January 5-11, 2026

January 13, 2026

Katie can sign milk, again, food, and more. She loves to try to get dressed and drape things around her shoulders. She says kisses and purple. She loves to give hugs and kisses to all of us and her toys. She'll pretend to drink out of the toy cups and say, "ah".
Mary turned 4! She said,"calla-pitter" (caterpillar) and she inadvertently acted out LotR: Give me the ring! No, give me the ring! Ouchie! Give me the RIIIIIIIIIIING!
Mom has two new students for her violin class! 5 for January and 6 in February when Daisy comes back. She ran twice this week.
Dad did a great job sticking with his health goals and studying for the LSAT this week! He started feeling under the weather at the end of the week.

Monday was my first day teaching Penny Del Peloso. She joined my Monday class. Lizzy also moved to Monday, now I have 3 students in this class. Amelia still doesn't participate much but I have more hope with the other two girls there.
Tuesday we went to the doctor's office here in Fernley for the first time. Katie had her 15 month wellness check. Her head is 48 cm (85%), height is 30 in. (they said 24% but I don't think that's accurate.. The measurement itself wasn't great since Katie was trying to walk away the whole time and it's smaller than her last measurement at 12 months. Also she measured at 90% at 12 months and now it's 24%? I'm skeptical on that one.) Weight is 23 lbs. 13 oz. (81%). I took Mary to dance later, it was nice because Katie fell asleep so it was a chill 45 minutes while we waited for Mary.
Wednesday was pretty cold. We went to a lesson with the missionaries to Virginia Comish's house a few houses down from us. We had a good conversation and hopefully I can get her to come to some of our mom group things. After that we grabbed the mail and went to the park for a half hour. It was cold enough that the girls didn't really put up a fight. It ended up snowing that night.
Thursday we went to the weekly exercise class but we did it at the dance studio since there was a funeral at the church. It was just Lindsay, ShaLay, and us (and their kids, obvi). After that we went to the dollar store and got some paper plates and play-doh. Then we picked up the pizza from Papa Murphy's and got our grocery pick up order from Walmart. We got home and the girls played in their room while I cleaned the couch and chairs. Katie went down for a nap and I mopped. Dad got home a little early but had to work from home. Mary and I made her birthday cake that night.
Friday I cleaned up the house, bathed the girls, showered and set up the party all in time for when the kids came. Addie (Jessica Allen), Jack and Josie (Lindsay Durocher), EverLee and Kinsley (ShaLay Gochenour), and Gio (Adrianna Geurts) all came. They played with play-doh, then we did a game of pin the tail on the dinosaur, then we had pizza, cake, and Mary opened her gifts. Addie gave her a princess purse and a toy Ariel and a toy Belle. Jack and Josie gave Mary a Minnie Mouse tea set. EverLee and KinsLey gave Mary princess dress up crowns. Gio gave her a Bluey boombox. The boombox and purse were her favorites. The kids played with the new toys until they went home. Mary and Katie played with the play-doh until it was all mixed together and stale. It lasted until Sunday night when I was tired of cleaning it up. We met a girl at Anytime Fitness and sold her our pull up bar. I only listed it for $15 and she gave me $20!
Saturday was Mary's birthday! She is officially 4 now. She opened her gifts from Mom and Dad, Grandma Wendy, and Nana and Grandpa. Mom and Dad gave her a fairy costume and toy make-up bag. Grandma Wendy gave her zoo and Bluey legos. Nana and Grandpa gave her a gardening set, a beach towel with her name on it, a new outfit, and a toy phone. She was really obsessed with the phone, she played on it the whole day. We put some stipulations on it for her to be able to play with it on Sunday, which she did not comply with and she hasn't really asked for it since. I don't really want to start over on that emotional rollercoaster. I think she needs to be a little older before we reintroduce her to it.
I played tennis with Naomi Storey after Dad finished studying for the LSAT. I won 6-4. We went for a family walk then made burgers for lunch. I taught violin to my new student, Ava, then to Alex. Daisy is taking a break from violin for January so I'll put Alex back at 1:30 to combine with Ava. Ava played in school and knows a lot, so I'm excited to have her join Alex and jump right in.
Sunday I got the girls bathed and ready for church then went to ward council. I came back and grabbed Mary for church. She was so excited to go to primary again. Her teacher, Lisa Vanderkelen is awesome and so sweet with Mary. We came home and Dad made us chicken cordon bleu, baked potatoes, and rolls.