What 67 Degrees Looks Like

We have had the warmest weather this last week. Totally NOT typical February weather. It was mid 50's for a few days and last week it got up to 67 degrees. The kids and I didn't know what to do with ourselves! 

Of course we had to play outside as much as possible. We cleaned the car, vacuumed it and washed it, opened the windows in our house. It was fabulous. Of course reality hit and it's back to the 30's again this week, but the little taste of Spring will hopefully get us through the next 6 weeks.

Davis picked this outfit. I wasn't in the mood to argue, so figured why not. The moon boots proved to be a good choice, as parts of the backyard were total mud puddles. I guess that's what happens when 2 feet of snow melt in three days.

The kids played outside with neighbor friends, making up games and playing ring-around-the-rosie around the tree in the front yard. Addie and Davis traced each other with sidewalk chalk - always their favorite. 

Addie even wrote her and Davis' name - she is loving writing lately and asks me to spell all sorts of things for her to write. 

Freezing February

We have had a relatively mild winter, but January and February came in and brought some snow days and freezing weather. We got blasted with a huge blizzard that totally shut down Chicago. It was freezing. Jeremy's doctor told him to not come into clinic the next day.

He walked out to the shed to get something the next day after the freezing temps and made me come look - he was able to walk ON TOP of the foot of snow in our backyard because the wind had frozen it so solid. (Click on photo to get bigger.)

I can laugh about this now because it's going to be SIXTY degrees here this week (tender mercy!!!) but we were all going a little stir crazy during the severe weather.

Davis at the Dentist

The kids had their dentist check-ups last week. This was Davis' first time for x-rays. The poor kid was so confused because they told him they were taking a picture of his teeth. He hears picture so he thinks smile, but wasn't sure if he should so he kept smiling and then stopping, kept opening and closing his eyes, all sorts of funny things. This kid keeps me laughing (or crying) all day long.

Grocery Store with Addie

How cute is this???? Our grocery store just got these mini-carts and Addie felt so big pushing the cart during a shopping trip recently. She understands this is a special treat that we get to do when we're shopping without Davis. If he were pushing that in the store, it would turn into a demolition derby.

Children's Museum Visit

The kids and I decided to venture out to the Children's Museum last week. We hadn't been in a while and they were begging to go. The second floor of the museum is where the traveling exhibits are. The last time we went, there was this huge Clifford the Big Red Dog exhibit and the kids even got to meet Clifford. When I told them Clifford wasn't there anymore, Davis broke down in real, genuine tears!

We went upstairs to the traveling exhibit first and it was this awesome "backyard" exhibit with little kid-sized garden tools, slides, canoes, a huge play barbecue, tricycle track, golf course. It is the perfect thing for us here in Nebraska during the winter.

The elevator is always a hit no matter where you are!

Chef Addie

My family of golfers will love to hear that Davis is a lefty!!!!

This barbecue station was so well done, granite counters, fake little "fire" with tools, hats, aprons, bbq food. Addie loved it.

Still Golfing

We LOVE our Children's Museum! This summer the traveling exhibit is dinosaurs - Davis will be soooo excited for that one!

January Update

Christmas was really fun, we got to visit our families and friends in Idaho. Highlights include: Sledding with Silvesters in Garden Valley (update from last year: Addie loves it now), meeting our nephew Lincoln for the first time, and seeing all siblings and their families for the first time in a year or more! I didn't take many pictures (any at all actually) but my siblings posted great ones on their blogs. The one picture I took sums up our trip pretty well:

Tired kids traveling in the car.

When we came home we had the kids open their Christmas presents from us. We got them each one big present- Addie some Barbies (that Davis has seemed to have adopted...hmmmm..) and Davis some Geotrax train sets. Some of his little friends have these trains and he will sit and play with them for hours which, if you know Davis, is no small feat.

After Christmas, I hosted Davis' playgroup/school that he has once a week with the 3 other kids who are all the same age as Davis. The other moms and I switch weeks and we just go over letters of the alphabet and colors. Although the biggest lesson for most of the kids has been in learning to share and play nice!

The kids are Davis, Katie, Bentley and Bodie (who would not look at me no matter how many times I tried!).

And last but definitely not least, January brought us Addie's 4th birthday. She was so excited to finally be four she was giddy the entire day of her birthday. She received some wonderful presents from grandparents and phone calls and was in heaven all day. Because her birthday falls so close to Christmas we decided to do minimal presents and go and DO something fun for her birthday. Her presents from us consisted of mostly dollar spot at Target, some slippers she wanted for Christmas that I forgot to buy her, and a Strawberry Shortcake balloon which Davis also adopted....

For her birthday, we dropped Davis off with a friend and spent the afternoon together. She wanted spaghetti for lunch (spaghetti is her favorite food lately) so we went to lunch.

Then that Friday Jeremy came home early (the Doc he's working for does half-days on Fridays...sweet) and we took the kids to an indoor waterpark here in town! They had so much fun sliding down by themselves and playing tag in the kiddy pool. We had a fabulous time and I think we will make our "get to DO something on your birthday" a tradition.

Since Addie turns 4 January 12, she missed the cutoff for Sunbeams last year by 12 days so was still in nursery until FINALLY this year. Last week she was asked to give the scripture in primary and she memorized it and now when we read scriptures in the morning she always wants to recite it. I took a video of it but it's not loading so I will have to try again later.

This week for church we DIDN'T GO because it was CANCELED because of a snow storm that came in Saturday night. We got about 7-8 inches but it was blowing snow so drifts everywhere. Addie wanted to go help her dad shovel so I bundled her up and out she went. (But only for a few minutes because I believe it was about 2 degrees out so she got a little cold.) Gotta love Nebraska in the winter.

Ok.....! See ya next month!

Davis' Sayings...

So little Davis has been cracking us up lately, as always. I tell Jeremy Davis is very hot or cold. He's either being the cutest thing in the world or the most stubborn. I'm usually either crying from laughter or from frustration with him. There is not much in between. He has the cutest little voice in the world and can't say his r's too well and still lisps his s's a lot. Right now my favorite word he says is "pretzels" because it totally combines both of his speech issues. Jeremy's convinced he will need speech therapy, but for now I'm getting the biggest kick out of his little voice quirks.

Here are some funny things he has said lately:

"Mmmm......these blueberries are good!" (They were black olives.)

He's been using the word 'just' in the weirdest places. Stuff like "I don't know, I just like it." Anyway, Jeremy pointed to a freckle on Davis' leg and asked him what it was and Davis said, "I don't know, it's just brown."

We made some cookies for Thanksgiving and he tried them and then told me, "They're not my favorite." (I say that all the time.)

He is obsessed with Toy Story. He shouts "To Infinity and Beyond" with one arm straight in front of him, hands in fists, and running at full speed at least twice a day. Yesterday it was up and down the aisles of the grocery store.

Addie is doing great. She has officially stopped napping, which makes me a little sad, but she will be four in a few weeks, so I guess I can't complain! She still will lay quietly in her room so I still get an hour or two break in the afternoons. 

Davis and Addie are as close as ever. Lately they've been giggling and egging each other on when we sit to read scriptures and have family prayer at night. They definitely team-up against me most of the time. Still, as their mom, it's fun to see their little bond.

And since this has turned into a post on Davis, here's a little video that only grandparents will find amusing, probably. He got this little teddy bear last Christmas and it sings this song and he was singing and dancing with it yesterday.