five on friday (03/03)

Happy March! We’re on the brink of spring and sunshine, and I couldn’t be any more excited about the upcoming change of seasons.

We had a bit of a rough start to the week with Kaelyn and me coming down with colds. I think this sad little face says it all. Thankfully, she was better within a couple of days, and I’m almost back to normal. It really breaks my heart to see my babies feeling sick. Anyway, we still managed to fit some fun into the week:

ONE. The weather has been all over the spectrum, but we sure enjoyed the warmest day of the week by heading out for a walk and going to the playground. Kaya wanted to push Kaelyn on the swings, and she actually got her going pretty fast! Nella went on the swings for the very first time! She had no idea what was going on, and I just barely tapped the swing to get her moving, since she’s still a little wobbly with head stability. Bare baby toes in the sunshine are my favorite. TWO. Everyone wants to be just like Daddy…Michael’s desk has become the coloring station for Kaya and Kaelyn, sometimes as soon as they wake up in the morning!
THREE. Kaya came up with her own craft project this week… a Hello Kitty, of course! I’m proud of her for executing this idea with minimal instruction from me, and she was thrilled with how it turned out. FOUR. If you know me, you know this is long overdue, but I finally got the kids some French books! I had a really hard time narrowing down what I thought was worth buying to start out with, and I’m actually very happy with this small assortment. I pretty much jumped for joy each time one arrived in the mail, and I’ve loved reading them to the girls. Kaya has started using a few French words and phrases now and then, so obviously, I’m elated. FIVE. Sometimes, my favorite pictures are silly, blurry ones. Bedtime is usually chaos at our house, but I love this sweet eternal family of mine (plus, how cute are babies in jammies?)!

Linking up here, here, and here today!

five on friday (04/29)

It’s been a BUSY (but fantastic) week!

ONE. Spring is finally here! The weather has been gorgeous (the trees seem to know it too, because there’s pollen everywhere), so we’ve been outside enjoying it whenever we can. Kaya was so excited to ride her bike again. She didn’t even want to take her helmet off once we got to the playground!

We also pulled all the girls’ summer clothes out of the closet, and Kaya has been so thrilled over having new things to wear. This octopus shirt is a favorite for sure!

Why does my baby suddenly look so big? She’s mastered going down the big slide all on her own!

TWO. Riding a bike means you might fall off… and Kaya did exactly that this week. She got her first official “biking boo-boo”. She was pretty distraught about it until I told her that Mommy and Daddy used to fall off our bikes when we were kids too. By the time we got home, she was in high spirits again and almost couldn’t resist laughing when I asked her to make a sad face for this picture.

THREE. We had some errands to run this week, so while we were out near all the “big” stores, we took some time to do a little shopping. I finally lucked out and found two swimsuits on clearance (!!!), after I’ve been looking everywhere for months for something I liked.

Kaelyn is honestly a little difficult to entertain while we’re out. She wants to grab things off the racks and play with her seat belt buckle the entire time, but with a few hundred fruit snacks as bribery, we made it through the trip! I really do love my little shopping buddies. 🙂

FOUR. Our friend, Mallory, had her baby shower this week! It was so fun to have a night out without the kids. I can’t even remember the last time that happened, so I truly enjoyed it. There were fun games (including Pictionary!), good friends, and these amazing Belgian waffles made by Cheryl. I covered mine in cookie butter, Nutella, and whipped cream… And I think my taste buds died and went to Heaven.

Seriously. This is not a high-quality picture, but trust me, there’s a waffle under there!

FIVE. Everyone goes crazy for Daddy when he comes home! I love how much our girls just adore him! Laughing, wrestling, and tickling are almost always on the agenda. 🙂_MG_1656

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Yes, they were totally rolling around on my clean (folded!) laundry… haha._MG_1659

_MG_1660Happy weekend!

Linking up here!

five on friday (04/15)

We’ve had what felt like a busy week over here. Yesterday, we had nothing specific scheduled, so I asked Kaya what she wanted to do. “I want to just stay home”, was her reply. I realized that we’d been running around hurriedly all week, so I heeded her request and soaked in that slow, easy morning with my babies. These little moments have all been favorites this week:

ONE. Kaelyn has been waking up from her naps happy. She used to always wake up crying and in a somewhat grumpy mood, so this is quite a change for her. I love this toothy little grin and how she just wanted to pop up and play peekaboo with me._MG_1595 _MG_1592

TWO. Kaya was drawing on her doodlepro board, and told me “Look! I made a seal!”  I might have actually gasped audibly when I saw that her rendition of a seal actually looked like one. She’s getting better at drawing and writing letters all the time, and I just continue to be amazed at her skills.

THREE. We had a play date at the mall with friends this week! I think Mia and Kaya held hands for 75% of our visit (while they were running around like crazy, nonetheless)! Obviously, we couldn’t leave without stopping for a cookie first.

Would you like some cookie with your frosting?

FOUR. We’ve still had some chilly mornings, but I think spring might just come to stay soon. Kaya and Kaelyn were running like crazy up and down this miniscule hill (and yes, if you look closely enough, you’ll see that their clothes are covered in sidewalk chalk)! Warm sunshine and later sunsets are two of my very favorite things.

FIVE. In somewhat sad news, Kaelyn lost her beloved, special, piggy out in Richmond last weekend. We were at my race (more details on that next week!), and she dropped him without us noticing. We searched for him, but with so many people around, it was hopeless.

Grandma Debbie sent a new piggy in the mail this week, which arrived yesterday. Kaelyn was seriously dancing as Michael pried the box open, and she could not stop smiling with that new guinea pig under her arm for the rest of the night.
_MG_1599 I know it’s not quite the same (especially since the orginal “Piggy” was a gift to me when my first guinea pig passed away), but there is nothing like seeing her truly happy face._MG_1603

Happy weekend everyone!

Linking up here!

five on friday (04/08)

Happy Friday!

ONE. Last week, we had a stroke of good weather, so we took advantage of the sunshine and went down to the pond to feed the ducks. I’m looking at these pictures with a little bit of weather-envy right now, since we are potentially expecting some severe winds and/or snow this weekend. Where did springtime go?_MG_1443

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Kaya could not have been any more excited to throw the bread, and Kaelyn was just happy to see some real-life ducks._MG_1434TWO. This sweet little sister cries for her big sister as soon as we drop her off for preschool. She wails “Peeeeeeky!”, and it just breaks my heart. Then again, I’m grateful to see how much they truly love being with each other. We try to have some good one-on-one time while Kaya is gone, but usually she’s happy to just do her own quiet activity while I clean up around the apartment.

THREE. I’m usually up and out the door, running, before my babies wake up, but yesterday was a “rest day”, so I woke up to this precious face at the side of my bed. I love that bed head, sweet little smile, and that she’s got a Daniel Tiger character under each arm. These little moments make me the happiest.

FOUR. We went back to the children’s museum for the first time in a few weeks, and my girls had the best time, as usual. It helped that some of their best friends were there to play, too.

Kaelyn could color forever.

FIVE. Are moments like these ever going to not melt my heart? I hope they always do._MG_1536 _MG_1537

Linking up here!

five on friday: cinnamon buns, sunhats and lemons

What a WEEK! We’ve been busy and had so many great moments these past few days. Here we go:

ONE. Monday was Michael’s last day of seminary! I am having a hard time believing that we already completed a whole school year. Seminary is a HUGE time commitment and definitely requires sacrifice, but Michael handled it so well. I know he’d do it again in a heartbeat (and hey, he most likely will be doing it again next year)! He loves his students and was sad to see them walk away for the last time as they caught the bus to school.

I made cinnamon buns for the first seminary breakfast, so I did it again for the final one. My mom-in-law’s recipe is the absolute best!

TWO. We did some shopping for our upcoming beach trip… which included getting some sunhats! Don’t be fooled by Kaelyn’s giant grin… she tries to rip this thing off every few seconds!

THREE. We had our playdate this week outside in the sunshine! It was much windier than any of us thought it would be, though, so we ended up running back home for some jackets. Katherine snapped this photo. I just love seeing these two little BFFs together!

FOUR. Two years ago, when my Maggie passed away, two of our dear friends brought me this little stuffed guinea pig. Now, this is the only stuffed animal Kaelyn will cuddle with! She holds her every night and it just melts my heart. (also, if you can’t tell, she loves to sleep up against the crib bars! she’s like this almost every time I check on her!)

FIVE. Kaya asked to try a lemon… so we let her, and it resulted in the cutest little sour face you ever did see. I think she changed her mind!

A video posted by Tara (@tarairwin) on

Happy Friday!!!

(linking up with April!)

five on friday: walks, chinese food, and sisters

We had such a fantastic week, filled with the kind of little moments that I love. Here are my favorite things:

ONE. Spending so much time out in the sunshine with my sidekicks. Seriously… there’s no one else I’d rather spend my days with. It was still a bit chilly most days, as you can surely tell by looking at Kaelyn’s adorable sweater and hat (both made by Grandma, by the way)! Kaya rocks those sunglasses any chance she gets.PhotoGrid_1429640554762 TWO. We had a family dinner date out to a Chinese buffet! It’s been sooo long since we did anything like that, and it was so fun to get out as a family. Kaya loves Chinese so much that she probably eats more in one sitting than she does during a whole week of home-cooked dinners! We let her have ice cream for dessert, and she insisted on using her fork. Hilarious! Also, don’t mind her super-messy-played-outside-sunscreeny hair…Processed with VSCOcam with a6 preset THREE. These two… playing together. There is nothing sweeter, and I just love watching them grow to adore each other more and more each day. Kaya set up this little pretend picnic for them. She spoon-fed Kaelyn some fake yogurt, and then gave her a felt donut. Kaya had a pretend slice of cake and offered me some grapes!_MG_7264

FOUR. Baby laughter is my favorite sound ever. I also just love how Kaya made her giggle so hard that she was throwing her head back and laughing! #cutestbabyever

A video posted by Tara (@tarairwin) on

FIVE. What better way to start Friday off than with a chocolate-glazed donut? Or two. Haha. Thank you Michael for spoiling me with these! 🙂
Processed with VSCOcam with c2 presetHappy weekend!

Linking up with Christina and friends today!

“more walk?”

We can feel spring in the air here. We’re right on the brink of warm weather, sunshine, and long evening light, and after a seemingly eternal winter of being cooped up indoors, I could not be more excited!

Playing outside is one of my very favorite ways to spend the day, and it’s quickly becoming true for my little ladies, too. I love watching Kaelyn discover the entire outdoor world. She smiles and coos while we walk in the stroller, and squeals when she gets to ride in the swing.
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Never would I have imagined having two babies of my own swinging next to each other._MG_6694 We’ve taken four walks in two days, and Kaya just keeps asking for “more walk”? almost as soon as we return home each time._MG_6684 While I was pushing Kaya on the swing, I’d look over and see my littlest peanut just beaming at me._MG_6689For now, she’s so content to just watch everything going on around her. I love this little grin.

_MG_6690You know you’ve had a fun day when everyone (including mom) takes an extra-long, much-needed nap. I’ll wear myself out any day to have fun with my babies.

Sadie Sky Boutique

a perfect hint of spring

Being a mom is my favorite “job” ever.

There are good days, frustrating days, fun days, and somewhat boring days.

And then, every so often, there’s a perfect day.

Monday was definitely one of those.
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It felt just like spring with temperatures in the low 50s. My lungs basked in the warm air on my morning run, and soon after I returned home, I hurried back out the door with my babies in tow. There was no way we were going to miss out on warm weather when we’ve been enduring single-digit and teen temperatures often this winter.

We walked 2.25 miles and made a stop at the playground. Kaya enjoyed running from the slide to the ride-on space shuttle, with a few stops on the swings in between. She just kept telling me “fun!”, and that made my heart soar pretty high. From time to time, she’d look over at me with the biggest grin on her face.kaya02092015collage Kaelyn took a mini-nap in the stroller, and then enjoyed snuggles with mommy and her first-ever ride in the baby swing! Kaya was so eager to help push her, and they were both all smiles.02092015collage2
We all went to bed happily tired that night. Having fun is the best way to wear yourselves out!

Sadie Sky Boutique

it’s the little things || the way she holds my hand

Some of my favorite moments are the ones that seem the very smallest in our day._MG_1984It’s the way she smiles and points out all the sheep, puppies, and ducks on our walks.
How her hair blows in the springtime breeze.
Feeling the warm sun on our skin.
When she holds my hand just because she wants to, and my finger goes numb from her gripping onto me so tightly.
The smell of sunscreen on her baby-soft skin.
Splashing and giggling in the bathtub.
The kinks and curls her wet hair naturally falls into.
A long “goodnight hug” where she strokes my arm with her tiny fingers.
It’s the way I miss her when she’s sleeping.

Linking up with Ashley and Jess!

Sadie Sky Boutique

five on friday: poptarts, snail mail and ice cream

Five great moments:

ONE. Because I can’t text without making a million typos… and we think poo jokes are hilarious (#yeswearefiveyearsold). I’m glad Michael has the same weird sense of humor I do.

IMG_20140407_140718TWO. Speaking of pootarts poptarts, someone had her first taste of them while we were all sick. If it comes down to eating poptarts or not eating anything… well… at least she (happily) got some calories._MG_1926 _MG_1928

THREE. Suddenly, the grass is green and spring is HERE! We’ve been playing outside every day and I don’t know what we ever did being cooped up inside for all six months of winter.

_MG_1974FOUR. Does anyone still get excited for snail mail these days? I’m super pumped because I used to get Better Homes and Gardens magazine, but never renewed… so they sent me a deal to renew for three years for under $10 total. If it gets cheaper than that, I haven’t seen it!

FIVE. Michael took us on a date to Coldstone, and our little sweets-monster just couldn’t wait to dig in!Processed with VSCOcam with m5 presetHave a sweet weekend!

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