Valentine’s Day

Ella celebrated her first Valentine’s Day at school. She really had no concept of what it was all about. Luckily, I started having her “sign” her Valentine cards about two weeks prior. Getting through 24 cards took awhile. We powered through, doing a few at a time. I was very happy to even remember to pack the cards on Monday as Mondays are our busy school days. Ella starts the day at her motor class, then I hustle her to the building next door so she can attend her regular school. Then Lily and I run back to the other building for Lily’s baby class. I had to leave Lily’s class early so I could attended Ella’s Valentine’s party. We had yummy ice cream sundaes. It was so cute to see the children with their bags brimming with Valentine cards and big sundae smiles! After a long morning, Lillian was about at the end of her rope, but I was able to subdue her with ice cream, which, unlike her sister, she is happy to eat.

 

Because Ella was somewhat clueless as to the fun with Valentine’s Day, we didn’t actually sort through her Valentine’s cards until Wednesday night. Loran was out of town for work, Lily was in bed and it was a nice little activity for Ella and I to do together. I made the realization that Ella was the only child who didn’t attach some sort of treat to her card. She really made quite the haul, it was like mid-winter Halloween! Play-doh, pencils and candy – oh my! Next year, I’ll be more on the ball with treats. I was so focused on Lily’s birthday, I didn’t even think to off-load some of the three bags of Valentine’s candy Loran had brought home from his amazing sale shopping. Next year, everyone’s getting a pony! Ella’s candy has disappeared into our candy holding facility. However, her cards are getting a lot of mileage. She’s memorized who each card is from and pours through them several times a day an hour. They are her prized possessions, it’s pretty cute.

Lillian also had an exciting Valentine’s Day. She was recognized in her class for her birthday and was treated to a chorus of Happy Birthday. One of her new classmates has a birthday the day after Valentine’s Day – so Lily’s still the oldest in her class! While others were securing hard to get dinner reservations at fancy restaurants for the big night, I was scheduling Lily’s one year doctor’s visit. We’re fortunate to have a pediatrician who has evening hours. We take full advantage of those hours. As others settled down at candle light tables to gaze across into the eyes of their love at 7pm, we were stripping Lily down to her diaper so she could be weighed and measured. No fancy cloth tablecloth for us, we prefer that crinkly paper cover. The wait was longer than usual, but I feel sick kids take precedence over our healthy little girl. Luckily, Loran was able to pull up some Sesame Street clips on his phone when the girls patience was wearing thin. Ella left the office with another Valentine card from the doctor to add to her collection. Lily left with three vaccines…Lily definitely got the raw deal.

Lillian’s One Year Stats:

Weight: 18.5 pounds (10% – the medical term for her low weight is: little peanut)

Height: 31 inches (100%)

Head: 17 1/4 inches (25%)

She’s just hanging out at her usual percentages. No worries on her, but she still gets to eat that high fat food. She now gets to drink whole milk, which is always exciting on the budget. Even buying the Target brand formula cost $18/week. Whole milk ~ $2.50/week. Whooo!! Now that we’ve nearly got Ella weaned off of diapers and pull-ups, things are looking up! Of course, despite their small frames, these two girls can put back the food. Our grocery bill isn’t safe. Lily can easily eat an entire piece of pizza or more. We go through about 10 fish sticks between the two, 8 chicken nuggets, each girl can demolish an entire grilled cheese, we buy our frozen veggies and fruit at Sam’s Club because of the love for fruits and veggies these two have…and they’re only one and three years old.