easter baskets and brunch

Posted on April 8, 2015 by tara

Our Easter Sunday was filled with family, good food, and General Conference! We went to bed with our tummies and hearts so full… and isn’t that when you just know you’ve had one of the best days?

I was up earlier than everyone else to get started on some donuts for brunch later, so I was pretty excited while waiting for my girls to wake up and see their baskets. I was straightening up in the living room when Kaya leaned over the gate to her room and said “Hellooo. Clean up?” I probably rushed her out of her room too quickly because I was so happy to see her awake!

It was this little sweetie’s last “first” holiday! She loved the eggs and wrapping on the baskets.
Kaya wanted to make some ice cream cones right away! … and then this happened. Haha. Kaelyn mostly just loved playing with her basket and wouldn’t have cared if we never even opened it! “Ooo… Owaf!” Kaelyn only wanted her sippy cup… … and Kaya was ready to take all her toys (which is nothing out of the ordinary, anway)! We also surprised Michael with a basket! I gave it to Kaya, and she ran out of the den yelling “PRISE!!!” She was so happy to show Daddy what she had for him. 🙂 These might not be the prettiest donuts, but they were delicious for sure. You don’t need a donut pan, and they’re baked, not fried! If you love cinnamon-sugar, give these a try (recipe here). Jeff and Lelia brought waffles; Mom and Dad brought bacon and strawberries, and we had a feast! Everything was so delicious. Kaya probably ate a pound of strawberries!

Grandma had some good cuddle time with the girls! We tried to get a good picture of them in the matching skirts I made, but Kaya just wasn’t in the mood for it. We tried to bribe her with M&Ms, and Kaelyn was so anxious to try and get hold of some!Oh well. We all had such a great holiday together!
Hope you had a fantastic Easter!

five on friday: fauxhawks and easter eggs

Posted on April 3, 2015 by tara

ONE. We’ve been enjoying the sunshine so much this week! Nothing makes me happier than spending all morning outdoors with my babies and feeling the warmth on my skin. I love how much they both enjoy walks and connecting with nature. These are the days I long for all winter! TWO. We had an Easter egg hunt with friends on Thursday! We hardly hid the eggs at all and mostly just threw them on the ground for the kids to pick up… but they LOVED it and had such a great time. Kaya loved opening the eggs and feeding most of the jelly beans to Mia! Haha. THREE. This girl and her fauxhawk (and how ’bout them cheeks?)! She woke up like this, and her hair held its shape for most of the day.I think she’s ready to rock and roll (well, she’s at least got the rolling part down…) FOUR. Kaya really still needs to be strapped in for meals in order to avoid crumbs and sticky hands everywhere, so I figured it’d be useful to have a second seat where Kaelyn could join us at the table and eat her purees. I bought this one, originally intending for Kaelyn to use it, but Kaya thinks it’s the most fun thing ever to sit in “Baba’s seat”! When we take the tray off, it’s actually been a really great booster seat for Kaya to eat directly on the table. I love having everyone sitting together at mealtimes now!FIVE. Happy Easter! #BecauseHeLives

Linking up with Christina and friends today!

easter baskets 2015

Posted on April 2, 2015 by tara

I was so super excited to make Easter baskets for my babies this year! I contemplated what I wanted to do for a long time, because I definitely don’t want the focus of Easter to be on material things, and I definitely don’t want to overload my toddler with candy, either.

Easter is about Christ. We can live again because of all that He did! Kaya and I have been talking for a couple weeks now about Jesus and how Easter celebrates His Resurrection. It’s so important to me that she understands that!

Still, giving gifts is my love language, so I might have actually gotten too many things. Oops. They’re only little once though, and so I’m having fun with it while I can.

I decided to give them one “nicer” toy, a book, and then everything else was either something they needed anyway (like the sippy cup and plate) or from the dollar store or clearance.

1. Bright Starts Links
2. Sippy cup
3. Light-up bouncy ball (dollar store)
4. Hape Push and Pull Giraffe
5. Hair bows (Walmart clearance)
6. “Guess How Much I Love You” book
1. Alphabet Sticker Book (dollar store)
2. Giant Coloring Book (dollar store)
3. Olaf and Sven plate
4. Sidewalk chalk eggs (dollar store)
5. Light-up bouncy ball (dollar store)
6. Hair bows (Walmart clearance)
7. Lego Duplo Creative Ice Cream (I was crazy and ordered it thinking it would be small enough to fit in her basket… whoops!)

I’m excited to see how surprised they are on Sunday morning! 🙂

hop hop hop

Posted on April 22, 2014 by tara

At mealtime lately, Kaya has been saying “hop, hop, hop!” as her food gets closer and closer to her mouth. It’s adorable, and since we just celebrated Easter, I can’t think of a better title for this post!

If any food could really hop, it’d be these donut bunnies! This is how we started off our Sunday morning 🙂
Kaya was unsure about it at first, but she was overly excited when she realized that her breakfast was a bunny:The Easter Bunny made a stop at our house, and I think he spoiled Kaya just a little!(The Reese’s are to share with Daddy, of course…)She loved her puzzle and had to point out every chicken to Daddy.Ponies…Her very favorite was this little wind-up bunny. It hops like crazy and she LOVES it.She’ll give him a kiss, but is too afraid to pick him up. Jax was a little too interested (as you can see) and has already tried to eat it.We had a great day at church. Michael gave a talk and I taught a lesson, which helped us both focus on the true meaning of Easter. I am so thankful for Christ and His resurrection, because this way I can keep my little family forever.

Jeff and Lelia came over and we all had pulled pork, potatoes, and salad as our holiday meal. Yum! I didn’t take any pictures, but we had a fun (and delicious) time! 🙂

egg hunt 2014

Posted on April 21, 2014 by tara

Saturday morning was our town’s community Easter egg hunt! Kaya was too little last year, so I was really looking forward to taking her this year! She had her basket ready!There was a straw-covered, fenced-in area where the kids were supposed to find the eggs. Each kid was assigned a “helper” who would hide the eggs for them and help point them out while parents watched from the side.
Kaya didn’t want to go in without us. Her helper threw one egg just inside the fence, and I think that’s the only one she actually “hunted”. We found our friends Katherine, Matt, and Mia, and they took a family photo for us 🙂

Even after the official egg hunt was finished, Kaya really liked spilling her eggs on the ground and picking them up over and over again. We met the Easter Bunny, but to my surprise, Kaya had NO reaction. No smiling. No screaming. No crying. She did wave goodbye to him, though. There were some painted bunnies that she liked to kiss… After all the Easter-themed activities, Kaya and Mia played together on the swings and slide. Kaya even learned to go down all on her own!

easter basket

Posted on April 5, 2013 by tara

Every holiday, my mom is always so thoughtful and sends us some kind of special treat. She’s been having extra fun now that she gets to buy for a baby, too! She sent chocolate for Michael and I, and a sweet little Easter basket for Kaya. (Prepare yourself for photo-overload! And as a sidenote, I’m not sure why her shirt is falling down. I think she must have yanked on it!)

She thought the cellophane wrapping was pretty weird… An “Easter Surprise!” book! A pink sippy cup. She put it in her mouth about one second after Michael showed it to her. She looks pretty happy with her loot! We gave her a pink “baby bird” and a very hungry caterpillar. She’s got the funniest daddy ever!
Happy Easter!

easter sunday photos

Posted on April 4, 2013 by tara

My awesome mom-in-law sewed an Easter dress for Kaya, and as a bonus surprise, she also made a matching necktie and skirt for us! I wanted a few nice family photos, but Easter morning was gray and rainy. Luckily, the bad weather subsided for a little while, and we were able to set up the tripod and take a few quick ones.

I really wanted a photo where you could see my skirt, so it would be obvious that we matched. But with the camera being so far away, Kaya didn’t see it (usually she looks at the blinking timer), and she thought it was so funny to see her mommy running toward her, so here is the best we got of all our matchy matchiness. Oh well. Love my two cuddle buddies… I also love how she’s sucking her thumb here. That’s so typical these days!Doll baby!
I wanted a nice mother-daughter picture, and I finally got one 🙂 (Sucking your thumb and smiling? that’s multitasking at its finest!) Goofy mommy-baby outtakes. Michael has a talent for making us both laugh!I’m so grateful for the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the true purpose of celebrating Easter. Because of His sacrifice, I have an amazing family that I can love and live with for eternity.

Michael and Tara

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