February in a Nutshell

February is busy...

All in one week we celebrated...
Jack's birthday (previous post)
Dan and my anniversary-7 years: We went out to dinner at Mitchell's Fish Market. They have DELICIOUS food, and their carrot cake is WONDERFUL!
Valentine's Day: This year we celebrated by having a board full of Valentine cards, each having a special activity for us to do in the evenings. Most activities took 5 min. or less, and Jack LOVED choosing a valentine every night. Some of his favorites: Play mario, fly helicopters, swing, take a bubble bath, and blowing bubbles in chocolate milk.

We watched a special valentines movie with a friend, and this is what I saw.

And an attempt at valentines pictures of the kids for a little project.And if all of that wasn't enough, Nora had ear tubes put in. The worst part was her not eating since 5 in the morning, but she was a trooper.
The nurses/anesthesiologist told us that it is good if kids sleep a little after the procedure, so we shouldn't be worried if they don't call us back to recovery for a while. Nora was out of our sight about 20 minutes and she was not happy when we made it back to recovery. She wouldn't take her pacifier or a bottle of juice, so I fed her and then she happily took the bottle too.



I must say- things are much better since the tubes. She is not nearly as clingy, loves to wander around the house and play, and our sleeping habits are much more appropriate for an almost 1 year old. (No, she doesn't magically sleep through the night, that would have been a miracle.)

Jack had a birthday... Shout HOORAY!

Here goes... A week of celebrating, presents, cakes, play. We had a great time, and Jack is still asking for presents. We have created a MONSTER! We LOVE him nonetheless.
Party #1 at Grandma & Grandpa's. Cupcakes, homemade party hats (Jack can't have a party without), and presents.
It was all about CARS this year. Here is is his shake & go Francesco & McQueen. He loves it, and does a great job sharing Francesco. McQueen is HIS.



Party #2 Presents with Mom & Dad. He got a car rug, shirt/tie for church, a book, and a marble track-Jack calls it a Track-Coaster

Party #3 with friends- we played games
Stacked tires (chocolate donuts)
And had cake/cupcakes.
Here is his cake. Not so bad huh?

And Party #4: with Grandma & Grandpa Boston
And the last present from our friends who come to our house for piano. They got Jack some cookie cutter/molds. They are AWESOME!
The party was of course making them together.
Awesome cookies.
Jack loved the cookies, the presents, the cupcakes, ice cream, movies, playdates, and EVERYTHING. It was all about CARS the movie this year. Hopefully by next year we will ditch the McQueen hat, and move on to more mature things. But for now we will enjoy the multiple McQueen t-shirts, CARS soup/mac & cheese/crackers, movies, and toys. He will only be 3 once so we will enjoy everything that comes with it.

10 months

10 months... that is how long our little princess has been part of our lives. We love everything about her (except that she is not a fabulous sleeper, so almost everything.)

Here are our top ten!
1. She is so happy! Loves to giggle, smile, and play.

2. She loves to eat! Her favorites are noodles, pizza, fruit cut up and corn. She will eat anything we give her.

This is Jack's macaroni from Applebee's. He didn't like it, but she at the WHOLE BOWL. She is a BIG EATER too!

3. She can find her way into lots of messes. Throwing toys out of buckets, opening wipes containers (and pulling them out), and she is not the cleanest eater. She is not the only guilty one.

4. Loves attention from her big brother
5. And when he is too busy, or doesn't want to play, she loves his things. Bouncing on his bed and drinking his water cup is one of her guilty pleasures.
6. Loves to climb things, crawl under things, and cruise along things.
7. Knows "No." We don't use it often, but she seems to need extra reminders when trying to pull the plug out of the bathtub. (She likes to put it in her mouth, like a pacifier. GROSS!)
8. Still kind-of enjoys her carrier/carseat. It is getting heavy, yes, but it is easy to carry her in it when you're chasing after a 2, almost 3, year old.
9. Loves to be naked. Crawling around or in the bathtub, it is all the same to her.
10. She is still a little peanut, and seems to enjoy snuggles and even a nap with Dad and mom (if mom is lucky.)

There she is! She's had a rough go with ear infections the last couple of months, and that puts a damper on our fun but we are on the mend and looking forward to a happy, healthy, and SAFE springtime! Happy 10 months NORA!

Walking advertising

Some of the cutest advertising around. WE MIGHT have to start charging!

Thanks for letting us visit, Papa Russ!

Never slowing down

Our lives keep going and going and going. Company was in town for 15 days, and we tried to fit it all in and live our usual lives. It was a lot of fun!

Jack went to the Jelly Belly Factory (train ride) with Cousin Sadie and Nora stayed home with me to visit with friends.

This is Jack so excited! See, the boot didn't slow him down much.

We threw a shower for Melissa and Manda, who are both due at the end of March. We are so excited for two new nephews, and the two new moms/dads!

A little field trip to the fire station, with cousins and our friend.

Trying on hats, and playing in the back of the antique fire truck! This may have been the little kid's favorite part!

Nora playing

Jack and Sadie playing on the I-PADS

Claire and Nora playing/chasing eachother around

And that's all the pictures I have. We also celebrated new years together with games, food, and sleeping children! Happy new Year!

Christmas (in pictures)

With church at 8:30 in the morning, we decided to get away with Santa coming after church.

how cute is she?

Nora's favorite present- crinkle cloth coins that came in her purse full of all kinds of good stuff.

Jack's favorite- Cars 2 Racetrack (with remotes)

A happy girl, we just handed her the best toy... PAPER!

No pictures, but we had lunch and opened presents with Dan's parents
Jack LOVED (and still loves) the Football Snow Tube (he is napping with it)
We are just waiting for snow!

Nora loves her rubber duckies! They help her not go as CRAZY in the bathtub!

Christmas at the Wilson's. Can we say CRAZY?

So happy!

Acting out the Nativity- Jack is the Wise Man (we got a crack out of his costume, and the irony)

And now he is a donkey/horse. Nora was already sleeping so she missed out.

Jack and Nora in Christmas PJs

And a family picture taken by Dan's cousin at his big family Christmas.

That is our Christmas, in a nutshell.
It was WONDERFUL and EXHAUSTING all at the same time.
But we wouldn't have it any other way!