February is one of our favorite months of the year! We usually have a huge blizzard, ( bummer not this year though) and we simply adore Valentine's day! We were a little sad though because Daddy had to leave on a trip and would be gone for Valentine's day so......what do the girls do when daddy and hubby are away? THROW A PARTY! (Ahh, don't worry daddy we would still have a party even if you were in town so don't feel bad!) We made a calendar of special events each day and would light a candle at the end of each day to mark the return home of daddy. This visual really helped Amanda have something to focus on other than "when is daddy coming home?" "How many more days till daddy comes home?" She has a hard time with her daddy being away since he puts her to bed at night and tells better stories than I do. "You do not know the special stories that daddy tells!" Basically, she is saying that daddy is a much better story teller than I am and that is OK, I will give daddy the title of the best story teller since he can't have the "Best Mommy" title! I told Amanda she could invite five friends to her Valentine's party and she chose to invite friends from her preschool class. Her class is the ladybug class and since the love bug and ladybug look exactly the same, we used ladybugs as our theme! 
We found these darling ladybugs and filled them with treats as a party favor. 
We also found these darling chocolate ladybug lollipops that surprisingly were made from some very good tasting chocolate to use as a decoration and party favor.
We decorated with garland and hearts!
We decorated with garland and hearts!
For the entertainment we had a puppet show! 
The girls made Valentine's and crafts. I over planned the crafts thinking the girls would love to just make crafts but they preferred to play with the post office that Amanda and I had made out of a huge box and with the other more exciting toys in the basement. (I was a little bummed about the crafts so I saved them for next year, or maybe Amelia and her friends will make them to appease me!) I had also planned a few games, the girls loved the hide and seek heart game, but the toss the bean bags into the heart game just didn't keep their interest! I am learning that kids at this age seem to have their own agenda and can be quite entertained by it so I don't need to plan so much! (Well, at least I know that now!) 
We used some Valentine's that Amanda and Amelia had made at a Valentine breakfast we went to with our MOPS group.One of Amanda's friend's made a Minnie Mouse on a heart and brought it to Amelia because earlier Amelia was looking at this little girl's shirt and she had Minnie on it and Amelia loved it.
I thought that was simply precious for a child to be so sweet and think of someone like that who happens to be 4 years younger than she is. Such precious friends!
The girls ate heart shaped turkey and cheese sandwiches, fruit, and carrots for lunch and of course, gooey and sugary cupcakes for dessert! Amanda had a lovely party with her friends, and I had a good time with the mom friend who stayed to help! (This is the first year we have experienced drop off birthday parties and play dates.) I will admit that it has taken some getting use to since I really like to see all the action but Amanda really enjoys being dropped off.) Just the other day I was told by another parent of a little boy whose party she attended that she was "so sweet" and that they were happy to have her in their home. I was thrilled to get a report like that since I have no idea how she is when I am not around. I took her to get a Dilly Bar! I told her my friend had just told me how when her kids were young and someone would give them a compliment about their behavior at a restaurant that they would get ice cream sometime soon for it. I told her we couldn't do that for every compliment (because I am expecting alot of them) ha! No, but because ice cream is not healthy and is a very special treat. I really wish kids got excited about tomatoes or going out for spinach like they do for ice cream! It would make life a lot easier!
I am so proud of you my sweet five year old! Sorry I didn't get pictures of you with your friends at the party, I just got busy but I will get some next year!
