February 14

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a pretty low-key day, which is just how I like it. Instead of a Valentine's date, Chris took us all out to breakfast this morning. The kids were so excited! After we finished eating, Chris headed to work. Since I had all three kids dressed and in the car, I decided we should head to Target.

I was feeling frisky, so instead of wearing Lily, I let her take her first ride in the schoolbus cart. She was so excited! I think the best part was that she got to look right at Caleb and Daisy the whole time. About five minutes into the trip, I found Daisy giving Lily "high foots" (like a high-five, only with feet?). It was pretty cute. Lily only lasted halfway through the store, though; she was worn out by the time we hit home decor. Luckily, I had my ring sling with me, so all was well.

The kids each had $5 gift cards left over from Christmas (a stocking stuffer from Grandma!), so they got to buy some fun things. What did they pick?

Daisy chose a pink tiara, a pink heart wand, and a squishy, squeezy, bubbly pink bear.

Caleb chose a purple tiara, a purple star wand, and a blue squishy, squeezy, bubbly dinosaur.

 I know. But he loves it.

I also found running shoes for all of the kiddos - on clearance! Caleb and Daisy both have Converse, but Chris and I have discussed that with Caleb's love of running, some real shoes might be in order. I was pumped to find these! Caleb loves that the soles are orange because I told him that when he runs, it looks like there are flames on his feet.

Daisy just loves that she has shoes like her brother's.

And Lily? Well, her new retro red sneakers are actually boys' shoes, but they were so cute that I just didn't care. They're too big now, but they should fit if she starts walking at a reasonable age. (Unlike Caleb and Daisy, who were totally unreasonable about walking.)

The picture above is just an Instagram picture, but they were so cute all snuggled in the big chair that I got the big camera out, too.

Goodness, they're funny!

Aren't they sweet? Caleb and Daisy love Lily so much, and she loves being loved!

My goofy darlings.

More Valentine's Day-related stuff:

This was the card Caleb brought home from preschool. He and his classmates all made one; each child filled in a different reason why they loved their grown-up. Apparently, Caleb loves me because it's Valentine's Day. Not because I'm funny or kind or pretty or because I read to him or snuggle him. Just because it's Valentine's Day.

Very literal, that one.

We had a special dinner at home - some yummy beef, crab legs, asparagus, and twice baked potatoes. For dessert, I made these pretty little honey-sweetened meringues. Later, I topped each one with fresh raspberries filled with mini chocolate chips. Yum!

After dinner, Chris took the big kids swimming. Our little life isn't fancy, but it sure is happy. I wouldn't trade it for anything!

February 13

Caleb is back to 100%, and went to preschool today excited for his Valentine's Day party. I found valentines at the Dollar Store for him. At first, I had lofty ideas of him hand-making valentines for all sixteen of his classmates, but as we worked on them I realized that if it was going to get done before April, I'd have to do it. 

Ain't nobody got time for that.

So I picked up two packs of valentines for a dollar each - one Star Wars set, and one that folded into paper airplanes. He loved them both, so he took two sets of valentines to school today.

When the girls and I returned from dropping Caleb off at school, Tigerlily (the cat) was skulking in the hallway. Usually she spends most of her time hiding, but she's been a bit friendlier lately. Daisy was really excited, and got down on her hands and knees.

"Meow, Tigerlily! Meow!"

She crawled all the way down the hallway, trying to communicate with the cat.

(Please avert your eyes from the circa-1968 linoleum and half-painted base boards that were exposed when we ripped up the ratty old carpet. We're hoping to fix that before our children hit puberty. Maybe. Also, ignore the shreds of carpet and padding still remaining in our closets. We're just too lazy to figure out how to remove the closet doors to tear out the carpet.)

"I'm meowing because I'm a kitty! I'm wearing my kitty hat!"

And she was. I didn't realize it until she said it, but Daisy was crawling and meowing and chasing the poor cat because she really thought that her kitty hat might cause Tigerlily to mistake her for a real cat. Too funny!

Later, Emily and her younger two boys came over to stay with my two girls so that I could take in a special snack for Caleb's Valentine's day party. 

I love that Lily and Jace are only three days apart - it makes playdates so much fun!

A house full of toys, and the kids prefer trash!

Well, it's not really trash. I found an empty tissue box (see yesterday's post re: why we might have empty tissue boxes in our house), and so I filled it with little squares of scrap fabric so that Lily (and Daisy) could experience the joy of emptying a tissue box over and over and over and over and over again, without wasting anything.

But somehow, the babies didn't realize that the box was upside down, and they were missing the fun part. 

Silly babies.

Caleb's party was fun. I arrived while his class was watching Cosmic Yoga, so he didn't notice me. But someone did something funny, and I laughed a little too loudly, and he recognized my laugh, and wow - I got the stink-eye! He was so annoyed at me! Luckily I redeemed myself with a stellar snack. (Our contribution was the fruit and yogurt parfaits, not the sugar cookies or the juice boxes.)

When the party was over, Caleb was so excited to go home and play with Max! Right away, Caleb realized that he and Max had the same rain boots, so he ran to put his on so that they would match.

Then he realized that he and Max also had matching hoodies from Grandpa, so he put his on.

Then he suggested I take a picture of him matching with his cousin.

That boy knows how to make his mama happy!

Aren't they cute?

Caleb wanted to do a silly-face picture, but Max missed that part.

There - two silly boys in matching boots and hoodies. How funny!

February 12

I'm pretty sure this sequence of pictures doesn't need any explanation:

And repeat, at least twenty times. We all know that one of my cardinal philosophies as a mother is "Take pictures first, then stop the nonsense."

Also, I feel like emptying an entire box of tissues is just one of those awesome experiences that every baby should get to have. (Related: the tissues were out because our Parent Educator was visiting with Caleb, and I needed Daisy to leave us alone. So I put her on the couch and popped a movie in for her. But she has a runny nose, so I gave her the box of tissues. 45 minutes later, you could hardly find Daisy beneath the cloud of slightly used tissues. But she left us alone! I guess emptying a box of tissues is fun, no matter what age you are?)

(Also, thank goodness tissues are gluten-free! I hope. Oh, dear. What if they're not? I think Lily was the only one eating them, so we should be fine...)

February 11

Today was puke-free, and for that I am grateful. Caleb seems to be back to his normal self, and I'm praying that the rest of us have either already had this bug or that it passes over us.

Since going out with a possibly-sick boy was out of the question, today became Do-Nothing Tuesday. I am spoiled.

We started the day by making some banana chocolate chip muffins. Daisy and Lily wanted to help, but Caleb preferred to play.

Since we were putting bananas in the muffins, Daisy decided she also wanted to eat a banana.

And then Lily was reaching and grabbing for Daisy's banana, so I cut up some pieces for her.

And now we have sisters on the counter eating bananas together. I love it.

I naively optimistically put Lily's banana spears into a bowl for her.

Look at her expression. She's clearly thinking, "Really, Mom? You really think this will be all neat and tidy and bananas-stay-in-the-bowl? Are you new at this?"

*sigh*

But look at how pleased she is with her mess!

Oh, sweet baby. You can dump bananas and smear them on the counter and into your jammies any time you want. (Side note: it is best to wipe up the smears immediately; they're a beast to clean up later. You know, because this isn't my first time around this block.)

February 10

Oh, Do-Nothing Monday, I love you! I especially love you after a night as rough as last night was. Hopefully Lily is kinder to us tonight.

Lily had her first banana for breakfast. She thought it was great fun!

We do Baby-Led Solids, which basically means that we skip the baby food and purees, instead giving our children whole, real foods. Since Lily's main source of nourishment for her first year will be breast milk, the food is just for fun and for experience. She did great at picking up spears of banana and gnawing on them.

I"m pretty sure some even ended up in her belly! Yay, Lily!

After breakfast, we made valentines.

Or should I say, Valentine's Day vomited all over my dining room table. 

They had so much fun!

Then Daisy started popping up and down in front of Lily's high chair. Lily was delighted! It's so much fun to watch my girls playing together. 

Lily took weird naps, and I had just gotten her down for her afternoon nap and was mulling the possibility of a nap, when Caleb got up from his nap and told me his tummy hurt.

His ginger and elderberry tea was just ready for him to drink when he vomited all over my kitchen floor. Three times.

He was standing right next to the trash can, but instead he spewed all over the floor.

*sigh*

Sick child, and I have to scrub my floor and disinfect everything from his puke splatters? That's rotten. Luckily, he was in good spirits.

Luckily, we had a talk about appropriate places to puke and the next time, he ran straight for the bathroom without even bothering me.

Luckily, he told me immediately that he tried to puke in the toilet, but it "splattered". 

Poor kid.

Let's hope these darlings don't get it, too! 

Daisy wanted to snuggle Lily, and Lily didn't mind being snuggled. It was so sweet.

She really is a good big sister. It's hard to remember that she's not even three yet!

Oh, how they love each other!

I kept this one so you can see the difference in their eye colors. Caleb and Daisy (and I) have deep, warm brown eyes. Lily's look brown at first, but really they're more gray than brown. I kept thinking they'd change to full-on brown, but it looks like this is the color they'll stay! 

February 9

As I was puttering around the kitchen this morning, these two children ran - or should I say, "flew"? - into the room.

They were being superheroes, and this was their "tough" look.

Doesn't that red lei over submarine jammies scream "tough" to you?

I love how the goggles make her face look all misshapen...

They were "flying" up and down the long hallway, which was really hilarious. Sadly, I only got this one picture of it and you can't really even tell. But Daisy was right on his heels, arms out, flying with him. I love those two, and I love how cooperative and collaborative their imaginative play has become!

Eventually, we got dressed, went to church. It was bake sale Sunday at church, raising money for a playground for our children's ministry. Of course, we had to partake. The kids were thrilled!

Caleb chose a chocolate-covered, sprinkle-dipped Oreo on a stick. He was quite pleased with his choice.

After a bit of nudging from me, Daisy chose a bear-shaped Rice Krispy Treat. (I was trying to help her pick something gluten-free...)

She was so happy with it! First, she ate its arms and legs, then its "hair" (does it have hair?), then its ears... Funny girl.

After church, we visited Costco, ate lunch, and put the kids down for naps. Then my wonderful mom came over to hang out while the kids slept so that Chris and I could go on a date. We didn't do anything exciting - a trip to a thrift store, then the mall, where we found some great deals and had some soup and coffee. Nice.

Date picture. It was snowing. Behind us is "snow mountain".

We returned home to find Lily awake, but the big kids still sleeping. When they finally woke up, we had some block time.

Look at Lily. She can hardly believe that she's actually being allowed to play with the blocks!

Caleb loves helping her. He is such a good big brother!

While I made dinner, Chris let the big kids watch "Air Mater". As I worked in the kitchen, I could hear Daisy's commentary and she was cracking me up! 

"Whoa, Mater! Mater is funny!"

She was totally into it.

Finally I grabbed my camera and headed in to capture some of her expressions.

These kids are too funny!