Valentine's at the Hauck's Nest

Valentine's Day has never

been a huge deal for us (though I'm certainly
not against long dinners where we linger over fancy food
and no one is asking me how many more
bites they have to eat)...but we decided to
stay in.  However, I couldn't just not celebrate....
so we did manage to sneak in a few fun things!

The celebration started in late January with a
Valentine's day photo shoot....which really
did manage to capture Max's silly side. 

 

I've also started a "Spark committee" at work - which is 

basically doing fun/low-key/nice things for others. 

At the beginning of the month, we did a bulletin board

and added a heart with everyone's name.  Then, 

people put Valentines, candy, Make it Great cards (it's

a Zoo thing), and even fun straws in them all month long! 

I wanted to cap the celebration off with donuts...

so I stopped at Krispy Kreme...and let's just

say people didn't hate it. 

Rob and I ended up meeting for lunch

(which we very rarely do!)

at a place called BiBiBop...which is sort of 

like an Asian chipotle...complete with yum yum 

sauce (and kale if you're Rob)! 

At dinner time I set the table with  

my ruffle edge pink plates (i only have

four settings) that I never use....but, #yolo

When Max got home from art class - he was 

greeted with our "fancy" table - complete with doilies, 

candles, and cards for all (and tulips for Mama)!

I even went one step further by cutting

his strawberries into hearts and using the "pink" 

applesauce! Feel free to Pinterest that for future

reference...jkjkjkjk

We dined on pizza in the shape of a heart...

drank water from wine glasses....

and lit all the candles!  

Other highlights included - a silly

balloon from Papa Rob to Max!

Lots of Valentine's from 

his friends...heart art work...and silly glasses

from Miss Jessi!

We finished the night out with SnapChats!

I just knew they would have funny Valentine's 

filters....and they did! 

 

I sincerely hope your Valentine's day was full 

of love, all the heart emoji's, and flattering SnapChat filters :)

xoxo

11 Things//February Edition

I'm nearly a week late with this list...but
I'm happy to have these little snippets
of Max and his personality recorded.
The pictures don't necessarily have
anything to do with the words...but
are pretty cute :)

1.)  His favorite number is 100.

2.)  Whenever he gets out of the bath and

we are drying him off – he holds up his

arms and says “don’t forget the (arm) pits!”

When you put the towel under to dry

them – he folds his arms back down

and giggles hysterically.

3.) He went to a birthday party for his

friend Addy last weekend.  The party

invitation said “for kids only – no adults

please”.  So, we were wondering how it

might go.  Rob dropped him off – and said

he was extremely shy for about 10 minutes

and then ran down to the basement to join the fun.

When I picked him up two hours later – he

proclaimed “mommy, I had so much fun!”

4.)  He signed all eight of his Valentine’s

all by himself.  It was the cutest thing!

5.)  He loves, loves, loves the car wash.

6.)  He really likes to help me do

what I call “chores”. He carries his towels

and laundry down to the basement and helps me

put them in. He pushes the mop around in the kitchen.

And LOVES to dust.  We have a Swiffer duster

that he is getting pretty good at operating. 

He also loves to run up new boxes of

tissues, paper towels, or toilet paper as needed.

7.)  While my sister and mom were babysitting

Max – they discovered he loves Pepperidge

Farm Mint Milano cookies. I’m not above

using them as a bribe for finishing his dinner.

8.)  We discovered the “Magic School Bus” theme

song on YouTube  and I swear he would watch it

thirty times in a row. We also had to google the

words because I kind of love to sing it too.

 9.)  After letting out a little toot, I said, "Max, 

you're a tooting machine"! And, he said, "no, 

Daddy is a tooting machine"! (He's not wrong). 

10.)  He informs us lately that he likes "Batman, 

Spiderman, and Superman". 

11.) He's taken to telling us, "Mommy, I love you". 

Or, "Daddy, I love you". All.the.time. It's really sweet. 

Bonus: At night, we will put him to bed - wait about

10 or 15 minutes (until we think he's asleep) and turn

on the TV.  However, recently, immediately after he 

hears the trill of the TV coming on - he will yell for

one of us. Upon entering his room, he will say "I heard

the TV turn on". Like, does he think we only watch it

with him? We aren't allowed to turn it on without him?

Either way - it makes us laugh.

He's the best.
xoxo

Five Fun Things in February

While historically February is a pretty blah month here
in Ohio - we haven't let that keep us down!  I stumbled upon
this super fun list of things to do in February on a Columbus
moms blog - and it has not disappointed!

1.) Home Depot Days
One of the first things I knew we had to sign up for was
the free Home Depot Kids workshop!  Home Depot
offers these FREE workshops once a month - and your
child gets a free apron, all the project materials,
and even a pin (for their apron) at the completion!

 
It was honestly so heartwarming to see Rob and Max
working together to build the Valentine's box.
Both of their levels of concentration
were intense!  Max was super into the hammering
of each nail...and being able to paint the box
when he was finished.
 
 
 
Now the box holds all of Max's beloved paint chips.
Seriously - I have never met a child who loves
to collect paint chips and then use my various
hole punches on them.
 

2.) Making Valentines
Of course - February is love month - so we had to
get our class Valentine's ready for distribution!
I had picked up some super cute pens in the dollar
spot a long time ago - but the closer we got to the
14th - the more I wanted him to be able to actually
make something and sign his name.

 
So, at the last minute - I printed out cards that said,
"I'm wild about you Valentine!"  Next, he strung
animal beads on bracelets and Papa Rob came
through with some boy scout knot tying
skills and they were good to go!
 
The day of their party  was actually quite nice....so
they got to go outside and bounce on the big
trampoline....(maybe work out some of the energy
from the cupcakes and juice boxes I sent)....and
in general be adorable :)
 
 

3.) Art Class
Max has always been into crafting - often
painting or coloring or cutting paper for way longer
than I ever thought the activity would last for.
When I saw this "Little VanGogh's" class being
offered through our local rec center - I knew he
would love it.  It was a total of four classes - and
each time he's brought home some pretty neat
projects!  The week pictured below was all
about using texture to paint and stamp.

 

4.) Painting with Penguins
In Mama related news, I'm still involved with our
Painting with Penguins program at work. While it does mean
that I work some longer hours and weekends - I really
love it!  The participants are led through creating
a canvas (that's my part) - and after it dries, our
African penguins walk on top of them and
leave footprints behind.

 
My favorite penguin (Trout) is pictured above....they
get to walk around and serve as inspiration during
the art time. It's a great program with a strong
conservation message -- and all of our eight spring
dates sold out online in in less than four hours!

5.) Paw Patrol Live
Max has been a Paw Patrol fan for a couple
of years now...and so I was really excited
to see that their live tour would be
rolling through Dayton!  My mom was
able to get us some tickets...and it did
not disappoint.

Max was over the moon excited - and sat
on Mim's lap the whole time! We bounced,
sang, and danced with the whole crew....
including Mayor Goodway, Mayor Hummdinger,
Captain Turbot, and even Wally the Walrus!

 
 
 
The level of cheesiness to this production was off
the charts...but so was Max's smile....so it was worth it!

Bonus:  Employee Recognition Dinner
**While technically not in February - Papa Rob and Mama
went to the Zoo's Employee Recognition Dinner
at the end of January.  It was held at the Hollywood
Casino - and we wined and dined all night!

 
There was a risotto bar, gin and tonics, and
possibly the best chocolate chip cookies ever....
 
My favorite co-workers!
 
Papa Rob even got recognized for his ten years
of service at the Zoo!
 
 
It was a great night!  We stayed out late(ish), danced,
and I even won 6 tickets to the Bon Jovi concert in March!

Hope your weekend is absolutely amazing!
xoxo