Valentines Day Countdown

We've been very snowed-in and froze-in this week - well, actually the last two weeks. We've had school snow days, school delays, and there's been no opportunity to play outside at recess because it's been below 20 degrees! So to stave off cabin fever and with Valentine’s Day on the way Kayla and I planned a Valentines Day party! With Aaron enroute to Port Huron from a Vegas business trip, it was a Girl's Night for five little girls under the age of eight!

Kayla, Gina, Gabrielle, Addison... and Khloe

I discovered it is very hard to stick to a diet when you're making pink valentine chocolate chip cookie dough (Kayla's request, cookie dough only, no cookies) and heart-shaped red velvet cake whoopie cookies. Needless to say, I broke a few of my diet's rules.

I've had a revelation about Valentines Day since having two of my own little sweet Valentines - I love this holiday! The holiday was never something I spent much time or energy on before, but now I do for my girls. I love finding and crafting all things red, pink, glitter, hearts...we'll try it all! I'm going to do 14 days of hearts around here, so we'll see how it goes! Let the countdown begin!

 Addie's heart-shaped pink chocolate chip cookie

Sisters, Gina and Gabrielle

I do not recommend switching the speed to "fast" when you meant to switch it to "slow". Or this happens. On a positive note, red velvet cake batter splattered on the floor will scare little girls and make them scream. This made me realize something, perhaps something very priceless, that red velvet cake batter might be the best invention for creating "fake blood" for a costume or a prank. It's bright red, spreads easily, somewhat stains, and is edible and delicious! I may have stumbled on a brilliant invention tonight!

Kayla was okay with making cookies out the dough,

as long as we put some dough aside to eat later!

Khloe spent her evening dressing up in each of the girl's coats, hats and boots (and a baby doll's bib). She loved it and was so proud of herself for doing it all by herself. It was too cute! I don't know who was more tired at the end of the night - Khloe having to keep up with four big girls, or me keeping up with five busy girls! I had a glimpse tonight into about...six years into the future... what it will be like when Kayla has her girlfriends over. Tonight the girls spent a lot of their time playing in her room with the door closed and I heard so much jumping and thuds and laughing and screaming.
Is this what it's going to be like, being the mom to two pre-teen girls???

MLK Holiday

 My lunch dates!

Silly Khloe, always doing something for attention, and in this case wearing her Visitor sticker on her "eyeball!"

When lunch time is over, the lunch room ladies raise one arm in the air with their fingers in the shape of a "zero". Kids are to do the same. The first table with all the kids quiet and with their hands in the air are dismissed for recess first. Not to be left out of anything, Khloe raises both hands in the air.

 Special time with Khloe, lunch with my girls, shopping with Kristi, Kayla's gymnastics - It was a fun day!

20 months

Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever fresh and radiant possibility.

–Kate Douglas Wiggin

New matching FOOTED jammies, per Kayla's request. Because Kayla LOVES jammies with feet just like Khloe wears.(I think I caught only a part of Khloe's "cheese" face in this photo.)

Let's see. What's new with you Khloe, as a 20-month old, in this ever-fast-paced life we live in?

Your favorite songs to sing are Old MacDonald, B-I-N-G-O, and Wheels on the Bus.

You are obsessed with the toe jam between your toes, or as you call it "fuh" (fuzz). It's amazing what accumulates in that teeny tiny cute little space between each piggy. The evening seems to be your preferred grooming time and sure enough, come 5 or 6pm, your socks some off. You perform detailed inspections, delicately pry apart each toe and proudly annouce "fuh!" when you find and remove it. Daddy is pretty much grossed out by this activity. Me? I think it's just too darn cute and comical. Hey, you're just a girl that likes clean toes! Here's how we clean piggies:

Speaking of fuzz, our house is fuzz-and-feather-free, you make sure of it. Either you find it and remove it, or we have to. Fuzz in the bathtub with you? Absolutely no way! You loudly call for us when fuzz is spotted. (This, we're sure, you learned from your sister). We must scoop and remove immediately!

Nothing like a little ice cream cone dessert in the bathtub. Thanks for sharing Kayla. :)

You MUST do everything on your own. I'd like you to learn to say "Khloe do it" because when you insist on doing something all by yourself (which is pretty much everything all the time), you scream. We're working on that. "Khloe" is hard to pronounce so we're just working on "I do it". How that comes out is "Me! Me!"

You love to play with kitchen dish towels. It's quite humorous, really. Here we are just weeks following Christmas - sooooo many new, fun, bright, loud, entertaining toys - and you want to play with towels. Sorry to everyone that bought you a toy for Christmas, what you really wanted was just more dish towels. You have been entertained for hours by this amazingly simple activity, even as I type this. You get each one out of the kitchen drawer, carry the heaping pile to the living room and, with precision, proceed to cover things with the entire pile, like my knees, Daddy's feet, Tikky, the chair, the couch cushions.

What one does, the other has to do

The best part of the last few weeks is watching the interactions between you and Kayla.  More and more your playtime together involves laughing, giggling and wanting to be together. Kayla offers help, you comply. You want to play, Kayla joins in. You want to wrestle, Kayla tackles you. Kayla talks, you repeat every word. You both do great at taking turns and sharing. It brings a smile to our faces to watch this relationship grow.

Well, the never-ending cycle continues. I put away the 18-24 mo clothes and got out all the 24 mo and 2T clothing. Getting out and seeing all of Kayla's 24 mo/2T clothes... I just can't believe it. Kayla was JUST IN THOSE CLOTHES!!!!!!!!!!! Wasn't she?? I mean, it was just yesterday that she wore some of those things. Sigh...

Twins!

 Silly face

BYOSS

What is BYOSS you ask? Bring Your Own Sled and Sleeping Bag, of course! In lieu of hanging out with the Johnson and Gumbis clan on New Year's Eve, like we have for the last four years, the Johnson's held - what we hope becomes an annual - BYOSS party! Sledding and sleeping bags is a girl's type of party! We had a great time spending our first weekend of the new year with our best friends!

Hello, little miss Sadie Rae!

 The Gang (minus the "G" clan) ready for sledding

 The sledding hill right in the "J"'s backyard, thanks to their house being on a golf course

It was a beautiful sunny day

(There's Khloe, at the very bottom of the hill, after going down on an inner-tube all by herself!)

Jen and Sadie

 Khloe's first time sledding downhill! 

If there was any doubt that this thrill-seeker would not like sledding in a fast spinning motion down a steep hill all by herself, you can stop worrying. She did not stop smiling and laughing the entire time and went down the hill 20+ times each time at the end saying "Again!" She was so funny, it was cracking us up the whole time!

 Kayla spent her time "snowboarding"

 The sledding supervisors

Mary going down the hill

The party at the top of the hill

Around the table - Kayla, Stella, Sadie, Emma, Mary, Sophie and Katherine

Khloe was wandering elsewhere

 What a sleeping bag party for 5 girls ages 3 - 7 looks like

Happy New Year!

20 months

Hey everybody - It's my first hair pretty! I actually wanted it in and left it in all day! What do you think?

 Yup, there's your hair pretty!

Caught ya, crazy girl!

 Being silly and laughing together

And it begins, playing Hair Salon

A sad face... and then a happy face!