February

February has been just as snowy as January, but we are hanging in there and we are having a blast! Here are some things that have been keeping us busy this month. Eden loves the combination of her tea set and mini kitchen she got for Christmas this year. We have been putting it to use a lot lately. She absolutely loves having tea parties with anyone who is willing to do so with her. You will be her best friend if you sit down and have some water, cookies, chocolate, oranges, or anything you can think of that goes for a tea party. She is so fun to play with and loves to serve others.

 Derek and Kael have been playing on the wii a bit. I've played once or twice with him, but it is never as much fun as playing with his Dad. Those boys love being together and I love watching them. Kael is getting better at playing Mario Kart and the wii sports. We rented a couple games once or twice as a fun special day for Kael. He really loved playing toy story on the wii and the new ice age 4 game too. It might be time to invest in some new wii games or maybe I will need to look into it for his birthday.

 Eden can't resist getting in on a picture.

The snow has not stopped. We get several inches it seems almost once a week. Sometimes we go two weeks in between, but the snow never completely melts. I still need to take a picture of the kids standing by the tallest pile up. It is up to my shoulders it seems at some places. I took the big kids sledding the other day, and we had a BLAST. At the bottom of the hill there was a bump from where the snow plow put the snow. I sent the kids down first together and they flew on the bump going about a foot or two in the air and then falling forward. They were a little scared at first, but then after Kael saw me laughing hysterically because it was a sight to see he kept wanting to do it over and over again, and so we did. Eden went once more with me and she was good. The snow is so deep in some places. It is so much fun if you make it fun! The kids loved helping me make our little snow man. I call him melty because I couldn't get the snow to stick together well enough to make balls. Kael and Eden thought it was really funny and were confused that there weren't the 3 balls. They had fun making him anyway, and yes, that is lettuce for hair!

 Eden has been loving to make hiding places. She and Kael play hide and seek a lot now and she often has me close my eyes and count while she hides and when I'm done counting she jumps out and says, "Surprise!". It is super fun. She also builds doggy houses and then pretends to be the dog in his house. Thus, the pictures. She is turning into such a fun little princess and she will make sure to tell you so.

 Today at the post office Eden wanted them to give her a stamp on her hand. Usually they do something that says, "spoiled, first class, etc". I had Eden up on the counter and the lady asked her how old she was. Eden held up her two fingers and said, "I'm 2!" Then, to show off a little, I asked Eden when her birthday was. She then replied, "MARCH!". She is super excited for her birthday to come soon, so she is learning about birthdays very thoroughly... ;) The lady was super impressed. I was thinking, well she is closer to 3 than 2, but hey I guess you are right not bad for a 2 year old. The lady then asked Eden what her name was. She said, Eden. The lady asked if she knew her full name. Yes, Eden Bradley. Then, I went on to what is Mom's name? What is Dad's name? The lady then got a little carried away and asked, "Do you know your phone number?" Eden shook her head. I then told Eden to ask the lady for what she wanted. So, Eden asked for a stamp. I then asked the lady, could you just stamp spoiled or something on her hand, it would make her day?. The lady then said, "She's not spoiled, she needs a SMART stamp!" Ok... I said, "Oh she is spoiled all right!"So, then I said thank you and asked Eden what to say after getting her stamp. I intended for her to say thank you, but the reply that came out to the lady was, "KAEL'S SPOILED TOO!"

That's right Eden, you and Kael are spoiled rotten. 

Just goes to show that showing off pays off.

 This is a picture of our front door and Kael and Eden's bedroom door. We are getting quite the collection of coloring pages and crafts. The kids now insist upon putting up every page the create. I love it! I can take a picture of it then throw it away now! Both kids are getting better at coloring and staying in the lines. Kael is getting really good at writing his name at school and is now able to write his full name Kael Bradley. 

Some other accomplishments of Kael are:

 He knows the first article of faith.

He can write his full name.

He knows his phone number.

He knows his address.

He can count to 29. He always calls 30 20 again...

(He gets the gist of getting to 100, but gets the 10, 20, 30 etc confused.)

Knows all the letters in the alphabet.

I want to work on sight words with him and other memorization things.

I asked Kael to try to help a screaming Elara. Out of the blue he starts singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I knew he knew the song, but to hear him just sing it on his own and to his little sister to help make her happy just melted my heart.

Every day after school Kael asks me to tell him about my day. He then tells me what he did at school. It has become a ritual and I really love it. He is getting so smart! I'm still so nervous for him to start kindergarten in the fall, but he loves loves loves school.

 Last, we've been doing lots of fun stuff in the bath tub. Lately it's been bubbles and glow sticks. Kael called me in the other night and him and Eden both had bubbles on there faces and Kael told me they were Santa Claus! I LOVE it. I always did that as a kid too. Who doesn't? I just thought it was fun that I didn't show him that and he came up with it on his own. I love these kiddos so much! They are so fun to be around every day!

February has been busy, and we are looking forward to March. Derek is doing neurology now and keeping busy. March will bring the end of neuro, and his 2 weeks of Anesthesia which we are excited for and end with Easter and for the Heaton family the wedding of the century!!! Can't wait for Josh and Emily to get married and to have a new sister-in-law!