Brrrr! So long, January!

The end of January has been very frigid! With temps in the teens and 20s, we try to get to warmth as quickly as we can, dashing from house to car and car to building. Even Emmy will say "It's cold!" as I hustle her from the daycare to her car seat. Despite the cold, Meg and I are still meeting on Saturday mornings for our runs. This past Saturday was a chilly 22 degrees, brrr! (Our record stands at 17 degrees from January of last year.) Despite the cold, we have both felt pretty strong during our runs, but we are ready for shorts and t-shirts again. 

Secretly, I am glad for winter and the rest and hibernation that the cold forces upon us. We haven't had quite the busy schedule that we usually have in the fall and spring, with the jam packed weeks and equally busy weekends. It has been nice to hunker down at home in the evenings. I think Emmy especially enjoys the nights when we are all three home. She loves play time after dinner when she can build things with her "legos" (i.e. Mega Blocks), have a tea party with her babies, spread out her flash cards and memory games, and rough-house with Daddy on the floor. In lieu of the neighborhood walks during the post-dinner hour, we have found other ways to have fun inside. 

Lest you think that we are all about engaging activities and creative games, let's be real: we have entered the stage of "screen time." With the start of potty training, it seemed to come along naturally as we began to let Emmy watch videos while she was on the toilet. She has become quite partial to Peppa Pig, and we have slipped into a routine of Emmy watching Peppa on the potty both in the morning and in the evening. I think combined it is less than 30 minutes of screen time. Since Emmy's daycare does not have TVs, I am telling myself that this half hour is a relatively low amount. AND it has helped to make for a smoother start to our day. In the mornings, Emmy will usually go straight from her crib to the potty, and we wait until she requests it - "I watch Peppa Pig please" - and then she will watch Peppa while I get her dressed, fix her hair, and brush her teeth - all on the potty. She is very cooperative when she is watching Peppa! We somewhat repeat the routine in the evening in reverse as we get her ready for bed. I thought perhaps she would develop a British accent like Peppa, but it seems she will have a southern drawl after all. I captured her on video singing her ABCs, and the way she drags out her letters certainly make her sound like a Southern belle. Here is our little princess on her throne watching Peppa!