LOVE day 2014

This year's Valentine's day was a total success. The kids woke up to find these treats waiting for them. Each year my kids get some small gift from Chris and I, this year they got books. They were beyond excited. 

Then I made Chris this yummy breakfast with heart-shaped cinnamon rolls. 

After breakfast, Chris went to work and I got the kids ready for the day in their cute little Valentine's outfits. Don't they look adorable? 

After getting all ready for the day, we went to our friend's house for a playgroup valentine's day party. We went over early to help set up. There were about 12 adults and 16 kids. Everyone brought something for lunch and we all exchanged valentines. 

Here are the kids and I at the party. 

Little sweethearts eating their lunch. 

After lunch the kids all played outside. With 16 kids it was a bit chaotic but the kids had a great time. 

Then we exchanged valentines. Tanner and I made all his little friends these little goldfish valentines that say "Will you o'fish'ally be my valentine?" for the girls or "You are o'fish'ally the coolest valentine." for the boys. They were so cute and Tanner loved them. And I made Bailey little purse valentines this year. She loved handing these out. She kept saying " I give purses to all of my friends."

Here are the kids with their valentine boxes. Tanner's was a pirate ship. He helped me make it and loved getting to do something crafty with me. He actually used the hot glue gun and did all the glueing without burning either of us. He also painted the masts and helped attached the sails. Such a big helper. 

Bailey wanted a princess castle this year. She didn't really do much to help but she was more than thrilled with the result. 

Both kids love their valentine boxes. 

After our playgroup party we went to Daddy's work to take him his "candy bouquet". The kids were a little sad to see all the candy stay with Dad, but they were happy to see him. 

After naps, the kids got these lip suckers that they loved. It was so funny to watch them make faces with these lips. 

For Valentine's day, Chris gave me a dozen chocolate covered strawberries. Unfortunately I ate most of them before I remember to snag a picture. They were delicious. 

After Chris got home, I went and picked up our babysitter. It was our first time to use an actual babysitter and I was a little nervous. The girl we used came highly recommended and she didn't disappoint. The kids absolutely adored her. They ate a heart-shaped pizza, their boxes of chocolates and then made chocolate chip cookies. Then they watched a movie. 

Chris and I only went to dinner, so we weren't gone long, but when we got home the kids were sad to see our sweet babysitter leave. I was so relieved. She said the kids were fantastic and we are so happy to have someone we can call when we need. 

For our big valentine's day dinner, Chris took me to "Doe's Eat Place" and it was so delicious. We split a 2 lb porterhouse steak. The meat was so tender and delicious. It was a great dinner and so nice to have some alone time with my man! 

Valentine's day was wonderful and I'm so grateful for the sweethearts in my life. 

Snow, Snow and More Snow

Sometimes I feel like this winter will never end. Every time our snow melts and the temperatures get above freezing, I get my hopes up- only to have them dashed by these silly white flurries.

We've tried our best to enjoy the snow and have fun, but we are ready for spring.

This was the scene we woke up to on Tuesday. Well it snowed on Sunday but then Monday it got above freezing and started to melt. Then Tuesday morning this storm hit. 

It wouldn't have been so bad but we had about an inch of ice come down too. The ice shut down the school and we've been house-bound ever since. 

We decided to find some ways to entertain ourselves.

We made some Valentine's day cards the grandparents. The kids love the toilet paper heart pictures.

And yes, my kids are in their underpants because I didn't want them getting paint all over their clothes. Who doesn't enjoy some good underpants crafts?

We also made some more tapioca pearls to play with in the warm tub. This was perfect because it was so freezing we didn't want to leave the house, but the kids were going crazy. This kept them happy, entertained and warm. 

This picture makes me smile. 

Then yesterday we made "snow paint". This is nothing more than water with food coloring in squeeze bottles, but the kids were thrilled. Super simple and fun activity!

Isn't my artwork beautiful? Lol. Bailey was thoroughly impressed. 

In typical "Tanner fashion" he was hard at work with a masterpiece. 

Sometimes their artwork was a joint effort. 

Love these kiddos but I seriously cannot wait for Spring. I'm ready to plant flowers, play in the grass and go on picnics again. 

Valentine's Picture Fun!

I really was going to skip doing Valentine's Pictures this year. I was trying to save money and frustrations. Then I got an offer from "Shutterfly" for 10 free cards and I just couldn't pass that up.

We only spent about 15 minutes  taking these and I love how they turned out.

Even though my kids may hate me later for this picture, I have to say that I LOVE IT. 

This is probably one of my favorite outtakes. Bailey was not a huge fan of all the kisses.

I kept trying to get them to just pucker and lean in close together- but it always resulted in full on mouth kisses.

Bailey loved her dress so much. She loved twirling and showing me all her ruffles. She's such a camera hog. 

Tanner was a good sport, but I think he feels like he's getting a little too old for these pics. 

I love this picture too. Such sweet kids. 

I just love Bailey's hands in this picture. She was being so cute. 

Bailey being so coy. 

One of Tanner's favorite poses. This boy cracks me up. 

Just for fun I thought I'd share some of our past valentine's pictures.

This is Tanner's first Valentine's Day. He's almost 6 months old here. Love that rollie body!

I guess I missed the year when Tanner was 18 months, which is a shame because Tanner was super fun at that age. 

This is Tanner at 2 1/2 years and Bailey at 6 Months. You have got to love Bailey's little body. I think 6 months is the perfect age for baby pictures. They are so chubby and cute

Then this was last year- Tanner 3 1/2 and Bailey is 18 months old. 

So I know most of you are thinking how crazy I am, but I love these pictures and even though I'm pretty sure the tradition wont last much longer (at least not with Tanner- he's too cool), I'm glad I have these to look back on. So funny!