It's not a party till a sock monkey shows up

I've never really gotten into the whole Valentine's Day thing.

Maybe it's because I was completely mortified one Valentine's Day when my high school boyfriend stood outside my Algebra 2 class (hundreds of kids milling around watching with interest) with a bouquet of pink roses.



Attention and I are not great friends. It makes me blush and stammer and shake.

Those roses, while a nice gesture, were definitely not the way to my heart.

Do you have a Valentine's Day tale like that?

So, I married the perfect man. He doesn't do pink roses. Thank goodness!

I'd much rather have him dig a hole for a hydrangea bush or something, which he's done many times. And I love him for it. I get so excited about new plants being planted in our yard---he might as well have lassoed the moon.

My husband was forced to cares enough to know what my love language is, and I his---we try to be intentional every day.

So, now the girls are two. I find myself excited about Valentine's Day. It's fun to make crafts with them---to celebrate loving them, and to watch them get excited about heart shaped french toast.

Valentine's Day, to me, is just one more day to count my gifts. Gifts = love
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Making suncatchers with the girls. (1107)

Brynne reacting over and over with: Whoa, whoa, whooooooooa! When she sees the suncatchers in the window. (1108).

Teaching the girls to crab walk. (1109)

Catching Brynne practicing her crab walk. (1110)

Working on somersaults with the girls--so fun! (1111)

I can still do a somersault after all these years! (1112) Can you do a somersault? You should go try it today; it will make you giggle!

Progression with sock monkeys (1113).

one week old

one year old

two years old

Yes, I'm still celebrating two years with our girls! (1114)

Hadley pretending to blow up the balloon. (1115)

Watching Brynne pretend to blow up a balloon--look at those cheeks! (1116)



Emails from a dear friend and the anticipation of seeing her. (1117)

Brynne pointing to a very-much-alive fish in a book we were reading, and saying, Sushi! (1118)

Having sushi for dinner with Brad on Saturday night. (1119)

Mama Loves: Balloons

Welcome to another week of Mama Loves! So glad that you've stopped by!

Mama Loves is a linky party where mamas can share anything that has made your life easier as a mama.

Maybe you've found: 

• a toy or book that captivates your child(ren)
• gear you just can't live without
• a recipe your choosy toddler gobbles down
• a parenting book that you've found perspective changing
• an activity that wears your kid(s) out (these lead to good naps, which we all love)
• an outfit that flatters your post-baby body and makes you feel fabulous
• or anything else you're loving--creativity welcome!

Share it with us! Blogging has made me a better mama, because I've learned about all kinds of great things, like those listed above, from mamas just like you. Here's your chance to share it with all of us!

To link your post up, click on the linky tool at the bottom, and follow the directions, it's really easy. You can also add this beautiful button to your post. Just grab the code in the box, copy and paste it into your post. Easy.

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Here's a few great things you should check out!

• Great ipad apps for toddlers.
• Doctor kits help toddlers at the pediatrican's office.
• A song (or two) can help your toddlers clean up their toys.

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Our girls love balloons.

They only first saw/experienced a balloon for the first time at a birthday party.

Just look at our little Brynne's face! That's what I call a party!

If that isn't pure delight, I don't know what is.

When I was a little girl, my grandparents used to get us those punching balloons. You know. The ones that are attached to a rubber band. You hold the rubber band, and punch the balloon. 

So, I found some of those and bought them right up. They were stocking-stuffers for our girls.

Yeah. They love those punching balloons:

See? Brynne is making almost exactly the same face!



Hadley loves them too.

Here are some of the great things about punching balloons:

• they are sturdy--it takes a lot to pop these
• when the air gets low, you can untie them, and air them back up
• the best part is that they are cheap--I got a set of two for $1.50

I do recommend supervision. Our girls don't play with these without supervision.

Lots of supervised fun for $1.50. Totally worth it!

Can't wait to see what you're loving!