a bit egocentric

my almost 2 yr old has developed a rather nasty egocentric habit... all names have an -ia ending just like hers.  mommy, for instance, is now said 'mommia' and the other members of our house are 'daddia', 'jackia', and 'kinia'.  all sorts of inanimate objects also get this distinction.  poop is lovingly referred to as 'poopia' and owies are almost always known as 'owias'

 

 

other funny quirks from miss egocentric include:

she recognizes and names all numbers as '1,2,9'- 9 being her favorite
cutest language quirks: blankie is 'boinkie' and boots are 'bonts' with a long o
she demands a kiss from her dad when he leaves every morning
has begun wanting to do everything independently- including picking her wardrobe
sleeps with a blankie AND a baby every night
mimics mom's scolding
asks for a piece of gum at least 4x/ day
has learned to push and shove
when having one of those days, she repeats 'i don't want it' over and over and louder and louder
and, from the looks of these recent photos, she has true toddler ragamuffin fashion!

roll a new life over... omaha

where have i been you ask?  i've been *selfishly (more on that later) taking care of myself and proud of it!  getting in a formal exercise groove is the last thing to be reclaimed since moving and it feels so good.  in fact,the first day, i left the *overpriced (more on that later) comforts of the gym in tears of joy- happy to unbottle 6 + months of moving across the country stresses!  i'll admit, i'm on a pretty *cushy (more on that later) schedule there- going where the kids can be in kids care and on the same schedule as 3 chatty friends.  but i'm absolutely loving this boost and finding the MOST peace and LEAST irritability i've felt in a very, very long time.
now onto the *(more on that later) issues involved in gym membership.  for starters, i unfortunately join the rest of omaha in resolving to love the gym in 2013 which means their yoga class is ridiculously overcrowded and therefore, unreasonably priced. (my bum in the faces of fellow yoginis is a far cry from my peaceful days in the phoenix yoga studio)  second, my internally- motivated, accountant husband had to lovingly provide room in the budget for said overpriced fees in the realization that my other attempts at exercise structuring have miserably failed (think: an elliptical that didn't make the move; a currently impractical dream of practicing ashtanga yoga daily; and being repulsed by the cost-efficient words 'running' and 'cold mornings'.) 
this being only my second gym membership (the first after a boyfriend-less move to boise for an advanced pace graduate program while taking the hormonally charged drug accutane!)... i'm absolutely loving this *overpriced, *cushy, and *selfish boost to my new year and new life.

fun with fam

an early morning air hockey tournament:

 

preschool days 1 and 2

day 1: jack comes home announcing that because there's another jack in his class, he is now known as "jack p"!

day 2: jack comes home announcing that there's "a girl that's pretty" in his class that he "tried to sit by"!?

...stay tuned for days 3 and beyond!

another trip to the desert dome

the omaha zoo is really cool... except for the desert dome.  its exterior has great curb appeal but one quickly realizes that it leaves something to be desired on the inside.  however, jack loves it and demands it every trip to the zoo.  the rest of us moan and groan (especially dolly who can't see the endless varieties of lizards and snakes from her stroller) but we go over and over again for him because i believe its therapeutic in some ways.  jack feels comfortable there and it reminds him of phoenix.  inside, he reminisces about the dirt he misses and even mentions the lemon tree from the backyard.  inside he loves the warm weather which is more inviting than the frosty outsides he bemoans.  and inside, he remembers being able to swim a full 6 months out of the year. (have i mentioned the kid has 6 size 4t swimtrunks?)   So, inside the desert dome we go again and we'll continue to do so until this guy is fully adjusted to the move! and in the mean time, i'll remind him of local saturdays in which we can, and do, both swim and glide over the frozen lake in one day!

i'll also allow him to repeatedly engage in his other form of therapy- watching the phinneus and ferb episode in which summer and winter combine.

a word on thoughtfulness

christmas is such a wonderful season...indeed a season of thoughtfulness. i am so grateful that there still remains a holiday in which we are allowed to celebrate christ by giving (AND receiving) acts of thoughtfulness to those closest to us.  on our christmas travels, we were overcome by the thoughtfulness of both sets of grandparents as we traveled to see them.  on our late night trip to st. george, we were surprised by david's family in vegas.  having planned to take a rental car for the remaining portion of the journey, tears of joy filled our eyes when we saw them.  having rescued 3 very tired kids and 2 weary parents from this leg of the journey, it was the perfect gesture of thoughtfulness.  and on our late night return to omaha, a very thoughtful grandma and grandpa provided individually portioned baggies full of treats and snacks for a family of 5- including mom's favorite car snack of cheese puffs! having saved us from further delaying our arrival home, we were so excited and grateful. 

some pics from this holiday season (there was an unfortunate camera loss for all but the final 12 hrs of the st george portion of christmas):



kindin is often seen grooving with her bro to her mp3 player

a toy for the winter months

omi provided 12 days of christmas complete with a daily gift and a daily treat!

 

dolly spent the season singing 'frosty' the snowman

uncle justin provided these goodie bags reminiscent of grandpa eichmann's yearly christmas eve gift

a mean game of kickball- adults vs. kids
 

the 6 yr old cousins!

fun with fun run!

dolly must have remembered jordy from arizona!

and i must mention my sweet husband who likely spent hours on this little beauty... what a thoughtful guy he is!

restored in my favorite color!