Signs of winter

Maybe it was the snow falling last night, the freezing (literally temperature), or the winter activities kicking into full gear to make me realize winter is around the corner. Before I get to those though, I have to tell you about Kate's acting debut.
Kate was in The Wizard of Oz this week. It was a week-long theater program at her school. Auditions were held Monday night. Rehearsal was every night this week until 7pm. On Friday night, they had their performance. It was a sweet little show. (Okay I am being nice here, but she had fun)
My sister in law and her two kids came up this weekend too. They got to see the play, run around, giggle, and just have fun with one another. I told Stacy sometime WE will get to do big girl stuff like shop when we get together. I can't tell you how lucky my kids are to have the best cousins both near and far. It's such a treat to get to see them all play.

Okay, back to winter. The girls both began figure skating today. Although Olivia had her heart set on hockey, we said not this year. Ryan will begin traveling this year (he starts in another week), and the cost and time involved were a bit overwhelming to add another Stafford to that mix. For now, she will skate. Kate is now in level four and Olivia is a tot.
Ryan is actually "off" for two weeks from all activities. Football abruptly ended due to the heavy rains last week. I think he prefers to stay busy, but within a week, he will be going strong again.
And then there is Brady. He isn't walking or standing on his own. Don't let that fool you though. The boy is crazy busy. This week when I was up brushing my teeth before school, Olivia yelled to me that Brady climbed up our stairs and was coming for me. What?!!? He has grabbed his share of items on the end tables, rips toilet paper to shreds in no time, and digs through the garbage. I am having flashbacks to baby Ryan. He also eats like a horse.
Brady is also quite possibly the most friendly baby I know. The child wakes up smiling daily. I need to stop and realize how lucky we are. Most days I stress over money, time, and other stuff. Seriously though, we are dang lucky. Now if only that luck would come in the form of WARM weather again.
I so don't like winter.