It has been a very rainy February in San Diego. It rained about half the month in varying degrees from light rain to hail. We also had several days that went below freezing at night, resulting in ice scraping off the car windshield before driving to work. We did have some fun days. We visited with grandparents, Tim and Alicia had two date nights, and we had some fun visits with friends and neighbors.
This month has been a lot smoother, with everyone settling in and getting comfortable. We are really enjoying our Au Pair and it seems to be a great match. Valeria also passed her driver’s test toward the end of the month – on the day it hailed!
Tim and the kids did some planting in the raised garden beds. So far, we have successfully germinated peas, spinach, and two types of lettuce! The kids are very excited, as they helped with the planting. We also did some rearranging for baby-proofing inside. We’re all very happy to be over our long period of sickness.
Cordelia is doing a great job in AWANA. She also loves preschool and does her homework with enthusiasm. She is a very expressive girl and does not hide her emotions – high and low. We’re working with her on listening and being aware of what she is doing. Sometimes she is very sweet and helpful but sometimes the opposite. Cordelia has really enjoyed having Valeria here to play with her, especially doing coloring and crafts.
Anthony is now three! He officially moved to his new class at preschool and seems to really enjoy it. The class is certainly more quotadvancedquot than his previous class. Now he’s working on tracing different types of shapes and a bit more intentional learning. He’s with older kids now and gets to go on the big playground. He’s still has some difficult days with yelling and screaming and he can cause his fair share of trouble around the house. Anthony enjoys playing chase and getting tickled by Valeria.
Lydia passed some more big milestones this month. She’s now officially crawling, hence the need for baby-proofing. She still has not reliably navigated the one step from the living/family room area, so for now she’s confined to the lower level of the downstairs (which infuriates her). She also can stand supported. She’s not pulling herself up to a stand yet, but if she is placed standing she will hold on to the table or couch and support herself for extended lengths of time — She really enjoys standing like a big girl!. She also got her first tooth to cut through this last week of the month.
Alicia has been juggling four projects at work. While it can be difficult to keep track of them all, she’s doing a pretty good job staying on task and getting things completed in a mostly timely manner. Despite a full work load at work, Alicia is continuing to make a focused effort of coming home promptly and getting some good family time. Due to the poor weather there were not very many family outings but Alicia enjoyed the time at home together.
Tim had a very busy month at work. His project had new equipment come in so he spent much of the month in the lab getting the new setup working. His team is preparing for travel to do some ground and flight testing during March. At home Tim was able to do a few house projects with the kids. He spent the first weekend chopping wood from our excess trees in the backyard. Then he planted the raised beds with the kids. Finally he finished off the month by making some corner shelves for our quotbaby-proofedquot media center area.
Tim and Alicia have also been enjoying some one-on-one time with Cordelia and Anthony, taking them on breakfast (Tony) and dinner (Corrie) dates to give each of them some focused attention. Tim and Alicia have also enjoyed some date nights with each other. Now that we have settled down, we’re looking forward to regular date nights.
In March Tim will be gone for work travel, so pray for a smooth trip and smooth time at home. Alicia is very grateful to have Valeria for the extra help. Cordelia will be celebrating her 5th birthday with much pomp and circumstance, including a bounce house and a piñata! We continue to be blessed with great jobs and a great family and neighborhood. We are so thankful for what God has given us.
