Settling In...

Hello! It is hard to believe we have been in Buffalo for a month already! We are starting to feel less like visitors and more like residents every day. I've really enjoyed living on the ranch -- it is so beautiful and peaceful. The girls have enjoyed seeing all of the wildlife, including all of the deer, bunnies, and partridge that they see out the windows.

I've enjoyed being home with the girls each day...even more than I thought I would. We find ourselves all kinds of things to do! We get outside at least once a day to go for a "nature walk" and have gone sledding a few times as well. Gabi thinks it is really cool that we can walk across the pond on the ice in the winter. Here are a few pics of our outdoor adventures.

The girls are doing great. Gabi and I have "preschool time" each morning where we work on writing letters, 3-letter words, and singing silly Spanish songs. She can almost write her name (those Bs are hard to write!) and can color in the lines very well now. She is left-handed, so it has been a little challenging for me to show her how to write and draw, but we are getting along fine. She has become more interested in learning Spanish lately, so I have ordered us up some workbooks to help. :)

Maya enjoys "preschool time" too! She loves to color and draw. She holds her pen like an adult and has very good control (even better than Gabi I think!) I can sit her up to the table with a box of crayons and paper and she is content for hours! Maya can identify all of her colors, animals, and most other objects in picture books. She still doesn't talk a whole lot, but her vocabulary is big when she feels like talking...which isn't often and never when other people are around! :) Her newest words are "gahgee" for Grammy and "papa". When you ask her to say cow, she says "mooo." She really likes to see Papa Dave's beef cattle.

Both girls still love to dance and I really like it that our CD player/Ipod is on way more than the TV! We still get in an episode of Sesame Street (Gabi's favorite) each day. Here is a picture of Maya playing dress-up. Her and Gabi are playing together a lot now, so it is fun to see them interact.

It has been fun to be around Joe's family so much! However, I think it makes me miss my family even more! Gabi is really good at talking on the phone with my parents, so that helps. Here is a picture of all of the cousins at Amanda & Greer's pizza party they held last Sunday. All the kids got to make their own personal pizza! :)
Surprisingly, I haven't gone crazy from boredom yet! When the girls are sleeping, I've kept myself busy with some sewing projects, working on getting the house plans/specifications ready to be sent out for bids from contractors, and reading. However, Facebook has sucked me in and I'm fighting desperately for it to not be a time waster of mine! My official training has started for the 50 mile trail race that I plan to run in June. I'm excited and have enjoyed my runs so far (did I mention how beautiful it is here?!) We have joined the YMCA as well. The girls can go play at the little daycare while I run ouside on the trail or on the treadmill when it is too cold (I hate running inside!) They love the Y and have made lots of friends there already, so it is good for all of us!

I'm sure once the house gets started, I will have plenty to do then as well.

Take care and thanks for checking in on us! Tara