Valentines Day

rattle queen.

She owns it. Her movements are becoming coordinated and she's figured out how to grab hold of things and entertain herself. I just can't grasp hold of how quickly she's changing. 

valentine.

Yesterday a box arrived at our door. It was address to Brady and I don't open or pay much attention to his packages. After he got home from work he told me to close my eyes and when I opened them this is what I saw:

Biggest box of chocolates in the world. We gave gifts to each other last night because his gifts for me were a little too hard for him to hide in our dinky 600 square foot apartment.

Last year he got me a big box of chocolates that was shaped like a heart and when we opened it we were disappointed to find that it only contained 9 pieces of chocolate.

Bummer.

This box has 2 1/2 lbs of freakin chocolate. Now that's what I'm talking about!

My Valentines flowers from California have bloomed. :)

My gift to Brady was simple. It was a card I designed on shutterfly. I was more than pleased with the results. Personal notes and photos of the major holidays in our life with Avey so far. This is not a throw away card but it's something that we are going to keep for a long time. I was so excited to give it to him and his reaction didn't disappoint.

Pop Heart Valentine's Card

Unique shower invitations and birth announcements by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

I'm a fan of Valentines day. My parents always made a point of giving us little Valentines day presents and it's something I know that Brady and I will do with our kiddos.

Recently I began to think back about past relationships and you know what? I was surprised to discover that I was always single on Valentines Day. Brady was my first real Valentine.

And that's special. My first romantic Valentines Day was spent with him and my last will be spent with him.

It's a fun day dedicated to thinking about and spoiling the ones you love. Before I was married I shared it with my parents, brothers, and sister. Now that I have Brady and Avey I share it with them.

Last Valentines day Brady was going to treat me to dinner at my favorite restaurant but I wanted to stay in so I made orange chicken from scratch and we had chinese.

It was not an easy meal to prepare and I haven't made it since but in the honor of hopefully creating a tradition of our own I am going to recreate our first Valentines meal together and we are going to have it again tonight.

Happy Valentines Day!

Iris Lilies from California

dinner.

On Tuesday night we had dinner with friends we hadn't seen in awhile. I was excited to have a reason to  shave my legs and put make-up on. Avey cooperated begrudgingly as I showered slowly spoiling myself with the body gel I only wash with on special occasions. 

I took my time fixing my hair and I found a tube of lipstick I hadn't worn in years and lavishly applied it to my lips. I felt like I was getting ready for the prom not dinner at Palio's, a local carry-out pizza/pasta joint where you can b.y.o.b. 

Helen Keller once said, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." So I donned the red lipstick and I wore pretty shoes because I'd be darned if dinner wasn't going to be an adventure. 

And dinner was an adventure. We got to reconnect with old friends. One who is planning her wedding and getting ready to begin a new chapter. I was blessed to be privy to information about the planning and colors and flowers. 

While we were packing up we ran into someone we hadn't seen in awhile, as you often do in a small town, and it was the best surprise. It's nice to feel missed. When someone tells you that they've missed something about you it means that you've left an unforgettable impression. I want to be that girl. That girl you can't forget. That girl that leaves impressions. 

co-bed. 

As I've mentioned before we co-bed. Avey usually begins the night in her bassinet but ends up in bed with us at some point and stays till morning because it's easier to nurse that way. The doc recommended that when she hits the three month mark that we begin the migration to her crib... in her own room and I don't wanna! 

So I don't think I'm gonna.

I think we'll go at our own pace and when it feels right it'll be right. Lord knows I am not going to be one of those Mommas that has her two year old in bed with her every night. That bed belongs to Brady and I. It is where we rest, recoup, connect, and share quite moments while the rest of the world sleeps. It is not a family bed. It is a marriage bed and we are going to teach our children to respect that. Kids don't come first. Brady comes first. 

Give it a few more months and I'll be ready to put her in her own room. I'm almost there

story time.

I'm a story time snob. I used to work at Barnes and Nobles in the children's section and one week the manager that usually read for story time was out so I, by default, got the job. I picked out two of my favorite children's picture books, King Bidgood's in the Bathtub and Green Eggs and Ham, both books that you just can't go wrong with and I bit my nails (my nervous bad habit) as I waited.  

I remember sweating. I remember sweating profusely. I remember sweating right through my cute sweater.

I love her "oh" face!

I don't know why I was nervous. It was just a bunch of kids. But I was. 

Soon the dreaded time arrived and I began to read. After the first page I was on a roll, the nerves were gone, and I just kept going. I don't know how true this is but apparently as I began to read I picked up an english accent. I was also so loud that they could hear me upstairs. But the kids loved me and the parents made it known to management and then it became my job. Soon I had a following of about 50 kids (between both story hours) and the accent stuck. 

All that to say that yesterday was Avey's first story time at the public library and after being "The Storytime Lady" for over a year and a half I had become quite a story time snob. I even read at a couple Authors book signings (Laura Numeroff and Lemony Snicket... though if I remember correctly his real name is Daniel). 

I was not expecting great things. But great things are what we received. There was music, sign, play time, books, and a talking bear named be-bo. Avey was more interested with the kid sitting next to her but I ate it all up and we had a great time. 

Story time is going to become a Wednesday morning thing. 

valentine.

As we are all aware of by now Valentines Day is just around the corner. Yesterday there was a knock at my door and this is who was on the other end of that knock: 

Box-o-flowers. I was elated. The only time I ever received flowers from a flower delivery man was the time that the guy delivered them to the wrong apartment. 

Brady ordered them for Valentines Day but the company did not read his request and they overnight shipped them from California! The only thing I love more than regular flowers is California Flowers. 

They came in bud form.

and yes that is our Christmas tree in the upper right hand corner. don't judge me. :p

And then this morning... this happened. 

And I'm pretty sure that this is the best Valentines ever. Because Iris Lilies from California are the prettiest flowers I ever saw.