Happy "I Love You" Day

I woke up at 7:40 this morning cuddled up with my 2 littlest boys. We all surprisingly fell asleep after our original 6:00 wake up.  This was the perfect start to "I Love You" Day, except that we needed to be out the door in about 30 minutes and I still had to pack lunch, wrap Valentine's gifts for Nicholas' teachers and find clean clothes for everyone.  I said Happy Valentine's Day to Nicholas and tried to explain it was a special day to say "I Love You."  I got no response and decided we could talk about this later.  I threw on some sweats and cursed my new short do because I couldn't stick it in a quick ponytail...oh well.  Then I put Tyler in the co-sleeper on the side of the bed and flipped on the TV for Nicholas while I went to the laundry room to find some red clothes for the boys.

When I came back up, I saw Nicholas wedged in the co-sleeper beside his brother.  He had his arm across Tyler and they were staring at each other with what can only be described as pure love.  When Nicholas caught me watching them, he asked, "This okay, Mommy?"  Normally it wasn't.  We tried to keep the 30 pound three-year old out of there, not sure if the tiny crib would buckle under his weight.  But I couldn't tell him to stop loving his brother, especially on Valentine's Day, so I said,"Yes," and raced back downstairs for the camera.  As I came back into the room, I heard Nicholas whispering, "Do you love me Tyler?"  I absolutely melted and then tried to capture the moment.  This is what Valentine's Day was all about, right?  A special day to show others you love them.

We finished getting ready and were out the door only ten minutes late, but we still had to stop at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast.  As I pulled up to the window, I was greeted with a friendly, "Happy Valentine's Day," from the worker inside.  This time it clicked with Nicholas and he quickly repeated it again and again and again.  On the way to school, I again tried to explain the idea of it being a special day to show people you love them.  I explained that we were bringing special presents for his teachers because we loved them.  To which Nicholas responded, "Where's my present?"  Oh no, I thought, he had the gimmies (remember The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmes?) and an hour ago he didn't even know what Valentine's was.  I told him that he would get his special "I Love You" present after-school (after I went to the store to buy it).

When we got inside school, I asked Nicholas if he wanted to deliver the gifts.  He responded with an enthusiastic, "Yes!" and raced toward his classroom without stopping to put his jacket or tiger hat in his locker.  He struggled to open the door with the gifts in his hands, but Mr. Independent finally succeeded and burst into the room with hugs for both teachers.  I stayed back and let him have his moment.  His gimme attitude was gone and he seemed truly happy to be making others happy.

Then I was off to find the perfect little gifts for my littlest Valentines...nothing like waiting til the last minute.