Valentine Party for Mom's at Preschool...

Singing songs

Ava & her BFF Hannah Kempema (she wasn't in the mood for pictures)

Ava's preschool had a Valentine's Day party just for their moms. Ava was constantly reminding me that the party was "just for moms and not for dads, dad's day is in March." She is very aware of what month it is as they must talk about that a lot in preschool. Dad's night is apparently coming in the next newsletter! I had to work that day, but I was able to have my students work on some things and come to the party. Ava's class sang a few songs, then we ate heart shaped sugar cookies and had pink punch, and then we played in their classroom until it was time to go. It was really fun and always a joy to visit her at preschool.

Disney Live!

Ava & Hannah Ava with her new Belle at intermission - being a silly girl!

All ready to leave

First part: Snow White

Second Part: Cinderella

Final Part: Beauty & the Beast

Finale!

Hannah, Ava, and I went to Disney Live: Three Classic Tales in Sioux Falls at the arena last weekend. Hannah was sweet enough to join us, and Brad was more than happy to stay home with Owen instead of getting to see the princesses! Ava was very excited and asked about 50 times all weekend if it was time to go see the princesses yet. Ava was pretty hyper when we finally got there and could hardly wait for the show to begin. When it finally started, her face was priceless. She was pretty amazed as were Hannah and I at how great the show was. The special effects were impressive. There were parts that were pretty scary, but she seemed to not mind them and remained attentive throughout the whole thing. It is definitely something I would do again and I don't think Ava would mind either.

All about Ava...

Ava really seems to be getting so much more mature lately. She is a very good helper and is learning to do more things for herself all the time. She is getting very good at making her own bed and voluntarily picks up her room and toyroom quite often because she wants to "organize". She puts away all her own laundry and has learned to hang up her clothes in the closet. She even puts Owen's clothes away. She is a huge help with Owen and will recognize that I'm trying to get something done (like get supper ready) and just offer to take Owen somewhere else or bring him a toy that he likes to distract him. She still loves to know exactly what is going on ahead of time. She is very good about going to a new daycare once per week in addition to having Hannah come, and having different people pick her up from preschool. It's a lot for me to coordinate, but Ava takes all the change in stride and knows exactly what's going on. Laura is the other gal that watches the kids and she tells me every day when I pick the kids up that Ava is such a nice little girl and is so helpful. Of course, she still can throw a fit every now and again and misbehave like any other kid, but it really feels like she is growing up way too fast!

Play Buddies and Owen's Pet Belt

Playing in Ava's Closet Together

Owen pulling his pet "belt"

Owen just loves to drag anything around the house that he can right now. He loves things that have long strings. He latches onto belts, flat irons, vaporizers, and pretty much anything else that he can drag around. There really is never a dull moment!

Owen Learns to Use the Spoon...

Owen is very serious when it comes to eating

He has become quite the "helper" with household chores

We decided it was time to let Owen hold his own eating utensils and have a try at feeding himself. It only took a couple meals, and he has caught on very quickly. Needless to say, the floor is still fairly full of debris under his seat after every meal, but he does do well at getting the majority of the food in his mouth. Owen is certainly developing a personality and knows what he wants. He likes to be in on every household chore I'm doing from sweeping the floor to laundry. He is obsessed with the lint trap in the dryer and loves to pull clothes out of the washer and the dryer. He also lets us know when he's hungry by letting himself into the pantry and grabbing the Cheerios box and bringing it to us. He's not happy if you ignore his request and he doesn't get any Cheerios. Today, he just dumped the box of cereal all over the pantry floor and was enjoying the "buffet" until I walked in and caught him :) At nearly 16 months, he is really babbling a lot. He has just started doing this super quick talking with a whole bunch of syllables all crammed into a few seconds. It is pretty comical.

Playing in the Snow....

20 minutes have passed and I have finally wrestled Owen into his snowboots, pants, and those extremely difficult mittens. I'm officially sweating and Owen can't manage to keep his eyes open for one picture!

It was a chilly day, but the kids loved being pulled around in the sled. Owen did pretty well as long as we were moving. He didn't seem to enjoy walking around much in all his gear because when he'd fall over, he wasn't able to get back up without assistance. Ava thought it was hilarious. Owen and I had to come in pretty quickly after I was tired of pulling the sled.