February Newsletter & Slideshow

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Sorry this is so late. The 5th is my deadline, so I'm cutting it close, but here are some of the things we were up to in February month. Newsletter link to the right. Slideshow & kids stuff below.



McKINLEY: Here’s some things our favorite 3 & a half years old is up to:
-McKinley has already started to be a backseat driver. She reprimanded her dad for going through a red light (we had to explain green arrows to her).
-We were almost on the freeway coming back from Aunt Cindy’s house when mom looked back to see McKinley standing up in her car seat! We quickly strapped her in & had a discussion about car seat safety. Then she said “But, dad, when you were a little boy, you did that!”
-Mom was getting ready in her bathroom and McKinley came in. We had yet another discussion about make-up. Then she started singing this song… “Daddies don’t wear make-up. They wear jelly on their heads.” Kind of catchy, don’t you think? She calls gel jelly.
-We have been AMAZED just in the past couple months at McKinley’s ability to recognize and write letters. She recognizes almost all the letters and can write about half of them. She almost can spell and write her own name, too! She gets SO excited to find the letter M. We’ll be driving, and she’ll yell out “MOM, MOM! It’s an M for McKinley! Look!”
-McKinley also gets really excited to see flags. She will yell “Look dad! I see a United States of America!” She also knows the pledge of allegiance almost completely!
-McKinley is really a pro now with getting dressed. We’re still working on color coordination, however, and putting clothes on the right way. She usually puts them on backward. We’ve found advantages to this, however, when we let her wear them backwards – most of the stains get on the back so that, perchance, she wore the shirt the correct way, there wouldn’t be any stains!
-We mentioned to McKinley not to talk with her mouth full ONE time and now she is the POLICE of people talking with their mouths full. If you even have a morsel in your mouth (or even a pen!) she will say “Don’t talk with your mouth full!”
-McKinley has always been curious, but lately she has been on a real “WHY?” kick. Everything is “why, why, why?”
-McKinley & Ireland are usually the ones to get daddy up in the morning. One morning McKinley jumped on daddy & said “Daddy, get up so you can marry me!”
-Mom was saying the “there was an old lady who swallowed a fly. I don’t know why she swallowed a fly. Perhaps she’ll die” story. McKinley looked at her seriously and said “Mom, that would be really, really sad if she died. Her family would be so sad.”
-We have been working hard on saying “Yes, I’d be happy to” when asked to do something. We encourage McKinley to say it & she gets a penny. She’s done really well and gotten lots of pennies to buy treats or toys. When mommy and daddy say it, we get a kiss instead of a penny. One day McKinley asked mom for help with something and mom gave the standard “Just a minute, sweetie. I need to finish here.” McKinley looked up and said sadly “Ok, well I guess you just don’t get a kiss then.”

IRELAND: Ireland is so talkative lately! Here’s some fun things she’s been doing:
- Ireland has started saying “awesome!” It’s sooooo cute.
-Ireland has been going through a “I do NOT need my pants or diapers on” phase. She will immediately pull her pants and/or diaper off as soon as they’re put on. We always know when she’s got them off, because she will run up to you and say “bum bum!” We have had to resort to always wearing onesies and/or overalls.
-Ireland has started to say “NO!” We will ask if she’s grumpy & she’ll say “NO grumpy!” We’ll ask her to dance for us & she’ll say “NO dance!” etc.
-Ireland learned a new trick – she has started to walk backwards. It’s so cute – she looks like she’s moonwalking.
-Ireland is really good at prayers & sometimes when we ask her she will bow her head and we can hear a “Father, thank you day, Jesus Amen” Often, when others prayers are getting too long (as in, more than 5 seconds) she will keep saying Amen! until the prayer is done.
-Ireland wasn’t eating her dinner, so mom tried the ol’ “airplane with your fork” trick. It didn’t work, but after mom quit trying, Ireland put some food on the fork and tried to do it to mommy, making all the airplane noises and saying “yummy!”
-Mom asked Ireland for kisses one day. She turned to walk away & mom made a pouty, sad face with her bottom lip sticking out. Ireland walked back (mom thought she was going to come back & give her kisses), pushed her lip back in her mouth & said “Mom Happy!”