Turning 30

If there is one thing I have learned in my 20's, it's that life is too short not to be who you are and love what you love. If you know me, you know I love the beach. I found the closest best thing to it and packed all of us up to spend half the day there. The drive up to Arrow Rock was even more beautiful than I remembered, just as scary at times too (very narrow roads with no railings and a big gas tanker semi truck trying to navigate through them). haha We pulled up, found our own private spot away from anyone else, and made ourselves at home in this beautiful place! 

There's that cute cheeky bum again!

The queen bee ordered dad to push her around everywhere on her fabulous turtle and she was incredible content to float along! If anyone came to close though or dare knock her in (even by accident ... I'm looking at you, dad! haha) her mood turned sour on a dime. Such is the life of an almost threenager!

I've mentioned this before but Nic knows my love language so well, quality time. Every birthday and anniversary he always takes the day off work. My favorite gift of all, to have us all together!

That scowl. haha She also wasn't a big fan of the birds swooping around us after lunch!

He may not have my looks but he has my adventurous spirit. He was equally as pleased as me to be swimming and loving a day at the beach! Speaking of swimming, no one else dunked their head except for me. They all counted down for me though and after I ran and dove in Lyla goes, "Wow, mommy is a mermaid!". My life has been made!

At lunch time, Lyla dropped a bite of her sandwich in the dirt. I brought a garbage bag along so we tossed it in. The sky was completely clear until 20 seconds later when 2 seagulls landed right next to the garbage bag and fought over who was going to get the bite. Lunch and a show!

This was the thief himself. haha He flew a little ways, dropped it in the water, dove back down to snatch it again, and was back to soaring the sky. Enjoy your dirty sandwich, mister! 

If you would have asked me at 20 years old what I would want for my life in the next 10 years, it was always my hope and dream to have a family. Here I am ... dreams really do come true. <3 nbsp="" p="">

He's looked for sticks since he could hold one in his hand. Now, he looks for "wands" like a true wizard that he is! 

Everyone doing "CHEERS" with their sandwiches!

My only other desire for the day was a yummy dinner where I could sit through the whole meal and eat it while it is still hot. We ate at P.F.Chang's ... wearing my favorite new hat from my family!

That night we picked up the kids at my mom's and had oreo ice cream pizza. Who know there was such a thing but it was incredible!

The celebration continued later on in the week with a girl's night with my step mom and sister-in-law's! We had pizza and an ice cream cake with my name on it! The girl time was a total dream. 

My dad even popped in here and there and I taught him how to cook homemade pizzas. ;)

Looking back on the last decade of my life, there has been so much growth for me. That's what I hope for the next decade too. To learn more, dream more, change more, love more, and be the best version of my self that I can possibly be. Here's to 30, flirty, and thriving! ;)

Summer Days

We have big dead rings in our grass to prove what a good time they have had in their pool this summer! They'll both complain about how cold the water is at first until inevitably jumping in. Lyla will perch on the seat watching Liam canon ball into the water. He wears his cute goggles with the strap way too long on one side so that they are tight enough. Wouldn't want a drop of water to leak through those puppies. haha

CANNON BALL!! She'll squeal with delight as the water splashes her body!

I die over how cute she is in this swimsuit!

She's also a 50/50 girl with these rings ... half the time gathering them all in one fist and refusing to share and the other half joyfully tossing them in the water for Liam to fetch for her. A true queen bee!

No swim diaper this year has made for the cheekiest summer! They also love that lid. It goes to one of my cooking pots but for all specific purposes, it is used as a Captain America shield! 

Whenever Liam is taking a break from them, she'll swipe his goggles and try to put them on herself. It usually ends up looking something like this ... haha

Sometimes they play "puppy" with the rings. It's like "house" but with a lot more panting and fetch.

My favorite moments are the ones where they happily share and play together. When splashing each other in the face doesn't make either one of them mad.

The cutest form of silly is a moment like this one where she doesn't even realize they are upside down. haha

More swing rides to stretch out on and dry off in the sun.

Until she spots a bug or two on the patio!

After taking 100 pictures of her, she wanted to take one of me. I think she'll love taking pictures just as much as I do and I'm excited to teach her one day! 

For now she presses ALL the buttons and royally screws up my settings. haha Then gives me the best surprise face when she discovers the one that opens up the flash.

Leaning in to how long the sun stays up with later bed times to play hide and seek or bike rides to the playground. Oh, these summer days.

Potty Training Round 2

These things on the kitchen counter can only mean one thing ...

That's right, round two of potty training. 

This time, for Lyla girl and with ponies! 

I've been dreading it.

She's my stubborn one. Strong willed. Fiesty. 

A couple weeks ago she showed a window of excitement at the idea of going on the big girl potty and I took it. Jumped all in! She'll be starting preschool in the fall and while they don't require potty training, Liam learned at this age and I was hopeful she would be ready too.

The first day she woke up, I showed her the counter of m&m's and ponies and she sat down right in front of me on that little potty and ... challenge accepted, POOPED! 

Wow, okay?! I was a little shocked. Picked my jaw up off the floor and gave her the reward.

 The beaming face of pride over her pony! haha

She did really great for those first 3 days! Hardly having any accidents, looking adorable watching a show on that little potty chair.

I pulled out all the stops ... no underwear (Liam just ran around naked but dresses for a girl were great for this!), stayed in the 12 foot radius of the kitchen at all times, filled her full of juice, surrounded her in books to read.

She even made going potty look cute with a toe pop!

The princess on her throne!

Then we started underwear and began venturing out. The first couple of days were great until the constipation finally had to wear off and then there were accidents galore. Lots of regression a week in and a mere day before a trip we had planned for a week out of town. There were a lot of tears from me, anger from her, anxiety from the both of us, and "what was I thinking!". Nic talked me down off my ledge as he does (bless him) and the day we left on our trip a pull up went on. I got so distracted on the trip that I forgot to keep asking if she needed to go and guess what she did, she started TELLING me herself. Here we are, three weeks in and she still wears a pull up all the time but no potty accidents ever since. The only part she still struggles with is #2 so, to save both of our sanities and a whole lot of underwear that were getting thrown away, a pull up for a while it is. Until she decides she feels comfortable with the idea. Proud of the progress she has made, I know it hasn't been easy on her either! She's a big girl now! ;)

Liam Graduates Preschool

Like time slipping through my fingers ... my favorite little guy finished his final years of preschool. I can't even believe it! It feels like yesterday, I was 9 months pregnant with Lyla and both Nic and I walked him in to his first day as a tiny 2 year old, a couple months away from 3 on his first day. He was shy that year, uncertain of himself at times around other kids. As the oldest child in our family, this amount of socialization was new for him. He walked in that door only knowing one sound, "d", and came home 3 weeks later naming all of his colors. I know so much of that was the influence of his peers. His speech took off from there that year! I'm so glad I followed my mother's intuition and put him in preschool so young because he flourished! 

Here he was, tiny and adorable on his first day ...

Now he's almost 6 and starting Kindergarten in the fall! I can't wait for the adventures he has ahead of him, starting with the day he is most excited to experience right now ... his first day of Kindergarten when he gets to ride that beloved BUS!

With the closure of schools due to the virus back in March, he missed having a preschool graduation. After 3 years of learning and growing so much, I wanted to give him that moment, even if it looked a little different than it would have. He borrowed my graduation hat since blue is his favorite color and we spent the whole day celebrating him!

 I had to include a picture from his first day this year too! Same spot, same favorite color, somehow same shoes (?). He grew so much since I took this picture of him. He's learning to read and spell. He can rhyme with the best of them and loves to write his name on everything he makes. 

Balloons, pokemon cards, pizza for dinner, s'mores for dessert. He was in heaven!

Happy Graduation, handsome boy! We are so proud of you!! XO

Quarantine | Vol. 3

As promised! More of the small and simple moments that have made up our quarantine days ...

We sit by the front window sometimes ... sometimes to watch a garbage truck pick up the trash on our street, sometimes to watch a package get delivered, or see bird out the front window. No matter what it is, I always love seeing the world through her eyes!

Sometimes during quiet time, I go out to the backyard to read or write or simply have a few minutes of alone time and take in the warmth on my face. This little one often finds me and follows me out there. She is a little less about the quiet and the still but she is darn cute. She has the cutest smile and eyes like her daddy that struggle to see in the sun. She nicked her face above her lip with her long nails one night while sleeping. Confession: I hate cutting them with clippers because she never wants to sit still and her fingers are so small. So I let them grow out until I absolutely have to. Anyway, she has picked at that spot over and over again, refusing to let it scab and heal. No matter how many different healing ointments I tried, there is a faint scar there now.

The cutest french pigtail braids and hand-me-down shoes from her brother! Part girly girl in pink with purses and the other part total tomboy in converse sneakers searching for mud to dig her hands into. I adore both sides of her!

Finding sand wherever he can to bury himself in. haha

Randomly choosing the front room for quiet time. 

Decorating the front window for 4th of July!

Finding the most microscopic of bugs on our patio and smashing them all. She's savage and ruthless when it comes to insects!

Our current side yard situation ... a total mess of different types of rock and dirt. It has become the kids at-home "sandbox" so far this summer. I finally got smart and started sending her out there with no clothes on because she is covered from head to toe by the time she comes inside. Worth it though for how long it has kept them entertained some days!

Eating their first s'mores of the season that they roasted on our new fire table! It is so handy being able to turn it on by the push of a button and no smoke smelling clothes to change out of after. 

If you were to ask my kids, Sita's yard is definitely better than ours because it is more established. Liam's favorite tree to climb ...

This girl is loving sports lately! She's always ready to throw a ball.

Makes me sad to see them outgrowing this tractor my mom's old neighbor gave her. Lyla's knees are practically up to her shoulders when she rides it but they both still love it!

I have a million more where that came from! haha Trying to keep her entertained these days while waiting in the car for one of us to run a quick errand in a store. She has taken a million selfies but the wild hair, double chin one is my favorite!

They finally experienced a special right of passage ... their first ice cream truck visit! Liam chose the Captain America shield popsicle and Lyla chose a drumstick. Girl after my own heart! They were in heaven at the time but have since experienced tears now that they know what that music means whenever I don't give in to getting them one. haha

Finding remote playgrounds to play at; like elementary schools that haven't been open for a long time.  This girl missed the slide and the swings ...

Looking like such a big girl carrying that backpack and wearing her very own Nike's! I can't believe my baby will be going to preschool in the fall. Hanging on to quarantine just a little bit longer for that very reason!