Be My Valentine

Today was Madeleine's Valentine Party at school and I'm so happy to say that I think it went pretty well considering I haven't had the time to put into it that I put into the other ones. I guess I've been a little busy these past weeks! :)

Madeleine was SO excited that I was going to be bringing Charlotte with me! She's been begging me to bring her to school ever since she was born. Since we've managed to weather the stomach flu, a bad cold, and a fever virus without Charlotte getting sick, I decided to risk taking her with me. Harrison was also SO excited that he was going to get to come too! He loves going to her school since her teacher has trains in her room that he can play with.

While I got things setup, Charlotte got some lovin' from Ms. Simpson. She sat and rocked her -- the whole time I kept thinking how fun it will be if Charlotte's in her class in 5 years and I have these pictures! :)
The kids were totally enthralled with her! They kept saying she looked like a baby doll (although they weren't allowed to touch!). While I finished getting things ready, Harrison happily played with the trains.

Then it was party time! Harrison was super excited to get to participate -- one of the things I like about Ms. Simpson is how she involves the siblings and gets them to be part of the fun! Harrison thought he was big stuff sitting by sister and "crafting" with her!

The first part of the party was spent decorating their goodie bags with foam valentine stickers. The kids loved this and the bags turned out so cute! Then, while the kids worked on their second craft -- valentine teddy bear bookmarks -- the teachers stuffed the goodie bags FULL of candy and treats.

After craft time, the kids got to look at their valentines they'd exchanged earlier that day. And, even more candy was found in their valentine bags!!! They spent the longest time looking at the names on each valentine and thanking each other. Madeleine posing with one of her valentines....

and so, of course, brother has to do the same pose! :)

Then it was time for some good ol' party food -- cookies, cupcakes, pretzels, and -- for good measure -- cheese cubes!

While the kids had time to talk and eat, sweet Charlotte slept so soundly. I think she actually sleeps better when it's noisy. Probably a result of living with Harrison! :)

Then they got to look at their goodie bags. I think we've got more than enough candy to last us until Easter! (And we still have Harrison's party at preschool on Monday). At least both kids got bags, so there won't be any fussing about sharing candy!

I'm sad that this is the last party of the year. I've had such fun planning them and being involved at Madeleine's school and getting to know her teacher. I do feel like a BIG item has been checked off my "to-do" list for the year, which is a nice feeling. However, I can't believe that kindergarden is almost 3/4 over!!!! It really is SUCH a fun year!