February Firsts

I'm calling this blog 'February Firsts' for lack of a better title.

No too many extraordinary FIRST-ish things actually happened in February. Rather, a bunch of very ordinary, often insignificant, "life in the day of a mom" firsts happened...and a couple really cool ones.

So 'firsts' it will be. :)

Please sit back and enjoy our  month of firsts:

1. We went skating at the outdoor rink for the first time. Well, two of us did. The rest just came along for the ride. Uh....I mean slide.

I love it that Rob loves taking them skating.

Ellie has become quite comfortable on the ice. :)

 2. Micah discovered the cutlery drawer for the first time. This keeps him by my side while I do dishes (as opposed to in the toilet or on the piano). This is a good thing. :) The other thing he loves is if I give him a bowl of suds and a spoon (or in Micah lingo, "bubbo" and a "moon").

 3. Elianna got her FIRST report card!! When we told her it was report card day she asked, "Is that like a credit card?" Well, kinda...no. Not really. But we're super excited that God has wired you for school and you couldn't be doing any better!! What a great first report card experience!

(We're going on five consecutive years of her dressing crazy...I think it may be permanent!)

 4. Josh and Micah created their first masterpiece together. This is the first time Micah didn't try drawing on the table for fun. He thinks outside the box (and paper) that one does!

 5. Ellie and Josh gave themselves numerical value for the first time. Josh was worth 25 cents for the day...

 ...and Ellie could be bought for just 10 cents! I snatched up that deal in a quick hurry. I think I'll keep them. What a great deal.

 6. Micah started telling on himself for the first time. This is actually an answer to prayer.

I asked Jesus to increase Micah's conscience so he'd have a better awareness of when he was doing something dangerous or naughty. The very next day I heard, "Mooooom! Mooommmm!!!" from another room. There was Micah standing with a pencil in hand, ready to draw on some furniture.

Within a day I hear again, "Moooommmm! Mooommmmm!" and there's Micah standing on a table, yes, tattling on himself. On a different occasion I hear Micah calling right before he was going to put his hand in the toilet...again. And yet again when he was smearing his food all over the place, and continues to rat himself out daily. Coincidence? Not at all. Jesus loves to get involved with our children. I am always amazed by His creative ways of answering prayer. :)

 7. Ellie and Josh decided they liked tomato soup for the first time. And that it tastes better through a straw. And even better when out of the same cup! Whatever floats your boats, kids! :)

 8. Bapa braided Ellie's hair for the first time. I'm not really sure how that came about. All I know is it made her day. What a great Bapa.

9. My kids suddenly became 'broccoli monsters' for the first time. Man did we eat broccoli. Unfortunately, the phase has already passed. Next up: asparagus? 

10. Micah started singing and playing piano simultaneously for the first time. He puts on quite a show, if you can decipher his songs. (Favourites include 'High', also known as "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and "A a apple", also known as The Phonics Song.) Micah just loves the 'nano' (also known as a 'piano').

11. We put together our very first bunk bed with LOTS of really helpful help from the kids. :) Currently Ellie and Josh are enjoying it to the max (Josh doesn't even mind that he's in a pink bedroom for the time being)...but as soon as Micah's a bit older it'll be the Boy Bed.

12. Ellie and Josh had their first chance to hold a newborn during this particular pregnancy. I think it's safe to say that baby number 4 will NOT run out of cuddles. (This little guy is Casey...a super cute little heart melter!)

13. Our yard was COMPLETELY covered in snow...and REALLY covered...for the first time this winter! It was beautiful.

The kids loved it, and were even a little overwhelmed at times by the sheer amount of snow trickling down their backs and sneaking into their boots. Micah would lose his balance and fall over, then quietly say, "woof woof" and crawl away, almost as though he was trying to salvage some dignity by pretending he was a dog who MEANT to fall over and crawl. Hehe!

14. Our sewer backed up for the first time, a blessing in disguise. We had been praying about wether or not to redo our bottom level for some time now. It hadn't been touched since 1960 and was affectionately dubbed, "the dungeon"...a space we didn't really use for much besides storage. TOO MUCH storage. So since the back up we've been purging and tossing and are getting ready for a complete renovation down there. We're going to rip out a wall and turn two small nearly unusable rooms into one large master suite (reading nook included!) for Rob and I, and give the kids the top level floor of bedrooms. This will enable our family to grow to six with room for everyone to sleep! And it's even a little bit covered by insurance. :) Here's Ellie, thrilled to have been given one of my old bibles I discovered hiding down there...a pink one, of course. How cool to hear her reading Proverbs to her brothers while I make breakfast!

15. And lastly, Rob and I are currently on our very first extended getaway since having kids! Thanks to my precious, irreplaceable mom and dad who are watching the kids, Rob and I have the chance to rest/relax/shop/read/cook/walk/talk/sleep/drive around in Minneapolis for five nights. We feel spoiled rotten! We're staying in a cute little apartment and doing pretty much whatever we feel like doing when we feel like doing it. UNHEARD of!

We even went and bought Rob new glasses...on a whim...because he needed them...and we had TIME!

Doesn't he look sharp?

Today is our last day and that's good, because we're really beginning to miss our chatty little cute-faces at home. So today we'll go visit John Piper's church (for the first time, in case you're taking notes) and take in some downtown shops...and then home we go tomorrow!

OH! WAIT! One more first!!

16.

This month, our

very favourite first

was seeing our tiny baby's face for the very first time.

And finding out, for the very first time,

that we are having a GIRL! :)

The whole family smitten. 

So thankful to Jesus for all His blessings!