My Funny Valentine

Yesterday morning when Park woke up, Chris reminded him that it was a special day, Valentine's Day.

Park and I have been reading books for the last month, learning about what this fun holiday entails. We even made hundreds of crafty cards to mail to his cousins and grandparents just like Clifford and Emily Elizabeth did. Ok, so it was closer to ten, but if you have ever used scissors and glue with your 2-year-old, you will believe me when I say it felt more like hundreds.

Sadly, after all the work to get them out on time, they were returned to us for "lack of sufficient postage due to fluffy content". Who knew that puffiness would cost an extra 17 cents? I should have let Park squish them all like he originally tried to do. We are re-sending them, but wanted to post a picture for all you family members who didn't get yours yet.

So, as he came flying out into the living room, beaming from ear to ear, I was impressed with his enthusiasm for the "day of love". But, without a moment's notice, that smile suddenly turned to confusion.

"Where is my tree and why'd Santa not leave me any presents? I not like Valentine's Day!"

Sorry, Cupid, but your holiday seemed to be a bit of a let down for the boy.

He perked up a bit when he saw that Mommy and Daddy had come through with some small presents, namely a book called Big Boys Use the Potty. The good thing about being two is you're not familiar with a little term called ulterior motive, so the present was still a hit.

And so was my Mother-in-Law who hosted art class, so Chris and I could meet up for a special lunch date. What a treat! We exchanged love letters, which is a tradition in our household, and spent some time enjoying the quiet of a restaurant when only adults are present.

Upon picking up Park, he proudly showed off the craft he had made for me. That Grandma is one creative lady, folks. Here was his gift:



She also gave Park (and his cousins) the cutest little Bible I've ever seen. She had marked the verse about how he was God's Valentine. (John 3:16)

We went home to cook a special dinner for Daddy and Park waited impatiently to give Daddy his own love letter, which basically was everything he told me to write down and my own translation of it. It said things like, "I not like when you go to work," and "You take me to the pond?" So, I wrote things next to the phrases like, I love when we get to spend special time together and I'm very sad when you aren't around."

My love letter from Park, via Chris, was actually pretty similar, except it said:
Park pulls at Mommy's hair = "I want to hug you"
Park licks Mommy's face from chin to forehead = "I love to kiss you"
and so on and so forth......

And just in case she is unsure how to interpret "boy love", I've saved it for his future wife someday.

Park was so proud of himself when Chris and I made a big deal over all the special things he had done for us that he had a little change of heart by the end of the day.

"I love Valentine's Day. It's so FUN!"

I'm certain both Cupid and Park's future wife both breathed a sigh of relief.