Goodbye January, Hello February

These are scenes from the Storm household in late January/early February.

Leo continued with his gymnastics classes and he always had an audience of supporters - here is Lucy watching her little bro at the Sports Center. 

The kiddos and I went to the movies in January - everyone was a fan of Sing 2. 

It was pretty much a private showing so we got to take our masks off and relax! ;)

Dan and I started a Wordle Obsession in January! Love that game. 

And, ugh - this Wordle meme felt too accurate considering our day care situation this season. Haha! 

We were nearing the end of January so I finally took our Christmas wreath off of our front door! Ai yi yi. 

Lucy and I did facials! Girlfriend still loves a spa day. 

Roman brought home his Sunday school materials and I had to smile at his drawing of his favorite hiding spot. The kids love hanging out in this cabinet with the winter hats and mittens. 

Lucy and her neighborhood bestie Harper put on a performance for us about a zombie attack at Sam Davey. Haha!

Leo's little buddy Jonah stopped by so we made some yummy cookies.

I found this meme and it made me laugh out loud since our kids are obsessed with Encanto. Daniel is not a fan of either option. 

I just snapped this picture of an ideal Target run during January - I got a cart with a cup holder for my coffee, toilet paper was in stock, all of my kids were healthy and in fully staffed school/daycare situations and I was by myself. It is the little things!! Hah!

February arrived and the children started doing Valentine's Day crafts. Just look at this sweet penguin puppet that Leo made at school.

The big kids worked together to put this Valentine Teddy Bear Lego set together. Don't let this picture fool you - there was actually quite a bit of fighting involved. Haha!

We spent sometime at the cabin where Dan and Ken worked to make some sausage.

Don't these look delicious? Can't wait to grill these guys this summer! 

While Dad and Grandpa worked of sausages, Lucy made this cute mobile. :)

Leo and I took a break from the festivities and went out for a winter walk. We love that February sunshine in the snowy woods.

Both of the big kids ended up having at sleepovers at their friends' houses on the same night which meant that Leo + Mom and Dad had a night out! We zipped over to our favorite Mexican food spot - Cancun. Gotta love the decor. ;)

Mexican food for the win! Yay!

Roman had First Communion prep at church in February. He attended class with Pastor Mary and is obsessed with the story of the 10 Plagues. Hah! Here is a piece of his Communion artwork.

The Sunday School crew had a sledding afternoon at Pinehurst Park and the kids were so pumped to attend. Everyone drank a ton of hot chocolate and enjoyed time in the snow.

In other February happenings - here is a school bus selfie of Lucy and Harper. It still boggles my mind how much my own daughter loves riding the bus! It was definitely not my favorite thing growing up. 

Roman was part of a wintertime basketball league. Here he is honing his dribbling skills on a Monday night at the gym. You can see that Roman's biggest cheerleader was there to watch his big brother.

Leo is loving dress up these days. Lucy gets her old princess dresses out on the toybox and helps her baby bro get situated with his outfits. 

Lucy is learning all kinds of science during her 4th grade year.

I don't know about anyone else but my kids always fight over the black markers and they run out before any other color. I found this gem on Amazon this winter - a pack of only black markers. Yay!

Winter time is prime time for puzzles! The big kids and I got started on this fun little scientist puzzle in February. 

Keeping all of the pieces together on the card table is no easy feat with a toddler in the mix! ;)

Well Child Checks 2022

During January all 3 of the children had Well Child Checks with Dr. Manju. Leo was up first - he loves this heat activated sensory panel on the wall. :) He is a healthy guy - weighing in at 32lbs for his 3 year check. Leo is at the 91st percentile for weight. He is at the 89th percentile for height (Our smallest kiddo! Hah!) Leo is right at 3 feet tall these days. Thankful for our healthy little guy.

The big kids had their well child checks on a different day. They got a special treat before we headed to Dr. Manju's office - breakfast with Grammy Nola! Grandma was just about to leave for a mission trip to El Salvador so we were happy to give her big hugs before she took off! We met up at 29 Pines for some pancakes and eggs on a Friday morning. 

Of course we had a goofy picture too with Roman pretending to escape. ;)

This year Roman was at the 98th percentile for weight and off the charts for height. He is 4'6" these days. 

Lucy is at the 94th percentile for height and 96th percentile for height. She was 4'9" at this appointment. She is gonna be taller than me before I know it! 

My big kids are now about the age I was when I got glasses so I always ask Dr. Manju to check their vision. They still have eagle eyes so they must have inherited Dan's genes!

Grateful for health kiddos!

January Happenings

Leo kicked off January with some large motor skill movement in the gym. He loves hanging out with his crew at day care. :) 

Both of our big kids had friends with January birthday parties so we loaded our cart with squishmallows, LOLs, and slime - the gifts of choice for girls turning 8 or 10. ;)

The weather outside was chilly but Lucy generated summer vibes with her coral reef art work.

Now that Leo is 3, he has started going to independent gymnastics classes {Or as he calls them 'Nastics'}. We had been doing parent/child sessions for quite a while so when he transitioned to the next level, the first class was pretty rough. His little chin was quivering and his eyes filled with tears but he stayed strong and participated! After that initial session, we didn't have any tears and he has been tumbling like a champ. 

Here is Leo sporting his post-class stamp on his little hand.

I took the boys to see the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra in January {Lucy was at a birthday party} and it was just magical. I had not been to a live music performance for YEARS due to COVID and I almost cried because it was so beautiful. 

The performance was at the Pablo Center - we saw Ravel's Mother Goose. It was so great because the orchestra introduced all of the instruments to the children and played a few notes so the kids could see them and hear the unique sounds. There was also a group of dancers that performed to the music. Like I said, it was just magical. 

After the Orchestra, I took Roman to his classmate Charlotte's birthday party at High Rollers. As you can see, he was ready to party! ;) I also stopped and said Hello to Lucy who was already at the rink for a different birthday party. It makes my heart happy to see so many roller skating parties these days - I have many good memories of parties at the ol' Carousel Skate in Sioux Falls and now my kids will have those same childhood experiences! Yay! 

Of course when I picked Roman up from High Rollers he came home with a bunch of junk treasures that he won from the arcade. 

January is football time at the Storm household. :) Look at this cutest lil Packer fan! 

Mama and Lucy sported their Packer gear as well! 

We didn't make it to the Super Bowl but at least we got a big plate of nachos before the season was over. #SmallVictories

Lucy started her Girl Scout cookies selling season! Here she is zipping up to our neighbor's house with her trusty order sheet. :)

January is a perfect month for snuggling.

We also did some puzzling as a family this winter. The big kids quickly completed this Presidential puzzle.

Here is the finished product.

Leo loves doing puzzles lately too. This underwater scene is one of his faves!