The end of the Polar Vortex

Today was our last day of super cold wind chill, so tomorrow we can live life outside of these walls again!  A friend who lives 2 blocks away invited us over this afternoon, but I said no...because...no entertainment is worth that kind of snot-freezing nonsense outside!  Tomorrow.  We live again tomorrow.

It's -50 outside.  But no matter the weather, Cora is most comfortable free, wild, and natural! 
She pulled this blanket near the table to be next to us while the older kids did school.
Remind me to wash that pillow...

Lots of fun staying in our pajamas for the LAST FOUR DAYS.

Kellan LOVES his little tub here.  Don't let his awe-struck face fool you.

This kid is SO PROUD of his ability to sit up on his own power now.  He loves it.

Today

Today, the wind chill was -35 degrees.  And tomorrow it's going to be -50 degrees.  SO, all surrounding school districts have closed, obviously, yet we are still at home able to do school no problem...haha.  I gave myself a little pep talk in bed this morning:  "Be flexible, Lisa.  Don't try to do regular school today.  Just go with the flow, you type-A crazy person."  I was mostly successful.  :)

We played a game about money...I remember the first time we played it they were SO BAD at it.  It's helpful to see some progress, haha.

My favorite view

Kellan always wishes he was outside, just like his sister Cora.  If he can't be outside, he at least wants to be looking outside via our big picture window in the living room.  

Kellan can roll all over the place now, and he's getting super fast at pushing himself up into a sitting position.  This is making Layla SUPER anxious.  She is so concerned that he is going to fall backwards and hurt himself!  And he is...she's 100% right.  But he can sit up so fast now that I can't focus on that too much.  He'll just have to get better and not fall over so much I guess.  However, this prospect...Kellan getting hurt...it's too much for Layla's little heart to handle.  She was near tears at least 3 times today as he *almost* fell over.  He has no idea how luck he is to have her as an older sister, that's for sure!

Kellan rolled himself around the corner from me in the living room, then pushed himself up into a sitting position in the dining room.  He was baaaaaarely able to see me if he leaned forward and looked around the little wall, so we played peek-a-boo for a while.  He thought this was great fun.  Aunt Renee was here and able to catch some of the smiles.  

9 months

Mr. Nine Months Old on January 24th.   He loves to push himself up into a sitting position, and sitting is his favorite.  He wants to crawl so bad and I'm pretty sure that will happen in the next week or two.  Eating solids is ALSO his favorite thing...hell hath no fury like a baby denied his every food wish.  He has discovered mushrooms and can eat an entire bowl of them.  He's a JOY to know and hold, especially after his naps, and...maybe less so the 30 minutes before bedtime.

I was tempted to change him into a different outfit for the photos...because this is what he woke up wearing, his pajamas.  But come on, man.  Let's be real here.  #4thchild . No dressing my baby for my image alone...because getting the pictures done was frankly enough, right??  Ha.  PLUS, it's like negative 5 million in MN right now.  Warmth over image every day.

I wish you could hear the laughter that was coming out of him for this photo.
It's the BEST.

Some family fun:

Jonas is in Michigan for a while, and while he's gone my siblings have been having some great fun with the kids.  Uncle Eric came up and took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time in their lives, and then Uncle Dan, Aunt Lauren, and Uncle Eric took the kids to Nickelodeon Universe at the MOA the next day.  They DIED.  Family is wonderful, isn't it?? :)  Thank you to my wonderful siblings.

THIS is my favorite video:

The kids got to go into this candy store and fill an entire bucket with whatever candy they wanted.  In CLASSIC form they did this:  Finn wanted to just fill it with licorice and had to be convinced that other candy was ok.  Layla filled it 1/6 full and decided that was enough, because she wanted to please the adults.  Cora LOCKED ON to the idea and ran from bin to bin, asking Eric to fill a little of each candy in her box.  Cora's candy is by FAR the grossest...haha.  

We went to my parent's house for dinner on Sunday and teething Kellan rolled over on the floor to chew on their metal coffee table legs.

Cora wanted me to see how tall she was. 

The kids thought this looked like a camel (Finn and Layla under) and were VERY disappointed in the picture results.

Layla teaching the kids a dance routine.

Kellan loves playing with Layla.  

Finn made a Woody Woodpecker with Legos

Saying goodbye to Papa before he left

The kids saw commercials for Disney World when we were in Eau Claire for J's work .  Cora DID NOT FORGET.  She wanted to convince Jonas to take the kids for her birthday.  OVER MY DEAD BODY.

This little boy loves to sit up and read books.  HIS FAVE these days.