My Funny Valentines

Ah yes, it is the day of love. Argument can be made (and rightly so) that every day is a day for love. But today was the day nationally recognized to recognize that love, I suppose you could say :). And okay, so I lack a Valentine of the tall, dark, handsome, smart, and between the ages of 30 and 35 persuasion. But maybe what I have is even better. Because I had not just one Valentine... I had 5. Five funny Valentines. And I have to say, the best ones ever.
Gaping nostril shot aside, this is a picture of my big girl Desiree buckled in after I picked her up from school. Look at how happy she looks. She is just the absolute sweetest ever. She held my hand as we walked back to my car from her classroom, and I asked her where we were going. She said, "It's a surprise, so I won't tell you until we get into the car." Then she informed me that she had a message for Grandma. I asked her what the message was. This was it: "Tell Grandma I love her with all my heart." Seriously the most loving child. How I adore her.

So where did the birthday girl pick to go for her special birthday time with Aunt Hila? McDonalds! Hahaha. I think the knowledge of the Play Place was a big contributing factor to that choice. What kind of kid would turn down the Play Place? So we drove on over to Mickey-D's and got out of the car. She told me that, since it was for her birthday, everything had to be a last minute surprise, so she wasn't going to tell me what she wanted to order until we got up to the counter. It was not busy at all, so the guy behind the counter was really nice and let Desiree pick her own toy. He even pulled out all the different ponies they had in stock so she could see each one and pick the one she wanted. I think that was a special thing, even though I didn't mention it was her birthday or anything. So while we waited for our food, Desiree picked a table. She picked one with really high chairs. And we took a few pictures there. What do you need to know if you take a picture with Desiree? Well, you need to know that you say what she says when the flash goes off. Usually this is "Cheese!" But today, we also had to say "Bunny Cheese!" I messed that up one time, and so we had to re-do it and I had to say "Bunny Cheese!" that time. I'm not sure where she comes up with these phrases, but I'm happy to humor her sweet little self and follow her rules :).

Our food was ready shortly after we took these pictures. And then she fell off the tall chair twice, one time bumping her chin. Which resulted in a few tears, which is, frankly, heart breaking on such a special occasion. So we decided it would behoove us to move to a shorter booth, and that's just what we did. And so we talked. We discussed letters and sounds. We discussed how she got to be a red blood cell in P.E. today. We talked about what red blood cells do. And Desiree played Punchbuggy. She is such a happy girl. And so sweet. So here is my beautiful 6 year old niece, posing with bunny ears (perhaps his is where Bunny Cheese came from?):

I let her play in the Play Place for an hour. She makes "friends" easily. And the age of the people in the Play Place does not determine whether or not she will be their friend and ask them to play. She got two sisters involved in playing "Princess." At one point, I heard her say, "I'm the boss of the game..." I didn't hear the rest, but I did hear her assure them that they could be whatever characters they wanted to be in this little game. Maybe being bossy is just a rite of passage for an older sister? Because at one point, I told her not to be bossy with the other girls, and the mom of the other girls looked over at me and laughed and said, "I think they are a good match, because mine is like that too!" But Desiree is so patient. So kind and compassionate. So forgiving. At one point, when she first started playing with the littler girl, and they were in the middle of the Play Place, I heard Desiree call out to the little girl, "I want you to meet someone! It's my Aunt Hila!" And sure enough, she brought the little girl out to meet me.

Before we left, I bought us each an ice cream sundae. I got hot fudge, she wanted strawberry. And then we packed up and headed to her house. I ended up staying and visiting for a bit. Spent some time with Emily. So I had Emily on one side and Desiree on the other, snuggled up to me for about 30 minutes. And when I left, they both cried. Which is absolutely heart-breaking. I didn't have my camera with me at the time, so I didn't get any pictures of little miss Emily. But she sure is sweet, even when she tries to give me boogers. Ew!

I then headed to Brad and Tarylyn's to watch their kids so they could go out for Valentine's Day. I hadn't seen the kids since Christmas, so I am so glad I got the chance to see them today. They are such sweethearts. Both Samuel and Saria gave me and my mom Valentine's candy, and Saria even made us our very own Valentines. She is another sweet girl. Amazingly sensitive in so many ways, attuned to the feelings of those she loves. She is really growing into such a beautiful girl.

Samuel is always a cutie. I may be biased, but I think this kid will grow up and be quite the little heart-breaker. And his off-the-wall commentary continues to be hilarious and, well, off the wall. At one point, before Brad and Tarylyn left, they were talking about the kids not doing something, and Samuel piped in and said, "What about looking both ways before eating a sandwich?" What!?! Sam is still a snuggler. When we sit and read books, he is always the first to ask if he can sit in my lap. I know there will come a day when he no longer wants to do this, so I let him anytime he asks.

Benjamin still kind of does his own thing. Although I did notice today that he has a creative streak as far as art and spacial things are concerned. We played Mouse Trap (now there's a game that never ends...) and he was over in his own little world constructing a big star out of all the cheese triangles. I have to say I was pretty impressed. It came out awesomely. The kid is not quite 5, and I'm not really sure when skills like that develop, but I haven't seen such an ability in any of the others. It seems the last two picture of Benjamin, he has had that ring on the bottom of his mouth. He keeps licking his lips and keeps getting cold sores all along where he licks. Looks painful.

So in addition to playing Mouse Trap, we also watched Beauty and the Beast and read several books I brought from the library, including "Skippyjon Jones in the Doghouse," "Don't Forget the Bacon," and "Walter the Farting Dog: Banned from the Beach." By about 8:30, Brad and Tarylyn returned, and it was time for me to head home.

So I pretty much enjoyed my Valentine's Day 2011. I got heaps and heaps of love... x5. I'm one lucky lady.