The Lee Family: Olivia's Valentine's Party

Olivia's second grade class had their Valentine's party at 1pm on Valentine's Day and it was a lot of fun. Olivia actually went to a good amount of trouble making a really great My Little Pony Valentine's box only to find out that the class was making Valentine's bags instead and the boxes weren't needed. She actually spent a lot of time on her box and brought it in to the class on Wednesday only to be told that she needed to take it home. Then one of her classmates berated her on why she brought it to school, etc. It was really upsetting to Olivia and she said she had to go into the bathroom to have a little cry. Poor thing. So, it was a rough start to the Valentine's party. I was actually pretty upset by it all since it's been a tradition since we arrived at CES seven years ago. In fact, while Olivia was busy making her Valentine's box, Sofia was upset because she would never make another Valentine's box. It actually made her really sad. She really loves being a kid and wishes that she could take her time growing up. She isn't ready to grow up, she says it all the time.

For her Valentine's card, she wanted it to be My Little Pony and I actually found some at CVS of all places. I also bought a bag of suckers and she taped them to each Valentine card. She loved filling out each card to her classmates. She then decided that she wanted to make special Valentine's cards for Ms. Feaster, Mrs. Edelmon, Mrs. Schultz, Cora and Hannah. So she printed out coloring pages and colored them and signed each of them. The day before, Sofia and Olivia decided they wanted to make sugar cookies to pass out to their friends and teachers. So, she gave cookies to each of her favorite teachers. It was very sweet.

Valentine's Day arrived and the girls were excited to celebrate! For Olivia's party, I had a pair of red leggings with white hearts on the knees and a cute "XOXOXO" shirt. As she got dressed that morning, she decided she hated the 3/4 sleeve of the shirt and wanted to take it off. So, I agreed to cut off the sleeves, so it would be more comfortable. Thankfully that worked, since she's never even worn the shirt before. She is so particular about how things feel, especially tops and her socks! She took her Valentine's cards and cookie packages to school on Valentine's day and I was eager to go to her party. I arrived just as the party started and Olivia was laughing with Cora. I love those girls together.

The party started with each kid getting an ice cream sundae. The kids also had some fruit and pretzels for snacks. Once they were done eating, it was time for the party games to begin. Jacy and Shannon, the two room moms completely outdid themselves! They had the best games! The kids split up into four different groups and they had to add as many conversation hearts from one bowl to another using a flat stick each. The next game they played including blowing Q Tips through a straw into a bowl. Then they played tick-tac-toe with red cups and ping pong balls. It was surprising how good they were at all the games! Very impressive and I think they all had a great time! Olivia didn't participate in the conversation hearts game or the tick-tac-toe. She said she was worried because she knew her team was relying on her. She hates when the spotlight is on her. The last game was the Mummy game where everyone pared up and wrapped each other up with a roll of streamer. Olivia decided to be wrapped by Cora. Once Cora started wrapping her up, Olivia was not a huge fan of the game. Ultimately, they didn't win, but they did have fun playing.

After the games were over, the kids were each given a Valentine's gift. The girls all got little hatchimal gifts, which were super cute. The boys got some jumping bean Fortnite characters. Everyone was super happy. Then the kids were able to open up their Valentine's cards. Soon the party was over and it was time for us to say goodbye and the kids to head off to specials. I stuck around and helped clean up, which went quickly. It was such a fun party and I think all the kids had a great time.

The cookies for her teachers and special drawings for her friends.