This is Madeline's second day of cancelled school for an ice storm in North Texas. The bulk of the sleet and freezing rain fell throughout the evening and night and when all was said and done there was about a quater of an inch of sleet on the ground. Now I know y'all up north are laughing your socks off saying they closed schools down for that? YEP!!! This storm was not as bad as our last one and it is already beginning to melt off. We are hoping this freeze after such unseasonably warm weather does not effect trees blossoming considering most trees in our area looked about ready to bloom.

Last week Kelly came home from work Thursday morning with some type of stomach bug and slept all day, night, and all Friday morning, Madeline has a wicked cough, and Rebekah's "nose is running like a sieve." I had to look that one up because I have always heard that phrase used but never really know what it meant, but first I had to learn how to spell sieve. Anyhow, I am the only one not sick and I am thankful for that. So between wiping noses and a screaming baby because her poor little nose is raw, I found time to go to my weekly Friday lunch with the girls and had a wonderful time in the almost 80 degree weather at the park.

Real early this morning (1:30a) Rebekah woke up with a fever of 103.4 and very fussy. After Motrin and about 2 hours of sweet snuggling in our comfy recliner she finally went back to sleep and slept the rest of the night. Right now she is just fine, having a ball playing Lego's with Madeline and watching Elmo's World (ARRGGG).

Today, we are under a winter storm warning, our high temp was reached at 6am (32) and we will be steadily falling through the day into the 20's. We are waiting for the rain, or should I say ice, to start falling. No ice yet but they have already cancelled Madeline's school. It is a good day to stay inside and watch movies and drink Starbucks.

Rebekah's few words are becoming more clear and understandable. "More" sounds like "mooow" and "please" is "peeesss". We had some tough love sessions with her for her to sign please. She knows how to do it but absolutely refused to do so when asked. So there was a lot of crying and screaming when she did not get what she wanted. Rebekah now is all too happy to sign it for you along with saying it in her sweet voice. She has even picked up on signing thank you just by watching me sign it each time I said it to her. She is also trying to say many other words as well. Rebekah will say "woof" when you ask her what a dogs says. Yesterday while watching tv she saw some horses and would "woof" and "woof" each time she saw them...very cute. She recognizes herself in pictures and when asked "whos that" she will points to herself. Rebekah is not walking yet STILL ~ ARGGGG! She is getting more sure footed by the day and we are just waiting for the day when she takes that "leap" of faith and lets go. She is also getting the hang of blowing her nose, which she thinks is a game and there is less crying.

Madeline has discovered watching movies on netflix online. She is doing great in school, though having concentration issues with math.

All in all ~ all is well with us, take it easy everyone.

Today was Rebekah's 1st day of "school." I would like to say she was excited but I guess unsuspecting is a more fitting word. When I dropped her off she went right to the teacher without even a whimper and before I knew it she was on the floor playing very happily. I kinda figured she would not be real clingy or emotional, that was my job and I did it very well. There is absolutely an empty feeling in our house today. I have already gone to check on her in her room only to realize she is not here. I miss her.

It has been a while since my last post but in my defense I have been very busy doing nothing. I have tried my hardest to keep up on the laundry and cleaning the house but cannot seem to get it done. No matter what I do there is always clutter or dirty clothes. We have had yo yo type weather here being in the 60's or 70's one day and in the 30's the next. Our trees are very confused and close to blooming, just in time for another big cold front likely to make it to North Texas. Some of my plants are already budding and my rosemary bushes are full of beautiful blue flowers. I enjoy the warmer weather but wish the weather would make up it's mind to be either cold or warm.

We had a beautiful day last Friday and took advantage of it by going to the zoo with some good friends. It is still very hard to believe people are walking round in shorts and t-shirts in the January, although we were not. It was a great day to be at the zoo because all the animals we saw were very active and fun to watch, all except the hippos.


Rebekah can get around the house very well. She crawls at warp speed and when she comes to a something she can pull up on she does and walks her way down the couch, chair, or table then back in the crawl position and she is off again. She is close to walking but not willing to let go and have a go at it alone. She has finally figured out, with the help of Madeline, how to use her adjustable cruiser/walker toy. She is becoming harder to keep track of. Rebekah is more vocal but doesn't say much, although she thinks she says a lot. She is starting to put words together but they are few and only on request, she does not spontaneously say words. Rebekah is more opinionated as well and becoming a bit more demanding. She still is not a finicky eater but is going through the stage of not eating at times and when she does not want to eat you cannot make her. At her 1 year check up the doctor said to put her on whole milk exclusively and no more bottles. The switch has not been difficult. I am really happy that we do not have to formula anymore - YEAH! We will be putting Rebekah in a 2 day a week mother's day out program.

Madeline is still doing very well in Kindergarten and loves it very much. She is a wonderful big sister and loves to entertain Rebekah. We are going to re-enroll her in gymnastics as she is kartwheeling and summersaulting all over the house.