January Hodgepodge

Story told by: Henry

It’s been a good January so far!

Before school started again for me and Lainey, we got together with friends for gym time to get our energy out.

Then we went with Mac and Ivy to get their FIRST-EVER happy meal. (How is that even possible?! Mommy’s mind was blown.)

Once school started again, Mommy got to go on a coffee date with Brody (in the midst of running errands).

Daddy has been working late on Friday nights, so we took advantage of one of those nights to go swimming with Mommy.

Our family went to watch a Cougar basketball game against the Huskies. Lainey’s face perfectly sums up how we feel about the Huskies.

Mommy and Daddy got to sneak away for a date to see “The Greatest Showman” and to have dinner. We had a blast with Ashley as our babysitter!

We’ve had an unusually warm (and not snowy) January, so we’ve taken advantage of it by getting outside whenever we can!

When we have rainy days, though, Lainey makes some pretty good obstacles courses for us.

Brody and I also get our energy out with gymnastics while Lainey is in school.

Lainey had Spirit Week at school. One day was “Character Day,” and she chose to go as Fancy Nancy (from one of her favorite book series).

For those of you who don’t know Fancy Nancy, here’s her picture.

Another day was “-ER Day” where you went as something ending in “-er.” Lainey went as a dancer.

Another day was “Dynamic Duo” day, so Lainey and her friend, Dez, dressed as twins.

Our sweet neighbor, Sandy, gave us Dairy Queen gift cards for Christmas, so we asked her to join us for ice cream one day after school. It was fun to spend time with her!

Lainey’s reading is quickly progressing. It’s fun for both Mommy and Lainey!

Mommy recently went to a baby shower for her friend, Amy. While there, she also got to see her friend, Jenny (in the black pants). They were all friends in the marching band from college, and lived on the same floor for their freshman and sophomore years. She had a blast catching up!

Brody and I wore matching shirts to church last weekend. When Mommy asked me if she could take a picture, I said, “Yes, but I’m going to squeeze hug Brody tight like this.”

We aren’t getting along very well lately, but thank goodness for moments like this to give Mommy’s sanity a break.

One afternoon Mommy and Lainey worked on the 100-piece puzzle she got for Christmas.

While they were puzzling, Daddy and I went on an ice skating date.

I started with the ice skating trainer.

But then I decided I could do it on my own! It was a blast!

Later that evening we played Kids Charades that Uncle Jar Jar gave us for Christmas.

But I couldn’t seem to remember that you can’t say the clue. It made for some good laughs.

Lainey didn’t have school on Monday, so we made some banana muffins. Lainey really wanted her sheep involved in the baking.

Brody has been sick off and on all week with a stomach bug.

He won’t sit still for many shows except for “Despicable Me 3.” He LOVES the minions and will watch at least an hour of this movie. So this has been on repeat all week long so he can get some rest.

Mommy has really enjoyed watching Lainey’s writing come to life!

Mommy especially loved Lainey’s drawing about loving Gob (God).

Mommy had some great friends over for a fantastic night of bunco. There was so much laughing (and wine). What a great night!

We had a break from the rain, so Brody and I got out for a bike ride while Lainey was in school.

And then when Mommy asked me to put away my bike and helmet, I obviously got a little distracted.

We went bowling as a family yesterday. The bowling alley employees were going to have a lot of dents to get out of our lane.

Our bowling neighbors also had lots of fun cheering us on!

Bowling was mostly fun. This picture sums up how much fun Brody has at any event (and you can imagine how much Mommy and Daddy are enjoying this stage of his life).

On Sunday it was Lainey’s turn for an ice skating date with Daddy!

Unfortunately with about five minutes left in their skating time, Lainey fell and hurt her right arm. She came home to ice it, but after Mommy saw the amount of swelling in her arm, they headed to the ER. Lainey was pretty happy as long as she didn’t have to move her arm.

Mommy and Lainey had quite a wait, so they entertained themselves with recreating the pain scale chart. After an x-ray, they found out that Lainey has a fracture above her elbow.

Mommy’s friend, Rachel, was their ER nurse, so it was nice to have a familiar face. Lainey got a stuffed animal horse for being such a brave girl!

Lainey has a hard splint on for now. The swelling in her arm needs to go down so they can get a better x-ray. Fortunately it’s not looking like anything is displaced, so hopefully surgery can be avoided and they can simply put a cast on next week.

Lainey had just a half day of kindergarten today. She was very proud to show the x-ray to her class, but also glad to get to come home to rest. She’s doing great and is very brave!