As snow melts

• Lily learned to move from sitting position to crawling position (she’s just over 11 months and hasn’t cracked a tooth or learned how to move much, so it’s like having a few bonus months of babyhood but we’re starting to really want to see her learn to crawl . . .)
• Elsie found, much to the surprise of her parents, that she loves Saint Andre’s cheese,
• Timmy asked me “How important are kids?”  “More important than anything we have.”  “Not more important than Heavenly Father!”  “No, definitely not.  I meant more important than anything we have in the house.”  “More important than this computer?”  “Definitely.”  Running off: “Girls!  We’re more important than anything in this house!”
• Abby got sick of waiting for me to put together lunch so she quietly cut a hunk of bread, got lunch meat and mayo, and made a sandwich,
• Kate ate 2 egg yolks for dinner along with gingerbread pancakes and turkey bacon,
• Gina completed our federal income tax (rebate city!), and
• I jumped on the tramp with the kids for the first time since winter hit hard.

Valentines

• Lily moved from our room to Kate and Abby’s room and is mostly sleeping through the night,
• Elsie made about 40 batches of pretend cookies for Gina and me,
• Timmy pretended to have his own Valentine’s Day at Bob-the-Builder School (also an imaginary creation although he had Abby wondering if it was real),
• Abby won “Pin the Heart on the Octopus” and came home with a big tube of gum balls,
• Kate started learning simplified primary songs,
• Gina watched the Provo version of Pride and Prejudice about 5 times (once with me and 4 times with the kids who loved it),
• I spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday at a quantum info conference in Santa Fe (Don’t worry, I promise that I remembered Valentine’s day).

Valentine’s Day is coming

• Lily started moving around the floor,
• Elsie refused three times to clean up her blanket and pillow and lost them for the day,
• Timmy started counting everything in sight,
• Abby got a new, beautiful, warm coat,
• Kate cashed in the 72 points she had earned by practicing regularly and memorizing songs,
• Gina decided to start waking up at 5:00 instead of 5:30, and
• for perhaps first time I made a dinner that not only Gina but every kid really liked (cream of broccoli soup and wheat bread).

This week

This week

• Lily made the kids laugh everyday with different movements and expressions,
• Elsie decided that the toilet wasn’t worth the effort,
• Timmy decided that he didn’t need his white shirt buttoned if he had a sweater over it because no one could see anyway,
• Abby started getting her chores and piano practicing done immediately after coming home from school,
• Kate asked for corn dogs for several meals and each time she couldn’t have them threatened a hunger strike,
• Gina did more laundry than any nonprofessional would be expected to do (3 kids with d.r., incontinent bladders, and vomiting several days in a row!), and
• I watched Lily and the four while Gina went down to Santa Fe to stock up on some basics.