Valentine's Day!

With all the birthdays this time of year, it's always easy for Valentine's Day to get lost in the mix. With some good planning and a couple late nights, there were plenty of treats and valentine fun to make it a special day!

Thankfully, Nana came to spend the day with Konny and I was able to get off work so I could make it to the lunch Banquet at Learn and Grow with Katie and Kelton's class party.

That also meant I wouldn't be getting in the shower at 5:30am, so I stayed up late making baked heart shaped chocolate donuts with raspberry glaze to surprise the kids for breakfast. The recipe was super delicious and very easy to make allergy friendly.


I left the donuts on the table with new Klean Kanteen water bottles for each of them. Katie was interested in her bottle but the boys were way more excited about their donuts!






Katie took strawberry rice krispie treats to Learn and Grow to share. Kelton took treats made with Fruity Pebbles. Marshmallow treats are no sweat to make allergy friendly, super quick and easy to make, plus the kids always love them. Can't go wrong there!


This year, Katie did sucker valentines too. These always turn out super cute and they have so much fun giving them to their friends.


I found this fun idea for soap valentines on pinterest. I made them for Kelton to hand out at school for his teacher, the office aides, nurse and principal.


With all the fun valentine ideas on pinterest,
I'm already looking forward to next year!

Yoplait Lactose Free: Review and Giveaway!!

There millions of Americans with lactose intolerance - and for them, avoiding dairy may help minimize uncomfortable side effects, but did you know avoiding dairy can have unintended health consequences? According to the National Institute of Health, when dairy is avoided, there are lower intakes of calcium and vitamin D in the diet, both of which are important bone building nutrients often found in dairy. Avoiding dairy can create higher risk for osteoporosis.

Now, just in time for National Lactose Intolerance Awareness Month in February, Yoplait has announced its new Yoplait® Lactose Free yogurt. Inspired by the Yoplait yogurt we know and love, Lactose Free comes in four delicious flavors - Strawberry, Peach, French Vanilla and Cherry - and contains 50% of the recommended Daily Value of calcium, with vitamins A and D in every cup. Lactose Free contains no artificial sweeteners and can be used in some of your favorite recipes - like chocolate crème brulee and strawberry cheesecake.

Our ped told me recently that when kids are younger it's usually the casein in dairy products that bother them, but after they grow out of that, they often still have trouble with the lactose.

Before I gave the kids any, I tried it myself. I was glad to see it contained sugar rather than an artificial sweetener, although it was almost just a bit too sweet for my taste. Konnor is back totally off dairy, but I think Katie is really going to like it. Aaaand, I can get her some super cheap using this...

.30/1 Yoplait Lactose Free Coupon
{GIVEAWAY}
Yoplait sent me this fun prize pack including...

(1) green (my favorite color) soft sided cooler
(1) green bowl and spoon
(2) green gel packs (these work great for kiddie boo boos)
(1) VIP coupon to purchase Yoplait Lactose Free yogurt


Disclosure: Prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark. All opinions expressed here are my own and may differ from others experience.

*The coupon offer for Yoplait Lactose Free yogurt is not valid in some states, including Louisiana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota and Tennessee.

Happy 2nd Birthday Konnor!!

It seems just impossible to me that 2 yrs has gone by since
his whirl wind arrival!





He's grown and changed so much this year and has been really pretty healthy aside from having pneumonia all of last April and then surgery in June. He's becoming much more social and independent. He's learned his sister's buttons and pushes them constantly and he simply adores his big brother!

As far a food goes, he started on a little dairy this fall but we're mostly back off it again due to some tummy issues. He's gluten free for time being because it's easier and while he's still soy free and the allergist wants to wait until 3 to trial it, he's had some accidental exposures with only mild reactions. I'm going to call soon to ask if we can go ahead with soy lecithin for now.

Oh and of course he's the cutest little 2 yr old boy I know!

It's always a bit of a tear jerker when I make a birthday video. Adding the music is when it really gets me! I still can't believe how much he's grown this year!


We celebrated on Saturday with a John Deere Tractor party. Since riding on the tractor with Papa, he just can't get enough!




My mom helped make the cakes again. We had a chocolate sheet cake and a green velvet with yellow frosting in the middle for Konny. There was also green and yellow jelly bellies, cake batter rice krispie treats and puppy chow. All soy free and gluten free.



The favors were party horns, tractors and tractor bandanas.



Opening gifts got really exciting once he realized there were tractors in most of them.




And he sure was ready for his cake!



He was also pretty eager to share!


As the party was winding down, Konny sang a little Justin Bieber for us with his new microphone from Mimi. It's hilarious that he knows most of the words!


Finally ready for bed after a really fun long day!

Happy Happy Birthday to my Sweet Little Konny Bear.
The best surprise of my entire life
and a true gift from God!