Sweet Surprises.

This past weekend was full of many sweet surprises.

My mom had a birthday and we surprised her with a gift certificate for a massage. She's been picking up my kids all of the time, so I know she needs one! No pictures to post, because she did NOT want me to make a big deal about it. Low key was the word. :) Happy Birthday also to Papa Dille who turned 60 on Sunday!

My good friend Sarah sent me a sweet surprise in the mail and I am in love with it and adore her for it. I'm not sure if I can say thank you enough, but I promise to rock my handcrafted S.Kohler original bag like the sassy mom that I am complete with a headband that together bring me joy!

I can FINALLY fit EVERYTHING I need for three hours of church with two little boys into ONE bag. Thank you again! Carter is looking for leftover snacks from earlier. On Sunday morning I put together the boys Valentines presents. ABC flashcards put together with rings so they stay together and can easily be flipped back and forth. I added some assorted ribbon I had in the scrap closet to make them a little cuter. Carter loves them and has since then carried one of them around. I had to bargain with him this morning for him to leave them in the car at the gym. I'm hoping this will be a fun way to expand his vocabulary and learn his letters.

Here he is with Mike reading his flash cards. This is our sixth year with Mike working at the firm, I know that this is his busiest time so I never expect him to do anything for me. I don't want him to, I'd rather he spent what few minutes he has at home with me instead of shopping. So this year I surprised him with 1lb of the most delicious dark chocolate fudge I have ever tasted. Ok, so maybe it was a little for me too. Mike in turn, ordered me a new MP3 player in pink to replace the one stolen last week. Best of all he was home. That alone was the best gift for all of us. We miss him when he works so much.

Saturday morning I hosted a baby shower for a friend in the ward who just had a little girl. Having two boys I get pretty excited by the idea of shopping for pink and dainty things, and the opportunity to get crafty and girlie. So along with the cutest little pink and brown flowered hoodie for baby Lydia, I also made this... a dress bow holder for her baby room, where she can hang all of her bows on the brown ribbons hanging from the bottom of the dress. Sometimes I even surprise myself, it turned out awesome and Shannon was totally surprised.

Just a few more sweet surprises.
Carter is now talking in sentences and holding conversations. The second set of tubes have done the trick and he is now exploding with words and lots of them together. The other day, I grabbed the hood of his jacket as he tried to sprint into the parking lot. He turned to me and said, "mommy don't grab my jacket." That was the first sentence and he's only continued since then.

Owen is talking more too. Add "tractor, moo, apple, and grandma" to the list of his blossoming vocab. He's also climbing onto and over everything!

The highlight of my week was Friday night when Mike walked in the door and the boys just happened to still be awake, Owen dropped everything when he heard the garage door open, looked up to see Mike walk around the corner and squealed "Dada," threw his arms in the air and ran to him. I live for moments like that.

I hope your weekend was full of sweet surprises as well.
Happy Valentines Day.