February 2014

February was a month that seemed like a whirlwind to us...mixed with lots and lots of snow!

As some of you may know, I am room mom for Claire's kindergarten class.  Some may also know that I most definitely did NOT volunteer for this :), however, I am trying to do the best I can.  The biggest task for the room mom is to organize a Valentine's Day party for the class.  This involved meeting with all of the other kindergarten room moms and coordinating the party so that each party was exactly the same.  Pete helped a lot with the prep work, but it felt like a crazy amount of work.  The night after the party, a bunch of room moms met for a glass of wine to debrief a little bit! 

My mom came for a long visit in the middle of February and we had a great time.  We played with the kids, went shopping and she was kind enough to babysit the kids so Pete and I could go out to dinner on Valentine's Day.

My sister and I went to Florida for a quick 3 day trip to get some sunshine and relax.  We are so grateful that our husbands support this vacation - I am sure they appreciate our mood change when we return from the trip as well!

Our month ended with Claire's artwork being featured at the local library.  They have a little art gallery and pick artwork from each school to display.  Claire's was picked this time around and there was a very cute little opening reception with snacks and punch.

Pete stays busy with coaching soccer a few times a week and playing soccer once a week (if I am not working that night).  I have given up trying to scrapbook an annual book - who has the time for that?  Instead, each kid gets a scrapbook baby book and then other ones along their little life journey.  The annual family scrapbooks are digital now - and much easier and cheaper!  I have enjoyed playing with some of the features and am almost done with 2013!

Claire continues to impress us with her reading and writing skills.  She does a great job spelling words by sounding them out.  She has made some great friends at school and on two separate Saturdays was asked to go to a friend's house for a play date.  She is starting to get some sass to her and actually told me to be patient the other day when I was telling her to "hurry up and buckle up" because we were running late.  I was knocked down a peg or two when I realized that my 6 year old was absolutely right to tell me to be more patient!

Speaking of sass....Grace is our little angel some of the time and then other times she knows just how to push our buttons.  She is so quiet and shy sometimes, but is starting to push back a little bit when Claire or Jake push her buttons.  Eating with her is a battling because she takes AT LEAST 45 minutes to eat dinner.  Every time Pete and I say "Come on Grace, take another bite" she will quickly whine and say "But I will get full"...to which we tell her that that is the point of eating a meal!  Or if we ask her to pick up the toys or puzzle she got out she will whine and say "But I will get sweaty!"....its just a phase....its just a phase... :)

Jake is officially potty-trained and does really well.  We are impressed with how quickly he caught on.  About half the time he will not even say anything and just walk to the potty, go, flush, wipe his hands and come back.  His words are improving and sentences are increasing.  We continue to work with him and feel small victories with his increasing knowledge.

Here are some pictures from our month of February:

Playing in the block room at the YMCA while Grace was at swim lessons

Pictures from Claire's Valentine's Day Party in her classroom

We then went to a coffee shop and she opened her valentines.  She had fun organizing them and her OCD mom beamed as she did it!

Spirit wear from Grammy and Opa for Valentine's Day

We did a little "Stickers by Numbers" when my mom was here.  I helped Claire and my mom helped Grace.  Jake ate a sucker...

We had a conference with Grace's teacher and she was that she was impressed with Grace.  She showed us this picture and said that without prompting or a guide, Grace made this pattern with blocks one day.  I don't know what is normal for a 4 year old, but I was impressed :)

Pete and I before our date night on Valentine's Day

Pictures from Beth and I's trip to Florida:

Me and my little ladies

Here is Claire at the art exhibit.  She is pointing to her picture.  She's got this weird smile thing going on.  She has a hard time "remembering" how to smile.  I don't know if she can't figure it out because her two front teeth are missing or what, but this is Claire's smile...:) 

We were so glad Grammy, Opa and Kimmy came to see Claire's art, too!