be my valentine

I love Valentine's Day.

I love that it is a day all about celebrating people you love and that it gives you just one more reason to show them you love them.First on my love list is my very own sweetheart. You forgot we were in love didn't you? Halle seems to be the focus of my postings, but yes we are still very much in love and were able to spend an afternoon together kikster-free on Saturday. We had lunch at the Mayan and went to a movie. A classic date we used to do before we had a baby. How is it possible that he still makes me laugh so hard? It never gets old. There is always something new to talk about or laugh about or (sadly) mock. Isn't that the best kind of Valentine? Sometimes I see older couples sitting at dinner just eating, never talking and I wonder if they have been married so long that there is nothing more to say. I don't think we will ever have that problem.

We picked up Halle after the movie and took her on her own special Valentine's day date to the Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakery. Little miss Halle Bell is next on my love list. This little girl has stolen my heart and all my sleep. She is spunky, sweet, obedient, and way too smart for her

own good. All she wanted was a pink cupcake and she devoured it. We loved taking our little Valentine out just to celebrate her.

Third, comes little miss Lily Bell. We have reached 32 weeks and this girl is an acrobat. Halle was not nearly as active in the womb as she is. A sign of things to come? I sure hope not. I already love this girl and have felt many times that she is one special spirit. Last week Wes gave me a blessing that made me realize just how wonderful this new little one will be for our family and the unique role she will have in Halle's life.

Next on the love list is all our wonderful extended family and friends. We have an amazing support system both near and far. They show love to us and Halle by doing big and little things. To celebrate all of them we delivered little princess valentines to all Halle's neighborhood friends, all the kids at her joyschool, and mailed them to cousins. We made art creations for Grandparents and an aunt who lives very far away (shout out to Andi in NYC).

We spent the actual holiday eating heart shaped pancakes for breakfast.

We colored special Valentines for Dad and made special "thank you" note packages for nursery teachers and delivered them. This was probably Halle's favorite part of the day.

We baked a heart shaped pizza and opened a bottle of Martinelli's when Dad came home from work. A heart shaped pizza is about as romantic as I get. We ate the pizza and watched a little bit of Rugrats, per Halle's request. So if there were any thoughts of having a romantic night at all, they went out the window with Halle's choice of movie. We had family night about love in a family. And finally, Halle opened her Valentine gift from mom and dad.

Ever since I can remember my mom made it a tradition to give each of us kids a gift on Valentine's Day, so I thought I would pay it forward and do the same for my little ones. I love this beautiful day about love. The opportunity to serve or say thank you or just let someone know you love them (even if they are not your sweetheart) is something I could never pass up.