FEBRUARY

Even though February was one day longer with Leap year...it went by in a flash.  I was sick for the last half of it and Lou got a double ear infection.  We are hoping for healthier days ahead in March.

 

Lou loves painting at school.

 

Lou has developed a love for the TV show Bluey although she hasn't quite mastered that bl blend so she says oooey.  Here she is hanging out in her undies watching an episode with a piece of sourdough in her hand.

 

She also stole Silas' cowboy boots while he was at school one day.

 

I had a wonderful birthday.  We started the day off with doughnuts.  Seth got me the beautiful earrings that I am wearing in this picture.  I also got a sourdough cookbook.  The kids got me some eye shadow, makeup brushes, and fingernail polish (that Millie couldn't wait to test out.)

 

My birthday also happened to be Silas' 100th day of school...so he got to dress like he was 100.

 

 

 

 

Silas' teacher printed an age progressed photo of him.  He wrote When I am 100 years old "I will be on a train all day."

 

 

My goal in 2024 is to make delicious cakes... So I made the cake for my birthday/Dad's birthday.  This was Cake by Courtney's Chocolate Coconut Carmel Cake and my first attempt at a "naked cake."  It was made with a cake ring (kind of like a big cookie cutter) and acetate paper.  It was quite the process with homemade chocolate cake, ganache, shortbread cookie crumbs, shortbread cookie frosting and a toasted coconut caramel filling.  It actually took me three tries to get the caramel just right.  It was definitely a labor of love...but it checked my box for being delicious.  Here it is when I pulled it out of the freezer a couple of hours before serving.

We broke tradition a little and had pizza at our favorite local place with Nona and Papa and then we dug into this delicious cake.

 

Silas also modeled his 100s day hat.

Silas has loved full-day Kindergarten.  Fun food Friday is one of his favorite days.  His teacher has a gift for making everything magical.

 

Lou can often be found saying "I do it."  She is very independent and wants to do everything herself these days.

 

The kids had a great Valentine's Day.  We picked out treats and Costco for them to hand out.  Lou and Millie chose Dunk-a-Roos and Silas and Phin chose a Nabisco treat mix.

 

Lou loves bananas...and also loves pretending bananas are a phone.

 

Lou's Bluey obsession led to a fun Sunday afternoon cooking experiment.  Seth was curious about Pavlova after hearing about it on the show...so he decided to make it with the kids.

 

Millie's class was doing a Book Tower challenge.  Her teacher challenged them to read 30 books from different categories.  She was the first student in her class to complete the challenge.

 

Seth and I went on a romantic "birthday" getaway. His work gave him a gift certificate to Ruth Chris Steak House.  We decided to make a weekend of it and celebrate both of our birthdays.  The food was delicious.  After dinner we went shopping and then relaxed at a hotel downtown.

 

Phin had a piano recital at the end of February. He has been busy preparing for a Federation performance. 

 

Millie was called up during an assembly to "assist' the magician that was performing. She was given this Zebra blanket as a reward.  She spent the afternoon after earning it playing "Zebra."  Silas didn't want to be left out...so he got in his crocodile costume (that he wore when he was 7 months old).

 

Lou our little reader...

Here she is getting one of her friends at school to go to sleep.

 

I let Seth choose a birthday cake.  He surprised me by choosing Cake by Courtney's Butternut Squash Gingersnap Cake.  I thought this one would be a little simpler...but it was intense.  It has butternut squash cake layers, gingerbread cookie layers, maple cream cheese buttercream and toasted pecans.  After seeing me working on the cake for hours he asked if I was sure I wanted cake to be my goal for the year.

 

Phin got to go to another Jazz game with his Junior Jazz team.  Seth chaperoned and complained about how bored he was at the game.  Phin said it was "the best night" of his life.

 

 

 

Phin also had two Vex IQ Robotic competitions in February.  He came in 6th for the first tournament and learned so much. 

 

 

JANUARY

Life feels like it has been in fast forward.  I can't believe we are already 10ish weeks into 2024.  We started the year off at the New Years Day party at Seth's aunt and uncle's home.  I forgot to take any pictures.  Our kids discovered a slide off their back deck and spent lots of time playing with their second cousins.  

Millie had an occupational therapy assessment for vision therapy done at the end of November.  Back in August when we learned Millie needed glasses, we also learned that she had convergence insufficiency.  The first part of January she started vision therapy.  The occupational therapist immediately won Millie's heart when she let her play for a few minutes in this gym.  

Lou loves books.  Here she is with her legs under Silas' bed as she read Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

 

Millie has loved playing with her new spy kit.  Here she is deciphering a message that Seth left for her.

 

We finally got some snow...so the kids could finally play with their new snow toys.

 

Lou has developed a love of Barbie. 

 

We held an activity days activity on a Saturday at the local sledding hill.  

 

Silas came for the hot cocoa.

 

On Martin Luther King Day, I took the kids to the pool.  It was so busy but they had so much fun.

 

Phin started another season of Junior Jazz.  He has the same coach as last season and several of the players carried over as well.  He finally scored his first points and was delighted.

 

Lou continues to love school.  I love seeing her say goodbye to her friends when I pick her up.

 

Lou loves to sit on the counter while I am baking.

 

We had a couple of unseasonably warm days in January.  While Phin was at his robotics club, I took the other kids to a park.  It felt heavenly to feel the sunshine on our faces.