Winter Blues

What's new at the Pratt household? Not much, unless you consider the snow. Wait a second, that's not new! I must say in the defense of Roosevelt, this winter has been the easiest we've had so far. It didn't start snowing until after our California trip for Thanksgiving (Thank GOODNESS!) and we really only had one major snowfall. It's gotten to sub zero temps, BUT they only lasted a few weeks. In fact this week was mainly in the teens! I sure am hoping this is an upward trend we can look forward to (so I can get out and RUN!)

Despite this however, 3/4 of my kiddos still love finding things to do inside.

I'm still afterschooling Hailey and informally preschooling the two babies, and whenever Luke is around.

They LOVE working on math. When we are talking about tens and ones, etc we use the unifix math cubes and if the kids can listen to my whole lesson they get to play with the cubes. Not sure why they are so much more exciting than legos, but these sure are a hit with the kids!

Hailey is doing really well in school and lately her teacher has been having her read in front of the class instead of the teacher. This gives Hailey a fun way to link social skills (her least favorite thing) and reading (her most favorite thing.) She hates the snow as much as mom and she even began crying when PE at school was a snowball fight because "it will just freeze my hands out there in the cold."

She is getting SO great about her allergy. She knows the kinds of things that normally carry wheat and she will ask "Does that have wheat in it?" I feel bad sometimes, cause most treats contain some form of flour, but we have found some of her favorite treats we always make sure to have on hand, like these gluten free doughnuts! I have to be careful around her because she sure reminds me of the way I act sometimes. I've been known to get frustrated with the kids and say "I give up, I need a timeout" and walk into the other room. She reminded me of this one day she was reading to Luke who kept turning the pages prematurely. She throws her hands in the air (apparently what I look like) and says "I give up, I need a time out" and then walks into the other room. We've implemented a new you can't eat dinner (or lunch) until the toys are cleaned up. One day they were being particularly slow and as Bella and I entered the kitchen she says,

"Mom are you and Bella going to eat dinner?" I told her yes, since Bella and I had cleaned up our part. She responded with "Mom, that is selfish. You shouldn't eat in front of the hungry." She teaches me more and more everyday and she sure is such an amazing blessing!

Little Peanut is tiny as ever. She is SO messy all the time! Hailey had so much more hair than her, I never remember the constant bedhead look with her, but Bella sure has it. It is a rare occurrence you will find Bella without 2 fistfuls of what she considers food (sometimes edible, sometimes not). Despite all her frequent

binging she hasn't gained a pound. She will be two years old before she turns 20 pounds I'm sure. She is, however, meeting all her milestones. She is now potty trained (still the occasional accident) except for bedtime, however she stays dry upon waking up, mom's a little concerned with jumping that hurdle yet. She still loves her "puppy" which consists of almost any stuffed animal. She LOVES to cuddle and as long as she's not eating she has a blankie and either a "puppy" or baby in her arms. My little sweetheart is counting (out of order) "1, 2, 6, 4, 8" and speaking TONS! Even though size way she remains tiny she sure is growing in so many other ways.

My little man, sure has hit the 2's stage. His tantrums are quite dramatic (such the drama king!) But he's the quickest to change and always gives a HUGE toothy grin and asks me "Mom this make you happy?" He LOVES getting caught being good (which gets a reward... find out about that HERE), and still adores helping mom in the kitchen. He doesn't mind if it's cleaning or putting away dishes but his FAVORITE is cooking. Treats particularly and his joy in life seems to be licking the beaters or spoons while waiting for things to bake. He is trying so hard to be like Luke and some days cries when he can't follow him to school. He is a tad bit obsessed with TV, and since we only watch on the weekends for a show or two at a time, he gets pretty bothered when it goes off. But as I said before he changes his mood almost instantaneously. He loves getting his picture taken... what a HAM! Love it!

The reason I said 3/4 of the kiddos hate the snow like Mom, is because of Luke!

He LOVES the snow. Kicking at it with his boots, making foot prints, hiding things in it, even playing baseball with daddy in it. He's always asking to go outside, and because Mom is way more chicken than her 4 year old when it comes to being cold, he usually has to wait for daddy to get home to do it. He's been doing great in school and from what I hear is quite the social butterfly. He's "the cool kid" as his teacher says. He's doing much better focusing his attention and when something catches his interest he sure hangs on. He still LOVES the scriptures and Jesus stories. We were reading the story of Jesus being tempted by satan and Luke says when he goes to heaven he's "gonna help Heavenly Father and throw oranges at that big fat fat satan and the hit him with a stick so he leaves for good." After yelling prayer because "heaven is so far far away" and he "wants Heavenly Father to be able to hear" him, he tells me, "Mom, when we go to heaven it is so far all the boys and girls better stay with their mommies and daddies so they don't get lost." I told him that's right, most mommies and daddies know the way and he says "Mom, when I go to heaven, we will hold hands. I want to go to heaven with you."

*tear* What an angel. He has such an amazing sweet spirit and even though he seems all full of fighting and wildness (what little boy doesn't?) he is all fluffy and soft inside.

Matt's still working crazy, and I'm doing all the mom stuff, really hoping for it to get warm so I can get in race "shape" for this year. Trying to keep busy with crafts and entertaining the children.

Until next time ♥ Kimberly