January Fun

We're enjoying a snow day today, Saturday! We ate waffles and played outside this morning and watched "Frozen" during lunch.

The Fab 4 shouting "Snow Day!" 

Marshall is growing up too! 

Yesterday (1/10) I took Naomi out for her first official special time. We ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A, picked up some piano books from Meyer Music for one of my piano students, and then finished off with hot cocoa at Starbucks. I forget how quiet those first few years of special dates are because I'm so used to the every day noise from living in a house with 5 others. She was quiet, observant, and a bit overwhelmed by all the people at Chick-Fil-A. At Meyer Music, she wanted to check out all the ukuleles in the corner, but when I asked her to stop and just look, she restrained herself and stared at them. The cashier asked her how she was doing, and she held up her 2 fingers to let her know how old she was :) At Starbucks, we saw some friends from church. Landon asked her how she was doing, and she quietly replied, "good". It was so sweet. It's fun to hear her voice slowly coming through, especially in new situations. 

It was a rainy and cold day, so hot cocoa was just what she needed! We read her new book {on table} that she received in her kid's meal at CFA. 

She ate some of her ketchup with a fork :) So lady-like. 

These special dates are so important to me because I tend to get swept up in the daily grind and can group all the kids together and forget to see them as individuals. I want them to feel seen and heard by me as they grow up. We've been doing these dates since Zoë was born, but I didn't feel like I had a good consistent schedule. Now I've put them in rotation on my phone so I can remember which child's turn it is each month. So they each get 3 dates with me each year, plus a date with both Jeremiah and I right around their birthday. Sometimes it doesn't feel like near enough, but I remind myself it's the consistency over the long haul that will add up to make a difference in their lives. 

To life... full of snowy days and special dates.