signs of spring.

The boys and I celebrated the first day of March (and beautiful weather) with a picnic at the arboretum. We saw lots of buds and blooming flowers. Most of the magnolia trees were in full bloom.

sunday evening stroll: NCMA sculpture park

Ben had to go out of town for work a few weekends in a row which was rough. The last few months of this pregnancy have been absolutely exhausting so entertaining the kids without a break was difficult. We tried to get some energy out with a walk around the art museum sculpture park. The weather was beautiful and it was nice to get out, even if the walk just about did me in. My energy level in the afternoons drops significantly and just having energy to make dinner let alone put kids to bed this last month has been a challenge. My favorite part of our outing was just sitting on the grass watching the kids run and play together. They had an amusing game of "duck, duck, goose" going on.

Valentine's Day Tea Party

We made sugar cookies on Valentine's Day and then the girls and I had our annual Valentine's Day tea party. It's a fun tradition that they always look forward to. It's simple but fun to just hang out with them and have silly conversations.

random february photos

 A morning run with Simon around Lake Johnson at 31 weeks pregnant. The hills about killed me.

 Science experiments with Oliver while Simon was napping one afternoon.

We got a set of indoor snowballs which have been great fun in the bounce house. And cousin James inspired us to try glow sticks in the bounce house one night which the kids loved. 

 A Sunday afternoon performance on the stage.

 Simon being a stinker at bedtime.

The girls loved going through all the baby girl clothes and ooohing and ahhhing over their cuteness, imagining their new sister in them. Meanwhile, Simon tried on the changing table pad and said he was a space man while he and Oliver jumped in and out of the crib.

An exhausting but fun day trip with the girls to Ikea, which is 2 1/2 hours away in Charlotte. We were there for 6 hours! And I ended up having to return a few weeks later to get some things that were out of stock and return some things. 

winter camping

We had our annual indoor winter campout one night in February. We had a fire outside but it was really cold that night so we made our s'mores as quickly as possible. The kids all slept in a tent in the playroom after watching a movie. I found them reading to each other in the tent in the morning which was really sweet. Ben made pancakes for breakfast.

making valentines.

 Oliver was really into writing his name on all of his class Valentines. It was so cute to watch his concentration and his satisfaction when all of his Valentines/minions were finished and lined up.

sunday evening stroll: yates mill

Beautiful weather and shorts in February!

spelling bee

Amelia came home one day and announced that she had won the spelling bee in her class. I didn't even realize they were doing a spelling bee. She was so excited to tell us about it. And then dread started to settle in as she realized she would have to be in the school spelling bee which would be in front of half the school. She didn't care about winning, she just didn't want to be one of the first kids out. She didn't start reviewing the spelling list until 9 p.m. the night before the spelling bee and there was a bit of drama. Ben and I came to watch her (along with Oliver and Simon) and she did such an awesome job. I don't remember how many rounds she made it through, but she ended up finishing in sixth place. She was MUCH happier after it was all over. I remember winning the 6th grade spelling bee and then having to compete in the middle school spelling bee and it was so nerve-racking. I was excited about coming in third place and beating out the 7th and 8th graders, and relieved when it was all over.