Valentine's Day 2014

Samantha did not have school on Valentine's Day this year because the holiday fell on President's Day Weekend.  This made me quite happy because it meant that I could spend the whole day with the kids with no other plans to interrupt our celebrating!

 

The girls actually woke up before Jack and came downstairs to find that their daddy had left each of them (and me) a special card and with some candy. 

 

Note the dress that Samantha is wearing ... Steve sewed it (with my sewing machine!) for her while I was at work this last week and she loves it so much that came downstairs wearing it that morning.  She would never take it off if she had a choice.

 

Samantha could not get over the size of her card.  It was huge!

Poor Sophia.  Her card was just as big and she wanted to pose with hers as well.  Upside down.

Sam read her card all by herself.  I was pretty impressed.

I surprised the girls with pancakes that morning.  But just your ordinary pancakes -- we had heart-shaped ones on Valentine's Day plates.  (Steve's mom bought the plates for me last year on clearance after Valentine's Day.  I saved them and felt happy knowing that she was with us in spirit this year).

After breakfast, the kids got dressed and posed for their obligatory holiday pictures.  Of course.

Jack's First Valentine's Day.  He's my little heart throb for sure.  (Thanks to Grammy for the bib!).

It's not easy getting all three to pose at the same time.  I will take what I can get lately.

This picture is just thrown in for good measure.  Even if it is a holiday, we still have "normal" things to do; like unloading the dishwasher.  I have such good little helpers.

The girls took some time to sort through all of the Valentines from Samantha's friends at school.  They worked as a team and divided the Valentine cards into one pile and the candy into the other.  There was some intense concentration taking place.

While Jack was taking his morning nap, the girls and I made cookies.  They really enjoy doing this, but the part that is even more fun for them is when I let them play with the left-over dough.  While I am baking the cookies, they stay entertained for quite some time, rolling the dough, shaping it and then starting all over.  (For some reason, I couldn't seem to find any of my Valentine cookie cutters so we had to improvise with snowmen and teddy bears.  Oh, and Sophia insisted on a butterfly too).

Last but not least, I promised the girls yet another surprise for lunch.  Sam thought that maybe we would have a picnic outside.  Um, well, 'tis not the season for that here in Michigan right now, but she realized that this far surpassed that idea anyway.  We made a heart-shaped pizza with heart-shaped pepperonis on it!  I couldn't believe how excited they got over it!

Enjoying their lunch.

Even this little heart throb got to have some pizza as a reward for his patience. 

It was definitely a good day, and I know that my babies all knew just how much their momma loves them ... not just on this Valentine's Day, but every day of the year!