A few of my favorite, February things

The only thing worse than February in southern Ohio is February in southern Ohio during a leap year. The leap year option adds just one more day of dreary gray, bitterly cold weather to muddle through.

I've been done with the cold and gloom for weeks now, and even Alena and Alivia are hopefully awaiting warmer weather as they sport flip flops and painted toenails around the house pretending that it's warm outside too.

We can't have too much more cold ahead, can we? I'm optimistic than in another four weeks we'll at least be able to leave the house without mittens and hats. Let's hope.

In the meantime, I've tried to pass the February days appreciating what's inside rather than out, and basking in the warm glow of the little things that make me smile. I've compiled a list of my top ten picks.

10. Wine.
I've spent February sampling new picks from Jungle Jim's amazing wine department. Each time the girls and I do our weekend grocery shopping I pick up a bottle I've not tasted before and look forward to experiencing it over the course of the next week. The girls too have adopted their wine-drinking-at-dinner ritual that includes the unleaded varietal.

9. Alena's writing practice.
I'd venture to say at the beginning of the month you couldn't have read a single "letter" Alena wrote. She's spent our time indoors improving her control of a pencil and has made wonderful progress.

8. Alena and Alivia's new sunglasses.
A trip to Walmart with dad and the two conned him into new sunglasses. You can't see them sporting their new shades without feeling a little less February.

7. Cashmere Mafia.
The writer's strike denied me of the one thing February has going for it, not much else to do but watch TV. I have been sucked into this new "smutty" drama as Jason would describe it, and it's given me something to look forward to on Wednesday nights.

6. Before bath time dancing.
Each night after dinner and before bath time we take requests for songs the girls want to hear. The scene always plays out the same ... dancing, striping down for baths and more dancing (this time naked). They are free and fantastic. Alysse has even gotten into the act during this last week shaking her little baby booty.

5. The democratic primary.
I'm a sucker for an election. Period. This one has proven to be an even greater fix for my political addiction than originally expected. And proof March holds the potential for greater things - the Ohio primary election.

4. Trace's amazing eyes.
Each time Trace sees something for the first time that he finds particularly interesting his eyes double in size. It's as though opening them a bit further, allows him to better take in the new lesson. Wednesday it was banging a hard, plastic ball on the bottom of a metal bucket. He instantly fell in love the racket the two produced and his eyes grew the size of the balls we were playing with.

3. Alysse's demonstrated use of ordinary objects.
This month has seen an explosion in Alysse's interaction with the world around her. She now throws objects in the trash can, "talks" on toy telephones and has made attempts at wearing Alena and Alivia's costume high heels. She's become a little person of the world.

2. Stories before bed.
Each night after baths, Alena and/or Alivia get to make a book selection for storytime before bed. We grant the task to the one who behaved especially well during the day or made a simple gesture worth rewarding ... some days we even have two "book pickers." They then pick the "book reader" (either mom or dad) and we have storytime before snuggling under the covers. I love this part of the day.

1. Alivia's nightly cheek rub.
The little pixie and I have amassed quite a nightime ritual for tucking her in each night. There are shadow puppets, big kisses, nice kisses and hugs involved. My favorite part, though, is something she started all on her own. As I'm bent over after the nice kiss and finishing our long hug, she puts her little palm on my cheek and gives it a gentle rub. Her hand is incredibly soft and the gentleness of her touch is heartwarming. I've come to look forward to this every night and it's definitely been my favorite thing of February.

A three-ring, multi-sensory experience

We loaded up and headed down to Cincinnati's U.S. Bank Arena this morning for a 10:30 a.m. performance of Bellobration, one of Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey's trio of touring productions. It was a great experience. The kids loved it, we too thought it was a great show.

The company deserves kudos for its all-access preshow opportunity. One hour prior to the performance's start, all ticket holders are able to step inside the three rings to check out costumes, see an elephant up-close and various other vignettes from the event. It was a great chance for the girls to be a part of the circus.


Sitting in my seat, though, the most striking aspect of the production wasn't the animals, the trapeze artists or the clowns. While there were so many things to enjoy and admire, most impressive was the way the performance appealed to each and every one of a child's senses.

Sight. What about the circus doesn't evoke a child's sight? Glittering costumes, magnificent animals and tricks galore. You go to SEE the circus, after all.

Sound. The music throughout the entire show was great. Upbeat, contemporary and appealing to the audience. It made you want to dance in your seat.

Taste. Popcorn, cotton candy, no explanation needed. Christmas for a child's tastebuds.

Smell. As Alena and Alivia took in a pretty close encounter with an Asian elephant during the preshow event, Alena commented to Jason that the elephant needed a bath. Apparently he didn't smell quite as great as she thought he should.

Touch. Now this is the one I thought was missing ... a bit disappointing, I thought, considering all the other sense bases had been covered. Until, confetti came shooting out into the crowd. Wonderful, colorful bits floating through the air and eventually landing on the audience after everyone under 12 had waved their hands in the air trying to grab a bit.

A great experience for all the senses, a terrific chance to spend time together doing something a bit out of the ordinary. Smiles, fun and pointing fingers. Wonderful.

You've come a long way, babies

Not wanting Trace and Alysse to get four shots each along with their birthday gifts, we held off on their one-year check-up visits to the pediatrician a week. Today was the day, which promised shots, crying and the typical "can he/she walk?" questions.

The visit lived up to our expectations, minus shots (the crying was delivered even sans shots). Given that each have had varying levels of fever over the last couple of days, Dr. Thind suggested we return some time in the next few weeks for the shot giving.

Trace tipped the scale at 21 pounds, seven ounces and Alysse weighed in at 22 pounds even. Hello, you little porkers, you've more than tripled your birth weight thanks to your voracious eating habits.

Their first visit to Dr. Thind's office was February 28, 2007. At that time Trace weighed five pounds, 12 ounces and Alysse weighed six pounds, four ounces. Plotting their stats on the growth chart, she informed us Trace was in the fifth percentile and Alysse was near the tenth percentile.

Over the course of the year they've obviously made strides. Moving from their original low percentiles steadily in the right direction. At their six month check-ups, the doctor reported they were no longer considered "premature babies" in comparison to their peers.

Today's visit taught us that Trace is now slightly above the 25^th percentile in weight and Alysse is around the 35^th percentile. While still not the 75^th percentile babies we had with Alena and Alivia's weights, considering our starting points, I'd say we've come a long way.

In other findings, we also learned both have head circumferences well above the 50^th percentile. As head circumference is directly related to brain growth, I suppose we should be less worried with waistlines and more pleased with our little bobblehead-sized brains.

Both sad and wonderful

As Alena lay belly down on the living room floor looking through a newspaper flyer, feet swishing through the air, I couldn't help but notice they are the feet of a girl.

Where did your baby feet go? There's not the slightest hint of those small, chubby baby feet you learned to walk upon. Those pudgy, kissable parts have been replaced by long, lean running, jumping, dancing wonders.

"Fancy Nancy" meets our toilet

Should a two-year-old spend a bit more time than needed in the bathroom for a mid-dinner potty break, this may be the outcome.

Although, she might be on to something here. Change the look of your toilet and bathroom, while also providing a little something to look at while taking care of business at the same time.

While the "Fancy Nancy" stickers were meant to be used in the sticker book she toted along to the potty, I suppose she thought the toilet was in greater need of them.