Valentines

Today was Parker's Valentine's Day party at school. The kids were supposed to bring a valentine for everyone in their class; I decided to try to have Parker make his valentines himself rather than buy them, because I felt like handmade things have more "heart" :) At first he didn't seem that into the project, but then eventually he told me he was "more interested in it" and that he was "up to the task"--I have no idea where he came up with that second quote! We ended up making them with teamwork--I stamped the envelopes, cut out the hearts and wrote on them, and put the cards in the envelopes, while Parker stuck the hearts onto the cards with stickers, put three animal stickers in each envelope with the card as little treats, and then sealed the envelopes closed with another sticker. They definitely ended up looking very "homemade," but I tried to remind the perfectionist in me of how much I love every thing that Parker makes himself--it is all the little quirks in the final product that make it so special. He was pretty happy with his valentines--he definitely seemed more connected to them than if we had just bought them--and seemed excited to go to school today--he ended up coming down with yet another cold, so he had to miss school on Tuesday, but I finally decided today that every runny nose can not keep him out of school, or else he will end up missing way too many days! I finally understand now how it comes to be that so many toddlers seem to constantly have snotty noses.