Happy Valentines Day!!

**I thought this was a funny picture for V-day.  For some reason it looks like both Daddy and E are yelling at Mommy!  I assure you, this was taken yesterday on Jesse's birthday and we were all having a wonderful time!***

I hope you all are enjoying a happy Valentines Day - be you attached or not, single or not, platonic or not, BFF's or not!  I think Valentines Day was at its best when we were in Kindergarten and EVERYBODY got a valentine.  Or maybe it's best spent with your favorite person IN THE WHOLE WORLD.  Or your favorite people, plural :)  In any case, there are those who say that Valentines should be EVERY day (there are an awful lot of CAPITALIZED WORDS in this post!), but I think it's also worth it to take a day to refocus our intent, to refresh and remind us of the importance of appreciating our loved ones (attached, single, platonic, BFF, etc!) - and showing it! 

And "showing it" doesn't have to be a dozen roses.  It could be a home-cooked meal.  A trip out in order to AVOID the home-cooked meal :)  A hug.  A phone call.  Running a vacumn through the house (don't tell Jesse, but this may be his valentines gift from me!!).  A pajama-gram!! 

On another note, I've been meaning to tell you all about an awesome piece of artwork we recently acquired for E's nursery.  We commissioned an original piece from our friend Lauren Barnett of melikesyou.blogspot.com.  Her drawings and comics are quirky, irreverent, adorable, and sassy - check her out!  The piece she did for Miss E.B.G. was this:

The design is on a 12x12 piece of wood - now we'll have to find out the sign for "giraffe!"  So many of our friends and family are super-talented - bit by bit we are getting their original work up on our walls :)  Thank you so much Lauren!  We love it! 

Yogurt Face!

Messy, messy girl . . .


http://Ellie-Irene.smugmug.com/gallery/15608908_Fsc46#1182565451_nSxMK-A-LB

The Snow Storm that Wasn't

Jesse is outside snowblowing/shoveling the driveway and sidewalk - he looks so cute in his hat and Carhart coveralls!  It's a pain to shovel but we can at least be grateful that it was only about 4 inches instead of the predicted 15!  Yeah, good one Mr. Weather Man.  We made out pretty well, all things considered.  Jesse got a snow day (whoop!) and it looks like we'll be able to get the cars out and about if needed. 

By the by, Eddy had her 6 month birthday this past Sunday!!  It is wild that we've made it already to 6 months - I look back at videos and photos from "the early days" and I can barely recognize Miss E.  She is so responsive and interactive and LOUD these days - it's hard to picture her as anything but :)  I do, however, remember one of her first whole face smiles - it was with her cousin Margaret and the Hungry Caterpillar!  Brought happy tears to my eyes at the time . . .

Now, I know we may have given you the impression that Miss EB is THE PERFECT LITTLE GIRL (and some of you have formed that opinion on your own), but we have found an official flaw.  And it is a DOOZY.  This morning, we introduced a new food: avocado!  Delicious, right?  Lucky girl, right?  She REJECTED the avocado!  oh noooooooooooooo!!!!  She sure did look funny spitting it right back out . . .  Ah well.  We will try again tomorrow (maybe with a bit more milk for sweetness!) and - if that too fails - we can take comfort from knowing that some day she will truly appreciate the fabulous fruit known as the avocado.