Happy Valentine's Day!

I just love this holiday! I think it's right up there with my favorites. I love decorating for Valentine's Day, and I love planning out gifts and valentines for my little family. I love the treats and all the love that goes around on Valentine's Day. And so far, this one has been great!

Daniel and I have both been busy the last couple of weeks making Valentine's gifts for each other. He kicked me out of the house one Saturday so that he could work on it without me seeing what he was up to. And I've been working on his when he works late. So this morning when I came downstairs, this is what I saw:

Some treats for the girls, and a wonderful gift for me. I really love it!!

And the girls (and Daniel) bought me some flower plants. I gave the girls some Valentines themed books, and I made Daniel this pillow:

Brooke had preschool this morning, and Hillary Erdmann (who was doing it today) invited Camille and myself to join them at the end for unicorn hot chocolate, exchanging valentines and playing a little bit. It was perfect! Brooke was so proud of her little Valentines mailbox that she decorated, and we've had a great day so far.

One of my favorite motherhood moments this morning:

• While Brooke was at preschool and I was doing dishes this morning, Camille went to play outside. I could hear her banging on the little playhouse outside, and she came in and pretended to get some chicken and fries that she "was making for dinner" in her house. It was the cutest thing ever. And the little smile on her face! It melted my heart. But what got even better than that, ... after a little bit, I heard her come in and mutter something about giving a hug. She walked right into the kitchen, right up to me and gave my leg a big squeeze! For no reason, without me asking for a love, she just ... walked up and gave my leg a hug. Well, of course, I couldn't let her go after that. I stopped dishes, squatted down and she gave me the best little squeeze. She gives the best hugs I think I've ever had! She wraps her little tiny arms around my neck, places her cheek against mine, and squeezes with all her strength. They are my absolute favorites. 

Another favorite motherhood moment from today:

• Brooke and Camille were sitting at the table eating their lunch. Brooke finished her lunch early, which meant that she could have her valentines treat first. She ripped into the heart-shaped chocolates that Dadda had given her, and started eating one. After a bite or two, and with Camille looking on with rapt attention and a few words about the treat, Brooke says, "Camille, do you want a bite?" To which Camille responds with a little, "Yes!" She takes a bite, sits back in her seat, and says, "Thank you!" AH! My poor little mother heart just burst! Such sharing! Such kindness and consideration! Such politeness! Look at my little girls in action, loving each other, sharing, and saying 'thank you'! It was too cute! I love how much they love each other. Every day they get to be better friends. They love playing with each other most of the time, and they love to be together. 

The past weeks have been pretty good. I feel good, physically and emotionally, which is nice. I do feel like I'm getting huge, and I experience a lot of aches and pains (pregnancy-related). But mostly I feel good, and up to doing all my normal activities. We've been doing preschool, bike-riding, park dates with our friends.

Last Saturday, during Camille's quiet time (because she's not napping much anymore), Brooke and I had a little date. It was a stormy, rainy day, which made it kind of fun and cool. We had a little bit of shopping to do, and then we hit the library. It's hard to take both the girls to the library. Brooke always wants help with the little computer games, and Camille runs around pulling ALL OF THE BOOKS off the shelves. And I can't manage both at once. So I thought it'd be fun just to take Brooke one day, without the tiny one, so that we could do computer games together and pick out some books without the disruption of little sister. And we had a nice little time together!

I've also been working on some home sewing projects: Valentines heart pillows, towels for our bathroom, fixing a few things, and coming up -- a little baby boy blanket! It's been fun! I really enjoy doing sewing projects for the house and for gifts. I still have a lot to learn about clothing construction, but once I get better at that and figuring out how things will fit me, I'm sure I'll like that a lot more, too.

Other than that, Daniel's been working a lot on the weekdays, late into the night, often. So I have time to work on these projects, read, watch movies and do other things around the house. I miss him a lot in the evenings, and really relish the time that he's at home on the weekends. But I'm managing okay.

Valentine's Date with my man! We went to Stonefire Grill for dinner, and afterwards to a pharmacy to read funny Vday cards. It was fun! And nice for us to get out together.