Love Fest '08

I woke up Valentine's Day morning to the kids screaming, "Mom!!! The Easter Bunny came!!!!" They apparently had forgotten that Mom and Dad give them stuff for Valentine's Day. They knew Santa only came on Christmas, so by default I guess the Easter Bunny seemd the only other viable option. Makes sense, I guess. Gran'ts always out-of-town at a convention in Vegas for Valentine's Day, which is a bummer for us, but I did my best to make the day fun. I gave the kids the aforementioned candy that they woke up to and then dyed their cereal milk red. I also followed a tradition from Grant's family and wrote all the reasons I love the kids on paper hearts that I taped on the wall. Then, for dinner I cut their pizza into heart shapes with a cookies cutter and we made sugar cookies. I was very proud of my cuteness; the kids, however, were just marginally impressed. One day they'll appreciate me, right?

I didn't get any shots of Claire before she went to school, but I got some of Cole and Ava:



Cole had a little Valentine's Day program at his preschool and I was quite excited to hear him sing the cute songs they had prepared. Unfortunately, this is as "cute" as Cole got:

When they started singing, he started yelling, "Blah, blah, blah" which is why his tongue is sticking out in two of those shots. For some reason, he was determined to not particpate the way he was supposed to. After the first song I whispered to him that he wouldn't get anymore Valentine's candy if he didn't sing normally. So, for one brief moment he had a pleasant face:

But then, he laid down on the floor for the rest of the song. It was his way of still not cooperating, even though he "technically" sang the song "normally" because he was singing all the words. Does anyone else think I might have a problem on my hands when he's a teenager?


At least he cooperated for a picture with Ava:

This is Claire with her favorite Valentine from school - a Superman tattoo (she and Cole have been obsessed with superheroes lately).

And here's Ava with the two suckers she fought tooth and nail for from Claire's candy stash. Claire finally gave up trying to take them from her and just got herself another one - she's a good sport.


Hope you all had a love-filled day!