I’m usually a winter kinda gal, but this winter has been miserable. All the sunny days are bitterly cold and all the warm days are rainy, so I have been trying to offer the kids as many fun indoor activities as possible. This doesn’t always appease Houston, since he is such the outdoor boy, but it’s better than nothing.

 

Houston makes “art” for the first time.

Some things that do occupy Houston, at least for a little while, are drawing; playing on the activity mat with brothers; reading books; playing on the bean bag chair that Santa brought him; playing “car” (a video game that he has renamed) with Daddy; pulling things out of any container and then putting them back in (comes in handy when cleaning up his toys); helping Mommy with laundry and other household chores; and hiking his new football.

Gabriel and Zeke play with (i.e., get tortured by) Houston on the activity mat.

Gabriel and Zeke are becoming more independent. They find the activity mat, the bouncy seat, the swing and riding forward-facing in Mommy’s carrier all pretty entertaining. They both hold their heads up really well, so as soon as they’re long enough, we can bust out the exer-saucer and jump-n-go swing — two of Houston’s favorite old toys.

The twins are also sleeping for much longer periods (6-7 hours) at night, which makes for a happier Mommy and a healthier home. In fact, I had to wake Gabriel and Zeke one morning last weekend ’cause they were still snoozing after I had been up a while and my breasts were ready to blow. Houston is finally down to one long nap a day and still sleeps like a champ at night, usually waking around 7 a.m.

Houston utilizes his “eating smock” to its fullest.

Click the above image to view the January – Part 3 pics and the activity mat photo to see all the remaining January photos.

I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank our amazing church for the extremely generous love offering they collected to help us out with our medical bills. Thank God for the kindness of our many brothers and sisters in Christ!