HAPPY VALENTINES!!

Thanks to Dad & Jan for the darling cookie bouquet!! :)


We hope you have a fun Valentines week! This holiday has been really fun now that our kids are old enough to exchange Valentines cards and candy with their friends. The kids and I are off to Arizona for some serious sun tomorrow. If I survive the plane ride, it should be a great trip. At least I can't lose any of our children on the plane. I wish Rob could go with us! I'm really craving the sunny outdoors. Seattle winter is getting to me this year. I can't wait for Spring!

Erica has been really delightful lately. Here are a few of the things she's been up to:

1. Counting to one hundred by herself...when she tries to go higher, she doesn't believe us that 1,000 doesn't follow 199
2. Learning to write her name in cursive - which she oftens refers to as "sign language" accidentally
3. Alternating which of her friends she plays with at recess everyday, so that she makes sure to be fair and play with all of them before she leaves tomorrow
4. Emptying all of the garbage cans upstairs by herself - I've never thought to ask her to do this! (if I did ask, she probably wouldn't be so excited to do it)
5. Opening a web browser and navigating the internet to find her school lunch menu

Robby has been saying some of the funniest things lately. His pronunciation, as well as his delivery (complete with hand movements), make him such an entertainer when he talks. These are a few of his most recent favorite things:

1. Writing letters and cards for all his friends (they all start with "Robby. Dear ____")
2. Begging to eat out for lunch (or dinner, or a snack, or dessert, or probably breakfast)
3. Learning to write the letters of his name all in a row, instead of all over the page
4. Sleeping with a Kleenex box in his bed
5. "Helping"me make dinner, do laundry, and wash dishes (resulting in recipes with a lot of pourable ingredients)

Jacob has been hilarious. He's so proud of himself when he stands up - he's proud until he falls. You can tell he has a great sense of humor - especially when playing with his dad. I think he's going to be the most like Rob. He loves to say "dada" and is starting to say "uh-uh" (for uh-oh). No luck in the "mama" category. He still wakes up WAY too early for my taste, but I actually think my body is adjusting. Any tips on getting your child to sleep in? We've tried letting him cry...but he usually has a leaky wet diaper. He's already in size 4 diapers and I've tried three different brands to no avail. Maybe I should try duct tape. Or three diapers at a time.

Rob and I have got to spend quite a bit of time together. Friday night we went out to dinner and hired a babysitter from our complex - who did a really great job. And she lives here -- it doesn't get any better than that. Then today Jacob and I picked up Rob and took him to lunch. It was a nice break for both of us.

I finished making ten homemade cards for Erica's school auction. If you want to see them in a slideshow, click here. It was really fun to make the cards for an event. Although it was a ton of pressure.

This may be my last post for a week or two...