Quick February Update

For some strange reason February always feels ridiculously short to me.  It's really only 2-3 days shorter than a normal month, but for some reason I can never get my mess together in February.  The month starts, it's Valentine's Day, and then suddenly before I have time to blink, it's March.

We've had a pretty awesome February.  

On Valentine's Day, Chad and I hired a babysitter and cashed in on one of our Christmas gifts when Chad's parents took all of the NC kids to see the stage version of Mary Poppins at Durham Performing Arts Center.  This show made its grand opening when I was living in London, and it is the last show I saw there, so it holds a special place in the sentimental corner of my heart.  Not to mention I adored the Julie Andrews version as a child.  And as an adolescent.  And OK, I still love it as an adult.  Anyway, we had a great time together.  We were a tad bit disappointed in Mary's voice (OK.  Severely disappointed.  I am still left wondering how the actress scored the LEAD and hopefully none of her family was in the audience, as we were quite vocal about our opinions during intermission), but Bert was beyond fabulous.  He didn't tap dance on the ceiling, though, like he did in the London version, and Mary didn't fly out over the audience.  Slightly less magical.  But I was reminded that this is a travelling production and is a bit more limited in what they can do with set design and special effects.  

     

For Presidents' Day weekend we went to Kinston to spend time with family and meet with a client for a wedding we are shooting in March.  It snowed like crazy on Saturday, church was cancelled on Sunday, and  on Monday we discovered the most amazing in-the-middle-of-nowhere restaurant run by Mennonites who make fabulous french toast.  I'm not kidding about the french toast. Oh, and that homemade butter syrup.  Best.  Stuff.  Ever. In between we also ate a fabulous steak and bang-bang shrimp dinner, and a Thanksgiving-esque Sunday afternoon lunch, complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, and stuffing.

Kaden lasted for about five seconds in the snow before he started saying, "I'm cold" and "I wanna hold you!"  He's definitely a Southern boy.

 Snow is so beautiful when you don't see it all the time, don't have to worry about driving in it, and know it will promptly melt before it becomes a hassle.

Kaden's Aunt Lauren bundled up and enjoyed the snow with him again later:

 I was in charge of one of our playgroup meetings this month, so I arranged for us to go to the fire station.  Kaden LOVES fire trucks, dressing up like a firefighter, and watching Fireman Sam on Netflix, so I figured he would completely adore the outing.  Not so much.  He wouldn't get anywhere near the firetruck.  Not to sit in the drivers seat, not to try on the fireman's hat, nothing.  He kept saying, "I'm just scared."  He threw the thank you notes he'd made at one of the firemen, because he was too terrified to hand them to him.  Oh, well.  I did manage to get a few shots of him next to the firetruck before eventually sneaking out early.

This is Kaden, keeping his distance, while some of the braver kids check out the firefighter and his gear:

This is Kaden's friend, Mark, and his little sister, Mia.  They were trying to show Kaden it would be OK to have his picture taken here.  It didn't work, but they are still cute.

 Kaden, next to the fire engine, in his firefighter rain jacket (he almost looks happy in this one):

 The looks I saw more often on the outing:

I wanted him to see the tires were bigger than he was:

We left some cookies I'd made for the firefighters, and Kaden had an emotional breakdown, because apparently he wanted the cookies.  Not our best day.

That night he told Daddy all about the fire station, though, dressed up in his firefighter gear, and kept saying, "I'm a REAL firefighter!" in his manliest voice.

I guess he wasn't too traumatized.

We've had a lot of cold days this month, and we've been going slightly stir crazy.  One day I found Kaden quietly playing like this with his trains:

Kaden's buddy Liam came over one day and at the sight of sunshine I threw those boys in the car with a picnic lunch and headed to the park.  They had a great time together, and I suddenly remembered that being a mom of a toddler boy is easier when you can get OUTSIDE.

Liam and Kaden both have very strong personalities, and it is shocking to me that they still want to be friends after all the squabbles they get in, but they really do love each other, and it's very sweet to watch.  After this park outing, we took Liam home, and Kaden went down for a nap.  When he woke up he was in tears and saying, "My Liam is missing!"  Janet and I are visiting teaching companions (we visit three sisters from our church congregation together each month) so these boys see a lot of each other.