Wrapping Up February

Ah, February...  The month of Valentines and the Mr's birthday.  The last stronghold of Winter (I hope, though I threw open the window yesterday when we hit 50 degrees! Yes, I've become that person.)  Here's to you...

Valentine roses from my sweetheart:

Valentine goodies from Oma and Grandpa.  Hadley was very into the stickers!  She is better at peeling them off than her older brother is.  :)

In her Valentine's sweater, she filled two bags and carried them around the house telling me, "Bye bye!"  Must have been a very important trip.

Owen was so excited about Daddy's birthday.  I think he was expecting a big party (like his), so he was happy to make plans like a truck-themed event with a pinata and games, but we kept it a low-key family affair.  Oh, son...  I'm afraid this was an eye-opener to how birthdays are kind of a let-down after a certain age.  :)  But we did have some delicious cupcakes, and I may have picked up a truck-shaped balloon anyway!

The last post had pictures of Owen making block towers, so here's Hadley's turn.  She's pretty good for her age!  I have a video of her getting up to 12 stacked before they fell down. (The developmental milestone for her age is 4-6 blocks.)

But, lest you be led to believe that she above her developmental age, let me reassure you that we are just starting the terrible-twos. (This is her mid-fit behind the ottoman.) And boy, does she have a screech that lets you know that something is unacceptable!

I've said before that we've had a pretty warm winter (not counting that week in December).  Owen has been out in his sandbox daily for the past week.  And where he goes, Little Missy is sure to follow!

See, she's already enjoying her sandals, ready for spring and summer!

Happy Helpers

Back in January, we had a week of above-freezing temperatures and most of the snow melted.  The sun came out, and Owen was asking for short-sleeves and flip flops! Instead, we went to the park. 

The kids wanted to walk around the track at the school, but their stroller pusher (me) opted to sit this one out, since the track is 100% visible from the playground.  I put Owen in charge of his sister, and he took it very seriously!  They held hands all the way around the quarter-mile track. It was pretty precious.

It was also warm enough to uncover the sandbox, which Owen enjoyed with a friend.

Since then, Owen's been revisiting some of his older toys now that Hadley is interested in them, too. Check out this block tower he built taller than him!

But, he also likes to branch out to big boy activities like practicing his writing.  He still loves school!

And we all like a little coloring now and then.

The kids have been getting along pretty well.  I'm so thankful for that and Owen's patience! Here they are enjoying their favorite activity side by side.  Makes a Mom's heart smile.

Brother-sister bo-tar duet.  Can't you just picture the family band 15+ years from now

I was finishing unloading the car and came in to find my two helpers unpacking the grocery bags!  How delightful!  Never mind that some things were stashed in random places and that Hadley's shirt was half-off.  I love their helpful dispositions!

Incidentally, this bag of chips made Hadley so happy.  I was afraid she was going to crush them into smithereens with her bear hug!

And...sometimes their 'helpful' radars are a little off.  :)

Be Mine!

Happy Valentine's Day!  The moms' group had their Valentine's party two weeks ago, so Owen has been pretty excited for the actual day.  It is more candy, after all!

His pre-school came out and sang "Skinnamarinky Dinky Dink" for us at pick-up time yesterday, but Owen gave me a hug instead.  He sang it for me at home though.  Such a sweet little voice!  Maybe I'll get it on video one of these days...

Snow Time Like the Present

Well, here we are and February is nearly halfway through already!  We've gone through cycles of snow, melt, snow, melt...  (Which is good if we want to avoid a drought this summer.)

Owen is ready for spring and asks if it's spring every time the sun comes out (even if it's below freezing temps).  But he's making do with his latest passion - snow shoveling!  

He liked it so much, we even got him his own shovel. If snow is falling, he's trying to work shoveling into his schedule!

One time I was out with Owen shoveling, and Hadley disappeared into the garage.  She came back out with her version of a snowblower and proceeded to 'bubble mow' the driveway back and forth.  She's such a mimic! Just wish she would keep her gloves on.

At least the kids do seem to like to be out in the fresh air, even when it's pretty cold! Here's our (my) attempt at a snowman.  The Idaho snow is usually too dry to pack for snowmen/snowballs, but if you can get it between the melting/icy stage, you have a shot.  There were much bigger snowmen up and down the street!  I need to get some tips.  :)

Owen cleared off the steps for Hadley to make a safe descent.  What a good big bro!

Snow play date!

I did get Owen back out on the ski slopes (thanks Olympics!), but first things first - lunch at 10 AM before we hit the bunny slope.

And after 3 exhausting trips up the tow rope with me, real lunch, and a potty break, he was done.  This is him rolling back to the car.  :)  So thankful this place is only 40 minutes from the house!

Texas, Part 6 (Ranch-tastic!)

Ah, the final installment of our Texas sojourn.  We got several days to play on the ranch, although it was a little chilly the last couple of days there.  Good thing we had our traditional bonfire!  Grandad is a firebug, but he was pretty diligent in preventing the flames from spreading.  Owen got a kick out of putting his shoes and jacket on over his PJs!

One daily (sometimes multiple times a day) request was to go for a walk in the woods. Owen loved this!  And he actually got to be pretty good at finding his own way around on the acreage.  Hadley, too, loved being outdoors, but she didn't wander quite as far.

This particular moment was when H pulled some leaves off of this little plant.  She said (in her low monotone), "uh oh..." and tried to put the leaves back on the plant.  It cracked me up, and the memory deserved to be preserved for all eternity. :)

Owen also still loves to get some Tractor Time, if he can.

With a few minor, recent replacements, this swingset and the monkey bars were staple backyard toys from my childhood.  It's good to see them still getting some use in this modern age! At least they do when my kids come to town.  Loved seeing them on the teeter totter together!

The monkey bars can be lots of things, including a rocket (Here Granna and Hadley are cleaning out the 'broken' rocket boosters)...

 or a prison!  Owen is trying to save the princess who was trapped in the dungeon, but she finally took matters into her own hands.

Everyone knows that Grandad loves firewood.  Is it any wonder that he has such an epic woodpile on the premises?  Owen even got to use the new log-splitter a few times!

Thanks for hosting us, Granna and Grandad!  We love you!