Of course when I tease the kids that they've been grandma'd, they totally love it and think it's the best thing ever. Leah wore that head wrap for almost an hour and Zachary has taken a liking to a tucked-in shirt/high pants. Whatever!
We really did enjoy my Mom's visit this month. She arrived on the first day of February and brought a nice cold front with her. It was in the 30's and 40's for her entire stay so we were confined to the indoors. I was incredibly grateful she was here because I would've lost my mind being stuck indoors for two weeks. She did get one warm day (high 60's) so naturally we spent it outside in the sand box and on the tramp. We did a lot to stay busy during the cold spell though...especially with Valentines day approaching.
We made some Valentines sugar cookies one afternoon but the cooking went terribly wrong. We decided to half the recipe but didn't end up halving the flour. When Clark got home he asked, "what happened? These cookies taste like flour!" Looks like I need to teach him to praise everything I cook regardless of taste. :) We corrected ourselves the next day and had some yummy sugar cookies to fill up the cookie jar. The kids were obsessed with looking in the jar to make sure it was still full. They had their fair share of frosting-less cookies and enjoyed every bite. They never get these sorts of things so it was really special and perfectly ruined their appetites. Oh well.
Grandma was introduced to our Frozen book. This book is very special and gets pulled out for everyone to play with when Leah has success in the bathroom. We've realized that Leah's currency isn't candy, stickers, or little trinkets. She's motivated by social situations where everyone is playing with her. The Frozen book does just that. So Grandma was included and probably never wants to hear any of the Frozen songs again for a long long time.
We had fires almost everyday and loved them! We've never used our fireplace so much....it was great!
We prepared for Valentines day by painting hearts, making a tree with heart leaves for Dad, and sending out Valentines to family. Valentines day was beautiful and Clark even made it home early! We played crack the egg on the tramp (we always jump on the tramp after playing in the sandbox to get all the sand off), ate Valentines french toast, presented Dad with his Valentine's, and spent time outside opening cards we received in the mail from family. I asked the members of our family to participate in a cousin Valentine exchange and it turned out so great. The kids were thrilled about getting personal letters in the mail and collecting them in our box prior to the holiday. So we all sat out on the blanket, read the Valentines, ate treats and loved all the love we were feeling. Thanks to all the cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents who participated!
Other activities during Grandma's stay included Grandma sewing toy bags for the trio in which they now all their belongings around the house, mending about six articles of clothing I've been avoiding, eating at Chili's, putting on puppet shows at the library, watching The Bachelor, decorating the kids' doors, and doing a big grocery trip. I happened to have quite a few church things going on during her stay so it was nice to be able to slip away quickly without having to find a babysitter. She also graciously babysat on Valentine's Day so Clark and I could grab some dinner. We went out to Cheesecake Factory and endured the hour wait; however, it went fast and we had no where to be and no babysitter to pay so we enjoyed our time just hanging out and eating good food. A good Valentine's day it was!
The kids have been really playing so well together this month. I've really seen a shift in their interactions, pretending, and conversations. I have found myself sitting in the kitchen afraid to move for fear that I would disrupt their little groove they had going on. So I just stay put until someone needs me. Very strange experience. But I'll peek in on them and find them having a pretend sleepover or a picnic. If Caleb is in charge they are usually on an expedition to the North Pole. They will build with the CitiBlocks for long periods of time now and I am incredibly impressed with how high they can build. They have recently been getting up in the morning, going into each others rooms, and starting to play without coming to get Clark and me. Maybe they like the feeling of being sneaky and quiet but we certainly don't mind as long as it is after 630am. I have found that the enjoyable moments are starting to outweigh the hard moments. It's fun to see them grow and tell us the crazy stories they think up. Zachary's stories involve something or someone getting broken in half and thrown in the garbage, Caleb's stories are about everyone with their bags of toys headed somewhere then we see a monster and run away, and Leah stories tend to be more of embellished nonfiction tales. She'll take a real life experience of hers, exaggerate it in some way, then laugh hysterically. Half the time we don't know what is happening. I imagine that very soon they will have a bunch of inside jokes that I am not a part of and cannot understand.
Here's the sign that we made for my Mom before she came. Clark used his panorama phone thingy which is why he has so many feet but it did capture the poster perfectly. Pretty cool!
I'll end with a story about Caleb. Every other Wednesday I have a Relief Society Presidency meeting at my house. Usually the kids have just gone to sleep when the other presidency members arrive. One presidency member has very dark hair and a short, spiky, boy cut. So when she came in the door (they usually walk right in to avoid ringing the doorbell) Caleb happened to be headed into the bathroom at the same time. I was in the kitchen when that happened but went to check on the kids before starting the meeting. Caleb was still in the bathroom and matter of factly said, "Mama, there's a man in our house."
I didn't know if I should laugh or be totally worried at the fact that he could've gone back to bed knowing that he saw a strange person walk in the house, who he perceived to be a man, and not be grabbing his closest sword to protect me. Looks like I'll have to take care of myself around here. :)
Those three are so lucky to have two such awesome gramdmas. Spoiled by one last month and the other one this month. Fun times!!!
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