Natalie & Ryan: My Mini Valentine

Valentine's Day this year was the most mellow we've ever done. I think Ryan and I are just both so tired and sick, we didn't have it in us to make a big deal out of it. Ryan got a half day, and came home at noon. It was then that he gifted me my present, unbeknownst to him. I've never been a girl that needed flowers, chocolate, and jewelry for Valentine's Day. What I really wanted this year (and for every holiday that will ever exist) was a nap. And, for Ryan's sake, they're free!! He told me to get to bed, and you better believe he didn't have to ask me twice.

Sadly, I was suffering from a bit of anxiety, and couldn't fall asleep. I decided to relieve Ryan of daddy duty, and put an end to my "nap." Yes, I was both bummed and upset at myself. We played with Lilly and I gave them both their Valentine's Day gifts, then it was naptime for Lilly. I decided to try my nap again, and this time dozed off quickly. I woke up in a panic at 5:00, and realized that I was probably sleeping through any dinner plans we had. With us both being tired, no discussion of plans or dinner were made, so I had no idea what we were doing that night. And to top it off, I didn't have anything other than Hamburger Helper in the pantry.

Ryan pulled through and took us to Buffalo Wild Wings. He gorged himself on boneless wings, I picked the pulled pork off my burger, and Lilly literally only ate a container of ranch. We kept giving her bites of food, but she'd spit them out. She ended up just using either a fry, a carrot, or her thumb for transporting ranch. She's definitely Ryan's daughter! When the waiter came to clear our table, Lilly started asking for apple sauce. He thought it was funny.

Once home, Lilly went right to bed, and I was surprised when I went back into the kitchen to find that Ryan had an activity planned. The table was set up with the fixin's for painting canvases. I asked Ryan what we were doing, and he said "paintin'!" When I asked him what we were painting, he told me the theme was "family". It took us both a long time to decide what we wanted to paint. Ryan ended up painting a little bird family, and I did a mushy love tree. I love how they turned out! And I was super impressed with Ryan for planning it. He knows me so well!!

I know this has nothing to do with Valentine's Day, but I saw it in the store about a month ago, and needed an excuse to buy it. Valentine's Day was coming up, so I decided to make it Ryan's gift. It's a LEGO Darth Vador alarm clock.