Happy HEART Day!!!

And, my HEART couldn't have been any more full of LOVE on Valentine's Day this year.

The LOVE for my hubby and partner in crime, the one I get to share this journey called life with....

The LOVE for each of my three, amazing, full of life, children....

The LOVE for all my family members, near and far.....

The LOVE for those friends that are near and dear to my heart...

The LOVE for life itself and this opportunity I have in front of me...

  

 

What a silly bunch....LOVE you THREE!

 

 

Trying to do a little more serious pose before heading off to school. They are too cute, sleepy eyes and all!!! Ty brought Valentine's Day movies for her party...Trey brought suckers and stickers for everyone in his class..and, Tay picked out heart-shaped Peeps for her friends at school. The day of fun we had been talking about all week was finally here! We were all feelin' the LOVE!

 

 

Daddy had set out V-Day goodies for everyone in the front room....the personalized poems he wrote were the perfect way to start the day!

 

 

And, can you believe that this little cutie is one day less than a month shy of turning TWO?!?! I cannot believe it!!! What a sweetie....

 

 

The kiddos and I headed to Chuck E. Cheese to burn through some tokens while Daddy caught some ZZZ's and tried to re-coop from a bad case of strep...fun, huh?!?! Not so much. (Tay opted out of this pic with the scary gray mouse due to the fact that she couldn't stop crying. It was 100 x's worse than this year's sitting on Santa's lap adventure!) Ty was actually the one who asked Chuck E. to take a picture with her and Trey....and, it turned out GREAT! Fun times!

 

Ty LOVES this thing...she honestly fed at lease half of her tokens to this fun machine. She kept saying how much she loved to fly high above the games and pizza...Love her!

 

Tay LOVED feeding those colored ping-pong balls to that froggy. In fact, as I watched Trey shoot some hoops behind her, she also took to feeding this machine EXTRA tokens. Needless to say, we played that froggy game A LOT. (LOVE the tongue action in this shot from Miss Tay. She's inherited that from Jason, just like the other two... it always makes an appearance when it's time to focus.)

 

Trey's favorites were Fruit Ninja and the "go-to" game of choice which involves some sort of flinging the ball into the lit up ticket hole, which he ALWAYS seems to hit the jackpot on.

 

Still smilin' as we head into round twenty....ha!

 

We wrapped up the night by jumping in the bath, sorting through school Valentine's....

 

 

making a quick jammie change, and watching a last few minutes of Alvin & the Chipmunks Valentine's fun!!!

 

Happy Valentine's Day, sweet little munchkins! I had a BLAST starting our morning off with Daddy's poems and goodies, venturing to Chuck E. Cheese to get a few games and excitement in, and then hearing all about your fun-filled days at school with friends and teachers as I tucked you in for the night.....this Mommy couldn't imagine a better day!!!

 

Glad you are feeling better, J....and, here's to many more Valentine's Days together. Your poems and the Daddy & Hubby perfectness made for a WONDERFUL day!!! The days of dinner and a movie and time to ourselves will come again in the future. Until then, we will spend our days and nights relishing in the family we have made together and enjoy each and every second of it!!! I love you ALWAYS & FOREVER!!! Hugs!

 

XOXOXOXO

 

Action, Jackson....

Action on the basketball court, that is....

 

See that blurrrrr....Can you guess who that is?!?! Someone who was super excited to run out when they announced his name. Ready to slap all the hands of his coaches and teammates.

 

Right before the game starts...shaking hands with the player he will be guarding. Jason and I got a kick out of this one! Great sportsmanship, fellows!!!

 

Trying to get open for his teammate and looking for the ball....

 

Guarding a different guy in a different quarter.....

 

And, a shot of this FUN basketball stage where most of the boys pick up their dribble and all seem to get in a huddle, where the pass becomes more of a hand-off! At least they are wanting to help out their teammates, right?!?!

 

Miss Tay munchin' on a little popcorn and cheering on her bro....

 

When cheering gets old, there's always coloring!!! Beautiful coloring!!!!

 

What a FUN basketball season we are having. Trey Man, watching you get better and better each game has been great for me and your daddy. You are a master at one-on-one defense, getting better at going for the rebounds, and beginning to dribble towards the hoop. You even went sliding across the floor for a loose ball and SCORED your FIRST basket last game!!!! Keep up the fantastic work and keep earning those stars on the b-ball court. Always have fun and give it your all!!! We couldn't be more proud of you!!!!

 

Love you munchkins, BUNCHES!!!

 

 

 

 

Well on his way....

to an AWESOME shoe tie-er!

Sounds simple enough, but it's something we have been working on (read: saying we were going to work on and just ended up tying them for him because it was quicker) for a while now....

And, we've about made it.

Poor fellow...I kinda feel like I dropped the parenting ball on this one. I was REALLY good at telling him to practice. I found that the times we actually sat down to practice, were times that were completely and utterly RUSHED.

Times when it was time to go, like five minutes ago.

Times when someone else needed something "right now."

Times when brushing teeth and grabbing the backpack were a little more important.

Times when homework had just been done and someone deserved a little break.

Times that would just end in no one being happy or excited.

So, Trey-Man....as much as you are responsible for learning these types of things, I'm responsible for TEACHING you and being PATIENT with you. I'm sorry, Buddy, for putting this important task on the back burner because there was always something else that seemed to take priority.....

I am proud to say though that we spent about 15 SOLID minutes a while back during our last snow day. We spent that time in a quiet place that was free from any distractions, JUST TYING THOSE SHOES.

And, guess what?!?! That's all it took....the timing was right and the setting was PERFECT!

YOU haven't looked back since!!!! YOU are tying your shoes all by yourself. YOU are getting better and better each time you tackle that milestone. YOU are learning how to pull the strings a little tighter. YOU are figuring out how to pinch that "tree" just a little harder so it doesn't fall apart or tip over. YOU are pushing that bunny through the whole like it ain't no thing.....

And......

I'm so PROUD of you!