The Long and Short of February

February is the kind of month that seems difficult to get through for most people living in colder climates.  Christmas is now a distant memory, but the cold and snow is still doing it's thing with Spring no where to be seen.  Is it a coincidence that Luke's birthday is during what is in my opinion, the most difficult month of the year already?  Maybe February wouldn't be so bad if Luke was alive and his birthday only had happy celebrations associated with it.  I will say that I am ever so glad that February happens to have the least amount of days in it, and I am breathing a sigh of relief that it is over.

Don't get me wrong, we were still able to live life to the fullest this past February, despite the shadow of depression I felt as I remembered Luke.  The kids and I were sick at the beginning of the month with high fevers, coughs and runny noses so the month started much as the last month had ended.  Fortunately we kicked whatever germ had taken up residence in our house to the curb without needing antibiotics.  It did call for Will taking a half day to care for me when I got sick, lots of juice boxes, soup, naps, blankets and television though.  The bottom right picture is of the girls zoned out in front of the TV.

We were healthy by Valentine's Day and had fun making Valentine's Day cookies and cards for each other.  Will was on Winter Break for Valentine's Day too, so that helped make the day extra special.

The rest of the month continued to improve with weather and health.  We were able to see both sides of the family as well as my cousin and her daughter.  Below are Grandma and Grandpa T., cousin Ellen, and cousin Holly.  It sure was nice to finally be able to be social again!

The girls were healthy enough to attend dance class and I enjoyed being in the room for a Parent Observation Class.  I loved watching their confidence and their happiness as they danced their little hearts out.

We also made it to a program at one of our local nature centers.  The class consisted of my two girls and one other sweet boy, ironically named Luke, which made for a really nice, intimate group.  We had a wonderful time and even walked the trail at the nature center, much to my amazement as I ended up having to carry Emma most of the way since the snow came up to her armpits.  Fortunately we managed to stay upright, Lucy managed very well on her own in snow up to her waist, and I didn't go into labor from the sheer exertion of it all!

Our next Kiwi Crate arrived in the mail in time for passing the time on another snow day.  We managed to spread the projects out over a couple of snow bound days and made mini story theaters and puppets. I continue to be impressed with this subscription craft kit, and am listing it as one of the best gifts ever.

Other snow day pastimes included lots of hot chocolate, playing on the iPad, and even riding the horse at Meijer with pennies the girls had found on the floor earlier on our shopping trip.

We of course frequented our library at least once a week for more Science Story Time, the last of the kids yoga classes as well as brought home stacks and stacks of books.

Included in the stacks of books was a series of basic drawing books.  Lucy's favorite so far has been a step by step book on drawing princesses.  Will and I have both taken turns at drawing our own princesses alongside Lucy.  In the beginning, Lucy was overwhelmed and frustrated and wanted me to practically draw them for her.  She now is able to draw them almost completely on her own, following the step by step directions and it is amazing for Will and I to see the progress that she has made.  Below is an Ice Skating Princess, drawn during the Winter Olympics.

We have played outside on the better weather days and if you can believe it, the ice even melted enough on one or two days for me to venture out.  The snow banks along our driveway are almost taller than the girls.  In the below right picture, Will buried Lucy in snow much like you would bury someone in sand at the beach.  The top right picture is of Lucy holding a giant icicle.

The girls and Will have built an elaborate snow fort with tunnels and multiple different rooms.  It is hard to capture on my camera just how sprawling this snow fort really is.  Every time they play outside, the fort gets another addition.  The top right picture was taken from inside the house, looking down from a second story window.

Charlie loves playing in the tunnels of the snow fort and pouncing down on the girls to surprise them.  He also loves it when we throw a snow ball at him, at which point he tackles it until it is a puff of snow.  In the bottom left picture he is giving a snow ball the last rites.  Charlie has had many visits inside on the back steps of our house on the coldest days and is usually content to be cuddled for about five minutes, at which point someone gets scratched and he tries escaping into the house.

Will is slightly concerned that Charlie has as many pictures as our kids this past month.  Because of that I had to work really hard at narrowing down all of my Charlie pictures.  It's official - I am an allergy and a husband away from being a full-fledged cat lady.  In the below left picture he is in one of his favorite spots in the garage - a wheelbarrow filled with blankets in our trailer.  This is where he usually greets us when we come home and pull our car in the garage.  As you can see from the right hand picture below, he still has the kitten look.

 Hopefully our kitty doesn't get into too much trouble as he continues to get bigger.  We caught him the other day perched on the gate of the chicken coop, slowly wagging his tail back and forth like a jungle cat watching his next meal.  He also has been very curious about the bee hives.  At this point in the winter my bees are all dead, so it should be interesting to see what happens this spring when I get my next order of bees installed.  Hopefully he is just one peck and a sting away from learning to keep his distance from Will's and my hobbies!  That and he needs to quit pooping in the garden!

Speaking of our garden, it is currently under several feet of snow.  We have finished off the last of the berries that I froze from summer and this past week I roasted the last of the butternut squash.  We still have several bags of frozen zucchini, green beans, carrots and tomatoes but the freezer is definitely getting too roomy for my liking.

It is time for spring and I can't remember ever wishing for winter to end so badly.  Let's hope by next months blog post recapping March, the snow will be melting and the sun will be shining!