A Valentine's Letter to My Children

Dear Children,

I spent a lot of years disliking Valentine's Day. My rationale was this: If you're not Jewish, you don't celebrate Passover or Hanukkah, therefore if you are not or have not a valentine, you don't celebrate Valentine's Day. I have finally decided, after being married for 8 years that it is flawed logic to think that way. My only hope for you is that you will never become jaded about a holiday that there is nothing to be upset about. You may not have a boyfriend or a girlfriend, a husband or a wife, but you definitely have people in your life who love you, myself included, and I'm sure there are people in your life for whom you have great love. Why not take a day out of 365 (or 366 depending on the year) and celebrate that? Love is something worth celebrating. Don't make my mistake and miss out.

Happy Valentine's Day!
I love you!
Mom

And thanks for making me feel loved each and every day. Love to see your smiles!

The First and Only Semi-Annual Marie Update

Marie has now been part of our family for half a year and I'm sure none of us can imagine what our lives would be like if we hadn't decided to have another baby. She's wonderful, and has lived up to her middle name of Joy. I haven't always been historically good and getting pictures done at good times, but when I realized she was 6 months old on the 5th, I gave her a bath, put on brand new clothes and took some pictures while the boys were at school.

A few days later I took her to the doctor for her check up. She is now 25 inches long (63.5cm, 16th percentile) and 15 lbs 11.5 ounces (7.13kg, 42nd percentile). I don't remember her head circumference.