Valentine’s Day 2021 + A First Tooth!

It was a very love-filled weekend for our family as we went all-in on the Valentine’s Day fun this year.

Long-time readers may remember the tradition Ryan and I have on Valentine’s Day where we divide up at the same time, give each other a small budget of $15-$20 and a time limit of an hour (or two), and then shop for some Valentine’s Day treats we think the other person will love.

It’s a tradition that began for us back when we were dating in college in Orlando and we wanted to celebrate Valentine’s Day in a way that felt a little unique! This year we included our boys in the fun on Saturday morning and divided up into teams outside of a local strip mall.

Team One:

Team Two:

Ryan and Ryder headed into World Market while Chase, Rhett and I made a beeline for Target. Before we were done, we all ended up in Target at the same time and the boys got a major kick out of trying to be sneaky around the store as we did our best to avoid each other.

In the end, we left with some special goodies for everyone and while Ryan and I opted to exchange our surprises on Sunday, Chase and Ryder gave each other their special gifts after lunch on Saturday. They both loved what the other picked out (a tow truck toy + bath bombs for Ryder and crystal growing kit + a Mars rover toy for Chase) and happily played for quite a while after we got home.

The weather all weekend long was pretty disgusting in Charlotte — mid-30s and rainy — so we spent a lot of time inside and made good use of early bath times, our bounce house, Picasso Tiles and more. I also headed out to get an oil change and a quick trim at Great Clips because my hair desperately needed it.

Saturday night looked like pajamas at 5 p.m. and pizza for dinner but the highlight of the evening occurred when I was playing with Rhett on the floor and felt a tiny little tooth!!!

I let out a squeal and of course Chase and Ryder came running and wanted to feel their little brother’s very first tooth! His bottom left middle tooth is just barely peeking through and it’s so darn cute. We’re planning to start solids with Rhett soon (he’ll be six months in two weeks) and his little tooth just served as yet another reminder of how fast time flies. (I will be approaching beginning solids with Rhett the same way I approached them with with Chase and Ryder. You may read more about my thoughts behing this here if you are interested: Beginning Solids with Baby)

Once we had everyone in bed, Ryan and I had a date night on the couch of sorts with frozen custard we picked up from Andy’s, a few episodes of Schitt’s Creek and a solid 1.5 hours of just chatting with each other without any distractions which was so, so nice. He’s my favorite!

Sunday

Valentine’s Day began niiice and early as basically every day around here does lately thanks to our boys who all enjoy waking up a little after 6 a.m.

Ryan kept everyone distracted while I quickly transformed our kitchen counter into a Valentine’s Day celebration complete with small little baskets for the kids and a felt heart banner I reuse every year.

Their baskets contained bath bombs (our kids are obsessed), a couple of Lovevery toys I saved from Ryder’s latest play kit delivery, sprinkles to decorate Valentine’s Day cookies and a book for each boy. Early last week, I asked for more chapter book recommendations for Chase from you guys on Instagram and received so many awesome recommendations. I was looking for a new series to begin and when I read about Dragon Masters after so many people recommended it, I knew he’d love it. Let’s just say we flew through the entire first book on Sunday and I’ve already ordered the rest of the six-book series. It’s so cute and Chase was immediately a fan.

Thankfully the rain let up for a few hours in the morning on Sunday and we made it a point to bundle up and get outside for an hour with the boys. It was still really cold so they weren’t very interested in anything other than a cozy stroller ride which suited us just fine.

Neither Chase nor Ryder love a lot of time in the stroller these days but they cozied up with a space book and hung out together while we walked around the neighborhood and enjoyed some much-needed fresh air. Of course Ryder needed to “help” push Baby Rhett on the walk a few times, too. He LOVES pushing his little brother in his stroller any chance he gets! Just don’t try to help him or you’ll suffer the wrath of a 2.5 year old who believes himself to be incredibly self-sufficient.

Exhibit A: Ryder’s rainboots on the wrong feet that he insisted were most definitely on the right feet.

Once we made it home, we spent some time puzzling (a new puzzle was one of my Valentine’s Day surprises from Ryan) and eventually the stars aligned and Ryder and Rhett went down for a nap at the same time. This gave me a chance for some one-on-one time with Chase and we read more Dragon Masters and decorated some Valentine’s Day cookies while Ryan headed off to an intramural soccer game. (He’s joining his friend Ben in a local men’s league as an alternate and already got called in to play on the first game of the season.)

Once Ryan was back home and everyone was awake again, we wrapped up our Valentine’s Day with some crystal making, sugar eating and couch cuddling as we watched a movie for family movie night and called it a day.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend and a wonderful Valentine’s Day!