Here is some of February in a nutshell.

Some pictures of Rod...

 Rod falls asleep 97% of the time when I am returning from taking Jax to preschool at about 1pm. He has made it home 2 times awake this whole year...

 Rod does not like to do anything on demand. And much of the time this is what he does if I say I want to take his picture. Or if I ask him to do anything. Period. Defiant little bugger.

 

As of the last 72 hours Rod has become obsessed with this blanket my mom made him. He just follows me around saying "banket, banket," until I stop, pick up the blanket he is holding and wrap it around him (he stands perfectly still with his back to me while I do this--so cute) and then he will walk a few feet and it will fall off again...so... "Banket, banket," and we repeat. He might be kind of sick (he's ALWAYS kind of sick); so I indulge him. He is very manipulative.

So here is a situation:

I was trying to make Valentines Day special. So I made yeast waffles and berry sauce and whipping cream. Jax and Rod are sooo picky but they like berries and whipped cream and waffles individually--so I thought if I put them together it would be magic. They both REFUSED to eat it. Jax, we finally convinced it wasn't poison  and he ate it and liked it-- reluctantly... Rod, I seriously made him sit there "until he tried it"...by noon he STILL hadn't touched a bite and hadn't moved (he was buckled in.) Seriously?? He is 1 1/2!! He had to be starving...wouldn't eat it. So I finally caved and gave him yogurt. And I threw the waffles away. Someone teach me to feed my children. Or teach them to eat. Either/or.

Jax is always SO much more happy to pose for the Camera. I love this kid. Again, major eating issues. It's the plague of my life--meal time, nutrition, food, eating, health--only in how it affects in my kids and my complete powerlessness in it all; and their continual spiral downward.

   

The only foods Jax currently eats are: Bread, chips, orange cheese (only if melted on bread or chips--not plain,) yogurt, peanut butter sometimes, cold cereal and fruit. Oh, and hot dogs, but I'm trying not to feed him that much anymore. Anyway, this list is completely comprehensive. And it makes me CRAZY. He won't taste or try anything new; we are scared to force him because a) it's completely unpleasant for all involved, b) he has thrown up the last 3 times we tried. So that is that. EVERY DAY, EVERY MEAL, coming up with some combination of those foods. It's a nightmare.

Rod is a little different, more erratic, harder to know what he will eat when. Sometimes (lets be honest: rarely,) he will try something new, and like it and eat it. Most of the time not. He doesn't eat sandwiches like Jax will (cheese sandwiches and peanut butter sandwiches) so that's hard. He also doesn't like fruit like Jax does. So he is so much harder to figure out and just as maddening, if not more so, than Jax because he can't communicate as well, not that I really think that would help THAT much.  He will eat plain noodles, bread products at times, burritos, cold cereal, oatmeal, and ketchup pretty consistently. Everything else is hit and miss, lots of wasted food on this kid.

Sometimes I can get my kids to eat smoothies. Sometimes not; and the gamble of wasting 1/2 a smoothie makes me unmotivated to try it too often.

Like this true story: Letting my kids play at the McDonalds play place on 8th N. in Orem, it's new and clean. And they play and play, and it's getting closer to noon. So Jax asks me to go get some chicken nuggets and fries like 3 times. I'm feeling super nice, and figure they are hungry after playing and then I don't have to figure out what to make them at home, so I go and get a Big Kid Meal (which is 6 chk nuggets, fries, apples and a juice box)for my kids to share. This is what is left after me begging them to eat something: Top napkin is Rod. Bottom Napkin is Jax.

Count it! They at NOTHING. Jax ate 6 fries. 

At NOON, after they had been playing for an hour.

Who do you think has the upper hand in this relationship?! 

Aint' me. Story of my life.

They both LOVE candy. Surprise surprise.

I'm through complaining now.

Anyway, Jax had a Valentines party at preschool--These were what he gave out to his little friends. Jax signed every one. It was a lesson in patience for both of us. He seems to have a hard time writing. Reading and recognizing sounds and letters he is excellent at, but actually writing them down is a lot harder for him i'm finding.  He starts in REALLY weird places to form the letters, and half the time the letter is backwards or something. For "x" he brings 4 different lines from the outside to intersect in the middle. It's kind of fascinating. But it's really, REALLY cute to watch him concentrate so hard, and to see him so proud when he completes a letter. :)  The goob. 

Look at these cuties!!

 Chanel recently cut her hair and it looks DARLING. Gabe just bought his first car--a little white truck. It's very exciting.

We did a "Super Bowl Party" with our good friends from our last neighborhood. Emmy through the party and had it at her new house--It's sooo pretty. And I have some legit pictures of her perfect pantry...just so I never forget...:) It was a lot of fun, more food than I have ever seen at one place--YUM! :)

Anyway...Our bathroom is finished!

We just need to figure out how to get the bath tub to hold water...the new little lever has never worked, but at least it's new and looks like it should work. :)

We have all been really sick in this neck of the woods. But so is everyone else. I seriously have never been so sick with a cold, like ever, as I was these last few weeks. But I think that is pretty much everyone's story at some point during these last 2 months...It's the sick that just keeps on givin' and givn'. 

AND my kids BOTH got their flu shots. It did NOT save them. I might be becoming a skeptic...

Please winter be over soon!