Welcome to the Popsicle Family (aka, Super Exhaustion-Fueled Post)

We've got another wind chill advisory going on tonight. Last night it was supposed to get down to -40 degrees with wind chill. There was ice forming on the inside of our window panes, then melting onto the floor when the heater kicked on. Tonight's not supposed to be that much better. Do you know how much I really love this freezing weather and staying in the house? That was a trick question. I don't love it at all.

Also, you should know that Joshy has 4 (FOUR!) new teeth as of the last, say, four days. So I'm running on about 3 hours of sleep from last night. Maybe that's a good thing for you guys because it means I will have little to no inhibition. Oh dear.

The good news is that my children are hilarious. Let's begin by talking about bedtime with Katie last night.

First, I *encouraged* her to say her prayers. (To clarify, "Katie Louise, if you don't stop bouncing and say your prayers and go to sleep, you're not going to get to preschool on time in the morning and your friends will start without you!") Now, you have to understand that although she's been able to say her own prayers for a while now (like, at least a year), she's not particularly good at branching out. For the last month or so, every single prayer said we were thankful for baths, shampoo, beds, Mommy, Daddy, Katie, Joshy, and Peter. Last week after her check-up at the doctor I was trying to get her to switch things up, and she added the doctor and preschool to the list. Every time.

Then, all of a sudden tonight, she got very creative. It was her turn for family prayers, and she was grateful for our bodies, our ears, our eyes, our mouths, our hands, and everything! And then, when she was saying her prayers in her room, she was grateful for soccer balls, teams, preschool, and Kool-aid. I think we're finally getting it.

Then, after I'd sung to her for a bit and was kissing her goodnight--

Katie: What's your name?
Me: My name's Mommy.
Katie: No, that's not your name.
Me: It's not?
Katie: Is it Cousin Wilbur?
Me: No, you silly. My name is Brittany.
Katie: Brittany?
Me: Yeah, that's what other people call me.
Katie: Other people call you Brittany? *giggles* Your name isn't Brittany!

Yep. She thought my name was funny. Thanks a lot, Dad. Now my children will never take me seriously. Geez, why couldn't have named me Eleanora or something totally pretentious and intimidation-causing?

Yeah, it's cool that you didn't do that. In fact, thank you for not doing that. Eleanora? Honestly, Britt? You should go to bed.

*Enter some kind of clever transition here*

One reason I know for sure that Katie is my daughter is that she LOVES books. Completely. She has a whole bunch of them all over the house. And I can't technically get mad at her because the reason they get spread out is that she is always *reading* them. Some of them she has memorized verbatim so it's almost like she can already read. (Remember how she just turned three?)

The best part is that the books have gotten into her head. She's begun . . . narrating. Like this little gem, as she ran the race track around my kitchen while I was making dinner.

"Katie ran around in circles and said, 'I love running around in circles!' And then her mommy ate an olive."

This is happening ALL OF THE TIME. It's adorable.

What makes it even better is that sometimes the story isn't just about Katie. You see, even before she started narrating, she began having an alter ego: Pepperjohn. He (she?) has been around for a while. I never know when it? will strike, and Pepperjohn is totally different from Katie. For example, Pepperjohn talks in a deep voice with lips together like she (he?) is trying not to laugh, and Pepperjohn isn't ticklish in the least. But Katie totally has all kinds of adventures as Pepperjohn. And with Pepperjohn. For example--

"Katie and Pepperjohn walking through the forest! Ooo-de-lally oo-de-lally golly what a day!"

Okay, here's my favorite. Then I'm done. Upon seeing a picture of a crocodile, "Oh no! It's a cocadog!"

As for the boys, I can only say that I can not wait for them to be done cutting teeth. Holy cannoli. They are pretty cute, though. Josh likes to sing, and Peter likes to shriek so loud your ear drums burst. They both are super fast crawlers and are immediately attracted to open bathroom doors and open wipe containers (whereupon they will empty the wipe container together, while shrieking and giggling). Peter likes to bounce, whether he's sitting, kneeling, or (heaven forbid) standing. Josh has figured out stairs. They both are cantaloupe monsters. I'll tell you more when my brain is firing on all cylinders again.

Want some pictures? That's probably safer than trying to have me say more words. I might not even caption my photos. Well, most of them, anyhow.

Oh you know, just feeding her babies . . .

Yes, I let Katie choose the color and paint my nails. She was very proud.

There you are. A sneak peak into my life. Happy January. I'm going to bed now.