Happy Valentine's Day

 Claire

We had a lot of time outside in our back yard because the weather was really nice this week and Claire likes to draw with chalk on all surfaces. There isn't much that doesn't have some kind of chalk on it, Shay likes us to draw letters and I try to get Claire to draw animals and shapes. She also is really good at riding all the different types of bikes we have that Shay is supposed to have too, but isn't interested yet. She is really starting to enjoy the night time routine and likes checking them done every night which keeps us up with doing all of them every night. I drew the pictures as best I could to give her a hint on each one is and she caught on really fast and will tell me what to do next. Although she has been potty trained for a while, she hasn't caught on to finishing the job by wiping herself and then putting her bottoms back on. She still announces to us that she is going to the bathroom by yelling "I go potty" then expects me to come help.

Shay

Our smart girl is talking so much with words that are sort of words and sort of just sounds. We will say "ready?" and she will go "eay" in the same tone that Claire says ready, she really knows 'ow' and 'pss' for please. She is very attached to her way of saying no which is curling up in a ball on the floor to cover her face and start whining or crying. Despite all that, she still is very open to going to take naps and agrees somewhat reluctantly to go to bed after we have family prayer. Every morning Shay is the one that initiates the desire to go outside and looks out the window, comes to me and taps on my leg, and points to the door. She also asks all the time throughout the day and even when it is darker after sunset, but doesn't like when I tell her it's too dark. I'm running out of things to distract her with inside (I can only come up with new fun things so many times) and she is bored of most of the toys. It's nice when Claire and Shay play with each other even though it worries me because Claire likes to clime on top of her or step on her back and jump off.

Celebrating

We have pretty simple celebrations while the girls are still so young for most holidays. The only one we went all out for last year was Christmas, everything else felt small and simple since we did them all on our own. Nana and Grandpa Cox sent us all Valentine's chocolates, a card, and stickers for the girls which got the girls excited. During Thanksgiving we did a special meal, so I wanted to have some fondue for Valentine's Day as our special meal. We did a pizza and cheese fondue with meatballs and homemade French bread for lunch, and a chocolate caramel fondue with strawberries, bananas, and other treats for dessert. Since I wanted to get some cute pictures together we dressed up and as gifts we exchanged massages and love letters.