Sorry. They're MINE!

Valentine's Day came and went, and as is custom, I didn't do much for Pete. Usually I'll get him some chocolate and stick it in his lunchbox the night before, but since it was a weekend I didn't go that route. Instead, Pete and I got take-out from Olive Garden with 50 billion other people, rented Romeo + Juliet, and went to Walmart, where Pete pushed the cart for me (how romantic!).

But actually, Pete surprised me the night before with a beautiful bouquet of flowers...that he colored. He made the boys swear on their lives not to tell me that he was doing this for me. Tuesday night, while I was at mutual, Pete colored (with the help of Jakob) and cut 12 flowers for me. And on the back, he wrote things to do for me, like the laundry, cook dinner, clean toilets. He even left two of them blank, as in my choice! How stinking thoughtful was THAT?!?!? Seriously, it's one of the best Valentine's gifts that I've ever gotten, maybe second to my engagement night 7 years ago today.

Here's the bouquet. You can tell the ones that Jakob colored (they're a little less conventional):


So now the flowers are mine. And Pete's mine (sorry, ladies). I love him for the great husband he is, and I also love him because he gave me 4 little munchkins to keep life busy and crazy and sweet. And I love my kids:

I love Troy, because he's so very smart. Here he is, opening the fridge lock that we put on to keep the kids out of the fridge. I love his little smile, his talking skills, and his stumpy-ness.


I love Brock, because right now he gets tenses and words all mixed up. Like, "Woody is fell on to the floor" instead of "Woody is falling on to the floor". I love when he sings so intently. I love his little dimples, and that he usually puts on his shirts backwards.


I love Ivy, because she's starting to do kind of a scrunchy face when she smiles (finally caught it in this pic). I love that she's been pulling herself up on furniture. I love that she's not afraid to meddle with her brothers. I love that she's so into "people" food.


And I love Jakob, because he's a little spaz. He's constantly posing for pictures in crazy ways. I love that he made me a valentine, and he also made one for his brothers, dad, and sister. I love that he's trying to read (he can mostly sound out the small words), and that he's such a great helper.


Happy Love Day, everyone!