February

I've finally made it to February!!! Some doubted that it would happen before May, but here I am--nearly caught up!

For Groundhog's Day, Faith made this little guy in school (the baby bottle she made at home later that afternoon with Pixos)

She proudly showed me that her groundhog had a "bum hole" in the back. I was shocked that a school project would have such an orifice, so I questioned her about it. She told me that the original project didn't even have a tail, so when she added one, she got the idea to cut it out so that it would lift up. After they glued in the lined paper with the poem, she thought that she would color him a bumhole, but that they didn't have a pink crayon so she had to make it red. I was almost afraid to ask if she showed this creative addition to her teacher, but she responded that she only showed it to a few kids in her class that "thought it was really funny"!!!

On February 5th, Christian surprised me when he said that he wanted to "poop potty." I haven't been actively potty training him, but he had done a little bit in the past on the baby potty that we have. I was so proud when he actually did his business on there!!! We made a huge deal out of it, I took pictures and then had him call all of his grandmas & grandpas. He was one proud little boy! He has done this about five times since then--he's definately starting to get the idea! Since he's only 2 & 1/2, I'm not going to push him, but I will ask him from time to time if he wants to try.

We've still been playing tons of Wii games. This is Faith listening to her controller to know when her turn for bowling is up. She's pretty obsessed!

She also has been playing quite a bit on Webkinz. I have to admit that I was a bit crazy about the Pizza Palace game for awhile, and got up to level 14!

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On the 8th after church, Christian played out in the snow while Faith rode her bike. She got the training wheels off, but can't get the hang of riding a two-wheeler. I think the main problem is that her bike is way too small for her, so we will be getting her a new one very soon. Buddy loved digging and slapping the snow with a fly swatter,

and brought in his prize in this pail. We've had some moderate weather, with snow storms in between. I love it when most of the snow stays in the upper elevations!

Later on at mom & dad's, we celebrated Sierra's third birthday with a fairy party. I can't believe she's already 3, these kids are just growing up too fast!

There was "pin the wings on Tinkerbell" and a game like musical chairs where you flit from leaf to leaf. I wish I would have been quicker getting my camera out--a video of Eric acting like a crazy fairy would have been awesome!!

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On mom's mantel were the Valentine's cards that Sarah made for them last year. She is AMAZING at everything artistic and crafty, and these are some good examples of her impeccable work.

Brendon's (on the far left above) had this "Wii" looking remote on the inside, and when you push the button on it, it lights up the seemingly blank screen above so you can read the message, "valentine you score big with me!" Is that crazy cool, or what?

Somehow I missed getting inside pics of Noah's or Celeste's, but the grand piano top of Celeste's opens up with a real hinge and has red fuzzy paper in there.

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Alaura's, here, has a real miror and another adorable picture of her inside. Too fun!!

On the 9th, I made crepes for dinner. Christian is my little helper and LOVES to cook! Lana gave each of the kids a fun apron from Swiss Days for Christmas, and I found the chef's hat in the dollar spot at Target.

Faith has been reading like crazy and even went above and beyond for the read-a-thon this month.

Dusty has been growing like a weed! He's the sweetest little guy and loves having his tummy rubbed (which is so soft it feels like rabbit fur!)

He loves having his picture taken so much that he runs toward the camera every time it's out. That makes it very difficult to get a good shot! This was an easy one, though, he already has the kitty trait of sleeping in crazy positions down pat!

On February 13th, we had over Ann, Natalie and their kids for what's becoming a traditional holiday-time party! This time we made foam Valentine cards and heart clippies. We enjoyed some Chinese Chicken Salad and heart-shaped cupcakes and had lots of fun!

The kids got Valentine cards in the mail from grandma & grandpa Braegger and great-grandma & grandpa Quinn. We also got a bereavement card (about Misty) from our vet as well as a "congrats on your new additon" card.

On the evening of the 13th, Tony finally bowled a perfect game on the Wii. He was obviously ecstatic about it, he's not usually very good about smiling in photos :)

On Valentine's Day, Tony went to the store for bacon & sausage and I made up a bunch of heart shaped pancakes as well as homemade pancake syrup & homemade strawberry syrup. I love big breakfasts!

Monday, the 16th was Lili's first birthday party!!

Christian didn't know about playing with some kids he didn't know, but eventually he got in there and had fun.

I love how cute Buddy is in this hooded towel. He keeps asking when Ho-Ho is coming again (now hopeful instead of fearful about it) and I have to keep telling him that it's a looooooong time until Christmas Eve!

On the 18th, Faith beat her high score in bowling and got a 268. If you can see, she had a perfect game going until the ninth frame! Keep trying, Baby, you'll get 300 one day!!

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On the 22nd I found this stinker-pot in my bathroom cupboard. Check out that wild hair fluffing up on the side!

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Faith created this custom backdrop to photograph her Webkinz. They are (from left): Flikka, Snowball & Spot.

Christian has been loving on his kitty a bunch. Other than trying to pick him up by holding both hands around his neck (!!!!! We're definately working on not having that happen again!), he's very gentle.

Dusty is his buddy and Christian even took this great pic of him the other night. Tony and I look bored because we're staring at the TV (as, apparently, is Dusty!).