Valentine's Celebrations

Valentine's Day in my house growing up centered around family. In specific, my baby brother Ryan. Valentine's Day is Ryan's birthday. With my parent's anniversary a week later, we would often do a family birthday celebration on Valentine's Day, accompanied with cards and chocolates from my parents. They would celebrate the holiday days later, or combine it with their around the corner anniversary.

Happy Birthday Ry!

Our first Valentine's Day as a couple was spent a part at different schools, the next year I was sick, and the following three years in college I was working at a restaurant. (Read: no way you're going to get the night off.) Follow that with morning sick pregnancy, small baby, small toddler, pregnancy again---the holiday has not had much time to build itself into one with tradition. This year we aimed for a yummy family dinner with cards and flowers and a surprise box of tiny chocolates for Maevey-girl from her daddy. She was so stunned by a gift and a card just for her, alongside her mommy that she talked about it the rest of the night and most of this morning. 

Enjoying her spoils from Daddy, in a leotard of course. 

Pregnant Ballerina Selfies

Hello blogerverse! It's been awhile. Admittedly, with the hard year my family had I just haven't felt like writing. I even quite writing in my private journal--too much pain to keep jotting down. But time passes, and God gives us gifts to celebrate, and to ease the pain of tremendous loss. Most of you (since basically anyone reading this is family) know that we are expecting baby O2 early this July! I am desperate--DESPERATE to know who this person is! Thankfully, our gender reveal sonogram is next Tuesday; I'm ready for that knowledge at the very least. I'm still teaching ballet three days a week, for about 12hrs total. I plan to teach until May and then take this summer off; usually I teach all the way through but I have a hard time envisioning my thirty-something-week self doing jetes and fondus. Already marked as the "not a first child" I have hardly taken any belly pictures this time around, save a few stolen moments in a mirror I've secretly texted my curious frousin. I did snap this little gem last week, at about 18wks. 

Pregnant Ballerina 

 I am equal parts horrified by my very pregnant, very early self, and amused by how I look pregnant, dressed for ballet. Meanwhile, Maevers has continued to obsess over ballet and all things ballerina. It doesn't hurt that my parents got her two amazing, huge tutus for Christmas this year. And if you're wondering, while we've made the dance items available, and she has taken class from me---this is mostly her doing. Ask anyone who has been at our house long, it's Miss Maeve who runs to her dress up box to dig out her ballet slippers, leotaa'd, and skirt, immediately request appropriate ballet music so she might dazzle you on the dining room rug. Easily happens five times a day. A friend who is mother to all boys stayed the night Sunday and marvelled as we negotiated appropriate sleepwear for our girl. Compromise? While you cannot sleep in a tutu, I will allow a ballet skirt over reasonable pjs. All parties satisfied. 

God help us when she hits sixteen.

Our tiny ballerina in training.