Yesterday, the normalest day in months

 Ben had to work at his new office (He is remote for now, but like I said earlier, getting a new job in a pandemic is weird. There are forms to fill out. Offices to move into. All that new job stuff that we take for granted in normal times that seems really weird now), so the kids and I were on our own. Since it's winter break, it didn't seem weird that the big kids were home all day, and it was actually lovely to be on my own with all of them like old times.

We ran by the library to grab my holds from the curbside pickup table. Then we went sledding for an hour or so behind the library (Minnie slept in the Ergo). I especially loved this because Dorothy, Cooper, and Jack had been sledding in our neighborhood for an hour and a half before we left, and tired-from-outdoor-play kids are the best behaved kids.

I was dreading the idea of the lunchtime crush without Ben to at the very least help me clean up, so we ordered Culver's online for curbside pick up. I put Minnie down for a nap while the kids ate at home, and after she woke up, we did a curbside pick up loop at two different Targets, listening to Christmas music really loud the whole time and effectively killing the rest of the afternoon. Before we knew it, Ben was home. JUST LIKE OLD TIMES.

Funny story about his first day. I am rarely ever able to surprise him on Christmas. Like, he sends me ideas for gifts, and I buy them. Plus! He keeps tabs on our online banking, so he knows where I am shopping.  Still, the other day, he left to run some curbside errands, and Harry and I ordered him a bunch of stuff from his new school-- a sweatshirt, a polo, a hat, a coffee mug-- you get the idea. I knew he wouldn't be expecting it, and I was super excited to give it to him on Christmas morning.

Fast forward a couple of days to the package arriving on our porch. I was putting Minnie down, and Ben brought it in. He saw his school's name on the box and assumed it was for him. He loved the swag that he assumed his new job sent and went out to the backyard wearing the hat, carrying the cup, shirts slung over his shoulder, to show Harry. Harry was horrified, but Dorothy was the one to say, "Mom bought you that for Christmas!"

Ben said, "No she didn't!" and ran to his office to shove everything back in the box and tape it closed, which is where I found him.

At first, I was so mad that my one surprise wasn't one, but I was glad he liked the stuff, and it was a good last-day-of-work gift anyway.

Well, yesterday, when Ben got to work, his new office was full of swag-- a different hat, a different sweatshirt, a different mug, etc. And now? I am so glad he opened mine first-- I would have been crestfallen for sure to see him come home with that while mine was safely wrapped.

Speaking of wrap! I wrapped my last gift today!! Hooray!

Hanukkah! In bullet points.

 What a blur those eight crazy nights were this year! Let me give you the  bullet point edition:

• The first night was the only night we got Minnie a gift because we are bad people and are clearly taking advantage of the fact that SHE IS A BABY WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING.
• We used the first night as ugly sweater night and Santa Picture Night (all caps because this is our official Santa pic for the year.)
• We also opened gifts from my mom, so night 1 was a biggie.

• The other nights were all low-key
• We made a brisket and latkes for the first time, and the house still basically stinks.
• We also made Hanukkah cut-out cookies and experimented with icing, which made us realize BUTTERCREAM IS BEST.

• We continued our tradition of doing theme nights (book and calendar, games, toy, art stuff, etc), but it is getting hard to fit Harry's gifts to the theme, so his were usually outliers
• Harry and Jack broke Cooper's hover board by throwing a football at him one day as he rolled down our street (I cannot even type that without laughing) so they were supposed to buy him a new one with their Christmas money. But! We took pity on them and got him one for Hanukkah, and they were more excited than he was.
• I should have mentioned this earlier, but Ben was a latke-making machine
• Some of the gifts (like sunglasses that play music, Calico Critter dwellings, the hover board (check out the pic of Harry's fist bump and Jack's cheer), a telescope) were pretty big hits.

• Minnie is NOT a brisket, but she would fit in a roasting pan.

• Ben fried. The other kids opened. Minnie and I did this.

• My classiest gift of the season:

• It's Spode and cocoa season FOR SURE.

• OMG this game. Cooper and Harry have almost beaten each other to death playing this game.

• For the last night of Hanukkah, we always do a sibling gift exchange. This year, it was weird because instead of shopping in teams, they just ordered gifts for their secret person on the internet. So! To make it fun, they are keeping their people a secret until Christmas Eve, when we will do an exchange after dinner #blendedfamiliy #secularholiday

So many things!

 Ok. I have failed in posting to this blog this month! The end of the semester. The four-month sleep regression. The KIDS' end of the semester-- all conspired against my productivity. So! Here are all of the things (besides Hanukkah, which is getting its own post in a moment):

I feel like you are up to date on Minnie. She vomits a lot but does not mind. Her day sleep is improving, and her night sleep is garbage right now.

She is almost always in someone's arms-- LUCKY BABY.

I have started stashing her in the sink when I do my makeup. She likes it. This will become an abrupt FAIL the day she learns how to turn on the faucet.

The big kids are great. Harry and Jack are doing really well academically. Dorothy and Cooper have amazing teachers. I think our misguided school district is going to open its doors peak pandemic and peak cold and flue season.  We are, of course, keeping them home because ARE YOU KIDDING ME.

Oh, Minnie, How could I not have blogged these pictures the second they happened??

Cooper is KILLING IT at being a big brother these days-- to both Dorothy and Minnie,

Ben made an backyard rink for the kids, and it is getting WAY EASIER  to help them have 60 minutes of outdoor time every day.

Sweet friends gave us this perfect hat.

Peanut pie:

SOOOOO not trying to bury the lede-- just blogging in the order my pictures upload. Ben got a new job, which is a weird process in the middle of a pandemic. He's director of marketing and communications at a nearby university in our state system, and I could not be prouder of him or happier for him. Here he is in his faux-ffice toasting the last day of work in the Evers administration.

4! Months! Old!

 Consider this the first of many catch-up posts!

Minnie is officially 4 months old!

She is 26 inches long, and she weighs 14 pounds 6.5 ounces (more than doubling her birthweight way before 6months-- go boobs! Specifically, mine), putting her within a half an inch and 6 ounces of all of her siblings. She is longer than most and heavier than Dorothy.

She is, to put it mildly, a delight.

I think Cooper might love her the very most, but it is a tough call.

We got some snow.

She LOVES her play mat.

I like to buy her clothes from the boy section of Old Navy

Look at her!

Can you even believe that in the midst of all this darkness, we have a Thanksgiving-turkey-size ball of pure delight? Somebody pinch me.