Day of Hearts.

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends! I know I’ve been slacking a little bit in my writing duties. While I don’t want to make excuses, it’s been a busy, hectic couple of weeks at work—although I love busy and hectic. Nonetheless, the busy and hectic nature of my schedule has meant a lag in my updates, photograph taking/editing, etc. With that said, please forgive my use of Instagram as the method by which I've supplied today's photos.

Here we are—Valentine’s Day. Seems like a fitting day to write considering this slice of the blogosphere started because of a sweet, special heart. Am I right?

My feelings toward this day have evolved a bit over the years. As a kid, I always felt Valentine’s Day was silly. It was too “gushy” for me. Then I loved it because of my grandfather. Each year without fail, he got every single one of his children and grandchildren a box of chocolate. I always looked forward to this gesture every February 14^th. I couldn’t wait to see his sweet smile and hear the sound of his voice as he said “this is for you, sugar doll.” The first year without that little box of chocolate was tough. It drudged up so many feelings on just how much I missed him. Valentine's Day somehow didn’t feel the same without my Pap. From that point forward, I was just content pretending Valentine’s Day didn’t exist because it made me despondent.

Once I had children of my own, my feelings towards this day changed again. I started giving our boys that little box of chocolate—along with the greeting “this is for you, sugar doll.” I came to the realization that, although my boys never got to meet my Pap, a little piece of his heart gets to continue living on in the way I parent my children. I get to carry on that beloved tradition with them and that feeling of happiness and excitement about Valentine’s Day returns each year. My love for this holiday grew even stronger when I learned that V-Day was the conclusion of CHD Awareness Week—and fittingly so.

So on this day of love, I got beautiful flowers from my husband that gave my office an extra special hint of brightness and beauty. 

And his message on those flowers absolutely melted my heart. 

I went to Riley’s school to celebrate with him. His class had this darling little Valentine’s party and it’s been the topic of virtually every conversation since Tuesday (Riley was out on Monday with strep throat). He was very adamant lastnight that he had to wear red today for said party. Lastnight, amid kindergarten homework, Riley and I worked on his Valentine’s for his classmates. My creative juices were not flowing and my Monster energy drink had totally worn off. So we stuck with FunDip (mama’s favorite) favors. Problem was the hearts where each name was to be written were so tiny there was positively no way Riley’s oversized 5-year old handwriting was going to fit in them. Plus, they were really hard to write on—even for an adult. So I took over Valentine-writing duties while Riley completed his homework. Don't you worry, he kept a watchful eye on his friend’s favors the entire time.

The party was darling and I really enjoyed getting to set a little time aside to watch him take in all the classroom festivities. He ate it up, let me tell you.

 

Hayden, poor dear, is sick. So he missed his Valentine’s party yesterday. He didn’t seem terribly torn up about it, but he doesn’t really care about much of anything except making sure his “black doggy” is close at hand. His connection to that thing is uncanny. It’s the only stuffed animal we have ever owned that he has ever been remotely attached to. He won’t go to bed without it—and sometimes he won’t even get in the car without it. I’ve caught him nestled warmly under his blankets at night when he’s fast asleep cuddling that doggy under one arm close to his heart. It’s precious.

That's him at my sweet nephew's 1st birthday party. The Mario hat was a big hit. 

And Lukas—well, boy’s always happy. I swear nothing fazes him. Nothing stops him from smiling—unless of course you try to take his food away from him. While still a tiny little guy, he’s growing by leaps and bounds. Every day he hears the chime of our alarm when I open the door leading in from the garage and he runs to the laundry room anxiously awaiting me to open that door. And every time I walk through it, he has his arms outstretched, opening and closing his little fists, just waiting for me to pick him up. It’s become my favorite part of our evening routine. 

I hope all of you, my friends, have a lovely Valentine’s Day with your loved ones. Happy heart day! Better photos/updates next time—promise!