3-Day V-Day

Valentine's Day was a 3-Day celebration in our house this year. Here is a recap of what we did:

Monday, February 14th:

Ava and I made a trip over to Gammy's house (Matt's paternal grandmother). We had a homemade card and homemade valentine treats to give her. Ava loves her Gammy. Ava also loves crawling around Gammy's house and investigating every little thing she sees. Thanks for letting us visit, Gammy! We'll be back soon.

Next up, Mema and Deda (Matt's maternal grandparents). Again, we delivered a homemade card and treats. And again, Ava loved visiting with her great-grandparents while crawling around and investigating her new surroundings. Thanks for letting us stop by!

Ava received a Valentine's Day balloon. She loves any and all balloons, so I had no doubt that this one would bring a smile to her face. When I went to the store to buy the balloon, my eyes were immediately drawn to the GIANT balloons floating in the air. My heart wanted to buy the enormous balloon for Ava... but my mind, and my wallet wouldn't let me after seeing the $15 price tag. The smaller balloon did just fine!

Ava also got a plastic heart filled with her new favorite thing... M&Ms.

Every once in a while (when Ava eats a decent dinner), we allow her to have 1 M&M for dessert. One of two things happens. She stares at the M&M for about a minute, while enthusiastically saying, "oooohhhhhhh!"... as if she is savoring the very sight of the candy-coated goodness. OR she will immediately pick up the M&M and shove it in her mouth faster than the speed of light.

Can you tell which one happened here?

Apparently the M&M was so good that Ava was left dumbfounded.

Tuesday, February 15th:

Ava and I didn't do anything out of the ordinary this particular day. We went for a run, we ran some errands, we did some laundry... The best part of the day was that we did everything together. I love my little partner in crime. 

So, Ava can't quite help with the laundry/folding/ironing yet... But here is something she can do (and loves to do, by the way). I stick her in the empty laundry basket and put the basket right next to the dryer door. I open the dryer door and dump out all of the warm clothes on top of her. Then I push the basket, the laundry and Ava down the hallway and around the living room. She enjoys it. I enjoy stalling as long as possible before folding all of our clothes. Blah.

After work, Mimi came over to babysit our little girl while Matt and I went on our official Valentine's Date. Before we left, I wanted to get a picture with my 2 valentines. Oh, how I love those two!

Wednesday, February 16th

Ava and I went to Harris Teeter first thing this morning. While I was going through the self-checkout line, one of the employees came over to my cart, tied a balloon ribbon to the side and said, "A beautiful balloon for a beautiful baby!" I replied by saying, "thanks" but honestly didn't pay any attention to the balloon. This wasn't the first time a HT employee had brought Ava a balloon. Though all of the other balloons Ava has received from HT have been your basic helium filled balloon. Not today... she got the mama-jama of all balloons. Matter of fact, she got the $15 balloon I had so badly wanted to purchase for her just 2 days earlier. Since Valentine's Day was long gone, HT was just giving away their left over holiday balloons. Ava was more than happy to accept the 'reject' balloon. 

Today was also lunch buddy day. Once a week, Ava and I head over to Joyner Elementary to have lunch with Ziya. We brought Ziya a belated Valentine's treat that literally made her grin from ear to ear. Ava really enjoys eating lunch with Ziya every week. Today, as soon as we started walking toward the front door of the school, Ava started clapping her hands and laughing in anticipation. I love that already, Ava has such a sweet heart and spirit.  

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!