January passed quickly, with few great accomplishments on anybody's part.  We showed the house again, and an offer is probably forthcoming - let's just hope they're willing to pay what we want.  The downside, should we sell right away, is that we'll have to pull Jim out of school and have him finish the year in Oregon.  But we'll worry about that if and when the time comes.

Small victories grow in abundance, such as Jim's earning a Citizen of the Month Award at school and bringing home a glowing report card.  However, now that the glow of learning is wearing off, he's been getting a few reminders about talking to his friends when he's supposed to be working.  The teacher is finally starting to give him some harder work to stimulate him - Hallelujah!  He decided it was time for him to climb a tree, so he and Chris trekked out into the woods out back to find one.  Jimmy chose a very small pine to start with, and quickly found that small trees are not the best to hold a growing boy.  He had better luck the second try.

Kirsi emulates her brother's climbing instincts by tackling her walker - she'll climb right over the side of the seat and get stuck in the chair with her legs hanging out.  She's got a little push-toy now and loves to walk around the house with it.  She stands alone for up to a minute now, and will certainly be walking before long.  She's developed a liking for playing dress-up, and loves to put on hats and shoes and truck around the house in them.  

The kids are getting along really well now, and it's wonderful to watch them playing together.  Kirsi loves to play peek-a-boo, which Jimmy has never stopped loving, and they play a game where Jim tries to kiss her on the nose and she tries to pull her head away before he gets her.  Jimmy has been a great help entertaining and sometimes even feeding her!

Chris and I hover in the background - haven't really done much this month but clean, work, and play with the kids.  Chris turns 32 next Sunday!  Then we need to get ready for the kids' birthdays in April and May...  Jimmy has already planned his party out for me, and would like everyone to know that he wants the $90 Lego PowerMiners kit - I told him, "Good luck with that!"