J + J: February- The Best Month

"February is the best," said no one ever. Except me. February is known for being a cold and dreary month. This year, it has been especially warm. At our house, February is crammed with loads of fun thanks to Valentine's Day, Andrew's birthday, and my birthday. Additionally, we have been busy with the Monster Jam, a field trip for Isabelle, and a school Chinese New Year celebration.

Monster Jam

Andrew and James kicked the month off strong by going to watch the Monster jam. James has been into monster trucks lately and going to the show was a dream come true for him. Andrew found a good deal for tickets on Groupon. James had to earn going by filling up a jar full of marbles. He cut it pretty close, but ended up filling the marble jar up the morning of. The show was deafening. Andrew said at one point, he couldn't even hear himself cheering or clapping and that the seats vibrated due to loudness. During intermission, Andrew bought some ear protection for James. James was more comfortable the second half, since he didn't have to plug his ears. The first thing Andrew did when they returned home was take some meds for a splitting headache. They had a great time though and took some cool videos.

Saturday, February 3

Isabelle did not fill her marble jar up in time to go to Ninja kids (an indoor trampoline place). Instead, she had her friend, Cantrelle, over for a playdate during the monster jam.

Isabelle's Field Trip

Going on a field trip was nearly as exciting as Christmas for Miss Isabelle. Her preschool class went to the fire station. Izzy was fascinated. When a fireman asked for a volunteer, Isabelle demonstrated to everyone how to "stop, drop, and roll." She was beaming for the duration of the fieldtrip. She later told Andrew she wishes he was a firefighter.

Thursday, February 8

She got a sticker from the firefighters

Look at Izzy's face-- radiating joy.

Chinese New Year Program

James got to perform at Bingham High (my old high school) with all the other students who are in the Chinese immersion program. Each grade sang a song in Chinese and it was very cute. I was impressed that students announced the names of the song and talked to the audience in Chinese. (And then a student interpreted and said it in English too). Isabelle intends to do the Chinese immersion program as well and she has a head start. She likes to sing the Chinese songs along with James. I was a little hesitant about doing this program, but having James participate was absolutely the right decision. Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture of James in his costume. The students returned them before the end of the snow.

Thursday, February 8

Valentine's

This day filled my cup. I woke up to a very sweet email from my mom. Every year on Valentine's, she writes what she loves about us. She wrote kind words about Andrew, me, and each of my kids. My parent's also had a Valentine's treat delivered to us-- fresh fruit and some was dipped in chocolate. We devoured that!

I created a scavenger hunt for the kids. They did that fist thing in the morning. There were 9 clues that led the children to random areas of our house. The prize was in the ottoman. They both got a pair of shoes, some markers, and root beer to go along with our dinner. I got Andrew some Teva hiking sandals and some new slippers for me. (My feet are rarely warm.)

Throughout the day, Andrew sent me sweet texts that led me to find treats around the house. He knows me well and 3 of the sugary surprises were Reese's related.

I was proud of myself for not sending candy Valentine's for my kids to pass out at school. James gave out cars and Isabelle gave popper keychains. Izzy got some Valentine's at dance class and one happened to be lip gloss. Her day was made. "Don't worry, I'm going to put on more lipstick to make me more dazzling." She cracks me up. James claimed Valentine's was the best day of his life. It's easy to please kids.

For dinner, we had pizza. This year we didn't eat it after the kids were in bed, but let them join us. We ordered Via 313 and had chips and dip and Root beer with it. Izzy said the peak of her day was the chips and dip. For dessert, we got ice cream. The kids ate ice cream we bought at the grocery store. Andrew and I had Handel's ice cream without children while we watched a chick-flick as per usual. We watched, "The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight." It was darling and even though I fell asleep, I highly recommend it. (I blame Penny's bad sleeping this week.)

I love our Valentine's traditions. This year we skipped decorating sugar cookies since we had done that recently. A neighbor brought some delicious cookies by though.

Speaking of Penny, she is now 4 months old! She can start eating food! So far, she has tried applesauce, banana, yogurt, and avocado. Eating real food might take some warming up.

Penny has had some rough nights. In fact, I ended up taking her into the doctor 3 times because I thought something must be wrong. She is usually a wonderful sleeper. The first 2 times she did not have an ear infection like I suspected. The third time at the doctor, Penny had pink eye and a virus. Penelope had green diarrhea for about 12 days and it did not stop in the middle of the night. Poor girl. Thank heavens that's behind us. Bath time is life for her. We left Penny with a babysitter and she protested. We learned Penny has stranger danger. She's still everyone's favorite and tends to be "the peak" that both kids talk about at the dinner table everyday.