guy! And I love that he puts up with me!
Her new Minnie dress! (We ran to Walmart with Grandma right before she left. Grandma just couldn't not buy this for Kayla. Kayla loves it!)
Wilson came into bed with us one morning around 5. Jacob was eating a muffin a little later and talking to me. The package had two and he set the other one on the window sill. 30 minutes after he left for work, Wilson was still in bed with me. He was watching the iPad and I had fallen back asleep. I was woken up by the sound of the plastic wrapper in my ear. I opened my eyes to see muffin crumbs ALL OVER THE BED. EVERYWHERE. I was not happy. Wilson was pretty content with himself though.
He's a pretty cute little boy! Even with his crazy little antics...
We decided to try a Mexican restaurant nearby. Kayla really enjoyed the chips and salsa (totally my girl). I was sadly disappointed and we left missing our Tex-Mex from back home.
Wilson saying "D2". He loves Star Wars just as much as his Dad and sister do!
I was working on a little sewing project and told her she could stay up and finish the rest of Star Wars. There was maybe 10 minutes left of the movie. When I heard the credits, I told her "ok, time for bed", but there was no response. I went in the living room and found her asleep! Lol.
I was too slow at getting lunch ready, so she grabbed a chair and pulled out the peanut butter herself. Haha.
I have a picture of my grandma on the bookshelf in my room. (Omi, although I do have pictures of both sets of my grandparents) Every time she sees it, she says "Omi! My Omi gave me my bear!". That was 2 Christmases ago and she still remembers. (Well she remembers that one time I told her it was from Omi. She wasn't even a year old when she got it.) We talked to Omi a week or so ago and told her about it. We decided to take a picture of her and the bear for Omi to see.
About those pictures though. Every time she sees them she mentions the bear, and she also names everyone. "That's my Omi and GG and Grandpa Nick and Great Grandpa Ruske". Although sometimes I have to remind her of Great Grandpa Ruske's name... half the time she says Grandpa Nick twice. Lol. She's a little sweetheart though!!
I finally got around to snapping a few pictures of the house. It's still a little crazy around here. I'll have to get the rest of the pictures later. Here's the living room.
And a close up on those pics. Ruske family, our family, and McConnell family.
More living room.
The Living Christ and The Family Proclamation.
Tv and bookshelf with movies in the living room.
The Franklin stove. Jacob loves it. It reminds him of visiting Granny when he was younger. We still haven't turned it on yet, though.
The guest bedroom. I'm standing in the bathroom. I decided not to take a pic of any of the bathrooms. Lol. What you can't see is the closet next to me and the piles of boxes in the corner.
When I posted these next two on Instagram, I was able to crop out the sides. Our bedroom is definitely still crazy. Jacob is waiting for it to warm up before he stains the dresser and side table, so there are clothes all over. And we really need a desk, but he wants to make one. Who knows when that will happen with all of these other projects we have lined up. Haha. (Also, the sheet and quilt not being even at the bottom drives me crazy!! Lol.)
The kids are being super sweet, so I pulled the camera back out and shot a few pictures of them.
Poor Wilson with a bite mark on his forehead from his sister earlier that morning...
I was transferring some of the pictures I had just taken of them to my phone, when Wilson fell off the bed. I'm still pretty scarred from when Kayla fell out of the shopping cart this summer. I was really worried for a bit. He eventually calmed down. He had a little goose egg for an hour or so and then it was bruised for a few days.
Poor guy had a rough day though! Bitten by sister...
And then falling off the bed. Chickfila makes both of them happy though ;) We hadn't been in a while. They were happy to eat and get to play on the playground for a little bit.
And here's some random videos from throughout the month:
Kayla playing jingle bells on the triangle. Lol.
Wilson saying "I love you".
Kayla was just hanging out watching the iPad with a pillow over her. Haha.
She likes to ride around on this all the time and say "Look! I'm GG!" At least I can say she remembers her GG...
Poor boy needed some attention. He would cry when the tv was playing, but as soon as we paused it, he'd stop. We got a kick out of it. Don't worry, we turned it off and gave him the attention he was wanting. Lol.
He loves wearing other peoples shoes. I think mine and Kaylas are his favorite. My flats and her princess shoes make lots of noise when he walks around in them, and I think that makes him extra happy. Lol.
Goofing around with Kayla. It amazes me everyday how much she's grown. We love this girl so much!!!
