Redecorating

I've been trying to figure out what to do on this wall for a few months now.  Caitlin and I went shopping at Pier One Imports, antique stores and everything else looking for something to put above the love seat.  Nothing fit my price range or really interested me.  So, today I ran to Craft Warehouse and picked up these canvases and some acrylic paints.  During Oliver's unusually long nap, I painted this.  It's nice to have something I made hanging on the wall.  Make me happy!

Some close-up detail.

Kent's friend took these photos of them hiking up in the mountains for their ski adventures.  He was excited to buy frames and get them on the wall.  I like how it adds interest and a cozy feeling to that corner of the room.

With Oliver's long nap and daylight saving time, he was not ready for bed until around 9pm!  So, he was a "helper" with the tools.  He even stuck his hammer in the right spot on Kent's pants!

February

Here are a few photos off my camera from February.  I haven't spent much time on the computer as every waking hour seems to be occupied with something or other!  Brooke wanted to wear her fairy wings outside, so I let her!

Here is Oliver, our almost two year old!  How amazingly fast these two years have been.  This 29 pound bundle of energy has been quite the handful!  Today we had our first broken window (rock through basement window while Brooke and I were using the bathroom) and a whole roll of toilet paper unraveled in the bathroom a few days ago.  He has been teething, FOREVER.  Finally one molar came in and the rest of the mouth looks like it's going to burst with teeth any day.  Two big blood blisters have been on his top gums for almost a month!  He  has definitely had his "moments" lately. 

The temperatures have been slowly rising.  It's not uncommon to have a fifty degree day, which means the kids can last outside longer without getting cold hands.  We have spent six hours outside working in the backyard in the last two days.  It feels SO good to have the sun on our face and the refreshing breeze.

It was nice enough to enjoy a picnic lunch and a little reading time on the patio.

Brooke got a very special present from her Mom.  Tasha was the last Backyardigans she needed to complete her collection.  She has had the best time playing with her new "friend".



As I seem to keep the "schedule" of life moving along, Kent has fewer hours with the kids which makes the time with the kids pretty special.  When Kent gets home Brooke gives him a BIG hug (which is so much improvement from, well, her whole life...), then she tells him, "Let's go feed those DOGS!"  It's pretty special to follow Daddy down to the basement and put two scoops in the dog dishes.  Her other favorite activities with Daddy are reading the "funny's" and watching The Muppet Show on YouTube.  She thinks that Daddy is very special!

Guest Bedroom

Oliver has been spending most of his play time in the guest bedroom.  I suppose it's a new place to explore which makes it pretty special to him.  Only a couple "toys" or items are needed for hours of creative fun.  He was playing dress up with a hat, bead necklace, large pink cup and a music tube.  He looked so silly that I had to take some photos of him!

Tooth Fairy

We got a chance to go to a story time with the tooth fairy today!  A local toy store hosted the event and I heard about it on Facebook an hour before!  We really needed to get out of the house because Oliver's teething has made him very challenging at home.  He seems to be much happier when we are keeping busy.  His gums have blood blisters where the tooth will soon poke through.  Ouch!

The tooth fairy read books, talked about keeping teeth clean and even sprinkled fairy dust (glitter) on all the kids heads.  This should be fun to scrub out!

After visiting the tooth fairy the kids played on the art and train table while I did a little shopping!  It was a nice morning!

Winter Wonderland

We finally got snow (back in January).  Kent was glad he was able to get the snow blower out of the garage.

Oliver has fun in the snow about 50% of the time.  He will only wear mittens for a few minutes before he cries to have them off.  Then he starts wandering around and starts to cry when he gets his hands wet and cold.  It's pretty challenging once those mittens come off!

We had a very nice Saturday afternoon playing in the road.

Our view!

My favorite tree on our property is the crab apple.  It got loaded with snow.

Brooke loves the snow.  She runs, rolls, and falls in the snow.  It'll be nice when Oliver is a bit older and can enjoy the snow like she does.

"ING!" That's what Oliver calls "skiing".  He really likes the rush of going down a "hill"!

We are trying to teach about yellow snow, because this girl LOVES to eat it!

The rest of the afternoon was spent with a cozy tea party with a warm fire!

Oliver's Artwork

Oliver's artwork is also similar to his personality.  He sparkles for the camera (attention) and gets physical with the paint.  Paint ends up in his hair, forehead, hands, arms, toes and feet.  He even started pulling up his pants to see how high the paint could go.

He's creative in his own way!

Another reason why boys drive me a little crazy.  But it's so much fun at the same time!

Brooke's Artwork

Brooke's artwork has been really growing and developing lately.  The drawing above she called, "A Sunny Day" and it was the first time she drew hands with fingers (the blue person).  The extra circle on the hand was the thumb!

Sorry the color isn't great on these.  The drawing above is a self portrait with a flower on the right of her. This was one of the first drawings with shoes.

This drawing is called "My Family" and has her first drawing of a house.  I just can't get enough of those faces!

Brooke's finger painting shows a lot about her personality.  She likes to keep the colors separate by cleaning her hands in between colors.  She likes to follow rules.

She watched me very closely as I drew a "sea scene" and then she decided to try to draw her first fish.

Pretty good!

Melting Snow Activity

It was a snow day today!  A big storm rolled in and snowed heavily all day long.  The kids had fun playing with the snow INSIDE!

Mixing and pouring, so much fun!

Then we got out the food coloring and it was even more fun!  We even learned about melting snow!

Sledding!

We had to head up to Leavenworth to find snow.  Kent and I wanted to see how successful a sledding trip would be with our two munchkins.  We packed in the wood and food!

Brooke was happy that Auntie Caitlin came!

Me and my kiddos trying to stay warm.

The nice fire Kent make helped us stay warm.

So did the Top Ramen!  This was Oliver's favorite part!

Brooke loved the sledding.

Oliver had a few good runs down our small hill.

Our hill was slow at first but definitely got faster after a few runs.

Here is a photo I took after church a few weeks ago.  This is about all the snow we have had ALL WINTER LONG.  Hopefully we will actually get some snow this coming week.