It's hard to believe we're already one month into the new year. Things seemed to have slowed down this month. Due to scheduling conflicts and various sick kids, we only had one playgroup this month, much to Joe's dismay. He loves to pester the older kids. Flo, on the other hand, had plenty of fun playdates with her friends Megan and Dara, despite her pesky brother.
Flo continues with her ice skating lessons, and tested onto the next level for this semester. Darren takes her to skating class every Wednesday, and they enjoy that time hanging out together. Flo also took an art class this month based on Picasso. They did very interesting self-portraits.
Both Flo and Joe continue with their Little Gym classes, though we've moved Joe's class to his own day in the morning. He just wasn't doing well having to wait an hour during his sister's class, and he was tired and just ended up sitting like a lump. He doesn't much like the dancing around in the circle part, but he loves the equipment and hanging from the bars… oh and the inflatable thing they jump all over… that's his favorite. We also did a Parent's Survival Night at the Little Gym this month. They did great. I was worried about Joe, but the staff didn't look TOO exhausted when I came back. It's from 6 to 9pm, so Darren's not even home from work yet, but I enjoyed a few hours of quiet.
Flo and I finished the book Flyte by Angie Sage this month. We've really enjoyed her two Septimus Heap books. They're kind of Harry Potter-esque, but not so scary. She's also written a couple books for younger readers, which Flo and I have set to read for February.
Towards the end of the month, we had our vegetarian society potluck at our house. We got quite a turn out this month, surprisingly. Usually it's just a few people. It's so nice to enjoy such a great selection of food without having to do all the work. Flo enjoyed herself, and my mom took Joe out for a few hours, so we could relax a bit.
Joe had his four year check-up with his pediatrician this month. It was on Darren's day off, and considering I didn't have any health concerns or issues I needed to discuss with the doctor, I thought it would be a nice thing for Darren to do with Joe. Well, not so much. I guess Joe was completely uncooperative and wouldn't let the doctor examine him. I guess they got his weight and height, and gave him a once over, so good enough. I think Darren now has a better appreciation of what it's like to take Joe to appointments.
On the 30th, we took Darren down to the VA hospital in West Virginia (only a half hour away) quite early in the morning for the lovely experience of having a colonoscopy. I had to go with the kids to drive him home, as he was being sedated and they require a drive to appear before they take the patient. So, when I dropped him off at 9am, I was thinking we'd wait around an hour or two. The nurse told me not to even bother coming back before 12:30pm… Ugh… So, knowing there was no way I could entertain the kids in the hospital cafeteria for three hours, we took a little ride around Charles Town, WV, and spent sometime in their new PetSmart store checking out all the animals.
Overall, it was a good month. I think my pregnancy fatigue is slowing down our routine a bit, but that's okay. Flo and I have had a lot of time to spend on reading, and Joe's new favorite thing is Legos, which keeps him busy for hours. Much of my time is still spent mediating disputes between siblings, but they're actually doing much better at playing together. I think as Joe matures a bit more, it will get even better… just in time to add another one to the mix.