February 14

Chris and I have celebrated sixteen Valentine's Days together, but today was the least Valentines-y of any of them. Eli and I stayed in bed until 10:30, we all wore our jammies all day, and there were no cards or flowers or sweet sentiments exchanged. Having a brand-new baby on Valentine's Day, along with three full-sized children, will do that to you.

If Eli hadn't come so early, we both would have tried harder to make the day special. But with the past few weeks being what they were, I have had to let some things slide. Planning for Valentine's Day was something that slid. The kids took store-bought valentines to school. We didn't send cards to far-flung family. I didn't make special valentines for each of the children or plan anything special for Chris.

But heart-shaped food? That I can do.

I'm pretty sure that heart-shaped food is the easiest way to make Valentine's Day festive for children. So lunch today featured heart-shaped cheese and heart-shaped apple slices. I even included the leftover apple rings with hearts removed, just for fun.

(The tulips in the festive vase were a gift from my mom. She knows just what I like, and I'm sure Chris appreciated not having to buy me flowers!)

Poor Lily is still sick, so she didn't really appreciate the hearts as much as the big kids did. But she wore a shirt with a sparkly heart on it, and she was really pleased with that.

See? Hearts = fun!

Meanwhile, Eli helped Chris work on a paper for graduate school that is due tomorrow. 

Also, I just realized that Eli's little outfit makes him look like a Jedi-in-training.

After lunch, the mailman delivered two packages. One was a new wrap that I have been wanting to order for months now, but it has been out of stock. On Monday, I emailed a retailer asking when they would have it in stock, and they told me there was a wait list for the next stocking, and they didn't know if they would have enough for everyone on the list. Still, I could choose to be on the list to receive one, if and when they came in, but they made no promises.

On Thursday, I got an email with a tracking number.

Today, my beautiful new wrap arrived. Hooray! It's currently hanging to dry in the basement. Maybe tomorrow Eli and I can start breaking it in!

The other package was from my aunt Deb. She came up with an idea for a children's book, found an illustrator, and made it happen! Today, we received a package with her first book, A Box of Rocks, some stones from the beach, and some photographs that inspired the illustrations in the book.

Lily was napping, but Caleb and Daisy were so excited! They loved examining the agates and cobbles that Deb sent them.

Then we looked at all of the pictures Deb sent.

Finally, photos in hand, we read Deb's book. The kids were fascinated! They loved the story, and they especially loved seeing the photographs and how they translated into the illustrations. I love that Deb had a story that she wanted to share with all of her great-nieces and nephews, and she found a way to do it. What a thoughtful gift! 

(psst: if you want to buy your own copy of A Box of Rocks, you can get it here.)

As the sun set, I realized I should snap a few photos of Eli, just because I hadn't really taken any of him today. So here is a sleeping baby for you: 

Hi, Eli!

Enjoy your sleep, sweet baby!

Then it was time for our fancy Valentine's Day dinner: Chris and I enjoyed filet mignon, crab legs, asparagus, and twice-baked potatoes. The kids had heart-shaped pizzas.

Why yes, Lily is the only one who managed to get out of her jammies today.

Seriously. Heart-shaped food for the win.

Someday it won't be so easy to make these children so happy, but for now I'm enjoying every moment of it. Happy Valentine's Day!