I haven't posted anything in awhile. I still don't really have anything to post, but thought I'd ramble a little bit, anyway. We've been pleasantly busy since we've come back from Florida. We've finally had a break from all of the snow and ice! And we've had melting days, too. Can't see the ground yet, but at least it looks like a reasonable amount of snow on the ground--until you look at the snow piles! Two Mondays ago it was supposed to be fairly warm and sunny. I said we need to get outside and do something. So, we drove down to the beach and went for a walk along the beach. Not exactly Florida weather, but it felt wonderful to just be outside in the sun! Paul wanted to go in the water, of course, and immediately started digging in the sand. I found a nice big shell; guess not many people go looking for shells here in February.

Benjamin is back into the routine of preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Paul and I are taking a swimming class on Thursday mornings. He loves it! I was surprised that they're actually teaching them swimming techniques. I thought it was just going to be, "Let's have fun in the water with our babies." We recently bought a children's museum pass, so we've been making use of that once a week or so. We've got 4 museums within a 30-minute drive of our house. The boys love doing that.

Benjamin will be 4 in a week and a half. I can't believe I will have a 4-year-old already! He's really become interested in writing his letters lately. But, heaven forbid, if I try and help him! Hopefully he's more cooperative with his teachers at school. (They usually seem to be.) He wanted to write a number on his paper airplane the other day, but was so frustrated because he couldn't get it right. I tried suggested writing 11 or 100 or some easy number, but he wanted 96 or 63 or 82. Finally, I just started flying my plane, and that got him out of his funk.

Funny Benjamin story from Monday: We just had a quiet day at home, trying to clean and straighten up. When Benjamin asked me to play, I told him I couldn't because I was cleaning. I said he could either help, or play by himself. He started tearing up, and said, "That's not what Valentine's Day is all about!" I asked him what it was about, but he didn't really answer.

Paul is almost 18 months now. He continues to be a little sponge about everything. He is constantly watching and copying everything anyone, especially Benjamin, does. He still enjoys climbing on everything, and is now trying to jump over the arm of the couch. Thanks for that one, big brother! He also pushes the chair over to the kitchen counter to help me bake and cook. Whenever we try to get on the computer, he pushes the chair over, and starts saying, "Hi!" thinking we're going to Skype with someone. Paul is saying things like, "I see you!" and "Upside down!" when his book is upside down. (As a teacher, I'm impressed he recognizes this. It's a reading readiness skill I tested for in preschool.) He covers his eyes and "counts" when we play hide-and-seek. He says, "Go, go!" whenever he sees Cat in the Hat on TV or in a book. (You PBS watchers will recognize the song.) He also says, "No, no, no!" quite often; something else he hears frequently from Benjamin.

A few parting shots: