We had another Friday off together, and since the weather was pretty nice, we decided to head to the zoo.  It has been awhile since we've been (we hadn't seen Rocky Shores yet, and that opened like last year....), and of course, Henlie had never been.  So, we headed up to Salt Lake.  Apparently there were some spring breaks going on, that and being the first really nice weekend in awhile - the zoo was packed! We ended up parking on the south side.  After waiting in line for about an eternity, we made it to the window and picked up a membership again.  It has been years since we had one, but we have about 3 years before we have to start paying for Henlie, so I figure it's going to be an even better deal now!

We used the stroller, and I'm loving this plan.  Although, there were so many strollers! No lie when I say the place was packed.  It's crazy how much time has passed since we were regular zoo-goers.  The baby Orangutan, Acara, has gotten so big! (Also, in my not remembering if the baby was Eve or Acara, I looked on the zoo's web site - the history page is fascinating! Acara was born in 2005, so of course she is so big now :)  Another interesting fact, she was born via C-section on Mother's Day, May 8th.)

On Friday, March 1st, Matt decided to take the day off of work.  I also had the day off because I was working Saturday instead.  The weather was starting to warm up (like mid-40s lol), and I decided I wanted to get out and play.  I first thought zoo, but it was still too chilly, and the zoo is an all-day adventure.  So instead, we went aviary, because you can do that in half of a day, and it's cheaper!  Plus, we haven't been to the aviary since the Owl Forest was put in :)

Our little girl is getting more and more fun as time goes on.  This month, she has further explored her feet and legs.  She loves interacting with the world around her.  She still grins at her flower on the toy bar of her rocking chair (which plays music).  She even smiles at people she doesn't know. (Like the hygienist at my dentist's office :))  She hasn't quite started reaching for toys just yet, but I'm sure that's just around the corner.  Although we don't practice tummy time like we should, she has been on her tummy and lifted her head and chest.  Just before her 4 month birthday, she even surprised us by rolling from her front to her back. She hasn't gone the other way just yet, but she will roll from tummy to back a couple times before she gets too upset to try it again until the next day.  She seems to have a quota of two rolls per day :)

Typically, Matt and I don't do much for Valentine's Day.  Except last year, but that was mostly because that's when the Mat Kearney concert happened to fall.  It wasn't exactly planned as a Valentine's thing.  We also are more likely to do something rather than get something for V-Day.  

This year, I thought it may be nice to do a little something.  This worked for me, being on a Thursday.  I don't work Thursdays.  However, I don't work Thursdays because Matt works and then has class in the evening..... 

I've been trying my hand at being more homemaker-y and actually learning to cook some stuff.  I normally do this at least once a week on one of my off days.  Well, Matt likes steak, and we rarely have steak.  (I'm less than a fan.)  But, I thought I'd give it a go.  What better for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner than a) cooking dinner for your hubby, b) cooking something you rarely have, and c) cooking something he really likes?  Yeah, that's what I thought :)

Just to be safe, though, I asked him a day or two before what he'd like for dinner on Valentine's.  He said steak.  Win on that front.  So I read up on steaks and cooking steaks, because it can be hard to make a steak taste good.  This can be especially hard when he likes medium rare, and I like well done :)

As an added surprise to make it even more special, I cleaned off our kitchen table. (This, my friends, is impressive.  Our poor table has been buried for awhile.  All surfaces in our house suffer this same disease....)  So the table got clean, and I made steak. (Matt helped when he got home and checked them, then put them back in the oven.  They were pink and tender enough for him, but not so pink I couldn't stand to eat them. Win!) I also used up the rest of our red potatoes by boiling them. (Should have started them earlier.  Cooking is hard.  Cooking multiple things and trying to have them all ready at the same time is even harder :p Oh, and using a whole 5 pound bag of potatoes before it goes bad? Win!) Matt then made them into yummy mashed potatoes.  And we had peas ... from a steamable bag.  Matt has recently told me our dinners would be better with some green stuff on the plate :)  We eat less than balanced, but I figure I'm less likely to overeat that way, right? :D