Valentine's Day with my Bebe!

I was SO excited to celebrate Valentine's Day this year, which is pretty out of character for me! Actually, last year we found out that we were expecting a little girl shortly before Valentine's Day, and I remember being really excited to share it with her this year. My parents (especially my mom) did such a good job of making it a special day for us, and I wanted to be sure to pass the love on. Sure, there were boyfriends for February 14, but those didn't start popping into the picture until I was 17 and by then, my family had been my valentine for years! I remember heart shaped pancakes, fun little candies, lots of thoughtful gifts, and a big dinner at Macaroni Grill. I'm pretty darn happy that Mac Grill is one of the two American restaurants we have here on base, because that meant I could carry on the tradition! I think part of why I was so focused on Valentine's Day was because it was the week after B left, and I needed something beyond him leaving to focus on, plan for, and be excited about. So, plan I did... some of it worked, some of it didn't, but at the end of the day, I went to bed feeling very loved. I PLANNED to run the Cupid Shuffle 5K with Layla in the jogger. Unfortunately, I split my pinkie toenail when I stubbed my toe a couple of days before, and running was very much out of the cards. Instead, Laylalove and I went to lunch right when Mac Grill opened at 11, since she is so much happier in the mornings. You probably can't tell in the picture below, but Layla's vest is covered in little hearts!

We drew a heart for B on the table, so Daddy was with us, too, in a way ;)

I ate pretty quickly, as eating with Layla is like eating with a ticking time bomb with no readable clock, and then shopped around the B/X for awhile before swinging by the post office to pick up a gift card from her Nana and a package filled with goodies from her Gram! In that box of goodies from Gram was a new favorite book: Hippos Go Berserk! It was an instant hit, and we read it once twice many times a day! Oh, also in the mail that Valentine's Day was this sweet little valentine from my #1 Valentine... love :) B had tried to find cards, but they didn't have any , so he got a postcard and made it his own special Valentine's Card. This one goes in the scrapbook, friends!