Happy Valentine's Day

We started out Valentine's day by having some friends over (I swap babysitting with a friend so we can volunteer in our kids' classrooms.). I didn't pose them for this picture (above) they all just climbed up on the chair together and sat there looking cute, while I ran and got the camera. James is sitting with Luke and Kate. He loves it when they come over and when he gets to go to their house. He gets really excited and will say, "Kate, Kate" over and over again.

These are a few pictures of Tori's class Valentine's party. The kids that Tori sits with at her table starting with her and going clockwise: Tori, Parker, Payton, Abby, McKenzie and Jack. Below Tori is enjoying all the treats that were brought in for snack.

Above, James is watching all the kids at the party after having his treat. All the little girls in Tori's class love playing with him when we visit her class for parties.

We had a few friends over to exchange Valentines (at Tori's request) after school. Tori is a sucker for holidays and loves any excuse to have a party. Here are Tori and James filling bags with friends.

Tori Swim Lessons & her dog Lucy

The pictures aren't that great, but I thought I should at least document Tori's swim lessons. She's doing such a great job. She's gotten so much better at putting her whole head under the water and is really quite good at what she calls her "front rockets"(basically she glides with her head under water). She passed one of the levels and is now doing the next level and can actually glide with her head under while kicking all the way across the shallow part of the pool (about 6-8ft). May not sound super impressive to most people, but I'm proud since I wasn't willing to do much in the way of swim lessons when I was Tori's age.

Tori received a cute little stuffed dog for Valentine's Day that she promptly named Lucy. It has now been added to the list of things she sleeps with at night and she has loved playing with her and taking her everywhere. We're just happy because for the time being it has satisfied her desire to have a dog. :)

Below is a short video of her walking Lucy that she wanted me to take.