{Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real}~ January 9, 2014

Has it really been a month since I lasted posted?  I certainly won't win any blogger-of-the-year awards at this rate!

We had a lovely Christmas.  Lizzie, Justin, and Arane were here for ten days!  We spent a lot of time quietly staying home, but with an eighteen-month-old on the premises, the days were anything but slow-paced.  It was delightful to once again see Christmas through the eyes of a small child and be reminded of the wonder.

{Pretty}

A few days the temperature approached 50, so we managed some good outside time.

The big girl in this picture is pretty too!

{Happy}

Dave made Arane this kitchen set and she loved it!  She spent lots of happy time playing with it, and her mother tells me once home she had to be dragged away from it for trivial things like meals and sleep.

She preferred the sink to be out instead of in.  It got in the way of dropping things down the hole.

She's happy to be sitting on Daddy's lap, clutching a bag of M&M's in each hand.

Arane and her "papa", happy as two clams . . .

{Funny}

A day or two after Christmas, Arane discovered my pantry and spent long periods there playing with plastic spoons, cups, ice cream buckets, and canning rings.  (She was supervised the whole time so she wouldn't accidentally get into something she shouldn't.)  She made a shambles of the organization, but she had a great time!  And really, when all was said and done, it only took a few minutes to get things back in order.

This would be a nice picture if it weren't for the star sprouting from Justin's head . . .

What we didn't know when this picture was taken was that baby #2 was on the way!  Hurray!

{Real}

We were smack dab in the middle of that arctic freeze.  One day the high was -15!  Lots of snow . . . lots of reasons to stay home . . . There was ice on the inside of the threshold to our front door, and the storm windows in the growlery were spectacular!

Visit the women of Like Mother, Like Daughter for more {phfr}!