The Kids are Good!

Ok, so I'm doing a little better on keeping up with this thing, even though the past 10 days or so have been a whirlwind (but really, when is life not?).

 Kids are doing great. Amelia has entered into full blown toddlerhood. Sometimes that is good and sometimes it is bad. She going through an aggressive streak, so I have to try and sneak by the daycare counter each afternoon so they can't tell me how many kids she bit that day. It's a very tough spot to be in because there isn't much from a discipline perspective that I can do right now. I also know what it's like to have the kid who is being bit because Braden used to get bit all the time at school when he was her age. I just keep telling myself that this too shall pass.

Otherwise she's also learning a lot. Her newest (and most hilarious) fascination is with animals. Anytime a dog crosses the tv she stands in front of it and screams with delight. Every book we read is about animals and she's started learning the sounds, too. It is the most adorable thing! So far we've got Moo for cow , Woof for dog, and Roar for lions. Precious! She also loves animals in real life. Last week we were outside playing and our neighbor's dog was running around. She got so excited she threw herself to the ground and started giggling. Love it! I'm not sure where she gets it from because I'm certainly not a big animal person.

Braden is also doing well. He's getting geared up for Valentine's day at school. They are making their Valentine boxes and will have a party that day at school. Every morning when he gets up, he asks me if it is Valentine's day. Too cute! He's also going through a growth spurt. All of his pants are too short, but he is so skinny, I can't put him in the next size up yet. They'd just fall right off!

As many of you know, my birthday was last weekend. Mom and the kids really want out of their way to make it special! They woke me up on my birthday with birthday cake and presents! What better way to start the day? We followed that up with birthday cake for breakfast! Celebrated in style at my aunt's house with grilled steaks and more cake and ice cream. I would like to note that Amelia has my sweet tooth. She took her entire scoop of ice cream in one hand and ate it sans spoon! Oh to be a kid again!

Babies getting ready for mommy's birthday!

I know I look a little rough, but anytime I am woken up by fire it takes me a minute to get my bearings... And I promise that is a camera trick - there really weren't THAT many candles =)