Madeline's Art

We've always called Ethan the artist, but Madeline certainly has become one too.  She draws more than Ethan does now.  Of course, that might have to do with the fact that he's gone all day and she only has half day school.  But, either way, she certainly can always be found with a pen or pencil in hand.  Or scissors, or glue, and always is she creating. Her drawings have taken over the house much like Ethan's used to.  I'm always impressed with her creativity.  She draws many different styles of dresses and hair.  Each unique and cute in it's own way.

Here is some of Madeline's Art:

February's Ten Things

There really has been a lot to smile about this month.  And I can't believe how fast it's gone.  It sure has been a good month though.  I've really felt a lot of happiness lately.  Here are my Ten Things to Smile About in February:

1.  Celebrating Todd's birthday and watching the kids get so excited about the day

 2.  Attending the Blue and Gold Banquet and watching Ethan get his Bobcat!  It was kind of cool and crazy to be the mom who was getting the pin.  I was totally unprepared!  Should have worn a collared shirt.  But it was awesome and I'm so proud of Ethan!  He earned his music belt loop too.

 3.  Valentine's Day!  I've already said this, but it was one of the best I can remember.

4.  And speaking of Valentine's Day, the roses I got were the most beautiful one's I've ever had.  They are still blooming and as beautiful 11 days later.  I still enjoy them and smile every time I'm in the kitchen!

 5.  Watching these two play in the bath:

 6.  Enjoying the AMAZING PERFECT weather these last two days.  And seeing the joy on Cooper's face when he's swinging and sliding down the slides.

 7.  We had a really fun dinner party with some of our dearest friends.  I wish we could get together more often.  There is something to be said for good friends.

8.  Hearing Cooper talk.  The way he says, "thank you"  "ah oh"  "cookie"  "milk" . . . all of it, it's just so cute.

9.  It's lighter in the mornings now.  And so much light fills my main living space in the afternoons this time of year.  I love it.  It makes me feel happy.

10.  Last night we celebrated my father-in-law's birthday.  I'm not sure what it was about last night, but it seriously was one of the best.  It just felt right.  Fun, easy, simple, loving…perfect.  Family is the best.

Valentines

This past Valentine's Day was probably the best one I can remember.  It was just simple and fun and everything turned out nice.  It only had one major fail - when I looked through the pictures I discovered not one of them had a person in it.  Whoops!!  I had definitely planned on taking a picture of Madeline, she was my very own Fancy Nancy that day.  Pink shirt with multi-colored hearts on it.  Purple tulle skirt and white and pink heart leggings.  All she needed was her pink boa draped on her shoulders and she really would have been Fancy Nancy!

Ethan was pretty cute on Valentine's Day too.  He bounded up the stairs and said, "Happy Valentine's Day Mom!  For breakfast I would like a heart-shaped toast with strawberry jam."  ummm….okay….

 Todd was nice enough to take all the kids downstairs while I worked on our fancy family valentine's dinner.  It has become a fun tradition in our home.  Todd and I went out the night before which was wonderful and romantic and uncrowded.  Here is a look at our fancy family dinner set-up:

 Yes, that is stemware and paper plates on the same table.  We're that cool.  And frozen raspberries in place of ice cubes (my favorite) and little heart-shaped strawberries as a starter.  We had chicken cordon bleu and alfredo pasta.

 And cute jello cups...

 After dinner we enjoyed a chocolate tasting: cutting each one into tiny pieces so we could try them all! Followed by brownie sampling and sugar cookie sampling and fruit-filled cookie sampling.  Because when you're with me, more treats is always better!

 The walls were happy it was Valentine's Day too

 Then we opened our valentine bags which was super fun and felt a lot like opening stockings.  We had spent the previous five days making valentines for each other and filling each others bags with love notes and treats.

 And Todd gave me the prettiest roses I've ever seen:

 I love getting flowers on Valentine's Day.  Makes me happy.  And the love notes were so sweet too.

See, if only I had a picture of all of us together to post here at the end it would be perfect.

Happy Valentine's Day!

17 Months Old

 Not too much has changed this past month.  Cooper is still busy.  Still makes us smile and giggle.  Still makes messes every two minutes.  Still is a little rascal.  Still gets ecstatic when Dad gets home from work.  He takes two naps on some days and one nap on others.  He wishes he could have 1 1/2 each day.  He's been teething and drooling for like a year (no joke!) and I can't wait for the last four or five to finish coming through.  SLOWEST TEETHER EVER!

His vocabulary has grown quite a bit.  He says a few more animal sounds and a whole bunch of new words you might miss if you aren't paying attention.  My favorite is, "thank you", which he says when he does something helpful as if he knows I am about to say it to him.  He has also added the following words to his vocabulary in the last couple weeks: light, chair, ball, book, bonk, there, no, and a bunch more I'm forgetting.

 I love the picture below, but it kind of freaks me out because I wonder what happened to my baby.  He looks like a little boy, and not a baby anymore.  Hmmm, I'm not sure how I feel about that one...

Sigh…I love you Coopey.  Even though you are growing up too fast.

Today

Today I feel so grateful for my family.  My husband and my children.  As I sat writing little valentine notes to each of them, preparing for our Fancy Family Valentine Dinner on Friday, I just felt happy.  To love and be loved, now that is pretty good.

The end.

Birthday Pictures

Todd's birthday evening turned out pretty fun.  Nothing big, but fun all the same!  Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

The sign made by the kids, complete with scribbles from Cooper:

 The cherry chip cake with the decor by Madeline:

 The best of all the bad pictures of the three kids with Todd - Cooper was more interested in carrying the presents around.

 Helpers

 Lots of helpers

 And here is Madeline beating Todd's awesome new drum.  Now Todd is ready for any Order of the Arrow ceremony or scout adventure - a fun surprise gift from my parents!

 Happy Birthday to my wonderful husband.  I love you!

Happy Birthday Todd

Today there are balloons hanging from the fan.  This happens only a few special days at our house.

Today there is a sign made with love by all three kids hanging on the fireplace.  Think swirls and stars  and scribbles and fancy letters.

A cherry chip cake is baking in the oven.  Cherry frosting waiting on the counter.

There are packages with cute homemade tags.

The kids wished Todd could have taken the day off.  And that they could have skipped school.  And that we could have done something amazing.  But even though that wasn't possible, they still had light and excitement in their eyes.

It's so wonderful to have little kids on a birthday, because they get excited.  They make it fun.  To them, even without doing something amazing the day is magical.

Well honey, you may not be 6 anymore…but we still wish you the best (and most magical) birthday possible while sitting at work most of the day…sigh.

WE LOVE YOU.

Happy Birthday!!