Ahh, Life...

Sometimes you just get in the way, don'tcha?  Here we are in late December, just a few days before Christmas

Time marches on, as I've said before.  We've now been in Minnesota for almost a  year and a half, and those last 5 months we've been in our 1st house.  Work continues - Sara with a local school district and I at a 'national chain of neighborhood grocery stores' - but that's not news.
Granddaddy, my father, came for a short visit in early October and we had fun having him stay with us and then dragging him around everywhere.  He saw the girls' dance class, came to Evie Sue's preschool for drop off and pick up, visited the princess café with us and we took him out for a birthday lunch in Stillwater after playing at Teddy Bear Park.

He observed that Minnesota seemed to be filled with pregnant ladies. I told him it was probably just the circles that Sara and I travel in with our small children naturally has a lot of mothers to be included.

Evie Sue loves her preschool program at the neighborhood nature center.  After class she always wants to stay and climb rocks, run through the fields, and play with her multitude of friends.  Other parents tell me how friendly she is and how their child just adores her.  A recent parent teacher conference confirmed that our eldest daughter is pretty cool.  Her teachers love her and described her as 'fearless, and flexible'.

Ronen P is still not sleeping through the night, and/or rising before the sun on nights she sleeps longer.  She's is quick to anger, often throwing tantrums, as kids her age are want to do, and she occasionally bites others when pissed off.  On the flip side, she's incredibly sweet and loving at times, has a growing vocabulary, silly sense of humor, and mimics her older sister constantly.  This kid keeps us guessing.

The house is good and there are times we are incredibly grateful to have such a comfortable home.  Sometimes it is not as orderly, and quiet as we might like but there are moments when Sara or myself will just realize, all over again, that this is our house and we love it.  The yard has been mowed, a rake purchased and a snowblower obtained for use this winter, and holiday decorations have gone up for Halloween, Thanksgiving and now the Christmas Holiday.  The decorations, specifically the exterior, will grow I'm sure as the years go on we gather more and more paraphernalia.

Speaking of Holidays, we missed a few since last I wrote.  I am pleased to say that Evie Sue opted for a non Disney Princess costume this year, and I couldn't of been more excited for our family Halloween costume.  If you didn't know already or even if you did, I still geek out about how fun our idea was,  the Cobbs dressed up as Twisted Sister for this Halloween. 

Yup, Evie Sue was introduced to the joys of Dee Snider and Twisted Sister videos on youtube this last year and it wasn't too hard to nudge her in the direction of dressing up as the lead singer for trick or treating.  The rest of us also dressed up as band members but, let's be honest, no one really remembers the other guys.  It's all about Dee Snider's signature look.  I think Evie did pretty awesome.

Thanksgiving was a small, intimate affair in our new home this year with Grandma and Grandpa Patsy joining us for dinner.  It's the 1st time we've ever hosted, and the 1st time we've been in charge of the turkey.  In years past we'd arrive with pies, and or side dishes but without Reb to smoke the turkey Sara and I were responsible for the whole meal.  Turns out neither one of us had cooked a whole turkey before but we did it with the help of Grandma's roaster.  The Cobb's got up, watched the Thanksgiving Parade on television, followed by the dog show with some bourbon imbibed.  We're enjoying our own little family traditions.  We, or I more specifically did not enjoy watching the Redskins lose to the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving, and it may have soured my mood a tad but the day was still a fun 1st in our home.

December has been pretty busy for us.  The girls' dance recital and Evie's 5th Birthday just a week or so before Christmas.  That's right FIVE years old. My oldest daughter is five years old.  It's a cliche I know but they grow up so fast.  I remember holding her in my arms for the very 1st time and now she's a five year old kid.   (Not to skip over the dance recital.  It was cute.  Ronen didn't dance at all she just took center stage and smiled at the audience.  Evie Sue was adorable. She followed the choreography, smiled excitedly, and loved every minute of the performance.)  She's five!  We had a family gathering/party for her and squeezed more people than I thought possible into our home.  It was a great night!

Winter is here.  We've had some snow.   There have been multiple days of subzero weather and even though it isn't supposed to snow this weekend it should still be a whitish Christmas with some snow still on the ground. We are looking forward to our 1st Christmas in this house, the 1st of many, the tree is up, the gifts are wrapped and tomorrow after spending time with family over at the Patsy home we will return home and wait for Santa Claus to arrive.

We will miss our family far and wide, this year but know that they are only a phone call away.  I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.