Happy Friday!!!
ONE. I’ve been working on making the girls each a special crocheted stuffed animal, and this week, I finally finished Kaelyn’s puppy! She’s been so patiently waiting for it to be done, and her giant smile was more than worth the time it took to make it.
She named her dog “Rainbow Flower Irwin”, and they now go everywhere together.
I actually finished Kaya’s cat (based off of this pattern) back in February, whom she named “Flower Rose”. She’s been in Kaya’s top 3 favorite stuffed animals ever since!
Yes, she’s wearing her cat in the Ergo carrier here…
Happy girls, happy mama.
Rainbow Flower was based off of this pattern here.
Kaya’s has started to get fuzzy… and I can see by looking at these pictures that her head has changed shape a bit from all the time Kaya has spent playing with her. I’m still really proud of how these turned out for my first “amigurumi” projects.
TWO. We had our very last Kangaroo Kids class before the summer break… but I think it might have been the best one ever, because for the very first time, Daddy got to come! He took the afternoon off of work, arrived before us, and hid in this donut-shaped mat. When he popped out, the girls were ecstatic! He went in the bounce house, down the giant inflatable slide, and basically made all their dreams come true. He really is the best Daddy.
We actually got to attend two classes this week, as a make-up for another week’s missed class. Nella is all about this ball pit. She loves finding the ducks that are hidden inside!
THREE. My “ultra nesting” continues, and now I’ve got all the girls in on it, too. Today, they washed windows and cleaned baseboards for me. Kaya and Kaelyn are getting old enough to actually do well at these sorts of jobs!
Nella, on the other hand…
She might be the cutest little window washer, but her technique could use some work. She grabbed the extremely soapy sponge, dipped it in the dog’s water bowl, dripped suds all across the freshly-mopped floor, and went to wipe the windows that Kaya had just finished cleaning. She definitely gets points for effort and resourcefulness!
FOUR. Kaya and Kaelyn have been very into perler beads again, and this week, they made some new critters to add to their ever-growing collection. Kaya free-handed the owl just by looking at a picture, and then made the smiling “Cheshire cat”. Kaelyn’s puppy was based mostly on a “green and white” color scheme.
FIVE. I say it every week now, but there’s really no place I’d rather be than out in the sunshine with these girls. If you need me, I’ll probably be out here for the rest of the summer. This is my happy place.
FIVE. Every afternoon before nap time, Kaya loves to read her sisters a book… and she’s really reading! She gathers everyone together and will read as many books as time allows. I love seeing her use the knowledge we’ve worked so hard for this past year.
Happy Friday!!!
And that wraps it up for this year… Happy Halloween (2 months ago)!
Kaelyn inevitably loses some along the way, so it kind of turns into a treasure hunt. I love how happy these simple little plants make them.
FOUR. Everyone always wants to be just like Daddy! They love pretending to “program” (and yes, Kaya’s using the pillows as a fake laptop)!
FIVE. Scout can be a serious goofball sometimes, but she’s obsessed with her family. Anytime Michael or I leave, she sits and watches for us at the door. I love having a dog again.
We really missed her sweet, smiley personality, and it was so good to see her feeling better and grinning again yesterday.
Just as I was imagining Scout thinking something along the lines of, “Does this cone make my head look big?”, Kaya blurted out, “Scout, you look like a LAMP!” That just might be the quote of the year.
This crazy dog loves sitting in the hammock with anyone who invites her. She’s also obsessed with her peanut-butter-flavored Nylabone and any soft toy that has a tail. 
Her people are her favorite things in the whole world. Every morning, she gets so hyped up to see the girls that she’d wiggle right out of her fur if she could.
There’s just something about a horse barn… ok, everything about a horse barn… that makes me feel so much peace, calm, and happiness: the smell of hay and sweaty horses, the soft sounds they make as they move in their stalls, and the sweetness of a horse pressing his giant head up against your side, waiting for you to rub his nose or scratch his ears. Horses have a profound effect on me that nothing else seems to, which is why I often miss my days of working at the barn and riding so very much.
Nicole also has a few chickens (and the coolest chicken coop I’ve seen), so the girls loved watching them, too.
They also had a litter of hunting dog puppies for us to visit with. The girls were so excited (and these babies looked so little compared to Scout)!
Brian grilled up some chicken and corn on the cob, and we enjoyed dinner outside together. Nicole brought out ice cream for dessert (a Teerlink family tradition for Sunday nights!), and I believe this was Kaya’s first time ever having it in a cone. It was a hit!
Kaelyn’s first cone!
Michael, with his ice-cream-sandwich-shoved-into-a-cone-topped-with-an-extra-scoop dessert, covering up his eye to be funny, because for the first time since I met him almost nine years ago, he had an allergic reaction to something! His eye was completely swollen and red. He was fine, but it was a little concerning to me just because he’d never had anything like this before.
Being silly (with that swollen eye)!
It was sad to leave, but we still had a few hours of driving left to get home. There’s nothing like having fun with your cousins (and second cousins)!