Happy Valentine's Day

Ari and Alex celebrated their first Valentine's Day amidst several inches of snow and ice from this year's biggest storm (so far, at least). Mommy celebrated the day by spending over two hours (while Alex and Ari were napping throughout the day) shoveling the heavy snow and ice off of the driveway...fun! While she was outside, our wonderful neighbor Alice came over to bearing Valentine's Day gifts for the kids. Alice and her husband give the kids gifts for every holiday and special event-- our arrival to the neighborhood, Halloween, the holidays, and now Valentine's Day. They also happen to be gifted musicians and vocalists, and we all enjoy hearing their performances. We couldn't ask for better neighbors! Here are Alex and Ari with their special Valentine's Day gifts:Speaking of neighbors, we managed to bundle up and trek through the snow to our other neighbors' house for a play date with Alex and Ari's friends Andrew, Justin, Jason, and Mitchell. We quickly realized that Arielle is going to be mighty happy with the ratio of (older) boys to girls in this neighborhood in about 13 years.

And speaking of Valentine's Day, Nana and Poppy Jack sent over special gifts for Alex and Ari, too- plate and fork/spoon sets...perfect as they start eating "real" meals! So despite the wintry weather outside, today turned out to be a warm Valentine's Day after all.