Love Is In The Air

And how could it not be? Look at this cutie in his bathrobe. This was one of his birthday presents from his BB and Grandaddy Guy for his first birthday. I remember when I tried it on him for the first time last year, it seemed so big. I knew we would be able to get at least three years wear out of it. Maybe not. This maybe our last year. He is going through a major growth spurt right now, because everything is too small. His shirts, pj's, etc... The tennis shoes my mom bought for him, a size too big, in September. The last few times I've pulled them out, he's started crying, "No, no, no" because they hurt his feet so bad. So we will buying a new pair soon. Right now he mainly wants to wear his rubber boots.

But he loves his bathrobe. So he may be wearing it long after he's outgrown it, or until I can find him another one.

Over the weekend, I started decorating for Valentine's Day. I have been wanting a banner for Valentine's Day, and Halloween, to hang on my mantel. And I knew I would never be able to find what I was picturing in my head. So, with my mom's help, we made one. I love it!! It is exactly what I wanted. Whenever I think about Valentine's Day I think of kids, red, simple, and homemade. So I told my mom that I wanted a banner that looked childlike, simple and fun. Once we were done, it really reminded me of a child's Valentine card. And that's what I wanted. John was also very impressed with our efforts and thought it really brightened up our den. In my mind, I've already designed one for Easter and Halloween. I can't wait to get started on them.

This is made out of simple felt and grow grain ribbon.

And you can't tell in this picture, but my mom attached

everything with a fun zig-zag stitch.

I found this tin heart at the Crow's Nest, in Winona,

a couple of years ago. I love it and wish I had

bought more than one. This hangs perfectly from

my china cabinet.

Jack's Valentine basket.

And our very favorite, "The Night Before Valentine's Day".

If you are not familiar with the "Night Before" series,

please look them up on Amazon and order them for

the kids in your life! They are so cute and sweet.

They have "The Night Before" for everything.

We read this book two or three times a day.

Our sideboard when you come in through

our garage. This is the door everyone uses,

so I always enjoy decorating this table since

it's the first thing you see.

My collection of cookie cutters. My VAST collection of cookie cutters. I have a cookie cutter for EVERY occasion. Some belonged to my grandmother, some are copper, some I wonder if I will ever use. I love them all!! And I know as Jack gets older, I will be using them a lot. I know you're thinking, "What does this have to do with Valentine's Day?". Well, I needed a few of them for an

art project Jack and I will be working on tomorrow. We are going to make Valentine decorations out of baked dough. It's the same recipe you use for dough ornaments at Christmas, except I didn't poke a hole in them. We aren't going to hang them, we are going to sit them around in bowls. We baked them today and we are going to paint them tomorrow. This will be Jack's first time to use paints. He loves to color and draw with markers, so I know he will get a kick out of painting. Don't worry, he will be using washable paint.

Here are the cookie cutters we decided on.

Our dough.

Ready for the oven.

Fresh out of the oven.

I can't wait to paint. I will be sure to take a lot of pictures. And I will try to get them posted tomorrow night, along with more of our Valentine decorations from around the house. I have a couple of other pictures to show, but I forgot to upload them to this post. So that will just be extra for tomorrow's post.