The Rest of February

Sorry I've done so well lately updating our blog.  Here is the rest of February:

This boy loves his vegetables, especially salad.  I made lasagna for dinner and all he wanted was a big pile of lettuce.  He dished it himself and ate the whole thing.  

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Game Day

The kids and I had a fun day.  No cleaning, no work, just play time.  We played our Curious George Hide and Go Seek Animals Game.  JJ wasn't so sure about the masks but Dex and I had fun.  She had fun hiding and seeking though.

We also played Elefun.  A butterfly catching game.  Apparently JJ thought the net was a better alternative to the mask :)

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Happy Birthday Dear Sharky?

Dex threw a birthday party for his shark.  They were served quite the assortment of things and I think all guests enjoyed themselves immensely :)   Dexter setup the whole thing and even gave Sharky his own cushioned, elevated seat.

I love how Sharky's plate has fish on it, Dexter's has fruit, and Jules' has-- a giraffe hoof.  Such a silly kid.

Sharky and his host

Happy Birthday Sharky!

Waiting for Our Daddy to Come

Earlier this month, we had some fairly nice weather and some stir crazy kids.  They were bundled up and then booted outside.

They also became very anxious for their Daddy to come home.  We then set up the chairs, relaxed with some drinks and homemade graham crackers, and waited for Daddy.

When Daddy pulled up, they gave him some cheers and hugs and immediately had to show him just all they had been playing with.  

Sweet kids.  Great life.  

Can't get to much better than this.

18th Month

She is officially 18 months old, and oh my how she has grown.  She is in nursery at church now and I know it is easier on Ashton and I, but a little hard on her.  Thankfully they kept Lainey in the younger nursery class, so JJ is just barely okay going in there to see her beloved Lainey.

She is full of spunk, is very stubborn, knows what she wants/doesn't want, and is very good at communicating her needs.  She loves to say "tank you" and repeats it until you say "you're welcome".  She loves puppies, popcorn, and bears.  One of her favorite phrases (besides "tank you") is "see it?!"

She loves food, loves to finish Dexter's food even if hers isn't even touched/all gone. She is obsessed with the potty and might potty train early, and she is starting to like to dress up.  She also has some of the best facial workouts that I've ever seen.  She squints and opens her eyes and pulls all sorts of faces.

She adores her big brother but knows how to push his buttons or even just squeal to get him in trouble, she can't get enough of her Daddy, and is still a momma's girl.

We just adore our spunky miss!

Table Setting

 Our little miss Juliette is quite the girl.  She loves to help and is constantly at my feet/on my feet/between my legs...especially while I'm in the kitchen.  I've figured out a way to get her out from under me, but also helping me as she so desperately wants.  She likes to set the table.  I'll giver her a plate, tell her who it is for, she gives me her sweet, "thank you" and off she goes.

I usually just have her do plates, but this time, she even put the forks on the table.  She gets so excited and is so proud when she is done.  This is the best she's ever done!

  I just love her. 

Children's Museum

With Ashton having been off for 6 weeks around Christmas, we were able to go to the Children's museum a lot.  At the beginning of the month, I finally took the camera to show Dex and his beloved "Hashbrown" he totes around all over that place.  Hashbrown is the giant dalmation.

Juliette is my super strong girl.  She is always carrying big, bulky, heavy things.  

  Dex loves operating this bulldozer as well.  Surprised?  Nah.

Jules stole hashrown for a minute and she was so excited.

in the police car

driving an ambulance

Juliette also finally got a turn in the semi truck.  She had been trying to get in there all morning.

My cute little firefighters!

Juliette also decided to wear a "pretty".  She is really liking bracelets these days.

 Kinda crazy to think that we will only be enjoying the Children's museum for a few more times.  I can't believe we are at this point already.

First Hair Cut!

I did it!  I cut her hair!!!  She has had quite the mullet for a while, and I finally got sick of it.  I kept it because I could put cute pig tails in, but the front sides finally got long enough that I could even it out.

Before:  

I think I cut a good 1 1/2 to 2 inches off.  It made me a little sad after that first snip, when I saw just how long it was, but it had to go.

After: 

 It turned out to be a cute bob.  This picture doesn't do it justice.  Ashton even commeted on how her hair looked better.

She approves!

Silly kids before a bath and Jules doing her cheeser grin.

Conversation

Dex was talking to me in the car on our way to Target today.  This is how it went:

Dex:  Gramma lives too far away.

Me:  Yes, yes she does.  Maybe one day we'll live closer by them.

Dex:  Oh I know!  We could move our house there!

Me:  Move our house?!  How would we do that?

Dex:  Well, we could put it on our car, and drive it there.

Me:  Would we take RJ's house with us or just our house?

Dex:  Just ours house.  We could saw it, and cut it apart.  I can use my saw!  Or maybe we can go stupi-diving (scuba diving) and get some shark teeth--serrated shark teeth--and cut it apart.  That would work!  Then we can put it by Gramma's house.  That's how!

(Thinking very hard and making sure everything is thought of)

That's everything,  yep that would work!

Christmas

Our Christmas was low-key and fun.  We had to do a little grocery shopping, but otherwise we just hung out.  Dex is a little obsessed with sharks and begged me to make him one.  I kept telling him no and that it would have to wait until after Christmas so I can figure out a pattern.  He looked at me and said, "ugh!...ummm, blue, black, blue, black, blue, black.  There, there's a pattern.  Now can you please make me my shark?"  How can you resist that?  So that is what I did.  2 1/2 hours later he had his shark.

Here is Shark Boy and his shark.

Shark Boy showing off his shark teeth.

Then Santa stopped by and dropped off some goodies for the kids.

Juliette's

She got a cute treehouse with a fairy family.

I finally got her rocking horse finished.  We found it by the dumpster.  It turned out gorgeous!  I'm not sure refinishing stuff is my forte, but I stained it, painted the rockers black, and added the mane. It is pretty cute.  Juliette likes to get on it and snuggle into it's mane.  Totally worth the stress.

Dexter's

He got a construction set with a tower crane that can be a wrecking ball, claw, or hook.  It even knocks down the clock tower.  It's pretty cute and Santa scored an awesome deal on it!

We'll be learning to ride a 2 wheeler possibly this summer. If not, we'll take the pedals off and he'll have a balance bike.  Ashton found that bike beside the dumpster about a year ago and it just needed a new seat.  Easy peasy and practically free.

And last, here is what our advent nativity looked like this year.

We were spoiled for Christmas and may need to not get anything new for about 5+ years.

Playin' in the Snow

We opened up some Christmas presents a little early this year.  We got a snow storm and we just couldn't wait.  Thank Aunt Alissa, Uncle London, Orion, and Apollo for the sled and shovels!  We have had a blast.

Juliette had a little trouble staying/getting up in her snow suit.  She was stuck like this a lot!

 

This picture of Dex is priceless.  And yes, all that snow landed on his head.

Having fun in the sled.

Juliette and Diaper Changes

Juliette is figuring out this diaper changing thing.  She is more frequently telling me when she needs to be changed by either bringing me a diaper and wipes, or coming to me pulling on her diaper.  The other day, I found her surrounded by wipes and diapers all over the floor.  She had one of them and was wiping her belly.  She is so funny.  She stood up before I could get a picture.  I tried to get her to do it again.