In my last post, I detailed how we celebrated Brooklyn turning NINE years old. This post will cover everything else that happened during February–Valentine’s Day, other birthday parties, a fun night at the library, and more. Here’s the recap:
February 1st was a big day for Abigail! Normally I have her ride in the stroller when she comes with me to pick up the girls from school, but this was the first time she has scootered to school instead. She did a good job following directions! This was also Brooklyn and Savannah’s first day back to school after several days of learning at home due to covid disruptions to the normal schedule.
We went around the neighborhood after school with Emily and her girls to deliver the Millstone News :) The girls have about 4 or 5 houses that they deliver to, and they enjoy it!
We came back to our house after finishing the newspaper route, and the girls played for a few minutes. It was nice weather and a great afternoon!
I came out of our room at 6:25 AM on February 2nd and found Abigail asleep on the loveseat. She wakes up SO early most days, and I guess she came out of her room and fell back asleep in the living room at some point ;)
Abigail and I walked down to the clubhouse later that morning to help make some valentines for a Heart-O-Gram sale at school with some other PTA volunteers. It was a rainy morning, but Abigail was ready for it with her rain boots and umbrella.
A game of Monopoly Jr. before Bible class that evening…
Brooklyn wanted to take a picture after school one day when she caught Gabby napping on her pillow :)
February 4th was a fun evening! Travis and I co-hosted a Valentine’s party with Douglas and Britni at our clubhouse for married couples from our congregation. It was a potluck dinner following by playing the Not-So-Newlywed Game. We’ve hosted this party once before at our house, and others have hosted it in years past too, but this was the first party in 3 years. We were excited to bring it back!
The game is always entertaining and full of laughs!
We had 25 couples RSVP’d to attend, but ended up having a few less than that actually come. It was just about the right amount of people for the space. I was really glad we hosted it at the clubhouse because we had more room to make a big circle for the game and because I didn’t have to worry about getting our house super clean beforehand. Everyone seemed to have a good time, and hopefully we can do it again next year!
The girls spent the night with Cici that night while Travis and I were busy with the party, and she helped them make homemade valentines for friends and family–an annual tradition.
Brooklyn went to Kate and Olive’s birthday party on February 5th and really enjoyed herself!
This was the first year that Brooklyn didn’t want to make valentines for her classmates at school. Usually she gives a homemade valentine with a pack of Skittles, but this time she just wanted to give out Skittles. It made me sad, but at least she still made some homemade ones for family :)
Abigail is getting really good at putting puzzles together.
Watch out! She is also perfecting her soccer skills in the backyard ;)
Abigail and I were still outside a few minutes later when Luke and Barrett came running around the corner. We weren’t expecting them, but we quickly figured out that Alisha had misunderstood a group text about coming over for a playdate the next day. It was the best unexpected surprise when they showed up…haha! The kids played for a while, and Alisha helped me cut out some stuff for the preschool bible class.
The next day, we had more friends over – Britni’s and Emily’s kids! They are all in Abigail’s bible class, and it was fun for them to all play together. It was a nice morning to be outside!
We put our swing set to good use that morning with 6 kids playing on it :)
Savannah’s class visited the school library on February 10th to check out new books. Mrs. Pride shared this picture on Seesaw of Savannah and some of her friends with their finds.
This picture makes me smile – I don’t remember what the weather was like on the morning of February 11th, but Brooklyn has her hood up like it’s freezing cold and Kate is wearing shorts…haha :)
Abigail likes to be part of the group too…
By that afternoon, it had warmed up nicely, and the kids had a surprise waiting for them when we walked home from school. The water department had opened up a fire hydrant, and water was spraying all over the road. (I’m not sure what they were doing, but it was spraying for a while). It didn’t take long for the kids to ask if they could run through the water…
They thought the rainbow was so cool!!
What a fun Friday afternoon!!
Who knew we needed to pack towels for our walk home from school that day? :) They were soaking wet but definitely had a blast!
Abigail and I did some Valentine’s Day artwork on the sidewalk!
Savannah brought home the cutest pizza box on Valentine’s Day that she had decorated. It held all of the valentines she’d received at school.
The dad of one of Savannah’s classmates owns a local pizza store and donated the pizza boxes to Mrs. Pride’s classroom for Valentine’s Day. I thought it was such a creative idea!
Savannah’s pizza box was stuffed full of goodies!
All the girls in Mrs. Pride’s class on Valentine’s Day
Inside the pizza box was this sweet valentine…
Brooklyn was excited about the valentines she brought home too, especially all the candy! ;)
Brooklyn wanted to work on painting a set of pet figurines that she got for her birthday, and the other girls painted on paper at the table.
The finished product!
Abigail is proud of herself for being able to write some letters!
Playtime upstairs after school on February 15th
As of February 16th, Abigail was finally starting to get the hang of pedaling her new bicycle that she got for Christmas. We hadn’t practiced much since she got it because the weather was too cold most days, but we tried a few times during this particular week. She has been having trouble pushing the pedals forward instead of straight down which puts on the brakes. But she finally started making a little progress and was so proud of herself!
This year we have an even bigger group of walkers than ever before. It’s been fun to get to know some new families!
Travis went to Corpus Christi for a work trip from February 16th-18th. Thankfully it was only a few days!
Two cuties in the tub!
Friday, February 18th was a half day of school, so the girls got out at 11 AM!
That afternoon, Abigail made even more progress and was pedaling up and down the sidewalk by herself and even getting herself started. She just needed more practice. She is so excited to be able to ride her bike now!
We hung some signs on the garage door to welcome Daddy home that night!
I dropped some stuff off at Kids Market on February 19th, and this was the first time I’ve ever been one of the first 400 consignors to drop off!
The girls finally finished putting together a puzzle of themselves that Cici had given them for Christmas. The pieces were really small, and it was pretty difficult, but they did it!
That afternoon, I took Savannah to Gabriel’s birthday party. It was a video game party, and I was way out of my league trying to help Savannah figure out what to do. The girls play a few computer games, but we don’t have any video games at our house. I had to get another parent to help us figure out how to work the controller…haha! She had a fun time!
Savannah has started reading for a few minutes before bed like Brooklyn does :)
February 21st was President’s Day, and the girls had to day off from school. They spent some time that morning “helping” organize the pantry for me, and then I spent the next few days trying to figure out where everything was ;)
That afternoon, we went to Allen’s birthday party with a few of the other cousins. Allen is a few months younger than Abigail, so he was turning 4.
The kids had a big time!
Abigail was back at it on her bike the next day…
We made some letters and shapes out of pretzels at lunch :)
I loved how Mill Creek made a big deal out of 2/22/22 – TWOsday!
Mrs. Pride’s class did some fun “2” themed activities, including disguising a 2 as something else. Savannah turned her 2 into a giraffe!
The kids were all crowned kings and queens of TWO at the end of the school day :)
The next day was another special day in 1st grade – Mrs. Pride’s class celebrated the 120th day of school…
Mrs. Pride and her rock stars!
They ate a yummy superstar snack :)
Savannah said it was a great day!
Back at home, Abigail put this puzzle together all by herself!
Savannah and Abigail did some drawing lessons after school and showed off their artwork. This makes me smile because Brooklyn used to do the same thing for Savannah :)
February 24th was a BIG day at school because it was the first mask-optional day! Both girls said it was a great day, although they said it felt a little weird. Savannah said at snack time that she reached to pull her mask off and remembered she wasn’t wearing one…haha. Both girls said a few people wore masks in their class, but the majority didn’t. This was Savannah’s first ever day of school in person without wearing a mask…and Brooklyn’s first time since 1st grade. Isn’t that crazy? We were so glad for this step toward normalcy.
Seeing these pictures is reminding me how much Abigail practiced her bike riding this month ;)
This card at the store hit a little too close to home…haha
We went to Once Upon a Winter’s Night at the library on February 25th. I can’t remember if they had it last year, but it was our first time going since before the pandemic. It is a themed family night with princesses and winter/princess activities.
The girls made bracelets…
…and colored crowns!
Princess Savannah :)
They also made “snow”…
…and met a couple of princesses! Cinderella was up first. Abigail was a little nervous to get too close to her, but she was willing to sit with Brooklyn and Savannah for a picture.
We also met Belle! I liked how they had her meet-and-greet in front of the library books ;)
The evening was a little bittersweet for me. Brooklyn didn’t get excited or seem to enjoy anything except for the “fencing” activity they did with pool noodles. Savannah and Abigail were happy to be there at least and had fun with all of it.
Fencing was definitely the highlight of the night! It was pretty funny to watch too. The girls kept getting in line to do it over and over before we left. Thankfully it wasn’t too crowded, and the whole evening was pretty low-key. No long lines this year.
We ran into Harper and Collins, and it was fun to see them too!
Mr. Mike had given the girls a cookie decorating kit for Valentine’s Day, and we decided to save it for a couple of weeks until February 26th. It made for a fun Saturday morning activity.
We went to a used office furniture warehouse in Huntsville after lunch to see if they had any desks that Travis liked. We found one that we were tempted to buy, but it didn’t have enough space for his knees to fit comfortably underneath. Other than that, it checked the boxes of what Travis was looking for! Going in person at least helped us get an idea of what to keep looking for online.
Travis and Savannah went on a date later that evening. The girls had been asking when they could do another round of daddy-daughter dates, and Savannah got to be first up this time. She chose Slim Chickens, a new restaurant that none of us had tried before. They both said it was really good! Savannah had chicken and waffles and a milkshake for dessert.
In the preschool bible class on February 27th, the kids learned about Ezra reminding the Jews about how to celebrate the Feast of Booths. They liked assembling the branches to make their “tent” :)
But the most fun was sitting underneath it!
You know you’re married to an engineer when you tell him the elephant piano toy isn’t working, and he figures out how to rewire it to give it new life!
Savannah helped Abigail with one of her preschool workbooks on February 28th. She’s definitely a little mommy.
Notes and Quotes from February 2022:
- 2/10/22 – Abigail sat down for dinner, looked at her plate, and announced, “Oh, this is a SO GOOD supper!”
- 2/16/22 – Savannah: “When I was in your tummy, did food and drink spill on me?” Me: “No, you were in your own special container called a placenta.” Savannah: “A placenta??” Abigail: “Eww! Were there bugs and beetles in there??”
- 2/19/22 – Me, as I’m holding Savannah at bedtime: “You’re getting so heavy, Pooks!” Savannah: “That’s okay. I want to do Rock-A-Bye Baby with you until I’m a grandma.”
- 2/20/22 – Savannah, as we are driving home from church: “What’s Empire Fitness? Is that where Dark Vader lives?” :)
- 2/28/22 – Savannah was so excited to tell me after school today that they are going back to eating in the cafeteria every day now (instead of just once or twice a week)…and they can sit right next to whoever they want to in their class. Brooklyn was excited about it too! That started today. This week Savannah said they also started going to the playground every day with ALL of the 1st grade classes. No more splitting time in the grass vs. the playground for social distancing purposes. I’m so happy things are getting back toward normal. We also got an invitation for a reader theater in early March in Mrs. Pride’s class…something we can actually attend in person!!!
Thanks for reading!!
