Valentine's Day Crafts and Cookies

We invited Mary Elizabeth and her family over for Valentine's Dinner.  The adults had crab cakes and
the little people indulged on hot dogs and tater tots.  It was definitely a win for all.

There were crafts to do and cookies to decorate.  First up were owls and then there were butterflies.  The glue required adult assistance but it was a lot of fun.

I love the leaning over the table and helping one another with placement of the butterfly wings.

Sneaky Connor getting some of the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies we made once the crafts were finished.

Once the owl and butterfly were done, we moved on to decorate some heart shaped cookies. 

Connor admired these decorations we encouraged him to limit his sugar intake and wait until the cookies were decorated but it is part of the fun.

Definitely not sure if more ended up in his belly than on the cookies but my vote goes for belly especially with that guilty looking face.

Having MORE fun in the snow

We headed out with clear walkways to explore more of the snow and clear off the cars.

Connor was happy with grabbing the snow and trying to make snowballs. 

Jackson was a big helper and trying to shovel and help.  He was grabbing all of the shovels he could get his hands on. 

Lots of laying down in the snow for Connor.

After "helping" with the shoveling, he was off to climb the big piles of snow.

They had a such a great time and are ready for more and more snow and celebrating Valentine's Day later on. There was some definite concern for Michael as his coworker was picking him up and taking him in to the office. The boys were instructing Mr. Jason to be careful with their daddy.

Happy Valentine's Day

After some fun in the snow in the morning, we got our of our comfy clothes and got dressed for a fun Valentine's Day celebration.

Baking Valentine Pretzel Doodles

After the boys warmed up, we set them up with some pretzels and hershey kisses to get a start on our Valentine baking.

After the kisses melted, we set them up with the M&Ms.

No underwear with M&Ms in hand and a determined face. 

Connor ate so many of the M&MS that I am surprised that he actually had enough for his pretzel doodles. 

Fun in the Snow

We secured the boys' first pair of winter boots and were ready for what ended up being a seriously snowy winter.

Luckily, the getting dressed part didn't disrupt their enthusiasm for getting out in the snow. 

Retailers REALLY need to find out how to make weatherproof gloves that actually fit toddlers.

The boys had a lot of fun.  

Trying to climb the snow piles. 

The boys were stepping in to the snow and sinking to coat deep. 

The boys were not happy about the snow in their boots and were complaining about it being cold.  So, we said goodbye to their fun in the snow to warm up. 

Candy Cottage for Valentine's Day

We pulled out the boys' Candy Cottage and all of our red and white candy to start decorating. 

There was a lot of encouragement to work on the roof.  It took a good bit of time to place those grahams.  And, mom or dad may or many not have assisted.

Jackson got a hold of the icing and was plotting his next move. 

What's better than one container of gel icing -- well, that would be 2. 

And, our finished project.  

Sports Mix : Field Hockey

We were kind of surprised to see field hockey when we arrived. 

It was kind of a struggle for a lot of the participants, including Connor, to maintain contact with the ball when they were holding their stick.  Lots of parents had to catch wayward balls that were heading all over the gym.  Jackson did a good job controlling his stick and maintaining contact with the ball.

Getting some instructions from their coaches and the most important one was that the stick WAS NOT A WEAPON.

Moving the ball with some speed back and forth. It would always help if the eyes are open. 

Connor with control of the ball. 

Getting faster in moving the ball back and forth across the gym.

Connor moved slower but did eventually get the hang of maintaining contact with the ball. 

Sports Mix : Lacrosse

The boys have watched their cousins play lacrosse and have a book that their pigs playing lacrosse and it is called pigglystick so it's fair to say that their exposure has been limited.

Connor spent a lot of time tracking down his ball. 

Lots of cradle walking.

Trying to score a goal on Coach Katie.

This pretty much sums up Connor's opinion on having to chase the ball around as he was struggling with keeping it in his stick.