Valentine's Day 2012

Valentine's Day was a lot of fun this year {minus David's absence}! And Ryan is old enough now to kind of get little holidays like this so that makes it all the more exciting!

{Not to mention the fact that I love a good reason to do some themed arts and crafts -- there is way too much cool stuff to be found on the internet these days, and to shower my boys with hearts and love!}

We surprised David with a little treat ... 12 buttercream frosted cookies and a card from Cheryls, which arrived in record time so he actually got them the Friday prior to the big day. I was a little disappointed by there early arrival, but at least he still knew we were thinking of him and missing him on Valentine's Day! He just got to enjoy the cookies a little longer and was nice enough to bring a few home this past weekend for Ryan and I to enjoy too :) They were yummy!

I got crafty on some Blast-Off Valentines for Ryan to pass out to all of his friends and classmates. They were pretty easy to make and I think they turned out super cute! I had to overcompensate for last year when I was THAT mom -- the one who didn't even think to take valentines to our playgroup Valentine's Day party for my sweet child to pass out like everyone else.

On Monday morning, we had our second annual little Valentine's Day party with our playgroup. The kids got to play, have pizza and cupcakes, and exchange valentines. Ryan's buddy, Conall, wasn't able to make it so he was the only boy vying for the girls attention :) Lucky guy!

Alyssa, Mira, Anya, and Ryan

Tuesday was Valentine's Day and Ryan had school from 9 AM - 1 PM. So I got a little festive with his morning and mid-day meals. I made him heart shaped cinnamon sugar toast for breakfast, and put heart shaped strawberries and a Valentine's Day Snack Mix in his lunchbox with his chicken nuggets and red juice :)

Ryan came home from school with a bag full of valentines from his classmates, which he had so much fun exchanging. And he was so happy to find his Valentine's Day gift from Mommy and Daddy -- the Disney movie Lady and the Tramp, some {more} candy, and a Spider-Man card. He got to pick one piece of candy to enjoy before naptime and he chose his heart-shaped ring pop. He was quite a hoot while he was eating it, and turned, briefly, into a friendly pirate when he was done. It must have been all the sugar! :)

After Ryan's nap, we snuggled and watched his new movie together. What a cute tale and how fitting for the occasion -- Lady and Tramp were so full of love :) Then Pop treated us to a delicious, low-key dinner at Mama's Pizza.

We concluded our Valentine's celebrations on Wednesday afternoon with Ellie. The kids had lunch, played, and decorated cookies, the latter of which was a little shocking as Ryan actually ate his cookies without even touching the icing. I guess he prefers white icing like his Daddy. Ellie, on the other hand, was a fan of the chocolate icing and looked quite dirty to Ryan by the time she finished :)

Alan's Birthday Celebration

Alan's birthday was on Saturday and we got together with my family to celebrate that night. He is now a quarter of a century old! Mom prepared a nice dinner, and for dessert ... we had a little pie contest :) Alan requested a German Chocolate Pie from The Pie Hole for his birthday dessert, but he wanted to have leftovers {i.e., he didn't want the rest of us eating all HIS pie} so on Saturday morning Dad also made a German Chocolate Pie -- for the first time. Both pies were delicious, but very different so we didn't exactly end up with a clear contest winner. It all depended on your tastes -- whether you liked coconut, a pudding/custard texture, or lots of sugar. I have definitely enjoyed the leftovers of Dad's pie all week, and so has Alan ... once his pie was gone, he snuck a piece :)

Uncle Alan and his favorite nephew {aka, two of my absolute favorite boys}!!

Ry-guy sang Uncle Alan a rendition or two of the Happy Birthday song -- he repeats "Happy Birthday to You" over and over again -- over the course of the day {even once before bed the night before using his microphone}. He also had fun helping Alan blow out his candles {as did Pop!} and licking the goodness off of them as always. We certainly enjoyed celebrating Alan's birthday with him this year -- this was the first time in a long while for me and ever for Ryan.

Whooosh!

Two peas in a pod :)

And since Ryan doesn't like pie {as it doesn't have icing}, I got him a special birthday cupcake from Cloud 9 for dessert. What fun is a birthday celebration without a little cake anyway?!?! :)

He thoroughly enjoyed his icing!

Happy 25th Birthday, Uncle Alan! We love you lots! Best wishes for the next quarter of a century and beyond! And enjoy your cheaper car insurance :)

INK Fun

Ryan and I ventured north to the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids {INK} with Lisa, Ellie, and Gavin on Friday. INK is a children's museum filled with educational and hands-on exhibits {rooms set up to replicate real life places} where kids can role play and learn about different things in an interactive setting ... like being a banker, grocery store clerk, doctor, dentist, vet, or a restaurant employee. It was great and lots of fun!

Riding the Gainesville Police Department 4-wheeler.

Playing in the Family Playhouse ... playgrounds are always fun!

Taking a turn as the cashier at the 50's Diner.

Train Area, which Ryan loved!

This was our first time visiting and we happened to pick an awesome day to go. We basically had the place to ourselves thanks to some much smaller than normal field trips on the calendar for the day. Ryan and Ellie had free reign of the exhibits, which you certainly can't beat, especially when you have your favorite playmate with you :)

Beauty Salon -- Ellie gave Ryan a great cut and style!

Cow Milking Area -- this was tough to do, but Ryan got the water to squirt out on his second attempt :)

SunTrust Bank for Kids

GrandPappy Airlines -- Ryan and Ellie got to co-pilot a full-sized 1955 Aero Commander 560 aircraft. Ryan was ready for it to really take off already :)

Shopping at J&J Foods Grocery Store.

The kiddos played for about 4 hours and hit pretty much every exhibit at least once, only stopping briefly to eat lunch. It was interesting to see the different things they wanted to play with being of the opposite sex. Ryan particularly liked the Train Area, Animal Medical Care Clinic, and anything that had buttons to push, whereas Ellie liked the 50's Diner, Medical Center, and Grocery Store.

Animal Medical Care Center

Checking out real x-rays in the Gainesville Radiology Department.

Little firefighters ... aboard a real 1927 American
LaFrance Fire Truck.

My favorite part of the day, hands down, was watching them play together in the dentist office!! It was SO cute! It's too bad Ellie isn't qualified to do Ryan's real dental cleanings and check-ups -- he sat there for her like a pro with his mouth wide open :)

Our Weekend in Pictures

David surprised us by getting home an hour earlier than expected on Friday, and in time for dinner {at a normal hour}! After hellos and hugs, we headed to Mama's Pizza, our new favorite pizza joint. It was delicious as always!! What a great start to the weekend!!

{pic courtesy of Google images}

We had a busy but fun Saturday with Ryan's friends from school. He got to attend two birthday parties for his classmates, which makes up for the two we missed earlier in the year :) FYI - you could spend a small fortune going to birthday parties!

I made football shaped brownies {thanks to Pinterest for the idea!} for the Superbowl. Aren't they cute?!?! Good thing since they ended up being just-for-looks-brownies. Once I added the green grass {aka, coconut dyed green}, no one would eat them anymore :( Guess I should have thought through my coconut idea a little better ... lesson learned!

David and I snuck away for dinner on Saturday night {one of the benefits of living with mi padre :)}, and then snuggled up and watched Courageous into the wee hours of the morning. What a great and inspiring movie!

{pic courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes}

We went on a nice Sunday afternoon walk around the neighborhood, complete with a stop at the neighborhood playground {which Ryan loves but Riley hates -- she chewed through her leash while we were there for about 15 minutes one day last week}.

{pic courtesy of the HOA}

David and I washed his FILTHY car at the car wash down the street while R napped after our walk. I don't think it had been cleaned in a year!! It looked almost brand new when we were finished ... it's amazing what a little soap and water can do :)

{pic courtesy of Google images}

We had a little Superbowl party with my family on Sunday night. Lots of yummy food, a good football game between the Giants and the Patriots, and Football Squares {the pool betting game} made for a super fun night! And I won Squares! :)