4 years, 2 months & 1 year, 11 months

Dad almost forgot to take monthly pictures today, so we apologize to our readers who were expecting a monthly update this morning!

The first shot Dad took was almost perfect, but Keillor was goofing around.

Keillor still not paying attention.

By the time Keillor was ready to go, John was done.

We got home late last night from our Christmas trip to Montana! John and I were both great travelers. We had some turbulence upon landing last night and I really enjoyed that. Of course that's when Johnny decided to fall asleep!

We mentioned the possibility last month and we can now confirm it. John will be getting tubes in his ears just like his big sister. His surgery is scheduled for January 10th. He's experiencing about a 30% hearing loss in both ears due to fluid that just won't drain out of either ear. While he's under anesthesia, the doctor will also do a more thorough hearing screening that requires a person to hold very still. 

Dad took John to his pre-op appointment this afternoon and since it's only a month until his 2-year birthday, they also did his 2-year checkup. He's a healthy and happy kid and the nurse was super impressed with his ability to listen and follow instructions.

We're currently on break from school and it's been action packed. My vacation started with my first ever sleepover. Mom dropped me off at Gael's house last Wednesday and picked me up on Thursday morning! I had a blast. I did wake up briefly in the middle of the night, but Gael's Mom was super nice and helped me get back to sleep. 

From Saturday through Wednesday, we were at Grandpa Rick and Grandma Candy's house in Montana. Brian, Allison, Emmy, Ben and Baby Oliver were there, too. Super fun, especially with record amounts of snow. 

And tomorrow Grandma Linda arrives! She plans on staying until John's ear tube surgery on the 10th. 

We made our annual trip the the Nutcracker a couple weeks ago. This was our third year in a row and the first year that we stayed for the entire show. 

The other big news is that tonight is my first night in a big bed. For months I'd been asking Santa to bring a big bed for Christmas and it was waiting at the house when we got home last night! As in past years, gift opening took all day because we wanted to play with things as we opened them!

Dad is posting this after we're already in bed, so I don't get to answer my silly monthly questions this month!