five on friday: cabin fever, awesome runs, and a photography workshop

Posted on February 27, 2015 by tara

We’ve had a bit of cabin fever over here all week… even getting out to go to the grocery store this morning seemed like so much fun! So today, I’m counting all the small blessings we’ve had this week:

ONE. Lelia and Jeff got to spend most of Sunday with us! It’s been so cold that a pipe burst at our chapel, so there were no church meetings. We had a relaxing family day. Have I mentioned how much I love seeing my babies love their aunts and uncles?

TWO. I taught a (very basic) photography workshop for our Young Women on Tuesday night and had so much fun doing it! I am usually so nervous to stand up in front of a group and talk, but teaching about my passion comes so easily to me. I’m glad I was able share a little of what I love with our girls! At the end, I gave them a photo scavenger hunt to complete, which resulted in a whole lot of craziness and laughter. photoworkshopslide

THREE. We had a few more inches of snow Wednesday night into Thursday morning, so there was no rush to leave the house… which meant that I could snuggle my littlest cutie in bed and just enjoy her. I love our one-on-one time.

FOUR. I am so grateful for clear(er) roads and running paths this week! It was hard to not go out due to the weather last week, so I appreciated my runs even more this week. I also had a couple of fast (for me) runs, which made me feel great!

FIVE. Kaya’s had her big-girl bed for about a year now, and most nights, she still climbs out and sleeps by the baby gate. Her bed has to be more comfortable than the floor! Also, how cute is her little hand holding “Panda”? I love her love for her stuffed animals.

Linking up with Christina and friends today!

five on friday: the snowed-in edition

Posted on February 20, 2015 by tara

Happy Friday! It hardly even feels like the weekend, since we’ve been snowed in and/or avoiding frigid temperatures all week long. We’ve been relaxing, doing fun crafts and activities, and just taking it easy in general.

A few highlights from our week:

ONE. The one day we left the house this week (before the negative temperatures hit), we somehow found ourselves in the Valentine’s clearance aisle at the grocery store. Kaya scooped up this little purple bear, hugged him to her chest, and never let go for the rest of our shopping trip. She just beamed while cuddling him, and my heart was melting into one giant puddle (cleanup on aisle 4)!

Normally, I don’t just buy her anything she falls in love with (because let’s face it, she loves any animal, real or plastic or stuffed), but this time, I let her take him home. Her week has been made by that little clearance bear who she decided, all on her own, to name “Panda”. I love this girl and her tender heart.
TWO. Kaelyn doesn’t need any new toys because she’s more than happy to just play with every plastic measuring cup and kitchen utensil that I own (thanks to Kaya). Really, she was thrilled over these cups! _MG_6497 THREE. This is the current weather as I’m typing this. YIKES! FOUR. It may be cold and miserable, but the snow is beautiful. Michael took this photo, and I don’t think it could be any more perfect!FIVE. Since it’s too cold for little hands to make snowmen outside, we made some playdough ones! Cyclops snowmen are in style, apparently (and all of them are named “Olaf”, of course)! The second one from the right is a puppy!Happy weekend! Here’s to 5 to 8 more inches of snow tomorrow!

Linking up with Natasha, April, Christina, and Darci today!

valentine’s and getting snowed in

Posted on February 16, 2015 by tara

It’s Monday afternoon, and Michael is already home from work because outside currently looks like this: (and even more snow has fallen since I snapped this picture… we’re due for 8 to 14 inches)!

Which means that I went running looking like a ninja this morning… but this getup was SO warm!

Luckily, today was the day we rotate our toys (something we started just before Christmas), so even if we’re stuck inside for a few days, it’s safe to say that our wildest family member will be well-entertained.

How was your Valentine’s Day weekend? We surprised Michael with these delicious homemade peanut butter cups:

Of course, I had help in the kitchen from these little goobers.

We ordered Chinese on Saturday night, which we haven’t done in forever! It was so, so good, and I think Kaya ate more sweet and sour chicken than I did!

Processed with VSCOcam with p2 preset Between Friday and Sunday morning, all three of us girls ended up with goose eggs on our foreheads. I ran into a door, Kaelyn had a toy dropped on her by her sister (poor baby :(), and Kaya jumped off our bed. At least we all match! (Also, I love when they both want to snuggle with me at the same time!)Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend!

first snow

Posted on December 1, 2014 by tara

There’s something extra special about the first snow of the season.

The air is quiet, and the world is still. Every creature watches the earth become transformed by soft, white powder. The tranquility is accompanied by the eager anticipation of building snowmen, sledding, and knowing that Christmas is fast approaching.I love seeing her amazement at every small wonder of life.

snow much fun

Posted on February 17, 2014 by tara

The snow started falling on my birthday. Michael had already surprised me by taking the rest of the day off after our ultrasound, and he said we could do anything I’d like. Kaya was looking pretty sleepy, so we decided that we’d go out for dinner later, after she’d had a nap.

The snowflakes started coming down in a hurry, and it was immediately obvious that we wouldn’t be going out that evening after all.

We woke up on Thursday morning to about 14.5 inches of a winter wonderland. By the time it stopped snowing later that day, we had accumulated about 21 inches. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that much snow all at once in my entire life!
Someone was obviously pretty excited! Jax loved leaping and bounding through the soft piles.He even developed a sort of “bunny hop” for getting around:

The neighbor kids were outside too, and they let us borrow their sled for a couple trips down the slope. Kaya looks terrified, but after they’d get to the bottom, she was always eager to do it again!
Being out there with my sweetheart, my precious baby girl, and my crazy dog filled my heart with gratitude. My family is amazing, and I’m so grateful to share every day with them.

five on friday: snow days and teething

Posted on January 31, 2014 by tara

Happy Friday!

ONE. Our furnace went out this week. Again! It has been working overtime with these insanely frigid temperatures, so I’m not too surprised (although it does seem like something is always breaking around here). Our maintenance guy came first thing in the morning, and we were warm again before too long.

We did have a surprise 3 inches of snow the night before though, so this pretty much sums up our Wednesday:

TWO. Kaya has been teething (times four) this week. Teething rings actually come in handy now, since she finally knows how to use them. Is this not the saddest face you ever did see? She breaks my heart! THREE. When I walked into our bedroom and saw this, I cracked up. Apparently, Jax must look bored, so Kaya brought him a bunch of toys and snacks (and my wallet, just in case he wanted to do some online shopping, you know…)! He just kept sleeping.FOUR. I love the crazy faces she makes when she “reads” to us. She’s been climbing up into her rocking chair lately, and seeing her sit there with a book just melts my heart.

FIVE. I know this song is kind of old news… but I’ve listened to it probably five times a day every day this week. I’ve been doing Google surveys for a few weeks, which gives you money to use on apps or music. I’m finally getting so close to getting this album! 🙂

Happy weekend!
Linking up with Natasha, April, Christina, and Darci today!

snow baby

Posted on January 23, 2014 by tara

We had our first real snowfall on Tuesday. By the sound of the weather reports, we were supposed to have a mini-blizzard, but only ended up getting around two inches.

Luckily, two inches is the perfect amount for a sweet 16-month-old girl to play in.

Her snowsuit was just puffy enough to make it impossible for her to get up if she fell down.

Love her little lip.

In all honesty, she hardly even noticed the snow. She was more excited to just be free to walk around outside!

She might be too little for snowman-making and hot chocolate, but we still had a fun afternoon. I’m so grateful I get to spend these little moments with her.

weekend/lately

Posted on March 26, 2013 by tara

We haven’t done anything too crazy lately, mostly because we’ve been stuck inside with all this cold weather. I am really starting to wonder if spring will ever come!

It started snowing on Sunday morning before church. Michael went to his regular meetings, but it was decided that church would be canceled for everyone else. He came home and we had our own little “spiritual thought” together instead. I love going to church, but it was fun to have a snow day to just relax and have some extra family time (especially since Michael hardly sees us on most Sundays with all his meetings).

Daddy-daughter dance 🙂 We read books. And just enjoyed being together.

Yesterday morning, I got up and dressed to go running, but when I stepped outside, it was still snowing! Being hardcore like I am, I trudged through it and still got 4 miles in. Later in the morning, Kaya had her 6-month checkup. As soon as the nurse touched her, she started screaming her head off. I almost think she remembered getting shots before, because she continued to cry any time she was on the exam table and not in our arms. Luckily, it was only two shots this time, and she was actually happier when they were over. _MG_3400 Last night around 11 pm, I remembered that I kept getting e-mails about a big sale at Carter’s ending at midnight… and I hadn’t even looked at anything! We needed some things for summer (and beyond), so I thought I’d check it out. The things I bought were 50% off, and then I stacked a 25% off coupon on top of that. Each item came out to be about $2.61 (including shipping), so I think I did pretty well! 🙂 Here are a couple of the outfits I picked!
Aaaaaand I just looked out the window and it’s snowing again! Ahhhhhhh!

insta-jam #7… finishing off 2012

Posted on February 25, 2013 by tara

Well, I guess I’m just a little late on this… but I wanted to put these photos up here anyway (plus, Kaya is super squishy and little in all these… so I don’t see why I shouldn’t share the cuteness)! Between getting a new phone and then just having a ton more phone pictures than ever (which might have something to do with having a super-photogenic baby!), I just didn’t get around to it. So here you go… late October through the end of 2012!

1 & 2: Sleeping (obviously). I love those smooshy cheeks!
3: She loves this little snail that hangs above her seat. Nowadays she’s strong enough to rip him right down.
4: Blowing bubbles while smiling! (Now THAT’S talent!)

1: First snow of 2012… just a small dusting.
2: More sleeping.
3: First bottle ever! This kid has always taken a bottle like a pro- she isn’t even picky about the temperature and has even had one ice cold!
4: Homemade cookies. Mmmmm.
1: Nap buddies. This is back when she would only nap if I snuggled her. I’m both happy and sad that those days are already gone.
2: Sleeping again… she did a lot of that!
3: Bundled up in her little bunny-ear suit!
4: Talking to daddy first thing in the morning.

1: Asleep in the carseat.
2: Asleep in her Halloween shirt (are you noticing a theme here?)

1, 2, 3, & 4: Sleeping, crazy, tired, and fun!1, 2, & 3: Morning snuggles and tiny little toes. photogrid2012_6

1: I went to a baby shower one Saturday morning, and when I came home, there was a Halo party going on.
2: My practice run of the fondant dog I was making for my aunt’s birthday cake.
3: Kroger actually has really good ice cream, and I was super excited to try this “cupcake party” flavor!
4: Giant Christmas tree at the mall!

1: Funny face.
2: Tired of shopping with mommy.
3: Asleep on the way to church.
4: The Thanksgiving onesie I made for her! (Remember how those plastic eyes are NOT a good idea…)

1 & 2: Thanksgiving lunch at Michael’s work!1: She really started to like reading books!
2: Cuddling with her little doll on the way to church for the last Sunday in 2012!

One more insta-jam and I’ll be all caught up… stay tuned 🙂

snow day!

Posted on January 18, 2013 by tara

We took someone little outside to play in the snow first thing this morning! (Well, it wasn’t technically “first thing”, because Michael insisted on eating breakfast first… so, “second thing”, I guess)!

I’m also using the word “play” loosely here, since, let’s face it, Baby Bird can’t even move around on her own.
We paraded around…

… and put her in the snow for a couple minutes. She was pretty sleepy, but we still managed to get a few smiles!

Michael had to get ready for work, so our fun was short-lived. If he gets home and there’s still daylight, I think we’ll be going out again- I just can’t skip making a snowman!

Michael and Tara

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