happy valentine's day

i have been making these breakfast fruit cups on feb. 14th for the last couple years.
these shots are actually from last year, it was so much darker and colder last year.
i always look forward to this day - a good excuse to show those i love just how much i do.

fresh seasonal berries sprinkled with raw sugar, with milk/cream, and whipped cream.
such an easy but fun and special treat.
we actually make these quite often, but use these special heart cups only on v-day.
shortly after i had darrel, christopher made them for everyone before they woke up :)

this is the one holiday (besides t-giving) that i set the table with placemats and such.
i started this a few years ago, see here, and here for past celebrations.
last year we were in the middle of our major plumbing problem-
i didn't know if i would get to it, but did last minute - it really doesn't take much.
i always enjoy making the table look pretty for everyone, they all look forward to it too.

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grandparents tend to swing by to deliver some goodies and fun treats.

grandma has made these adorable cookies the last couple years,

and nani made the lovely 'amor' heart last year.

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last year chris and i had a wonderful lunch downtown while all the kids were in school.

i was newly pregnant with baby d at the time.

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hope to post some pics of this valentine's day soon :) - and not a year later again!

and would love to somehow add more time to the day so that i can blog more often :)

first smiles

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so, i started this post months ago and now it seems like ancient history.

but here is the first picture i got of darrel smiling - 

i remember we were all laying around him in the living room watching him smile.

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all my kids have been super expressive on the changing table.

they coo, and smile, and let out their sweet baby talk - 

i have so many fond memories of all them really communicating on the changing table.

here is baby d acting quite hilarious on the changing table...

at first little d was mainly a morning smiler.

we all looked (and still do) forward to it every morning- happy, happy, happy...

we all just love laying with him in the mornings (and after nap time) -

those smiles just light up our whole world each day.

now he smiles all the time, and it continues to melt our hearts every single time.

he sure knows how to make us happy, this little guy is a real sweetheart.

i took this last picture a couple of weeks ago-

there was an amazing shot i got after it, huge smile showing his adorable teeth.

i hadn't taken any pictures of him smiling in awhile and it was seriously darling.

then, i accidentally deleted it off my phone.

i called chris in a panic to see if i could get it back.

well, sadly it is long gone but that image of him is forever ingrained in my mind.

as chris said, there will be many smiling pics to come :)