Warm Weather And Party Time

Last week we had unseasonably warm temperatures, in fact it felt more like May then it did February. It was nice to actually enjoy some time outside and for the girls to be able to burn off some extra energy at school and daycare. The weather snapped back to normal this weekend, but with March starting this week spring is just around the corner. Every year I am convinced that January - March is the worst part of the year. The holidays have ended, the hours of daylight are reduced, and we are stuck inside day after day. Both kids and parents have extra energy and cabin fever sets in really bad. Anytime we get a few nice days it brings up everyone's spirits, even if only for a short time.

This past weekend we were planning to head up to my parent's house on Friday to attend a surprise birthday party for my uncle Mike and aunt Janet. I'm very blessed to have large families on both my mother and father's side that includes many aunts and uncles and a nearly countless number of cousins. It isn't often that we are able to attend family gatherings, so I was very excited when this party was planned. It seems that all winter long, every time we plan to travel, a snow storm hits. Snow and high winds on Friday forced us to cancel our plans. Luckily, we woke up to clear skies and sunshine on Saturday morning, so I decided to head up for a day trip and I took Abigail with me.

It was great to visit and catch up with several of my aunts and uncles. It was even more fun to see the excitement on the face of my aunt and uncle as they opened the door to the hall and saw all of the familiar faces (they were very much surprised). Even though it doesn't happen often, and is even more difficult with young kids, spending time with family is my most favorite thing to do and saying good bye and the end is always hard. I often wish that my kids had the chance to be as close to my aunts and uncles as I was as a child, but life never seems to be that simple. For now, I will try to cherish the opportunities we do get.

Valentine's Day And Hair Twirling

On Monday, Erin and I got to attend a Valentine's party at Abigail's school. We started with breakfast in the cafeteria and then went back to her classroom for a short program and talent show. I'm pretty sure it was the cutest thing that I have ever seen. A bunch of kindergartners singing songs is a great way to start the day. Abigail was so proud and excited to have Erin and I at school with her and we are equally as proud at how well she is doing in Kindergarten.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we have been dealing with trying to break a hair twirling habit that Bridget has had for quite some time. She twirls her hair in combination with sucking her thumb. Over the past year we have tried everything that we can think of to keep her from sucking her thumb.  We have used thumb guards, taped on mittens at nap and at night (those seem to be the worse times), and most recently tried some of the bitter nail polish. Everything worked for awhile, but nothing got the job done and it kept getting worse and worse. Finally, I talked Erin into letting me get Bridget's hair cut short enough that she couldn't twirl it. Tonight I took her to Great Clips and got it done. Of course, Bridget is 2, so even a really short hair cut looks cute on her. We are hoping for the best.

Lastly, it isn't often that we get temperatures in the 50s and 60s during February. We have taken advantage of the weather and have done some playing outside. I think getting out of the house has done us all some good.

Five And Two

I have been thinking about reviving this blog for awhile now but have struggled with where to start. Instead of reliving the past 5 years, I have decided to just pick up from where we are right now.

As I write this Abigail is 5, of course she would be mad if she knew I told you that because according to her she is "5 and a half". She is in kindergarten this year and doing VERY well there. She is also taking pre-ballet dance class every week on Wednesday and also is in faith formation classes at our church, St. Theresa's on the same night. Wednesday's are busy.

Abigail just finished up her first season of basketball and she had a lot of fun. She had really great coaches and improved a lot from start to finish. I was very glad that she enjoyed basketball and not so secretly hope that she doesn't lose her passion for it anytime soon.

Abigail playing some good defense

Bridget is 2 and oh my goodness is she a busy body. She has a fantastic vocabulary for her age and loves to read books (or should I say have them read to her). She is also very fast and very daring, which is often not a good combination. She was given the nick name "Dozer", short for bulldozer, at daycare when she was quite young because she runs over anything that gets in her way.

Coming off of a year that involved taking a picture of Bridget every day for a Picture-a-day scrap book that my wife is making, we have been taking it easy on pictures for the last month. Just last week she finally started showing interest in smiling for the camera again.

We made a snowman without getting cold

Our life is far from perfect, and I am certainly not the best dad in the world, but this is our life and I wouldn't have it any other way. Many days, it feels like success to just get everyone through alive and in one piece, but there are so many great and happy moments mixed in.

If you are still with me, my guarantee to you is that I won't sugar coat any of it. I will share the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows as they happen. Enjoy!