From Our Hearts to Yours

Valentine's Day! We have been looking forward to it here at the Minnesota White House since December 26. It did not disappoint. The bambini received valentines from all their grandparents and, from Julie, books that were waiting for them on the table by their breakfast places: a Fancy Nancy for Clara and a Bearenstain Bears for Joe. (Well, we love books, too, after all.) Both of their classes had parties. In the midst of discussing them, Julie realized and remarked that there was a Brandon in both Joe's class and Clara's class. That's when Joe said--without missing a beat--"And you know who loves Brandon?!?! Coralee!!!" Doesn't that make your heart smile, Fans? Clara said the boys in her class love everyone, which also makes your heart smile. Go here for more moments to make your heart smile.

Happy Valentine's Day, Fans! We love you!

Watching the Olympics

#Gold

Mind Reading

Ted asked Joe tonight at dinner if he had had Spanish today, and this is what Joe said: "YES. You read my brain!!!"

Super Mitten Sunday

As longtime Fans know, periodically, Joe takes Julie to the theater.  Today, they went to see The Mitten, staged as a 45 minute ballet.  It was sunny, but the temperature was still in the low double digits, so they did not swing through the McDonald's drive-thru for shakes as is their usual custom.  (That's what happens when your first date--or one of them anyway--is when McDonald's in menuing the shamrock shake.)  They did stop at Byerly's where Joe got to select a package of Oreos from all of the arrayed Oreo options.  (We won't leave you hanging, Fans: he chose mint Oreos.)  The Mitten was fun, in part because Julie amused Joe by referring to "the theater" in a British accent, and in part because during the performance, there were children all around familiar with the story whispering things like, "It's a mouse!  A mouse is next!"*

When Julie asked Joe if he liked it, he said, "Good."  This is his standard response if asked if he likes something.  He doesn't say he liked it; instead, he says "It was good," but without the lead in.  It's Joe-nacular.  When Julie asked him which of the animals he liked best, Joe replied, "All of them."  This, too, is typical.  He tends not to play favorites.  When first asked who he was going to root for in the Super Bowl, he said the Broncos and the Seahawks.  In the end, he did root for the Seahawks because that's where buddies Elsa, Anja, Wyatt, and Gavin live.  If he were still up though, he might switch allegiances because one sort of feels bad rooting against the poor Broncos at this point.  Their Bronco might need a mitten to snuggle in tonight.

*For our Fans unfamiliar with the story, a girl looses a mitten into which various woodland creatures cram themselves until one of them sneezes and they all come flying out, whereupon the girl finds her mitten, now terribly stretched out, and is left to wonder what went on.

What Mommies and Daughters Do

It has been another cold week here in the Great White North. It was so cold that Our Hero's school was closed again on Monday and Tuesday. Meanwhile, Birdie has had a cold that has made her cranky  and coughy and her skin that much more  dry. Friday night Julie was cranky because she had discovered that the Aquaphor was MIA. She was making do with some other lotion, rubbing it furiously on to Clara's chapped knuckles, when Birdie said to her, "Mommy, you do a lot." Julie said she supposed she did; that's what mommies do. That's when Clara threw her arms around Julie. Daughters do a lot, too, you know.