valentines day and more...

we had a wonderful valentine's day this year, aside from the fact that dan spent the first half of the day working. we started the day with a breakfast of heart-shaped pancakes and strawberries. that afternoon, we made valentine's cupcakes as a family. as i have mentioned before, mary claire loves to help in the kitchen, so, naturally, she was thrilled. that evening, dan cooked dinner for us to give me a little break, which was very sweet of him. he made chicken stuffed with dates, raisins, apples, apricots, and a few spices, cheesy polenta, and green beans. it was all simply delicious! for dessert we had heart shaped ice cream sandwiches with strawberry ice cream that i made the day before. (i just realized that our day was completely centered around food, but i think i am ok with that!) of course we exchanged gifts as well, but nothing too big. we gave mary claire a 'surprise ball' that i made. it was basically a ball of crepe paper with little goodies hidden within the layers. we also gave her a little stuffed animal and some candies.

in other news, mary claire's second birthday is less than a month away, march 15! as of now, we are planning on taking her to seaworld for the day to celebrate in lieu of a big party. i just haven't really felt up to planning anything major. i mentioned this to her about a week ago and now she brings it up every day! she tells me we are going to see the fishies, dolphins, sharks, whales, turtles, alligators, and penguins for her birthday, so i guess that means she approves of the plan.

today was the first really nice day we have had in a while, which i could not be more grateful for. now that we have been living in florida for a while i have become accustomed to warm weather. normally, the average temperature around here this time of year is around 75. i barely know how to handle anything below 70 anymore, so these past couple of weeks of highs in the 60's and even some 50's has just been killing me. luckily, today was in the 70's and we spent the afternoon outside! i just hope this weather sticks around for a while.

i have now entered the third trimester of my pregnancy. it has really flown by! i have been so blessed to have such an easy relaxed pregnancy. i just hope the remainder goes about the same. we are still working on preparations for lilly's arrival. until we transition mary claire from the crib to her new bed, the nursery won't be able to be completed, which is sort of bugging me, but oh well. i recently dug out all of mary claire's old clothes for lilly, and it is hard to believe how tiny mc was and lilly will be. i just can't wait to meet her!

that's all the news i have for now. upon my sister amanda's request, i am posting a picture of me pregnant. amanda, you better appreciate this because, as you know, i don't like taking pictures of myself.....