February

We began the month of February getting used to living in a very small living space with only the most essential of our stuff. We lived without internet for a few weeks, which was a bigger deal than maybe it should've been. We tried to take Molly to dog parks more because we no longer have a large yard for her to run around. Molly and Willow took awhile to get used to sharing space more. We started hanging out with Jerry and his kids Brandon and Elena fairly often; Willow has really enjoyed her time with them and it has been interesting to see her form attachments to other kids. We had fun making Valentine's Day cookies, and Andy and Mandy spent the romantic evening together without Willow. We also took Willow to play in the mall, and she enjoyed a few "playdates" with some other children, including an evening with our good friends Sheryl, Ashton, and Sesily. After watching several nights of ice skating for the Olympics, Willow became interested in ice skating around our house.

January

This month we wrote up our New Year's letter and announced to our friends and family that we are expecting another daughter this year. We are looking forward to how this will change our lives, though it is hard to imagine. Willow is slowly getting accustomed to the idea of another baby. We also made a hard decision this month, to move out of our current home to a small temporary home in Madison by the end month. Packing up and moving most of our stuff into storage was a huge chore. This move was very hard for all of us, but especially for Willow. She spent a week with Mom and Dad in Milwaukee. When she came back she got to see the house empty before we left. It is hard to explain to a two-year-old why we will never be going back to our "home."

December

The first two weeks of December were crazy busy with end-of-semester school projects for Mandy. Andy started subbing at New Glarus with some fairly good experiences. We had a great time making holiday cookies as a family, the first time we've done it with all three of us helping. We finally found time to take this year's family pictures near the end of the month. On December 28th, Jeffrey came with Bob and Dorothy to visit us. Willow had a blast. We had a great New Year's Eve with Mom and Dad, including tons of great goodies.