The sad thing is I can't remember what I wanted to write...

Honestly, the past 2 months have flown by. Christmas was at my parents house again this year. But unlike in years past, both kids seemed to get the idea of Santa, especially Eric who danced euphorically when he saw a firetruck waiting for him under the tree. Also, no one got seriously ill this year, which was a major bonus! Here's a picture of Eric discovering his firetruck.

Rachel got a pony. The only pony she will ever receive as long as her mother draws breath...

Since Eric's birthday is right after Christmas, he gets a birthday party at my parents house with his cousins. He was able to finally blow out his own candles this year...

...But because Eric has a lot of friends from his preschool, he specifically asked for a Chuck E Cheese birthday party for his preschool friends. Eric cried and jumped into my arms as soon as he saw the giant rat coming to his table (Eric is on the bottom right, crying and sucking his fingers).

The video games, however, were a huge hit. Eric was afraid of the ticket machine, like a wind tunnel that blows free tickets around for the birthday boy/girl to grab. So Rachel and Daddy enjoyed it while Eric watched happily.

Now that we're out of photos... some mile-stones for the kids:

1) Eric has started throwing lovely 4 year-old tantrums. Some of the words that come out of his mouth: "Go away!"
"Ugh! You're making me embarrassed!"
"Stop!!!!!!"
Rachel can also throw some amazing tantrums on her own. I shudder when I think of the upcoming teen years... Adolescent tantrums combined with hormones! :-(

2) Rachel received a clock for Christmas that helps her know when to wake up for mornings and nap-times. It's pink with a cute sleeping cow that turns into a dancing cow in a ballet outfit for waking.
"Mommy!! The cow's awake! That silly cow..." is something that is heard repeatedly in our home. If Rachel wakes up before the cow, she will sometimes make you come upstairs with her and stare at the clock until "the cow wakes up."

3) We've gotten almost no snow this year (?!) but the kids are discovering how much fun it is to play in the rain. I have no problem with this as long as I can watch them from inside. Rachel in particular has an affinity for jumping in puddles, digging in the dirt, etc. If it gives me ten minutes of peace and quiet, I'm all for it.

4) We have tried to get Rachel potty-trained, but to no avail. She is either physically ready but not emotionally capable, or vice versa. She loves wearing underwear. She really loves the idea of getting lollipops for when she uses the toilet. She just doesn't seem to care if she goes in her pants, and she's also a bit confused about how to get stuff into the potty. She'll sit on the little frog potty for about .8 seconds before jumping up excitedly and asking for a lollipop. [Sigh]
I'm not too worried about it. I mean, it's not like she's going to start high school in diapers.

All in all, it's been a good start to the year. Sorry for not keeping up with this blog. I had a good birthday weekend in January. I'm hoping that this will be the Year of Successful Potty Training and Less Tantrums. But I may be overshooting... :-)