Sweets and Treats

The "Sweets and Treats" attendees: Claire, Anna, Marley, Kate, Abigail, Haley, and Caroline (not shown: Leah)

Jessica and Haley making a candy necklace together
Kate Kate is all smiles after putting the finishing touches on her heart candy necklace.
Such a Valentine Diva!

While Josh has his Valentine's Day tradition of taking the girls out on Daddy/Daughter dates I decided it was time to start my own Mommy/Daughter tradition. My sister-in-law gave me the idea of doing a Mommy/Daughter Valentine's Tea Party. For years she has put together a little Tea Party for my nieces and their friends. It's been fun to hear her stories and see sweet pictures of these little girls all dressed up and spending an afternoon with their mommies. I love the idea of using Valentine's Day to celebrate the special bond shared between a mommy and her daughter.

Seeing as how Abigail is just now 2, I wasn't quite sure how an actual "Tea Party" would go over. Call me crazy but I just couldn't see a bunch of 2 and 3 year olds sitting around and sipping tea. So instead, I opted for this first year to just throw a "Sweets and Treats" party and let the girls go at it and fill up on cupcakes, brownies, and strawberry lemonade. We had a great time. All in all there were about 7 mommy/daughter pairs who came. For the most part it ended up being a glorified playdate with an invitation but we did have a short craft time where the girls made heart candy necklaces.

I'm looking forward to building upon this tradition as the years go on. More than anything I'm just thankful to have such incredible friends in my life with whom I can share the ups and downs (and drama) of raising such precious girls.