Full in February

For being the shortest month of the year, we definitely packed in the activities in February!  I really do prefer to cocoon up at home for most of February as I deal with the memories associated with losing Luke, but let's just say that the happy times that presented themselves to us with our friends and family were worth temporarily putting on real pants.  Our niece and cousin was born this past month, and it was definitely one of the highlights when we got to meet her and spend time with cousins, aunts and uncles too.  Unfortunately Emma missed out on meeting her new cousin as she was sick, but Will stayed home with her and helped make the most of it by spending quality time playing games and eating junk food.

We attended our new niece and cousin's baptism this past month and tried to nicely take turns snuggling the newest member of our clan.  My sister-in-law and her family are the type of people where you feel like you have known them all of your life, and I love the fact that we are all just one big family now.

We also celebrated my nephew's second birthday, spent time with my God daughter and her family and spent time with Will's Godmother as well.

Another highlight this past month was when Lucy graduated from her vision therapy program!  Lucy did absolutely amazing in the six month, twice a week program that included homework every single night.  Never once did she have a bad attitude, and she stayed motivated and positive the entire time.  This is a really big deal for Lucy, as if Lucy doesn't want to do something, she can make life pretty miserable.  But she had made up her mind that she was going to do this, and when I asked her why she was working so hard at her vision therapy, she simply told me, "I want to be able to read mom."  Yes, Lucy, I want that too!  And guess what... Lucy is reading at her grade level now!  She gained two years of time in six months of hard work.  We are so proud of her, and hope to use this milestone as a reminder that if she puts her mind to something, anything is possible for her.  The eye doctor told us that he was very impressed with her amazing progress, and stated, "with vision therapy, we simply take out the road blocks.  Her ability was there all along."  In the below pictures from top left, in clockwise order:  Emma in the dentist chair, Lucy at her final eye exam, Lucy's cheering team at her final eye exam, and in the center picture, Emma and Violet making a fort at the chiropractor's office.

Lucy's completion of vision therapy has cleared up a lot of time for us.  Not only is it nice to not have the homework every single night, but it is also nice to clear up two days a week of driving an hour and a half round trip to her appointments, plus the hour spent in the waiting room while she was in her appointment.  Now that several weeks have passed since Lucy's completed vision therapy I can tell you we miss two things: seeing Lucy's wonderful vision therapist, and Lucy having a goal to work towards.  Now that we know what Lucy is capable of, we will have to find a new goal that she is inspired to work towards.  The pictures below from top left in clockwise order are the kids after a hike with friends at a local nature center, playing with friends after a nature class at a different nature center, Lucy and Emma at piano lessons, Lucy and her lovely vision therapist, Emma doing her math while waiting for Lucy who was in vision therapy, and finally, Violet playing a matching game with Will at Lucy's last vision therapy appointment.

With all of the driving we did each week for vision therapy, we were able to listen to the entire nine book series of Little House on the Prairie.  I cannot recommend the audio book series narrated by Cherry Jones enough, and the only reluctant listener in the car was Violet, who at two, prefers music over stories in the car.  Even still, it was surprising how much the flower violet was brought up in the stories and she always got a kick out of that.  And, as luck would have it, February was Laura Ingalls Wilder's 150th birthday and the local historical center by our house put on a tea and performance about her life which was a perfect ending to our months spent listening to the endearing books.

This past month we enjoyed watching Lucy and Emma dance during parent observation week and my heart melted when I saw their list up with their classmates on the bulletin board stating why they like to dance.  I have seen major advancements in their dancing abilities and it is amazing to see how they learn and grow.

Instead of Ground Hog's day this year, we celebrated Candlemas with friends to mark the half way point between the start of winter and the beginning of spring.  Each mom brought a project for the kids to work on and my kids enjoyed needle felting for the very first time, making beeswax candles, making St. Brigid's crosses, as well as egg heads - tiny sprouts growing out of eggs that the kids put faces on.  Of course that was the craft I brought as seeds and egg shells are plentiful at my house!

We celebrated Valentine's Day with homemade cards and we even managed to send some of our family and friends Valentine's Day cards in the mail too.  Imagine our delight when we started receiving special Valentine's Day cards in the mail for us!  For some reason it did not occur to us to receive any back, and so that was extra exciting.  We also decorated Valentine's Day boxes for the first time and spent the afternoon at a Valentine's Day tea with friends where the kids passed out Valentine's Day cards for each other.

I had fun at a local bee and bird event this past month where I got to host classes throughout the day complete with honey tastings and my parents stepped in to help at the last minute when Violet was sick and Will couldn't run my product booth as we had originally planned.  My parents did an excellent job selling my wares with Lucy as their overseer and a great time was had by all.  The best part though was when I came home after a long and exciting day to the smell of homemade meatloaf in the oven and the sound of the washer humming and the dryer tumbling.  Will and I had reversed roles that day, and he did an excellent job of it.  It was soooo nice to have the opportunity to do what I love, while knowing that the people I love (and myself) are being taken care of so well!

 We had all types of weather in February, from snow and cold to rain and warmth.  I had to laugh when one day the kids were sledding and the next day there wasn't a speck of snow to be found.  Violet pulled out her sled and demanded to be pulled on it.  Of course Emma listened to her pleas and pulled her through the soggy grass like the sweet big sister that she is.  In the right hand picture below, Charlie can be seen just behind Emma's head.  We went down our street to a sled hill, and Charlie followed close behind, whining all the way, upset that we were "taking" him out of his comfort zone.

Usually we have to lock Charlie up before we go for a walk as his loyalty won't allow us to leave his sight, but it stresses him out too badly when we walk farther than two houses away and his need to be with us only slightly trumps his fears.

Despite some mild spring-like days this past month, the weather was still mostly winter.  We played games, Legos, PlayDoh and made lots of crafts in the house, while Will even worked with the girls on some drawing lessons.  All three girls have been playing a bit more together, which makes my heart so happy.  Granted, it's really only in small chunks of time before Violet does something to upset Lucy, but I figure, baby steps and hopefully as Violet gets older, the three of them will be the best of friends.

We cooked and baked lots of yummy food this past month, including a blueberry bundt cake, lots of homemade jello, granola bars (I'm trying to perfect a healthy version and I'm struggling with getting it all to stick together!) and Lucy and Emma can confidently cook scrambled eggs and sausage.  Next up I want them to learn how to make mac and cheese, their favorite food.  I also am starting to realize that I am an obsessive baker and truly, when I am craving something, only my own cooking will suffice.  If I can teach my three daughters how to cook like me, then someday I may be able to enjoy my investment to the fullest!  There is nothing like being sick and not being able to cook or bake, but still craving my own cooking and baking!  I'd say a couple of more years, and I hope to never have that problem again.  In the meantime, I tend to cook in double, triple or even more oversized batches so that my freezer can offer up the tastes I crave when time or energy doesn't allow me to make it when I want it.

 My kids continue to be good little shoppers and they always jump at the chance to go shopping with Will or I.  In the top, left hand picture below, Will found a mega deal at our local Salvation Army of an entire laundry basket filled with brand new, vintage Barbie clothes, all for a buck a piece.  He text me a picture of his find, and I gave him my blessing to get whatever he thought looked "cute and classy."  When he came home, he showed the girls and I what he picked out - mostly outfits for Ken, as he said he wanted the girls to know that real men wear more than swim trunks and tuxedos.  He found scrubs, jeans, flannel shirts and more for the girls' Ken dolls, plus some really cute outfits for their Barbies too.  The girls and I went back the next day to the Salvation Army to score more outfits, but they were all gone.  In the bottom, right hand picture below, I opened up the car door to find each daughter's baby doll sitting in a baby doll carrier in their respective mom's car seats/boosters.  It is moments like this that I am so grateful for the life that I have.

Luke's birthday weekend happened to be during Will's winter break, and so we enjoyed a nice five day weekend as a family.  The day before Luke's birthday we went to a friend's birthday pool party and were happy to be with our loving friends who even had balloons there with Luke's name on them. I am so blessed to have friends that don't let the awkwardness of my sadness keep them from loving us. 

 The weather was very mild the entire weekend, making it feel more like Spring Break.  We enjoyed lots of playing in the backyard, as the girls rediscovered their fairy gardens and spruced them up from the effects of winter.

 We had a picnic and a hike at a local park and realized that we had been a bit too ambitious with our spring fever and were quite chilly by the time we finished.  And yes, we ate soup on our picnic which helped us stay warm.

Will and I have noticed that around Luke's birthday each year we tend to tackle home improvement projects.  This year was no exception, and we finally redecorated our office - a project that has been over two years in the making.

Several years ago we had installed a built in cabinet in a void in our office wall.  Finances and time caused this project to be completed in two parts - this past month we added the shelves on the wall and reconfigured our desk so that the built in no longer looked like it was floating in the middle of the wall.  We are very pleased with how it turned out.  

February was a good month, despite the sadness surrounding Luke.  I took time to pamper myself by watching my favorite movie Anne of Green Gables each night after the girls were in bed the week of the most significant Luke dates, and made sure to surround myself with my friends and family that build me up and love me no matter my mood.  The bottom picture collage is a great representation of our month together, and I am grateful for the laughter, the tears, the exhaustion and the accomplishment that is my family.  In clockwise order from top left below:  my babies on earth enjoying morning snuggles, Emma surrounded by her support team after she lost her second tooth and was traumatized yet again by the blood involved, a bandaid sitting perfectly in a nest of dust and hair that I found while cleaning (oh the wonders!), magnet art that makes my heart smile, and finally, toilet paper art done by one of my creative cuties that made me laugh and smile (and wonder if I am buying too nice of toilet paper) and just appreciate this life I lead!