three little valentine’s princesses

Posted on March 26, 2018 by tara

This is just another one of those things that I completely forgot to post! I have to take us back in time to February, just once more, because I can’t resist sharing these “Valentine’s” pictures of my adorable princesses.My visiting teacher had us over to her house (along with another sister she visits) for a little Valentine’s party. This was so perfect, because the whole previous week, I had been thinking about all the fun things we used to do for this holiday when I was a kid in elementary school, and slightly lamenting that Kaya wouldn’t get to do any of that, since she’s homeschooled. It was great to go hang out with some other kids, talk to a couple of other moms, and bring home treats!My visiting teacher, Kate, sewed all these felt crowns, and then let the kids glue whatever they wanted on them. It was really fun to see how different my daughters are- Kaya planned out her entire crown design and instructed me exactly where to put the hot glue, and Kaelyn grabbed her own tube of blue glitter glue and did hers all on her own.This little monkey just wanted to eat marshmallows during the party, but I glued some pieces onto a crown for her too, so she could match. As you can see, she still had better things to do when I took these pictures… like climb on the ottoman! Kaya decorated about 10 cookies/cupcakes at the party, and only stopped to eat one when she was all finished. Kaelyn decorated one, ate it right away, and then went to play with the Magformer blocks. Again, I just love how unique my kids are. Daddy really enjoyed the sweets we brought home!Michael and I never do anything big for Valentine’s Day, so I was surprised when he brought me some clearance (a man after my own heart!) KitKats a few days afterward. These are my favorite!Next year we’ll have FOUR little Valentine’s princesses!

valentine’s day and getting snowed in again

Posted on February 18, 2016 by tara

Our Valentine’s Day was pretty low-key. Michael had church meetings at 6:30 am, so it was a normal day as far as Sundays go. I was dying to surprise him with my now-traditional homemade treat, but it just had to wait until after church.

We never do anything big for Valentine’s Day, but I love any excuse to surprise my family with gifts or sweets, so I secretly whipped up this giant “Reese’s” peanut butter cup for Michael (using this recipe). He loves anything I ever make for him.I wanted to do something fun for the girls, too, so I got them each a Valentine book (we didn’t have any in our collection… crazy!) and a $1 box of chocolate hearts.
They needed naps almost as soon as we came home from church, so surprises just had to wait until afterward. I did keep reminding Kaya throughout the day that if she was good, she might get a Valentine surprise after nap time. Every time, she’d reply, “Oh, I’m a good girl!” Give her anything with a cat on it and she’ll love you forever. Kaelyn loves anything that she doesn’t have to share with her sister. Haha. My little bookworms. We ended the day with some serious goofing off and silly shenanigans. Seeing these three play together and laugh almost incessantly just melts my heart. I love this picture because it is completely real. Their true smiles and pure joy radiate from it. I feel so blessed in these little moments.

On Sunday night, it snowed (again)! We ended up with about 8 inches of snow and an inch of ice, which was enough to close the University… again! We love it when Daddy gets to stay home with us.

We did manage to sneak out into the snow to deliver cookies to our sweet neighbor for her birthday. Kaya even helped make them, and she was so excited to shout “Happy Birthday!”, although I think her shyness got the best of her after we actually knocked on the door.

What better thing to do on a snowy day than play Xbox with Daddy? Kaelyn put this extra headset on all on her own! She has been cracking me up nonstop lately.

fish, beads, and treats

Posted on February 11, 2016 by tara

Last week, there was just the tiniest hint of spring in the air. The snow melted, and the sun was beating down, warm on our faces. The birds were joyously chirping in the mornings. Even Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring.

Now, last night, we endured a “real feel” of negative 4 degrees. Welcome back, winter! 😉

We took advantage of the glorious weather while we had the chance. 40 degrees means you need to get on your coats and hightail it to the nearest playground! I’m not sure my kids have ever been so excited to see a slide as they were on this first day out after our big storm. Most of the ground was still covered with old snow, but they didn’t care one bit.

There’s nothing like the great outdoors (and a mouthful of fruit snacks…)
I hosted our co-op preschool last week, so for the letter F, we had to make some “fish”, of course. I love how they were all so unique (left to right: Kaya, Mia, Bennett).

The girls have started spending the majority of the day playing together, not just side by side. Kaya is definitely the leader, and can sometimes direct Kaelyn around a little too much, but overall, they truly enjoy being together.

Doctor Kaya (notice her name tag), now offers (pretend) hair cuts as well as medical services. I guess this is what it takes to have a competitive business these days. Kaya loves to help with anything and everything we’ll allow her to. Lately, I’ve put her to work washing windows and scrubbing potatoes. This is a truly happy kid!

She’s also really gotten into her perler bead kit, and made her first project all by herself- a turtle! She somehow convinced Daddy to make her a horse, too.We’ve done a little Valentine crafting this week. Kaya really liked pompom painting this heart.She also helped me put together her Valentine treats for her preschool friends. She loved mixing and scooping all the ingredients into the bags, and frequently asked “where’s mine?” We got the idea for “s’mores” bags (animal crackers, marshmallows, and m&ms) from here, and printed the tags from here. Easy, tasty, and adorable.Also tasty… the dessert we got at the mall on Friday night. Fudgiest. brownie. EVER.

Also adorable… the way that Kaelyn so fervently waves “bye!!” to Daddy when he leaves for work, and how she rushes over to hug him when he returns home. I love her sweet, pure love for her family.
She also adores it when he plays “airplane” with her. They have frequent tickle fights. It gets kind of crazy, but she obviously loves it.
Kaya is almost getting too big for this… but she had to have a turn too, of course!

And that’s what we’ve been up to lately. One day until my birthday!

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!

mini cookie-decorating party

Posted on February 13, 2015 by tara

Valentine’s Day is a lot of my favorite things all rolled into one: sweets, treats, and PINK everywhere! So naturally, we had to put together a little play date for our friends. I made some sugar cookies and stocked up on all sorts of sprinkles and toppings! Kaya got really into decorating this time and didn’t even want to stop to go play. She was enthusiastic about the chocolate chips… … very enthusiastic. Everyone looked so cute in their little Valentine’s outfits! I just can’t get over how sweet Kaya and Mia are together. They really are such great buddies! Brittany took this one of Kaelyn and Caroline. Cuties! (until they grabbed each other’s faces…)The cookies turned out delicious… and adorable! I love doing things like this with my big girl.
And I just have to include a picture of this spunky monkey in one of her many festive outfits. You can’t go wrong with pink, puppies and hearts!
Happy Valentine’s Day!

my valentines

Posted on February 19, 2014 by tara

When I was a kid, Valentine’s Day was a day for the whole family to get treats and feel a little extra loved. While Michael and I have never really gone out of our way to celebrate it, it’s a day I’ve always enjoyed.

This year, it was even more fun with to share it with Kaya! My friend Amanda hosted a Valentine’s-themed play date for all our kids on Tuesday, and I baked some chocolate sugar cookie hearts to bring. It was my first time using royal icing to outline and fill the cookies, and I think it actually went pretty well!

On Valentine’s Day itself, the snow finally melted a little, and the roads were finally clear enough to escape our house. Since Kaya has still been struggling to sleep, we decided to have a “driving date”. She passed out, and we might’ve had both Subway cookies and Dairy Queen…

SInce we were snowed in for my birthday, it felt great to get out and finally enjoy time together.
While we were out, Michael also surprised me with my birthday present- a Kindle Paperwhite! I’ve already done more “fun reading” in the past week than I have in the past couple years. I’m definitely going to love using it when I have a newborn to nurse around the clock in a few months 🙂

Next Valentine’s Day, Michael will have three princesses to spoil!

heart day

Posted on February 16, 2013 by tara

Hopefully everyone had a happy Valentine’s Day! We never really make a big deal out of it, but it was still so much more fun to share it with Kaya.

I took a couple of “Valentine’s” photos of Kaya, but tried something new and went for the whole blown-out-white-studio background. I know they’re not perfect, but I’ve never done it before, so I’m actually pretty impressed with how they turned out.

Don’t you love the glittery pink bird on our Baby Bird’s shirt? Thanks Auntie Lelia and Uncle Jeff!

My mom sends us candy every year without fail, but since Kaya is too young for sweets, she got a little Hallmark bear instead!

Apparently, she is also too young to realize that bears are not for eating.“Look mom, no hands!” Poor little Bear.

Kaya even made a card for her daddy as a surprise! I’m so glad that Lelia just happened to be here so she could help with this, because otherwise there surely would have been a lot more paint all over Kaya, myself, and the kitchen floor! Kaya was surprisingly patient while we lathered paint all over her toes and made the footprints.Of course, Michael loved it. (And yeah, that’s still my birthday stuff hanging on the walls. It’s a week-long celebration for me!)

Eating your bear and painting footprints can really wear you out by the end of the day.

I’m so grateful for all my valentines.

Michael and Tara

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