9 for 29

Posted on February 15, 2017 by tara

The last couple of years, I’ve started this little tradition where I share a few facts about myself in honor of my birthday. I turned 29 years old on Sunday, so I thought I’d post my list this week! I write so much about the kids on here, but I’d like to think that one day, they’d like to look back and learn something about their mom, too.

1. I didn’t play any sports growing up, but in adulthood, I’ve found that I love running. I’ve been an avid runner for 8 years now, and it seems like the older I get, the more miles I want to do. I ran my first race last year and I’m looking forward to doing at least one in 2017!

2. I eat a big salad every day for lunch, but don’t worry, I balance it out with plenty of ice cream later! 😉

3. I like to pick on Michael for being older than me, even if it is only by 6 months.

4. I am a serious bargain hunter and only buy things on sale or clearance, especially clothes for the kids. If the price is right, I’ll store away items that won’t fit them for two or three more years.

5. Photography is still my favorite hobby. I take all of our own family photos, and although it can be extremely challenging with little kids, overall, it’s incredibly rewarding. I also love documenting other people’s special moments, and although I haven’t been actively trying to grow my business, slowly but surely, it is expanding with each passing year.

6. I was never a baby-crazy kind of girl until we actually had our own. Now I love baby snuggles, that sweet baby smell, and their infatuating little smiles.7. I’ve been working with the Young Women at church for over 3 years now, and I think I’d be happy to do that for the rest of my life. I love those girls so much, and I’m so grateful that I get to learn about life and the gospel alongside them. We really have an amazing group of young ladies who are so valiant and good-hearted.

8. My go-to, oops-I-didn’t-plan-ahead food is grilled cheese. I really like mine with sharp cheddar or Colby-jack cheese, pickle slices, and pepperoni.

9. My current favorite song is “Dirt on my Boots” by Jon Pardi, and my favorite actress is Lauren Graham.

Since my birthday was on a Sunday this year, we didn’t get much time to really celebrate. My mom will be here visiting this coming weekend, so I’m looking forward to having some cake and fun then!

kaya’s random birthday celebrations (2016)

Posted on November 1, 2016 by tara

Yeah, yeah, I know Kaya’s birthday was forever ago, but I’m basically a million years behind on everything I need to do (folding laundry, blogging, photography business stuff, you name it)… better late than never, right? Plus, I have some very cute pictures that I just couldn’t refrain from sharing here.

Now that’s she’s a little older, Kaya definitely knows what her favorite foods and activities are, so it was really fun to take her out and do what she really likes. We decided we’d treat her to a special birthday dinner, and we let her choose the place. She really loves Red Robin, so on the Friday night before her party, we headed there (along with Grandma Debbie)!

The waiter even brought her a special birthday ice cream. This little girl couldn’t have been more excited!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTx2V-P7Ov4

On her real birthday, we asked her what she wanted to do… and predictably, she answered that she’d like to go to the mall. This is one of her favorite places (which might have something to do with the cookie place and the playground being there)!

We had a little “picnic”, and let her pick out a treat. We stuck her candle in the cookie, and sang “Happy Birthday” one more time!

These are some happy people right here. (Kaya was also wearing her most favorite things on this day: a rainbow tutu and a Hello Kitty shirt!)

We had to spend some time playing on the playground afterward, of course.

Daddy ran around with them like crazy (and I love these animated GIFs that Google makes for me, haha)! A couple weeks later, Grandma Gina brought Kaya a special gift she’d made… A rainbow blanket! It turned out so beautiful, and Kaya was instantly in love.

It was so much fun making her birthday truly special for her. Sometimes it’s tough watching your kids grow up so fast, but as they get older, there are so many more opportunities for enjoying time together.

a rainbow horse birthday party (kaya’s 4th birthday!)

Posted on September 27, 2016 by tara

Kaya had been saying that she wanted a “rainbow Chance party” for the majority of the past year. Like most people, you probably have no idea who Chance is… Well, he’s a horse who lives over at the barn I used to volunteer at during college. His pasture was right behind our old neighborhood, so Kaya saw him fairly frequently. I don’t know what it is about that gray horse, but he’s been her favorite for quite a while!

She loved her rainbow party last year, so she requested that again, too. What’s better than rainbows and horses combined?

We kicked off her party day with her favorite donuts. Daddy took the girls to our local donut shop to pick them up, and of course, Kaya chose mostly chocolate cake donuts or chocolate-frosted ones with sprinkles!
This cake… oh this cake. It might not look like much, but it turned out to be a major labor of love. I actually ended up decorating the entire thing twice because it fell apart overnight… and then it started drooping again before she blew out her candle.I think the decorations failed to stay on because I used a new death-by-chocolate recipe that was incredibly moist (and also called for using cooking spray and no flour on the cake pans when baking). It was the easiest cake ever to remove from the pans… but that also meant that the frosting didn’t stay on well at all. It tasted amazing, and I’d definitely use the recipe again, but not for a birthday cake with any kind of buttercream decorations.

The horses are from Playmobil. They really are so cute and well-made, and I’m glad I chose these!This little girl loved her cake so much (and couldn’t wait to play with the horses, of course)!
She was so excited for us to sing to her! Seriously… this cake was almost as fudgy as a brownie. Mmm. Some of her presents included undies… …a Hello Kitty shirt… … and a “Chance” stuffed animal. She had asked for a “Chance snuggly animal”, and her reaction was just as adorable as I had hoped. Chance has gone everywhere with us ever since. I think he’s going to be a long-term favorite! Her big gift was this horse stable from Grandma Debbie. I think Lelia and I enjoyed playing with it just as much as Kaya!During all the present-opening, Kaelyn had a good time goofing off with Uncle Jeff. These girls sure do love their aunts and uncles. 🙂
We kept the decorations as low-key as ever, but we did surprise her with these cute horse balloons! She also got to wear a fun rainbow tutu, which pretty much made her day! Jeff and Lelia brought their puppy, Fallon, so my girls had a great time playing with her all weekend. After the party, we cooked breakfast for dinner. French toast… … scrambled eggs, and bacon!

Kaya even had a perfect day in Primary at church on Sunday. She got to stand up in front of everyone with her special birthday card while everyone sang to her (and I might have teared up watching from the back of the room… motherhood does crazy things to you!). They also had a lesson about God’s creatures, so her teacher brought in a cat for them to visit with (if you know Kaya, you know she loves cats)!

With all her rainbows, horse gifts, playing with Fallon, and holding a cat in Primary, I think she really had the perfect birthday weekend.

Happy Birthday Sweetie! I hope this is one you remember!

happy 4th birthday, kaya!

Posted on September 22, 2016 by tara

Dear Kaya,

It’s hard to believe that four years have already passed since I first held you in my arms. You were our first little miracle, and each day, I am still filled with gratitude and wonder that your care has been entrusted to us.

You are a nurturer. Compassion comes naturally to you, whether it’s for a baby, a plant, an animal, or anyone who is hurt or upset. You are always playing with your baby doll, or pretending that Kaelyn is your real baby, and you need to take care of her. Sometimes, in the mornings now, you even help your little sister get dressed and ready for the day. I’m so appreciative of your willingness to contribute to our family.

You are a protector. You always watch out for Kaelyn, making sure she isn’t doing anything unsafe or breaking any house rules.

You are an innate learner. Over this past year, we’ve been doing “homeschool preschool”, and you relish nearly every moment of it. You beg me to “do school” almost every day (we try to do it at least three times per week), and you are excellent at copying letters and telling me their phonetic sounds. I think you are actually ready to start learning to read, and I’m excited to help teach you and see you discover the literary world.

You love to give gifts and surprise people. Oftentimes, you’ll “write” notes to each of us, tape them closed, and hide them so we can find them later. Anytime we have a special treat for Daddy or made something especially neat in preschool, you excitedly tell him to close his eyes and run toward him with whatever the object is. Of course, you find immense joy in receiving surprises yourself.

You are a helper. You’ll help Daddy with just about anything he asks of you, and you especially enjoy helping me make everyone’s lunches or with baking.

Music is one of your very favorite things. You love singing time in Primary at church, and you frequently pretend to be your music teacher. You love doing family home evening just so we can sing songs together.

You love to cut, glue, paint and create art.

You love to play games. Candy Land, Trouble, Connect Four, and a modified version of Blokus are your favorites.

You are silly, sweet, and shy. Many people tell me that they didn’t even realize you can talk because you are very quiet (and well-behaved) when we’re out in public.

Kitty (or “Meowy”, as you call him most of the time), is still your very favorite. He had to have a few “stitches” and be restuffed a few months ago, and I think now that he’s more “fluffle-y” (as you say), you love him more than ever. You are also still obsessed with your purple cat blankie.

Believe it or not, you still take a nap every afternoon. I’m sure that some of the time is spent playing quietly in your room, but usually, I can expect about 2.5 hours of near silence each day.

These past few months have been some of the most exciting for you as you’ve watched my belly grow and anticipated the arrival of your baby sister. These days, she is almost all you can talk about. Through my morning sickness and other ailments, you were always there, checking on me, tucking me in with blankets, snuggling me, and just making sure that I was okay. You tell me that you want to be a mommy yourself someday, and I know that you will fill that role perfectly.

Kaya, I love you more than I can say. There are probably a million more things I could write about you, but I’ve tried to capture the biggest parts of your personality so that we will always remember what you were like at this age. Time is going by so quickly, and honestly, I wish I could slow down these days so we could have more of them, just as we both are right now.

Love, Mommy

michael’s birthday celebrations (29!)

Posted on August 31, 2016 by tara

Michael’s birthday was on a Tuesday, so really, it was a pretty typical weekday for us. He had to work, and I had to be at church youth activities later that night. He was celebrated at work with a chocolate birthday cake, so I planned to make him some other type of special dessert for later on.

The night before his birthday, his mom texted and asked if we’d like to have her spend the day with us. She had been helping out Michael’s great grandma, who lives about two hours from here, for the past couple of weeks, so making a quick day trip was actually feasible! Of course we said yes, and everyone was super excited to see Grandma.

While Michael was at work, we made some family-favorite choco-mint freeze, picked up ingredients for his mom’s homemade chicken nuggets at the grocery store, and bought him some mylar balloons (which really ended up being more for the girls than for him, haha)! Still, they were so eager to surprise him as soon as he came home. Of course, he had to close his eyes, per Kaya’s request! They loved running at him with their balloons!His gifts were some new bluetooth headphones from us (which he couldn’t resist opening that morning before work!), and a check from his parents. This was Kaya’s reaction when she saw that he got money in his card… 🙂 My mom-in-law cooked some amazing homemade chicken nuggets, and after dinner, I went to youth activities. When I came home, it was time for choco-mint freeze! They were pretty excited… and pretty goofy. Like father, like daughter. Kaelyn was too busy actually eating her dessert to goof off (or even look at me for a picture). Girl’s got focus!

This was probably one of the simplest birthday parties ever, but we all loved celebrating our favorite guy. Hopefully next year I’ll have more energy to put together something awesome for his big 30!

Happy 29th Birthday, best friend!

to the guy who lets me steal his clothes (happy birthday, Michael!)

Posted on August 23, 2016 by tara

Today is my favorite guy’s birthday! He does so much for our little family, and I’ve loved watching him grow and better himself in so many ways every single year. He works so hard and juggles so many different roles- husband, daddy, software developer, student, teacher, ward clerk, and business owner (to name a few!). I honestly am not sure how he gets it all done!

So Happy Birthday to the guy…

…who met me exactly eight years ago today (and will never live it down for not saying hello to me when I tried to introduce myself)!

…who remedies all my technology struggles (even when he could make me figure it out on my own) without grumbling.

…who never complains about eating sandwiches (again) for dinner when I haven’t cooked.

…who takes care of pouty lips and booboos like a pro.

…who lets me steal all his most comfortable t-shirts to use as pajamas.

…who takes care of our kids so that I can have a photography business.

…who probably never suspected that he’d be so popular with the ladies…

…but truly is the very best daddy there could ever be.

We all love you, buddy!

HAPPY 29th Birthday, Best Friend!!!

a rubber ducky birthday party (kaelyn’s 2nd birthday!)

Posted on July 18, 2016 by tara

I’m finally blogging about Kaelyn’s 2nd birthday party! Anytime I take a lot of photos all at once, it seems like it takes me a while to actually go through them all and share them. I definitely snapped a lot of pictures that day (June 25th), in part because I’m still adjusting to the lighting in our new home, so I kept changing my camera settings and trying different things. Many of these photos aren’t perfect, but I’m grateful I have them to remember my littlest’s special day.

Anyway… Grandma Debbie came up to stay with us for a few days, and as seems to be tradition, Kaelyn took a nap on her right before the party! We started our celebrations at 2 pm, so this little catnap was actually very much needed in order to avoid an afternoon meltdown. Kaelyn absolutely loves rubber ducks and gets SO excited anytime she sees one that she has to yell “QUACK!” over and over again. I knew she would be ecstatic with these rubber duck balloons! Hugs for the ducky! Uncle Karl and Kaitlyn brought her some more fun balloons when they arrived!This was one seriously happy little girl. I made her cake super simple this year. The only real goals were for it to look like water and have some bubbles and rubber ducks on top. I used this lemon cake recipe (minus the blueberries) with this frosting recipe, which I think pretty much equaled perfection. What’s better than a lemon cake on a summer day? (Not to mention, I almost always make chocolate cake, so this was a nice change!) We started the party off with Kaelyn’s favorite food- pizza! Soon it was time to blow out the candle (and she was still in love with her balloons)! I am so blessed to call these two precious girls mine.
Kaya was extremely excited for the party, and it wasn’t even her birthday! She is definitely looking forward to her own special day in a couple of months. Kaya ended up helping Kaelyn blow out the candle, because she had absolutely no idea what to do! We completely forgot to “practice” beforehand. Well… this is the best family picture we could get. I kind of think it’s hilarious. She loved her lemon cake! Everyone had blue lips afterward…After cake, she opened a few gifts.
We gave her this VTech Horse Stable that both girls have loved building and playing with together. My mom’s friend, Susan, sent her this stuffed penguin and a couple of books. She loves stuffed animals so much that she snatched it out of the bag as fast as she could, with the biggest grin on her face.Uncle Jeff and Auntie Lelia gave her some money for her 529 college fund. It’s definitely something she will appreciate when she’s older!

Grandma Debbie gifted her a rubber duck water table. Obviously, she has absolutely loved this over the past couple of weeks! After gifts, I tried to get a couple of pictures of her in her birthday outfit, mostly to no avail. She did like standing next to Fallon (Jeff and Lelia’s dog), though. We had to test out the water table, of course. Everyone ended up getting pretty wet! Kaya insisted that she needed her swimsuit… and when she came back out after changing into it, she was still wearing her undies and socks, haha! We had one happy (and tired) princess at the end of the day. I really think this was the perfect birthday party for her.

We love you, Kaelyn!

happy 2nd birthday, kaelyn!

Posted on July 6, 2016 by tara

Dear Kaelyn,

It feels like yesterday that I was holding you in my arms for the first time. Now, you’re already a little lady, with your own ideas and interests.

If I had to choose one word to describe your personality these days, it’d be “determined”. Whenever you have an idea, you follow through with it. You try your very hardest to complete tasks that are sometimes beyond your years, and never want to give up.

Sometimes, this personality trait can make it difficult to persuade you to listen to us and be obedient, but I know that being so very tenacious can be a great help to you as you grow older and meet life’s challenges. I hope that being strong-willed will one day help you to stand up for your values and live the gospel of Jesus Christ to the very best of your ability, despite whatever obstacles come your way.

You are independent. You always want to try and do things on your own, and will try for a long time before allowing us to help you. You’re always so excited to show me something that you’ve seen or discovered, and will softly shout “Mummy!” to get my attention. I love that you enjoy sharing your enthusiasm with me.

You are creative, and love to make art, whether it’s with crayons, markers, paint, or even stickers. You love to “do school” and regularly join your big sister for our preschool lessons. You’ve already started pointing out letters and numbers and trying to name them, although it is hard to understand what exactly you are saying. You’re obsessed with glue and often insist that I hang your creations on the refrigerator.You are strong. You can climb the tallest ladder at the playground! You love to explore and be outside, and if we pass by a park without stopping, you will oftentimes burst into tears. You always want to go on the swings before you play on any other part of the playground, and you giggle your hardest when I make you go fast. You love to try and “kick” me while you’re swinging, and apparently, it’s the funniest thing.

You are tender-hearted. You have a love for all animals, both real and plush. You are gentle and kind, and love to take care of your little stuffed buddies, whether it’s cuddling them, “nursing” them, feeding them a bottle, or tucking them in for a nap. You love to snuggle with Daddy or me when you’re feeling especially sleepy, or when you want to read a book.

You are a comedian. You do the silliest things to make us laugh, whether it’s putting bits of muffin up your nose, hiding in the curtains, or dancing the way you do- doing squats with your legs and bobbing your head from side to side. You’ve started humming songs while you’re nursing and will often look up at me and giggle. I think you know that you’re absolutely hilarious to us.

You love to pick out your own clothes, and if it’s in your drawer, your favorite outfit is your Myrtle Beach shirt with your hot pink star leggings. You’re probably wearing one or both of those items in nearly every picture I have of you, even though you have plenty of fashionable options. You also love to mix different patterns, and if an article of clothing has a heart-print pattern on it, you’re likely to choose it.

You are a big little helper. You will do anything I ask you to, whether it’s sweeping, putting away your clean laundry, throwing dirty laundry in the hamper, carrying groceries, or unloading the dishwasher. You absolutely love to be of assistance, and I really hope that never changes. 🙂

One of my favorite moments of the day is when I get home from running, and you’ve just woken up. You usually have your head on Daddy’s shoulder, and say, “Mummy!” softly, but excitedly. I just love how sweet and special you are to our family.

I love you Kaelyn Grace. I can’t wait to see who you become in this next year.

Love, Mommy

my birthday: post-it notes and minions

Posted on February 17, 2016 by tara

It always seems like I’m counting down until my birthday for forever… and then it’s here and over in the blink of an eye. It’s hard to believe that Kaelyn’s birthday is next in our little family. I guess I better start planning because it’ll be here before we know it!

My birthday started out with my favorite activity: running! I managed to get in 5 miles, and it felt even more refreshing than usual because it had been too cold (we’re talking severe wind chills and “real feels” in the negatives) to go outside for most of the week.

I came home from exercising and found that my mirrors had been attacked by post-it notes! Michael wrote my favorite “Happy, Happy Birthday” song on them and put them up in the shape of a heart. Sorry, but you totally get a bathroom-mirror selfie for this. How else was I supposed to get a picture of it? (and yes, I never went to BYU-I, but I’m wearing their shirt because my brother and sister-in-law sent it to me, and it’s pretty much the most comfortable tee ever.)

Michael put even more post-it notes on our bedroom mirror. This time, he wrote down some of the most significant things I’ve done for our family in this past year. It was pretty neat to see the influence I’ve had as a wife and mom through so many small actions.Other than that, we had a pretty normal day at home. We did a lot of laundry and cleaning up. Kaya spent a good part of the day singing “happy birthday” to me (and anyone else she could think of). She also warned me that I couldn’t stay in the (nice, warm) shower “all day” because then I would “miss my party”. Haha. Luckily for her, my shower didn’t last 10 hours.

I watched a friend’s kids for about an hour in the afternoon, and she surprised me with cupcakes from Bubblecakes! I’ve been dying to try these, and they definitely lived up to the hype.

Michael came home from work, and then he took Kaya out to pick up pizza and a cake for me. She was looking forward to this all day. She chose the perfect cookie cake, and even carried it all through Kroger.

Kaelyn and I stayed home, and while we were waiting, Katherine dropped by with a hug and a sweet surprise! I have some fantastic friends.

Kaelyn was tired of waiting for pizza, so she busted out the snack container I keep in the diaper bag and started chowing down. I tried to get her to make the same expression as me for a photo… I guess we were a little bored, because we made so many attempts that Google Photos automatically created this collage for me. Haha.

Nailed it.

Michael and Kaya returned home close to 7 pm, and it was finally time to party! I love cookies much more than cake, so this was perfect for me. I wanted my babies to help me blow out the candles again this year. Can we just take a moment to remember how little they were last year? (seriously, Kaelyn’s chubby cheeks. I just can’t handle the cuteness!) It took a few tries, but we finally did it together!We ended the evening by renting “Minions” (Kaya’s choice) and snuggling up on the couch together. My arms were full, and so is my heart. I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday.

8 for 28

Posted on February 12, 2016 by tara

It’s my birthday! Year 27 flew on by… and I can’t believe I only have one more birthday left of my 20s after this. I’m not sad to be getting older, because I can honestly say that my heart just keeps feeling more and more full as the years go on.

Last year, I listed out a bunch of random facts about myself… and I kind of like that tradition, so here we go again!

1. Folding clean laundry is my least favorite chore. I usually do at least one load per day, so we usually don’t have many (or any) dirty clothes. It’s just that they all sit in the clean basket for far too long.

2. I have this weirdly awesome memory for numbers. I memorize people’s birthdays easily and can usually tell you on the spot the specific date that something happened.

3. Country music is my jam. I like some modern songs, but give me some classic Alan Jackson or Randy Travis anytime.

4. I never planned on getting married or having kids, but our babies have brought us more joy than I could have ever imagined. Now I think it could be fun to have a pretty big family.

5. I studied abroad in Europe 7 years ago, and sometimes I still daydream about what it’d be like to go back. One day…

6. I don’t like peanut butter (shocking, I know), and chocolate mixed with peanut butter is even more unappealing to me. I think Michael likes not having to share his Reese’s, though! 🙂

7. I’ve kept a consistent journal since I was 11 years old. I’ve written almost every day since early 2009.

8. I think now that I’m out of school, a lot of people don’t know- I’m a linguist. I have a BA in French and studied a total of 7 years of French, 2 years of Spanish, and 1 year of Italian. I miss having language classes and being immersed in it all day long!

Happy Friday! 🙂

Michael and Tara

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