Do we really have to dress like this in Texas??? You're kidding, right???
Ack! It is cold!!
What's this stuff? Hmmm, hard, sort of clear and very slippery. Well, we didn't have to go to school and Daddy didn't have to go to work, but it's no good for snowballs or snowmen.
Keeping busy inside on those cold days. "**I'll*** fix this labtop for you, Dada!"
Doing our part to conserve energy and keep those rolling blackouts in Texas to a minimum. (Plus, Mike lets the fire get really hot and the house get lots warmer when we aren't paying for the heater to run!)
And then the next night, the weather redeemed itself by bringing snow our way. It wasn't a lot, but the girls got a few snow angels out of it, Coco loved it and yes, Mike managed to scrape together a few snowmen (Clara got a big one, JM got a medium and there was a miniman for the side yard).
JM was undeterred by the snow (and the lack of snow pants). Boy was he a chilly boy once we got him inside!
And then the snow was over and it started warming up. And unexpectedly, we had our night of sad good-byes with our wonderful dog, Elvis. She's been with us since before the time Gracie was born so this was a very rough night.
And of course, there were lots of fun things in February to enjoy, in addition to all of the snow. At school, there was the 100th day to celebrate (a big kindergarten occasion). Clara made her shirt using 100 pieces of duct tape!
Next, there was the kindergarten valentine program and party. It was a rough day for me and Clara, though. I had to leave during the performance because JM was fussy (always a problem since her programs are at 12:45...naptime) and she was really upset. It was just a few days after Elvis had died and I think it was just a hard day to have Mama miss anything. But she did cheer up at the party since JM loves to play in the kitchen in Mrs. Matejka's room (the play kitchen, that is), and I was able to give my undivided attention to her. So this happy picture of Clara is at the party!
After Clara's party, we hung around waiting for Gracie's party to start. It was a long day for us, but I was so thankful that Clara and JM got to go out to the playground during the wait and even stayed their during their big sis's party (thank you wonderful teachers who are willing to watch my son!). It was nice to be on my own with just Gracie at her party, but I did start to wonder how I was going to be in two places at one time next year when Gracie & Clara have parties at the same time (elementary grades always have their parties at the same time). Oh well, I'm sure we'll work it out!
Check out this cool valentine holder they made. Her teacher said she had made these as a child for her valentines. I just thought it was so nifty!
And the last exciting event at school this month... Clara's half birthday celebration!! They like to make sure that each child gets a special day at school, so if you are a summer birthday, you get to celebrate your half birthday. So Clara celebrated being 5 1/2. We made a cake (vanilla with pink icing) - 2 cakes in fact, one with 5 on it and one with 1/2, brought some drinks and snacks and got to celebrate with her. In kindergarten, the birthday child gets to stand on a chair and everyone else does the "birthday dance" around him or her and that's when I snapped this picture. They also get to celebrate with a special birthday blessing in chapel (where Mrs. Werner amazed me by knowing Clara "works so hard to do everything just right...", and they can give a book to the school library (Clara chose Olivia Goes to Venice). I'm so glad they make such a special day for the kids at the school. This came at a time when Clara really needed it, too.
We had a few other things going on in February (most importantly, Gracie's 1st piano recital), but I'm going to stretch that into a few more posts. I mean, why not? March is only half over. I'm rapidly approaching being up-to-date. Baaaahhhhaaaahaaaahaaaa. Heaven knows how many things I have wanted to include in this blog that haven't made it in. But I'm thankful for the things that have and I hope that you all are enjoying it as well. Even with all the large gaps and holes!
So I'll end with a picture of my favorite guys. We were eating at "rice and beans"=any Mexican restaurant after Gracie's piano recital. More on that next, promise. Even with video!
You know I'm not really done, right? I just love this picture of JM out in the snow on his own, wandering around. He's got on these gloves that are so huge and his froggy boots, which we just had gotten him to try wearing. And you can see all the smooth snow and the shadows of the trees.
Clara was quite the helper with the presents, and she was not easily deterred, even after several warning shrieks from John Michael. I bet next year he won't let her get a finger on *any* of his presents!
Another favorite on the present front were his "kitties." The Stebbins family sent baby kitty and Grandma & Grandpa's birthday money was used to purchase the bigger "Mama" kitty. 
He's just like his Daddy - already planning his next birthday, trying to see how many he can fit in during the year. He informed me the other day, "we'll have my next birthday tomorrow, okay??"
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