Our Valentines Day in a nutshell

Char and Mason, partying hard
This year we all ended up getting sick. For that reason, Valentines only sorta happened. We had our tea party, a fancy romantic dinner, crafts, and cookies planned, but instead we mostly just hung out on the couch watching shows online. Boo to us. Thank goodness for dollar store balloons or else it would have really been a bust! Our boys had no clue that they were robbed of a beloved holiday. They were in hog heaven.....can't you tell by the glee shown in their faces?

Our Valentines

This valentine's day was a stunner in every way.
When I gave Mason his valentine, he was obviously still too groggy to care (Yes, I gave Mason chocolate before breakfast. Rather, I should say that his chocolate WAS his breakfast). This made James laugh because he knew how much I look forward to small little holiday things like this. I didn't mind too much because I had faith in my little son's sweet tooth and in his ability to view the world in a magical way.

Sure enough, by the time we left for church (30 minutes later. We sprint through getting ready....which is probably why Mason generally attends church with bed head) Mason was well versed in the wonders of Valentines day. So much so, that when we opened our front door and found that we had been heart-attacked, he sweetly said in an reverent voice,

"Dee-do (thank you) Valentines day hearts."
In your face, James! That's what you get for feeding your child candy before nine a.m.. I would recommend it to anyone.

Church was a dream because Mason was still trying to unwrap his beloved chocolates. That and our ward is so good to us that I pretty much only have to function as a mother when I have to feed Charlie.
After church, Mason and I baked while we waited for Pops to get home. I don't know if Mason was more pleased about being able to bake or that he knew he was getting his nap post-poned.

I guess it was most likely that he got to eat more sugar.

After baking, the day of Valentine miracles continued when all of a sudden, Aunt Valerie and her friends showed up on our porch inquiring if they could take Mason off our hands for a little walk. I was pleased for the break and Mason was thrilled to get out of his napping for another hour. It was all too good to be true! Just when we thought that the day couldn't get any better, we realized we were right. Our steak dinner was about the grossest and toughest thing we had ever tasted (Sometimes meat is put on the managers special for a reason. This particular cut tasted like liver). We weren't too let down because we all knew that we had a masterful crock-pot fudgey cake awaiting our pallets. One that a certain blogger had promised was worth the wait. Sadly, she must have forgotten to inform us that it should have been described as a black hole of flavor. No matter how much chocolate syrup and fudge we topped on our sorry little dessert, it still somehow ended up tasting like nothing.

We all went to be hungry, as our dinner was a bust. Thankfully, our day was so delightful that we didn't even mind.

Valentines Day, Part two

When we were in Washington, I found a darling little Valentine's tea set. For some reason, I have had it in my mind that a valentines day tea party would be the ideal way to celebrate the holiday with my little baby and future others. The Bethards were able to come and party with us and we were so glad. They are always a treat and Mason always shows off his best behavior when they are around(he must keep up his image with his auntie). We held the party up in our bedroom/loft because it is a place that Mason LOVES to explore so I figured it would be extra magical for the event. What fun! I hope your Valentine's Day was as nice as ours was.

Valentine's Day Part One

Cupid was nice to me this year. Even though my valentine had to work, I got to spend the weekend with another cutie instead. I have been super eager and excited to bake with little Mason for Valentine's day. For some reason, I built it up to be this magical experience where he would lovingly pat the dough, roll it out with me, cut out the heart shapes and decorate away. I even went so far as to make two matching V-day aprons (out of the cutest vintage-looking fabric)so that we could celebrate in style. The reality was that he almost broke the mixer and then ate about a dozen cookies worth of dough while I frantically tried to roll it out and pop it in the oven. Happily, he did end up wearing his little chef outfit the entire time, so that warmed my little heart.

My little sous chef. Sometimes I wonder if Mason wishes I had a girl first so that I could get all my dress-up needs out of my system.

This little porker ate SO much cookie dough! I don't even like the raw eggie junk. The more he would eat, and I would try to take away, the more he feverishly started trying to eat any and everything he could get his little plump fists on! The flour, the measuring cup, the cookie cutter. He was an eating machine!

Here is my matching apron. A little less macho, a little more frilly.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We were so excited for Valentine's day this year because my visiting teacher was going to watch Mason so that James and I could go on a REAL date...without our little chap. As much as we love him, the idea of being ALONE together and out on the town sounded SO much fun! All day long I happily waited for Jamesy to get home from school. Mason and I played and made heart-shaped cookies. (He wasn't so into it. He probably knew that he wouldn't be alowed to eat any and so he figured it wasn't worth his time helping out.) Sadly, when James finally did come home, he told me that our truck was giving him sass on the way home. We ended up getting a rental, taking care of the truck, and enjoying a quiet evening home. It was fun all the same.

I think this one is funny 'cause Mason looks almost as into it as I was!

James has a thing against mini vans. Unfortunatley, for him, it was the only rental available. I had to sneak a picture of him behind the wheel.