Our favorite 5 year old

I'm getting back into the swing of things with a bang! My nephew Jacob had his fifth birthday party over the weekend and it was super fantastic. Jacob is incredible. I see so much love and gratefulness in him while keeping his "kid" intact. Happy birthday wishes to a special guy indeed.

These guys grow far too quickly, but we are so blessed to be together through these stages. My sister and I are both pregnant again and it looks like these babies will be only four weeks apart. Hooray for built in friends!

Bit by bit

We are gradually unpacking and it's taking some time. Meanwhile, Broc and his Dad have begun the makeover process on our family room. Realistically, it is going to take us a few years to reach our goals in this house. From knocking out walls to replacing colorful carpet with wood, we have a lot of work ahead. The biggest job by far is the kitchen, which we hope to make headway on this spring. This is a great house, spacious, big windows, full basement, on 2 acres, but aesthetically it's dated. Oh boy is it dated. I do love a good makeover but part of me wants to fast forward to the finished product. Our kids seem to be very happy here and I'm already daydreaming about outdoor fun to be had come warmer weather. We will take picnics to the back of our property, plant gardens, play in the dirt and have bonfires. Whose with me?

Cry Baby

I spent some time getting Miles ready for the snow today. He FIGHTS diaper and wardrobe changes, so you can imagine how trying a full body suit, mittens and boots might be. After I plopped him in a fluffy spot, he took a swipe at the snow and then cried angrily. I tried a few times, but Miles did not enjoy his first experience in the snow.

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas! We forgot to bring the camera to Broc's parents house, so unfortunately we are lacking photos from a very special part of our day. However, It was a wonderful day and we are so thankful to have such loving families. In other news, we close on our house on Friday! It's true. We'll move in as soon as they hand us keys. Though there is much to be done to make it our own, we'll be in and that's the first step. Yippee!

Detroit

It has been a long time since I've visited the once great city of Detroit. Today some of the Barnitzwaters (our ex bowling team name) went to see the musical production of How the Grinch Stole Christmas at the Detroit Opera House. It was so enjoyable and I would recommend the show to anyone. We went for a ride on the People Mover which took us to Greek Town for some flaming cheese. Opa! I'm beginning to understand Broc's love for this old city and I too hope to see it make a come back.

Oh Snow!

to tree or not to tree?

That is the question. We had originally decided on not having a Christmas tree this year. At this point we don't know the timing of our move, nor do we have much space for a tree in our loft. We would just have to enjoy the spell of pine when we visited grandparents. With or without a tree Christmas feels so strange, especially since all of our decorations and stockings are buried in a storage facility. We decided on a tree after all. We will probably make ornaments out of paper and popcorn, but it brings us joy knowing how excited Piper and Miles will be on Christmas morning to see our tree glowing and bearing gifts.