Even before we returned home from our Christmas and New Years visit in Arizona, Ollie beat us back to the East Coast as he actually had other, unrelated plans in the DC area. So, he stayed an extra day with us and was able to go to lunch with Colt at his school! Love this picture that one of the teachers snapped.
Papa and Colt at FLP lunch time!
We were super excited to get some snow on Colt’s 3.5 yr birthday, Jan 7.
Tennis court snow writing.
Colt! 3.5 yrs old.
Later in the day the snow picked up so we went out for round 2!
The best ride in town.
Following my boys!
Sledding down the hill.
Teaching snow angels.
Love it!
After the snow, we snuggled up by the fire with blankets and hot chocolate. I adore living in a place with 4 seasons.
A wildly impressive snowman the following day with the remaining snow.
Green eggs and turkey roll ups…close enough.
And gingerbread cookie creations!
My little dino.
Sharon & Ollie had a wedding in Virginia so we got another quick little visit from them as they passed through town!
Oliver Joseph with Fincher Oliver.
Colt thinks it’s totally normal to walk around like this…
Block tower creations.
Swing bros.
Slide bros.
During Sharon and Lise’s December visit / babysitting-venture, Lise started teaching Colt this “50, Nifty United States” song. He really picked up on it and, on top of memorizing the song, it sparked an interest in national geography (and international as well). SANTA brought Colt this cool, 51 piece puzzle of the US where most all of the states have their own pieces (sorry New England, some of you have to get lumped together!) and Colt can now do the puzzle solo in minutes (literally, 3 minutes), although admittedly it’s now only 49 pieces as we have permanently lost Oregon and Washington…oops!
Colt and his 50 nifty United States puzzle!
On January 18 (11 days late), we celebrated Colt’s half-birthday at school. His teachers said that they were both summer-birthdays and so they sympathized with kids who didn’t get to celebrate their birthdays at school, so for all of the summer birthdays in the class, they celebrate the half-birthdays.
For the celebration, we were asked us bring treats and prepare a short presentation about how Colt has grown in the past year. We had fun pulling pictures together for a little slideshow about Colt and even brought in a few props. Michael and I sang Happy Birthday in Portuguese but Colt finished it all off by getting up in front of the class and singing the 50 Nifty United States song! The song is adorable but Michael and I were mostly just impressed by his boldness – normally Colt gets very shy in situations like that and isn’t typically comfortable with all-eyes on him. But it was a great testament to how much he has grown in the past year, to the ways that school has helped build his social confidence, and also showed us how comfortable he really is at school with his teachers and classmates. It was a sweet moment.
Lighting the “fake cake” that they use for each birthday.
Blowing out the candles.
Blue rice crispy treats + sprinkles. Colt’s choice…
Colt singing his song!
That weekend we were so excited to see some of our dear friends from our time in Brazil, Brett & Brad. Brad’s twin brother and his wife were also in town so the whole crew stopped by for a few hours of hanging out and playing with the kids.
Hanging with the C0ppens crew!
More January:
Sweet Fincher Face.
Thankful for this park across the street!
Strolling and scooting through the park on the way to school.
Colt can hardly go by a stick without stopping to pick it up.
Stick scooting.
Harper bros.
Another snowfall!
Finn stole Colt’s hat.
Colt and Snowman.
Off to sled!
Not a ton of snow but enough for a fun morning of playing outside!
It started off great: Michael dropped me off with the kids and the luggage as he went to park the car. After running around a little, Colt decided he URGENTLY NEEDED to go potty. We had SO much stuff and were nowhere near a bathroom. Also, just at that moment Finn tripped over his feet and face-planted into the floor, only to come up screaming. I really had no choice but to strap Finn into the stroller and slip Colt into a pull-up. I didn’t even fully take his pants or undies off, I just attached the pull-up on via the side openings and had him stand and just go pee in the pull-up! I felt terrible to do that to him, especially in a crowded airport! but desperate times call for desperate measures. Soon Michael came and rescued us. 
We made it through security and the TSA team handed the boys their very own stickers! 
We didn’t buy a seat for Finn on the plane so the flight was…not great. 
Michael described it as trying to capture Finn’s attention and keep him happy for a series of 5 second intervals that went on for 5 hours. And anytime that we came up short and failed to keep him occupied/satisfied, he just screamed. 🙂 But, eventually we made it and we were all so happy to be there!
When Santa walked in, Colt was SO excited. Colt ran directly to him and led him into the room and promptly sat on his lap. Colt told Santa that we had left some cookies and milk out for him back at the house and reminded him that we were in fact in Arizona, not Virginia. 
Finn required a little more time to get comfortable but eventually he got there.
There was stiff competition for best-dressed between Dr. Bob and Dr. Ollie but Santa cast the deciding vote in favor of Papa Harper!
Next we headed to mass with the family at Brophy Chapel. 
After mass, we spent the afternoon opening gifts and playing together. Both Colt and Finn received personalized sleeping bags from their grandparents and they just loved them! 
After the little boys were asleep, the big boys headed out together!
The day after Christmas, we gathered in the Harper orange grove for some casual family photos taken by dear Lenni Greigo. 
After Christmas, Michael headed back to VA for work while I remained in Arizona with the boys a bit longer. One highlight during my time there was that one of my precious girlfriends from my time in Brazil, Paula, came to visit. Paula’s family ended up in Phoenix after Brazil and (although they’re moving now!) we always enjoyed connecting with them when we were in town. Paula’s two boys are just a few months younger than mine so we had a great time catching up on life and watching our boys play together. The big boys – Colt and Gabe – were instant buds! So thankful for those special friendships formed abroad as we now have treasured friends all over the country / world.
Another fun activity was Lise being brave enough to invite Colt to participate with her in a little cooking extravaganza. Although we may have gone a little too heavy on the powdered sugar 😉 it was so much fun to watch Colt cooking with Aunt Lise. He adores her to pieces and had a blast – especially taste testing along the way. 
Papa Harper also took the boys to the local firestation and on another adventure to the zoo! 
And nothing beats just hanging out with family. Especially loved our many play-dates with cousin Julian, just 3 months younger than Colt.
And I always love my boys in matching PJams! 
The saddest event of the holidays happened in between Christmas and New Years. Sweet Sharon had a little fall in the house which resulted in a seriously fractured shoulder. She was such a great sport and super tough through it but it was heartbreaking to see her going through that. Even still, the boys got lots of quality time with her. I just love this magical shot of Colt snuggled up with his Nana, telling stories by the light of the Christmas tree. 
After a week of work, Michael returned to Arizona to celebrate New Years with us. We hadn’t really made and NYE plans, but then Lise’s awesome boyfriend (also named Michael) hooked us up with some tickets to the Clemson vs. Ohio St. playoff game! We were SO PUMPED and had an awesome time – especially given the Big W for the Tigers!!! 
And on the flight home… Colt is an angel and Finn is a NUT! 
Jeans & A T-Shirt 