February came and went...

How has February past already? Not that I am complaining - Paul has been on a month of internal medicine, being on call every 4 days with no Saturdays or Sundays off. So I am glad that this month is 3 days shorter than the other ones. Here's a little of what we've been up to...

Okay, looking at this picture I forgot that Paul did have one Saturday off, during which we went to Home Depot for an ice spreader. It happened to also be the free craft day. The girls had a blast building their own Valentine holder. They can't wait for this Saturday - going back to see what the St. Patrick's Day craft is :)

Disaster struck. We have had 5 or 6 decent sized snow storms this winter and it finally caught up to us. Apparently the gutters around our entry way were rather clogged, not allowing all the melting snow to drain properly. So when the melted snow froze again at night, it back up UNDER the shingles. Something called ice damming. Then when it melted, it entered our entry way. This has made me VERY ready for spring so we can get a new roof, a snow and ice shield, and repair whatever damage has been done in the attic (possible mold, etc.) It also damaged the electrical circuit to the front of our house, so we don't have any light in the entry way or kitchen. Gratefully, our kitchen outlets are on a different circuit, so I can still cook dinner.

Paul had Valentine's day off, so as the extremist that he is, he created quite a party for the girls. Between Party City and WalMart, we had flowers, balloons, heart-shaped pasta, and red velvet cupcakes. He even bought a kit to make chocolate covered Oreos. The girls loved it, and I was glad that his day off we were able to do something fun with the girls.

 Anna sneaked Oreos all day. Every time I saw her, she looked something like this.

I took them to see Disney on Ice...of course, they were in heaven. Paul later took them to the circus...sorry, no pics.

With the cold, snowy weather, we really stay home most days and try to stay warm. Niels loves the dishwasher - standing and taking all the silverware out that he can, and banging all the dishes together. My chubby boy is nuts, but I love him.

Despite our leak, I love all the snow! I just need a snowblower so it doesn't take me more than an hour to clear our driveway (it has been snowing for the last 24 hours...I'm going to have to shovel again.)

Typical silliness...Anna was "ice skating" on wet wipes.

 

And we whipped out our St. Patrick's Day decor...the girls are already planning our trap!

 Anna has joined Hattie in the creativity department. Here she wrote her name...right letters, wrong order. (Couldn't get the images to upload in the right direction)

And here are her first stick figures :) Love the huge grins.

And to conclude the post, I just wanted to highlight my very annoying "new baby growth" hair. Anyone else hate this as much as I do? Getting tired of trying to tame it down every day!

Impressions of New York, by Hattie

Hattie is my little artist. She loves to create pretty much anything. All the creative juices that I lack have been compounded in her. She especially loves to draw. A few weeks ago I was telling her how I would love to go to New York City someday. She asked me what was in New York, so I told her about Central Park, the Statue of Liberty and other significant sights. We hopped online and looked at pictures so she could better imagine what it was like. Five minutes later, she gave me these:

The Chrysler Building

The playground at Central Park

Central Park (aerial view)

The Statue of Liberty

Newborn pictures...one year late :)

I just realized that I never posted Niels' newborn pictures, courtesy of my amazing, wonderful, talented, and ever so missed friend, Kristina. He was just 8 days old! Better late than never, right?

My baby is one!

I can't believe my baby is a year old already.

As is common in our family, Paul had to work on his birthday (today) so we celebrated a day early.

Seriously, I can't stop loving and squishing this boy. He has certainly been the most demanding of our children, but there is something irresistible about him. He is far more snuggly than the girls were, and he is a complete mamma's boy.

Long video, but I have to include it...he's just too cute :)

He quickly downed 6 mini red velvet cupcakes. No one can deny his ability to eat!

And this was taken this morning before church this morning. He loves crawling everywhere, climbing up the stairs, and walking around every piece of furniture he can reach. He loves to play with his sisters and chase them around the house. And they are excellent with him - they truly enjoy playing with him. The three of them can often be found in the playroom creating their own little world together. Those are some of my happiest moments as a mother, when I see my children being each others' best friends.

Happy birthday Niels!