We tend to make a big deal out of holidays around here.
I know this isn't for everyone, but one of the reasons I wanted to be a stay-at-home mom was so I could create strong family traditions and memories while the kids are little.
So we do our best to celebrate these days in a meaningful way that is fun for the little guys.
Of course, these days are also a chance to take lots of pictures, so we started early with Valentines Day...taking these pictures with red lipstick and candy hearts a couple of weeks ago.
I meant to put these together into some sort of card for our friends and family far away, but I dropped the ball on finishing it (but know that we love and miss you very much far away friends and family!).
This was the first time Max has ever seen me wear real lipstick and he thought it was very funny!
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On actual Valentine's Day we woke up very! early and had heart shaped pancakes with strawberries. The boys each had a heart shaped balloon attached to their high chairs which provided much amusement and excitement.
Then came preparations for our Valentine's cookie decorating party/play date...watch out world, I made heart shaped cookies. And they even tasted pretty good. And I only burned one batch.
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| Top: Adorable crayon hearts for the boys from our friend April. Bottom: heart shaped cookies rolled and cut-out by me! |
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| Left: Ish checking out my string of crocheted hearts, super easy homemade decoration. Middle: Flowers from Julian, love him so much. Right: Our lists of things we love about each other hanging on the fridge, Max LOVED this. |
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| Left: The Valentine's from |
Soon our friends started arriving and our house was full of noise and chaos, but also love, which is the most important thing on Valentine's day, right?
The little ones exchanged cards and sweets and the sugar high started to kick in.
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| Shirhi and Ish's homemade cupcakes <3 |
We tried to get some actual food into the kids before the cookie decorating began. Unfortunately, even Valentine's day isn't all glitter and rainbows, this one certainly wasn't...Max was over tired and defiant in what we describe as his "sassy pants" mood. I gave him more chances than I should have, but it became clear that he was not going to be able to participate in the party. I myself wasn't confident that I could get him to nap upstairs while the rest of us partied downstairs, but I went with the strategy of "fake it until you feel it". I mustered all available confidence, told him that I knew he wanted to decorate cookies, that he would decorate cookies when he woke up, and to sleep really really fast because we would miss him.
And by some sort of Valentine's Day miracle he rolled over and went to sleep.
The rest of us carried on and put all sorts of sprinkles and frosting on cookies + various other objects.
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| It was neat to have a little bit of time to focus on Eli. He got to sit at the big kids table and was so proud of himself <3 |
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| Toddler thought process: " Do I have enough sprinkles on my cookie? No, never enough sprinkles!" |
I am so thankful for our dear friends who celebrated this and so many other days with us.
From teaching me how to make homemade frosting, to raving over my first successful batch of cookies... plus all of the hand made cards and treats you showered on me and my babies...we felt loved on Valentines day.
I hope everyone else did too.
I feel very lucky to have three very handsome Valentine's who I love with my whole heart.
I feel very lucky to have three very handsome Valentine's who I love with my whole heart.
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The anticipation and celebration of holidays brighten our days, but settling back into the normal daily routine can be nice too.
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| Post Valentine's Day lunch: Organic veggie mix, cottage cheese + avocado, and cuties. Not a drop of Red 40! |
Looking forward to healthier habits until the next holiday :)
1 comment:
So cute! What a sweet Valentine's celebration!
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