Holidays are over and so now we are trying to get back to our regular schedule... except a certain ten month old is going through some sleep regressions and wanting to stay up later and later. He is teething which isn't helping I am sure, but it is also hard to put him to bed when he is in such a goofy fun mood. He is coming into a personality that is taking on a slightly stubborn and strong-willed turn (dare I say like his siblings), that some days it is only late night giggles that I can get him to snuggle with me anymore instead of crawling around and seeing what he can find to get into.

The week after school went back, it snowed about 5 inches. Which is enough to shut down the whole city for 5 days. Yep, the kids went back to school for less than a week and then got another long break. I am all for family bonding and all that jazz, but after more than 20 days home I was not mentally prepared for another 5 days! Thankfully John stayed home too and helped wrangle the kids. James was most upset that his basketball game was cancelled but two days of sledding and snow ball fights with friends helped that.

I didn't get any pictures of our sledding or snow angels but that's ok - it was fun and cold and wet. A good reminder why we love living in NC where it will be in the 70s a week after it snows!

After two days of playing in the snow, the kids were over it. It was mostly melted and gross - and since it was still a snow day we all got to have a lazy day full of food and board games.

And Matthias got to hang out with John while he "worked" from home. Poor John didn't get too much done with all of us home!

Every night we read to the kids. With James, he would pick two or three books and we would snuggle in his bed and read. Then Madeleine came and when she was little, we could all still snuggle in James' bed but as she got older, she wanted to pick her own books and read in her own bed. So then we would have two different story times in two different rooms. But then it became a fight of who was going to get read to first. And then it was we all want to read all the books together but then someone's foot would be touching someone else's foot or someone is breathing on me. So let's add a baby into the mix who doesn't like to sit still anymore... and story time turns into a frazzled circus. But I do know that the kids look forward to it and are devastated if it doesn't happen. So even if they don't get the books they want or sit where they want, at least they get something. And I love when they all want Daddy to do the reading and not me... so I can sit back and just watch.

Did I mention sleep regression? Yes? Sorry, I forgot because I am tired from staying up too late with this guy. Also, his new best friend is Dash. Dash is so amazingly good with him. I have a million pictures of these two just snuggling and loving on each other. It's painfully obvious that Dash did not live in a house before we adopted him because of some of his quirks but he is still so sweet and gentle when it comes to the kids, especially the baby. And Matthias cannot get enough of Dash.

Dash was rubbing his head on Matthias' belly and Matthias was cracking up over it. I mean, COME ON! How sweet is that?

And Duke loves him! I knew Duke missed Bronx probably more than we did (if that is even possible) but I don't think I realized how much until Dash moved in. This little guy was meant to be ours.