Valentine's Day

This year our Valentine's Day was pretty low key.  Normally we go out to eat at White Castle.  I know, it sounds silly.  But White Castle makes Valentine's a lot of fun.  They decorate, have waiters, and it is reservations only.  Pat and I have been doing it for several years now.  We love it because we can bring the kids with us.  It is the only time during the year we visit White Castle.  I mean, the food isn't that bad, but it isn't really that good.  We have so much fun with it though.  This year we weren't able to make it obviously.  The girls were too young to be out at restaurants.  Plus they still needed to eat frequently.  I can nurse one baby reasonably discretely.  Well, kind of.  Two?  Not so much.

Instead of going out we had a quiet evening at home.   We exchanged our little gifts for each other.  We keep it small for Valentine's.  Ben got a small gift of M&Ms.  We have been slowly doling them out.  He calls them chocolate treats, and it is so cute!  Any time we ask him if he wants one he kind of sucks in his breath and whispers 'chocolate treats' like it is some amazing thing.  It's just M&Ms.  But we love it.

Besides our little gifts for each other we didn't do much.   Pat and I were laughing at our stereotypical 'parent' Valentine's.  We hung out with the kids, no big romantic dinners or events.  We fell into bed wiped from the day and worked to help the girls fall asleep.  It was still a great day.  I love my family and I love when we all spend time together.  Ben kept us laughing, the girls were cuddly and cute, and I got to hang out with my Pat.

Ben did manage to have some holiday fun.  Meo and Omi went to a Valentine's dinner for church and brought us some balloons.  Ben loved running around and playing with them.  His favorite game to play with balloons?  Beat on Daddy.  Oh yes, he was super into the romantic nature of the day. :)

Nothing like boxing with heart balloons.  Pat is a seasoned Dad at this point and rolled with it.  The girls hung out in their bouncy seats and I stayed safely on the couch.

I know it wasn't the most romantic day, but there is plenty of time for that in the future.  It was a great day with my whole family.  I think the girls enjoyed their first Valentine's day too.  It was strange to think that was their due date.  I couldn't imagine not having them home with us already.  I'm glad we had them when we did.  And I'm sure they will like Valentine's better in future years when they get their own chocolate treats. :)

-Kim