Happy Valentine's Day

We had a very mellow Valentine's Day. Usually Ryan has swim practice on Valentine's Day so for the past few years it's been a special day for just the girls and I. Since it was a Sunday this year, he didn't have practice but he's not a fan of the day in general so we made it a usual day with a little Valentine's love thrown in there. Allison made some special gifts at school and we got them each a little something special too.


My present was waiting for me a night early...I got a special treat after I put the girls to bed on Saturday night. Ryan's not a fan of Vday, but he knows how much I love Ettore's Chocolate Truffle.

The girls were pretty excited to have another excuse to open presents

Allison loves pajamas so she got a new pair just for Valentine's Day

Kate's new leotard doubled as pajamas because she wore it for a full 36 hours before we insisted that it needed to be washed

Princess and Pirates

Our neighbors were participating in the Sactown Throwdown on Saturday so I had Dawson and Dakota for the day. Luckily for me, it was the same day as the Princess and Pirate Playdate at the park. Our community is wonderful for kids and it was a fun morning at the park with beautiful weather and some wonderful activities and snacks for the kids. A huge thanks to the event planners for pirate balls, yummy snack, and of course a treasure hunt.
Getting ready to head out

Every princess and pirate needs a snack to re-energize

So happy with their treasures

Borrowing a car from friends

While Kate was visiting Miss Carrie's preschool, Allison had a playdate with the Bressington boys. She and Evan go to school together and have become good friends, but Allison also really enjoys playing with Evan's little brother Calum who is just a few months older than Kate. Once it was time to go home for the day, Kate spotted a fun motorized car and was not happy that we had to leave before she could have some fun in it. Mrs. Bressington let us borrow the car for a couple of days and as it turns out, the car is a little on the scary side for Kate, but Allison LOVES it.
Hopefully she will lose the "faster the better" attitude before she turns 16

The scooter was the safer choice for Kate

Kate's preschool visit

We are exploring preschool options for Kate for next year and last week we took a trip to Miss Carrie's preschool. Kate got to play, learn, make valentine cookies, and play with shaving cream. She had fun and here are a couple of shots from the day.

She wasn't too sure about shaving cream


Our Hula Girl

Nesting Weekend

The nesting bug hit me on Friday morning. The playroom is a source of angst for both Ryan and I. There are toys everywhere and our biggest problem is that we can't purge anything because both girls cycle through things and each time we think we can get rid of something it becomes the center of attention for a while. So Saturday morning we set out for IKEA for bookshelves for the playroom and a dresser for Kate's room. A few hundred dollars later the house is more organized than ever.

A clean and organized playroom!


Kate's room got a facelift with the new dresser and bed placement



We bought Kate a new dresser and her old one will become the baby's but until then my maternity clothes now have a new temporary home (no longer on the floor)


Ryan even got in on the fun and hung the curtains in kitchen. A special thanks to Jim and Cindy and my mom for the curtains and rods which were my Christmas gifts this year. I love my finally completed kitchen!

Valentine Time

Allison has two big Valentine parties this year. Her first is a playgroup party with 25 kids. Luckily she is going through a writing phase where she really enjoys writing. Over the course of a few days, she made her own Valentine cards for all 25 kids. Way to go Alli Girl!

Getting ready

The craft portion

She wrote out all of her own cards (she wrote her classmates names on theirs)

Go Fore Pizza

Earlier this month we got to take a trip to our local pizza place her in town for a tour and a chance for the preschoolers to make their own pizza. There is a woman who runs her own in home preschool and she has asked me to fill in for her when she or her family is sick. So far, the only need has been an extra set of eyes and hands on field trips, but it's fun for Allison and Kate to go on new adventures and be around new friends. They had a great time making pizza...yum yum!

Friends Olivia and Anna getting to work on their dough

Alli was rolling out her dough

The girls waiting for their pizza to bake