Winter months

 January was actually a fairly warm month. We were trying to think of things to do and one day I decided we should rent a hot tub! I was trying to get it for the kids birthdays but they were booked up then, so we got one the week before. We had it the whole week and I think the kids only missed one day going in it! They absolutely loved it and it was a great activity for them to do in the evening. It was a small hot tub, so Jeff and I went in it after the kids were in bed sometimes. 

Jeff and I went on lots of evening walks together in January and those were so nice! My doctor told me my iron levels were really low, so I started taking supplements and feel a million times better now. I was feeling so sluggish and unmotivated, so it was nice to actually find out why that was the case. Jeff started a diet and already lost 15 pounds, while I have been craving homemade donuts so decided to make a night out of it and make a bunch. I got the recipe from Melanie and they turned out awesome! February came along with a polar vortex, so it's been a little rough trying to find things to do without stepping outside. It has been -30 for a whole week! Thank goodness for the kids still having school, it has been such a life saver and I just love both of their schools so much! Bentley had literacy week where she dressed up in something different every day, and one day we colored her hair orange so she could be Ivy, her favorite book character. She also made a gingerbread house one day because they didn't get to it in December. I did a maternity photo shoot, and now am currently trying to potty train Leo. He hasn't gotten the poop part yet, so I will see how it goes. It has been so exhausting and I still don't know if he's getting it or just not ready, so I'm going to give it another week. Restaurants finally opened up again so we took the family to Ihop the other day and it was so fun to be out! We all had such a good time.

Valentines day just passed and the kids had a lot of fun making Valentines for their classmates and receiving them as well. I made Bentley a Valentines lunch really quick one morning, with a heart sandwich, heart cheese for the crackers, and some hershey kisses and note with it. Bentley loves things like that! Our neighborhood did a fundraiser so I purchased some sugar cookies and chocolate roses for Jeff and the kids, which showed up at our door on Valentines. Jeff and I booked the Keg for next weekend, and yesterday we had dinner and played games with Rebecca and Trevor. 

So, I really haven't been doing too much lately and been getting really bored! The day to day stuff is really tedious and we would all love a vacation, but we will make it through somehow!!

Deacon's Killer Whale Birthday Party

 A few days later we had Deacon's birthday party, on his actual birthday. It's always a busy month for me, but it was so fun. On the morning of his birthday, I made Deacon some waffles with ice cream and strawberries on them, and he was so thrilled! He had been asking for them for a while. Then I took him to get a haircut and I let him pick out a couple of toys there too. He picked a dino dig toy, and some cloud slime. When we got home, he played with them for a long time and dug out all the fossils to build a T-rex. It was so cute how excited he was and how he kept saying "this is the best day EVER!!" He still had school that day so I sent him off, telling him when he came home he'd get to decorate his cake with me and have his party! At school they celebrated him as well and he came home with a birthday sticker on him telling me he had a great day. 

I had been busy decorating the house and making the cake while he was gone (also picking up Bentley from school) so he could come home and help me decorate it right away. He really wanted a Killer Whale party so I got him a big whale for the cake and a bunch of other rubber sea animals to decorate with. We also put sprinkles on the top and all around the bottom. 

We just had family, of course, and Bryce came over. Deacon requested Panda Express for dinner, so we ordered that and Jeff picked it up on the way home from work. It was funny to see Deacon chow down on dinner while Bryce talked all through it! Afterwards they ran off to play together. I didn't have a ton of activities planned because I knew they would mostly just wanna play. I didn't even get to the kinetic sand that Deacon wanted to do, so I saved that for later in the week for something for him to do. We did do a Pinata, though, and the kids loved that! Both grandparents stopped by again to give Deacon presents and he came out with some pretty awesome stuff! After opening presents, they pretty much just played with them all for the rest of the night. We also sang to Deacon of course and ate cake! It was a very relaxed, but super fun time!!

I can't believe Deacon is 5! It's crazy every year to see how much they've grown and how different they are. I love how grateful and generous Deacon is. I also love how he makes us laugh all the time and has this silly face he always makes. His laugh is the best! His random facts about animals like how with seahorses, "the dads lay the babies mom," never get old. He loves board games and cuddling. He often asks for back massages and moves my hand to where he wants it. I love how he never wants to miss a good night hug and kiss and how he kisses the baby in my tummy so sweetly. Deacon is always up for some fun and I just love his laid back personality. Happy 5th Birthday Deacon!!

Bentley's LOL Birthday Party

 The new year brought on not a whole lot of changes. There were still lots of restrictions and not many things open, but I decided to go big with Bentley and Deacon's birthday parties because it was something to do! We did the parties with just family, but it was still a lot of fun for both of them. 

Luckily right before Bentley's birthday Claire's opened up for ear piercing. Bentley had a day off school so I took her to get her ears pierced! She had been asking for a little while and was so excited. My mom came along too. Of course everyone was wearing masks and they had to do one ear at a time so that there were less people around her. Bentley said it hurt so bad and shed a few tears, but she was brave and still got the second ear done thankfully! I didn't realize they had real diamonds for kids, and for some reason Bentley really wanted the real one but I convinced her to choose a less expensive one that looked a lot prettier. Then afterwards Grandma and I bought her some earrings and a few other little things while we were there. She looked so cute with with her ears pierced and loved them so much!

Bentley requested an LOL party, which is a type of surprise doll that she's been really into lately. We did a crepe breakfast with Scarlett and Emri and then planned a bunch of activities. The night before, I stayed up after the kids went to bed and decorated so that she'd be surprised in the morning, and she loved it! Bentley's been loving crepes with nutella and strawberries, so we did that along with some bacon and juice. 

Then they started the games which included pin the bow on the LOL doll, LOL bingo with jewels to put on the spaces, and Pass the Parcel. In this game I had wrapped up surprises throughout a bunch of wrapping paper into one big ball for each of them. They passed around a doll until the music stopped and whoever was holding the doll got to start opening up their surprise ball. They ended up with the same prizes but had a lot of fun in the process! They also played with pink glitter play doh I had made, with cute cookie cutters and jewels. And they painted their own LOL doll. This one took a lot of effort for me because I actually drew the dolls on poster paper just by looking at a picture. I was quite impressed with how they turned out. I taped them up in the basement and they had fun feeling like artists painting them!

Instead of a cake, Bentley wanted donuts, so I fashioned a plate of pink rice krispies and candy with a donut on top, candles and LOL print outs. It actually looked pretty cute! All the kids got donuts and any of the rice krispies and candy they wanted. 

Bentley also got to open up her presents and got lots of LOL surprise dolls of course, and a unicorn that you crystallize and paint, which I took a picture of her doing later on. Both grandparents stopped by at some point to give her their gifts. Her friend Violet also came by to drop off a gift, it was so sweet! I was so impressed by everyone making such an effort to make Bentley feel special on her birthday, even though we couldn't do a huge party. I actually liked this way better!

Its hard to believe Bentley is 7 years old! Only one year away from being baptized, which just seems so crazy to me. It's so sad to see the time go, but I'm really enjoying her right now. My favorite things are how much she loves to just talk to me, the cute notes she constantly leaves on my bed, how well she makes her bed every day and does all her chores, and how she's created such a bond with Deacon and could stay up all night playing board games with him if she could! Lately Bentley is enjoying playing the piano and reading really well. She's always my little helper and although she doesn't love having little brothers that "ruin my stuff," she knows just how to handle them and loves watching and helping Leo learn new words and phrases. She loved friends, cousins, and sleepovers like no other. We sure love our Bentley boo!!