Happy New Year, six weeks late

I like to start out every new year with a goal, a little addition to make me a better me this year. Some years it has been to lose weight, others to do more reading, last year it was to get my teeth fixed. I find this helps me not become too complacent and set in my ways. I thought this was going to be a year about fitness (and it is, a little bit) and I thought this was going to be a year about reading (and it is, a little bit), but it is turning out that this is a year about committing. These are the things I am committing to this year:

1) Reading, both fiction books and my daily devotional
2) Fitness, both going to the gym and doing yoga3) Communicating, both on and off line
4) Presence, presentness, being in the moment, however you want to say it

That means that I am going to be more disciplined about blogging. These entries are really for my kids - a record of what is happening in their lives and around them and some history for them so that they will be able to see what they were like when they were little. So, Happy New Year, six weeks late and now, I will give you some pictures and links and an update...
Charlotte is now 14.5 months old, walking around the house, getting into trouble, trying to pull everything off the counter, the table, the desk, etc. She is a happy girl with a ready smile and so much energy. She loves it when Daddy throws her "up high" and just giggles and giggles. She likes to play with her brother, but she does not like it when he takes things away from her. She loves to say please "(peas)" and thank you "den doo" and when she wants something, she knows to tilt her head to the side and give you a big smile while saying them...
Thomas is 28.5 months old and no longer a baby (although he told me the other day that he was a baby so he wouldn't have to eat his dinner "I am not a big boy, I am a baby"). He freaks us out every day with his knowledge of the alphabet (he can recognize most letters and point to the right one when we say "which one is the D or P or Q or you get the picture?"). He likes all things that move, but especially his trains. He likes to build tracks so that the train can go "up a hill, down a hill" before Charlotte destroys them. He likes to ride on his car or his "motorcycle" (which is really his bicycle) and he loves to push things - the shopping cart, the stroller, anything with wheels.

Here is Thomas with his cousin, Catalina at lunch yesterday (the big guy is Grandpa)
My sister in law, Joanne, is doing a 365 project and her picture of Charlotte was the picture of the day yesterday. You can see it here.

Since the last entry, Josh has gone back to work. He now works in the city, so we got an apartment over there during the week. The kids love it. Thomas knows the difference between "Bremerton" and the "apartment". When we leave Seattle on Friday nights, he says "bye, bye, Space Needle" and when we get close to our house he always says "Home?". I'll post some pictures of our view if we get some nice days this week.

I'm sure I'll write more in future posts about the rest of my goals for the year and how they are coming along. Feel free to ask me if you do not see updates, I need the prodding sometimes to make sure that I am on track.

It is Sunday afternoon and the kids are happily sleeping upstairs, so I will now enjoy some rare moments of peace and quiet and read my book.