The zoo.

A while back I bought a Groupon to the zoo. $5 for admission for two, plus I had a $5 Groupon coupon (anyone else love how that rhymes?), so we got a zoo day for FREE! Delaney had a ball. We had been once before when she was much smaller, but this time she could really see and name the animals. Her favorites were the leopards - "sooo cute mama!" and the fishies. Here are some pictures from our fun family day!

Toddler trauma in aisle 3.

One of February's memories wasn't a fun one. Delaney experienced her first real tantrums this month. (Fast forward: they are gone for now, thank goodness!) In hindsight, I think Delaney must have been coming down with a sickness the Saturday these events transpired, but Daddy & I were convinced that the terrible 2's had invaded a few months early.

Woah.

The day started out fine, and transpired into a mess of tears, timeouts, and 3 very weary people (apparently throwing a tantrum is just as hard work as dealing with one!)

Here's where the mom logic went out the window.

Andrew had to be at church that evening, but alas, we need groceries, so off I trekked with my little diva to Wal-Mart. A quick trip with a short list. We've done this solo a million times, what's a million and one, right?

Wrong. So very, very wrong.

In the dog food aisle, Delaney dropped her goldfish (the snack, which is pretty much a shopping staple for us. Happy baby = mom able to put things into cart and check out). Seems like a win-win. But the concept of not being able to eat off the floor of Wal-Mart (there are some things you just can't compromise on, people) was just too much for this little girl to handle.

Insert kicking, yelling, and crying here. Delaney was pretty upset too.

I kid, I kid. I actually stayed really calm, attempted to calm her down to no avail, and then decided the best way to handle this was to get the heck out of there. So we bee-lined it to the checkout with the few things we had picked up, and got to the car.

Daddy to the rescue helped with dinner and bath, while Mommy took some time to decompress. The hardest part was getting my head around how my sweet little girl could act like this!

When we got home, I told Delaney that I loved her very much but did not like her behavior at all and did not want to see her act like that anymore. I asked for a kiss. I got it, along with her response: "I'm sorry, mama." And mama's heart melts.

Ah, turns out my sweet little girl is still my sweet little girl after all. Wal-Mart just gets to people.

Back Up - Let's talk about love.

Oops. Is it March already? We have been insanely busy since the New Year started, and haven't looked back. Instead of missing an entire month of excitement, I decided to go back and talk about a few memorable moments of our February. First stop: Valentine's Day!

Andrew & I love to celebrate Valentine's Day at home. We don't like the crowds and ridiculous people out, so we just make our own night of it at home. This year, after we put our little love to bed, we celebrated with a nice meal, gifts, and a good movie.

Since we have been dieting/eating healthy/whatever you want to call it, this was a big cheat meal for us. So we had some of our favorites: Blackberry Merlot wine (if you haven't tried it, you must!), homemade pizza (soooo delish), and Ben & Jerry's (need I say more?)

One of the gifts Andrew gave me was a new movie, Friends with Benefits. We curled up on the couch and watched while we let our food settle. It was a great night with my love, celebrating the life we've created together, and the love that started it all!

Here are some pics I snapped on my phone from our night:

Our pretty table. Even if you celebrate at home, you still need a little romance!

My Valentine whipping up an amazing meal.

The finished product. Divine.

Still lovebirds. Me and the man of my dreams!