Changes, changes

Well, things in the Kroeker house are moving right along! The basement is coming along - hopefully be ready for drywall next week (Brian is feeling some stress about finishing the wiring, so it might end up taking a bit longer), and today we moved the kids into their new room and their new beds! Adam has loved getting up onto Lynsey's bed for so long, and I was really hoping that he would be excited to call that bed his own some day! Well, Lynsey's twin bed got delivered today and I got everything set up for them to move in. We had finished painting on the weekend and everything was ready! Except Adam apparently. It's 10:21pm and he's still awake. I'm not going to lie, it's a bit discouraging. Lynsey was such an easy transition! I guess he's going to put forth a bit more of a challenge. Hopefully he'll get used to it soon.

We registered Lynsey for Kindergarten last week! She's registered at Panorama Hills Elementary School just down the street. I went to the Open House and it seems like a good school, so I guess we'll see how it goes. I'm sure she will love going to school every day, as she asks most days if it's her day for preschool and is disappointed on Tuesdays and Thursdays when it's not her day. She has become much more interested in sounding out words and figuring out what letter they start with in the last month or two, and has even started grasping a little bit about adding and subtracting. Her preschool class went bowling on Monday and she loved that - I guess we'll have to take her again sometime soon!

It's 10:45pm and I think (fingers crossed) that we may finally have achieved sleep in the kids' room. Wow that was a lot harder than I thought. I guess time will tell if this is something that he'll get used to quickly or not!

Back in the routine

And just like that, we're in mid-January. I can't believe I'll be 34 weeks on Tuesday. We could have a baby in a month. Yikes! The basement is really coming along - I'll have to take some pictures this week and post them. The framing is done and Brian's got a good start on the wiring. The plumbers have come in and fixed everything that was wrong in the roughed-in plumbing (second time we've put a bathroom in a basement with "roughed-in plumbing" that had to be totally changed - big shout out to builders for doing homeowners such a big favor with their rough-ins!). Things are really moving along! We're hoping for drywall by the end of January, but it will all depend on Brian getting the wiring done (and the central vac, speakers, etc. - there's a lot to put in before drywall!). I am starting to get pretty excited to see the finished product!

There's not much new with the kids. I noticed Adam sort of playing with another little girl at Mom's group the other day which was kind of a big deal. He normally just kind of ignores the other kids until they get in his way, at which time he gets upset with them, but it looked like he was trying to lead her over to where he was going so she could play with him. Very interesting! Lynsey is thrilled to be back at her routine of preschool and dance - our social butterfly had really missed the interaction! I went swimming with her preschool class yesterday, and I've never seen her so brave in the water! She was floating on her back (with a life jacket, but still! A big step for her!) and going into deep water . . . I think Hawaii really helped her! We will have to be purposeful about taking her swimming more often so she can continue to practice and gain more and more confidence in the water.

Another wonderful Christmas! And my baby boy is 2!

We had another busy but wonderful Christmas:). We did our own little family Christmas the night of the 23rd and morning of the 24th. We took the kids to the Airdrie Festival of Lights on Friday night, and although the wind was pretty cold, they did not complain (Brian and I were wimpier than they were!). We came back home and the kids opened up their new jammies and one other gift (some trains). Saturday morning they got to open the rest of their gifts. Adam was completely indifferent - Brian had to open his presents for him. Lynsey got pretty excited which was fun:). They weren't able to play with their toys for very long before we had to leave for Edmonton, but they didn't seem to mind too much!

Our time in Edmonton was a lot of fun! We had our family Christmas dinner on Saturday night and then just rested for a couple of days until the Penner Christmas on the 27th. It was very relaxing. We left for Calgary on the 28th but stopped in to see Mary and Dave, and then Gert for a bit in Three Hills on the way home. Saturday (New Year's Eve) was our last Christmas gathering day - we went to the church for a lunch potluck with my mom's group friends, and then off we went to Three Hills to have Christmas with my southern Alberta family AND to celebrate Adam's second birthday. Another great day!

Now the gatherings are done and it's time to get back to normal life. Brian has started wiring the basement, and we bought a bed for Lynsey this weekend as well. Adam had a few naps in beds over the holidays so I think he's ready to move on over to her toddler bed. Her bed won't be here for a few weeks so we have some time to figure out how to transition him - here's hoping it's as smooth as Lynsey's transition was!

A lot of family commented over Christmas how much Adam has come out of his shell and become a lot more engaged with the people around him. I knew it was happening as well, but it was nice to hear other people commenting on it, since he is often very withdrawn in crowds. He definitely has turned a bit of a corner in the last month or so, even at home with Lynsey - she plays Ring Around the Rosie with him and he loves it! So cute! I guess her persistence has paid off and she finally has at least a part time play mate:). I'm hoping that this play just continues to increase as baby time draws close - I can't believe I'm 32 weeks tomorrow. Change is coming!