February 2015

A couple decent snow storms late in the month rolled through, dumping almost 2 feet of snow over two weeks, which was quite a contrast with the first half of the month with record high temperatures.  It made for some good snow fun and some warm weather for playing outside!

Kara has been really improving with her reading skills.  She's been reading through some of our books at home (we mostly figured she'd just memorized the words); however, she really impressed Mom when she picked up a book at the library (Pete the Cat at the Beach) and read through it all by herself!  Kara has started Tae Kwon Do lessons.  She seems to enjoy it and is catching on quickly (see the videos).  It's great fun!  On the less fun side, however, Kara got her first cavity.  None of us are excited about that...

Emily has been continuing her swim lessons every Saturday.  She loves getting in the water and playing. Emily is speaking in 2-3 word sentences and impresses us every once in a while with a new word or phrase ("one more book").  She has started counting and frequently counts to 2 (as in "1 2 ears" or "1 2 eyes").  She knows the words for higher numbers, but she doesn't understand the concepts yet.  Emily has regressed a bit with potty training.  She's fighting Mom and Dad when they try to remind her she should use the potty.  Although, she has been getting better about feeling she needs to go and letting us know (usually after she's already peed in her pull-up).  Ah, fun times!

Cousin Cassie and her husband Scot welcomed their twin babies (Bryn Oliver and Amelia Rose) in January.  Kara and Emily got to meet their second cousins early in February, though they were more interested in playing with the toys than they were in the newborn babies.

Kid Quotes:
- Kara loves making up jokes and songs.  Here's a joke:  Kara:  "What do you call a hairless monkey?  A cold monkey!  hahaha"
- Kara: "Thank goodness Valentine's Day only comes once a year." Why? "Because of all the work I have to do to make my Valentine's card box!"
- Kara: "Gah, I talk as much as Papa.  I'm turning into Papa!"
- "Emily do!" Emily's favorite saying.
- "Step stool!" Emily usually demands to have the step stool, so that she can help out with things in the kitchen.
- "One more time."  Emily is always asking for just one more...
- "Love you"  ahhh, Emily now says these words.  With a sweet look and a hug, Mommy just melts!

Link to pictures