Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from our family to yours! Yet another holiday is here that is made even more special by the fact that our little man can enjoy and understand it! 

We started the celebration on Friday night. Spencer's church had an awesome bake sale / silent auction / craft making party for families and kids, complete with a yummy spaghetti dinner. We had so much fun hanging out with Spencer and his Mommy, and a few of the other families from Apple. (And the boys ate enough cupcakes, cookies, and chocolate to last an entire lifetime!) 

I tried to get good pictures, but this was just about the only 2.5 seconds that they sat still... so here ya go.

Patiently (?) waiting for dinner.

Jack analyzing his napkin. "Mommy, what's it say?"

Checking out all the other stuff going on...

We had a lot of fun and a lot of treats!! 

On Sunday afternoon, Abby and her girls invited us to Stanford's Family Valentine's Party. We took the kids and gave the Daddies a break (to work - Justin - and study - Jesse - not sure how much of a break that was!) and headed to make some awesome crafts. It was easier said than done, even with two sets of adult hands. I got lots of cuddle time in with baby Penny (who is now 4 months old! Holy cow!) and Jack and Molly had fun running around together as always.

Baby Penny, huge pregnant me, Jack (mouth full as usual), Molly, and Abby 

This morning, I got up a little before the boys to lay out their Valentine's baskets. Justin and Jack both gave me super cute cards (Jack's was a work of art!!) and we had a few minutes to relax in bed and open our cards and presents and candy. Then, it was time for Jack to head to school for his party!

Is it sad that I bought the Dove for myself...?

 Jack ran into school without a second thought or glance at me. He was thoroughly prepared for a big party day at school today! I left him very excited for his day, and this is what I found in his cubby when I came to pick him up....

Jack's cubby. His bag was filled with Valentines from his friends!

 He told me all about his day. They had cupcakes, exchanged cards, and learned about love and the colors pink and red. (Still working on the colors thing.) He told me that he pooped and he cried (he gets so mad when he messes up at school.) He told me that he ate ALL of his lunch of chicken, rice, and broccoli (his teachers confirmed, so he wasn't lying!) And, of course, he was most excited about the bouncy house. He said that he had so much fun...which he did!!

Right after Mommy made me get out of the bouncy house. I loved it!!

So overall it has been a great day. Justin promises to be home for dinner (yay!) and I enjoyed a very relaxing morning on the couch catching up on TV. (I gave myself a break from chores today, happy holiday to me!)

In other news, when we were at Target on Monday picking out Valentine's Day gear, Jack eyed a pack of "big boy underpants." This may have been because it was a pack of Disney/Pixar themed ones, with six pairs including Buzz Lightyear, Nemo, Mr. Incredible, Wall-E, Cars, and Mater. We brought them home and he BEGGED to wear them. I have been very hesitant to put him in real underpants because while he has been doing great with potty training, I just don't know how good his control really is.

I put him in a pair when we got home at around 11am. He kept those dry until nap time, when I put him in a pull-up. (He still pees while sleeping.) He was mad about that. When he woke up, he asked to wear Nemo again. I made him go potty first, and he kept Nemo dry until about 4:45pm. He was playing with his legos and he started to pee. He cried "I'm peeing on Nemo!!!!!" very upset, and so I rushed him to the bathroom. He finished in his potty and I didn't make a big deal about it, just let him pick out another pair. He put on Wall-E (robots.) Justin came home, we had dinner, and he did great. He kept those dry until he was preoccupied in the kitchen with Daddy making milkshakes at about 7:45pm. All of a sudden he started crying "I'm peeing!!!" and "I'm sorry robots!!!" So we got him to the bathroom again.

I am not sure if he's doing well with the big boy underpants, or if he does well because I force him to pee in the potty on a timeline. I am not even really sure if two accidents in one day means he is doing well at all. But he has a huge interest in wearing them (and in keeping them dry, even if it's hard for him) so I can't really say no. He was so impressed with Molly in her big girl panties this weekend, and he definitely notices the other kids at school wearing big kid panties. I figure I will let him tell me what he wants to do, and indulge him (it's one of the very nice perks to staying home - I can do this on my timeline and let him lead me - and I am very thankful for that.) While some of you may be thinking that I should force him into underpants now and just deal with the consequences (as I probably would be, from the outside looking in), as I have to remind Justin - he JUST turned 2.5 years old. He's a boy. He's doing really well for a lot of kids his age, and he's trying very hard. He isn't losing interest (yet) and I don't want to squelch that by pushing too hard. This feels right to me, for now, so it's what we are going with .... until his little body tells me otherwise :) It may not be the recommended or "right" way to do it, but it's working so far for us!

Showing off my Nemo underpants!!

We hope that everyone is having a wonderful Valentine's Day! Lots of love from your friends out west :)