Insta-review: January

If you follow me on instagram, then you've probably already seen all of these pictures. But I really want to post more instagram pictures on here so its easier to incorporate them into our blog books at the end of the year. I have so many little day-to-day things captured on my phone that I'd hate to be left out of our memory books. Here's a little recap of January for the Knowles Family.


(1) Mason just being cute. (2) We brought in the new year with my little sister's youth group. They were having a lock in and Jeremy and I volunteered to chaperone. I felt 16 again....until about 10:30, and then I felt 30.....until about midnight, and then I felt 55 until about three days later. (3) Jeremy and I had the opportunity to go away for  two days and a night to a sweet little cabin in Mentone. It was a fun little quiet retreat for just the two of us to start off the new year. We enjoyed working our way through these questions together. I think that might become an annual tradition. (4) We had a great time but were excited to be reunited with  our sweet boy and head home for a few days of relaxation before we got back into our routines. (5) Mom and Haley came down for the weekend. While we were out shopping Mason picked out hats for each of us. (6) And he was deeply concerned about these naked mannequins. "Where's they clothes?" (7) One of his favorite things right now is to "get in you belly", he calls this being my "baby elephant". I think this is a Mason original creation, and a daily ritual at our house. (8) I was lucky enough to get a stomach virus and a respiratory virus at the same time. I had to get a breathing treatment for wheezing which made me break out in hives. I called the stomach virus my new year's cleanse. Three and a half weeks later I'm still coughing, but am proud to report that I regained all that lost weight thanks to girl scout cookie season. (9) Daddy taught Mason a new way to ride on the buggy. Mommy henceforth retired from grocery shopping and put daddy in charge to deal with all the problems that can arise from that. ;)

(1) Mason got the stomach virus too but somehow Jeremy steered clear of it. We had lots of movie nights (and days) during that time. Here we are in our snuggies form my grandparents. (2) Mason is loving his handheld vacuum cleaner he got for Christmas. He drives it like a car. (3) He also loves his "na-noc-u-wers". He will only look through them backwards and he gets tickled at how small we look. Cracks me up. (4) Mason "helping" me at the grocery store. (5) I prepped 25 meals for the freezer to get us through January since Jeremy is (on top of his full time job) coaching basketball and taking an intense Jan-term class for grad school. So glad amidst all the busy-ness and sickness that making dinner was off my to do list. (6) Jeremy made sushi one night for he and I after Mason went to bed, we had a little date night at home. (7) Mason got some of my lotion when I wasn't looking and made a huge mess. I got a foot massage out of the clean-up deal though. (8) Brother's stocking is still hanging up...even though the Christmas tree is down now. Mason asks to open it at least every other day. (9) I took a few weeks off from studying for the Architecture Registration Exams and got to read for pleasure during that time. I chose "What is the What" by Dave Eggars, a fantastic biography/documentary of the Lost Boys of Sudan. Jeremy has been reading the Horatio Hornblower series by C. S. Forrester.



(1) During my sickness, Mason was so sweet (most of the time) and I could usually talk him into calm activities. We put together a lot of puzzles the week I was out of commission with the stomach virus. (2) We also got a lot done on his thank you cards for Christmas. It took him about a day to color each one because he only colors for about 90 seconds at a time and then its on to the next thing. (3) He found a fun hiding spot in our clothes hamper during our nightly pre-bedtime round of hide and seek. (4) He loved making tracks in the snow. He said "I could make foot prints a lllllllll day." (5) We are at Home Depot almost every weekend. They got new car carts and I think Mason is really convinced that he's the one steering that thing. (6) I've started nesting big time in anticipation of Brother's arrival (hopefully sometime in the next 6 months). I made a list of spot in our house to clean out. It includes ALL the spots in our house. (7) Mason and I went to the library one day and I let him play on the computer there for the first time. I didn't realize they had games for his age until a friend told me. He loved it! (8) We also came back with a hefty stack of books and have enjoyed having some new nightly reads to put in the rotation. And there are a few more me in there too. (9) Once a month after church we have a potluck. This past Sunday Mason was sitting quietly watching PBS on my iPhone. Lots of little friends would come by and sit beside him and watch for a few minutes. One of his little buddies June, cozied up right beside him and even rested her head on his shoulder for a few minutes. It was the cutest thing!!

My February Goals:
-Plan our garden and start seeds (this weekend probably!)
-Clean out and organize: (1) linen closet in bathroom (2) under our bed (3) our closet, dresser, & shoes (4) Mason' toys
-Learn something new in 2013: Work through 4 tutorials in Watercolor: A Beginner's Guide
-Finish "2012: Part 3" family blog book
-Organize income tax information; find an accountant
-Take another ARE exam: Construction Documents (already scheduled for February 8th)
-Finish home study update and submit to US Immigration for I-600 visa (hopefully next week!)
-Finish bunk beds and bedding for the boys

What I'm looking forward to in February:
-Hopefully being done with winter sicknesses
-Jeremy's brother Elliott and his wife Erin coming from Chicago to visit this weekend
-A work trip to New York with Jeremy; get to see one of my best friend's, Cerrissa
-Valentine's Day: making valentines for Mason's buddies for the first time
-Spring/Summer consignment sales this month for Mason (I really wish I already knew what size clothes Brother will be wearing....really want to buy some things for him)
-Transitioning Mason to a big boy bed!
-The tulip bulbs I planted last spring should start springing out of the ground this month!