Category Archives: daddy-daughter

father’s day weekend 2016

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We kicked off our Father’s Day weekend with an amazing dinner, cooked by a great family from church who invited us over. I’ve been dying to try this lemon pound cake, so that’s what I brought along. It was moist and lemony- definitely not a disappointment!
Michael spent Saturday morning doing what he always does since we acquired our own yard- mowing the lawn! Father’s Day didn’t get him out of this chore. Sorry, buddy.

_MG_3140 We spent the afternoon at the pool, and after the girls had their nap, we surprised Daddy with some very small gifts. He was leaving for his trip on Saturday night, so we obviously had to celebrate a day early!

Kaya absolutely loves giving presents, and she always insists on the recipient closing his or her eyes beforehand in order to make it even more exciting. I just love this genuine joy:_MG_3206 Both girls made him a card with a big giant fish on it._MG_3211“Dear Daddy: You’re a great catch! ‘Fishing’ you a Happy Father’s Day!” It was definitely cheesy, but he loved it, and Kaya was so proud of her craftiness._MG_3212 We also surprised him with a new photo collage for his cubicle at work. He was in need of some updated pictures!_MG_3208 We gave him this book to read with the girls, and our littlest bookworm snagged it immediately._MG_3210 We also supplied him with a few sweet treats for his flight out to Seattle. Thankfully, he isn’t opposed to sharing his stash with a couple of Swedish Fish fanatics before he had to leave town._MG_3215 We enjoyed a little pizza and some Wii games before we had to drop him off at the bus that would take him to the airport. On Sunday, we girls were all on our own… but church went smoothly, and we made sure to take a few silly selfies to send to Daddy.IMG_20160619_124323 (2)-01

We all wore matching coral-colored outfits. I really wish my babies could stay exactly as they are now and always think that matching with their mom is cool. 🙂IMG_20160619_124328

Happy Father’s Day, bestie!

five on friday (03/25)

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Happy Easter weekend! We’ve been so excited for this weekend and all the festivities coming up. Here’s to springtime and sunshine!

ONE. We had our preschool Easter party this week! It was my turn to host a party, and thankfully, it all went well. I always get a little nervous and really tried to make it a good time for the kids. I think I succeeded, because afterward, Kaya just kept telling me she wanted to do it all again with our friends.

We did several different activities, but I really loved these little “birdhouse” snacks we made._MG_1271Cute, easy, and delicious.
_MG_1265 TWO. Sometimes, this is what it looks like to be a “girl dad”. He’s the best (and those little toes are still my favorite…)_MG_1232

THREE. These cheeks were FULL of pickle slices! Kaelyn is so open to trying new foods lately, and I love that I can count on her to eat almost anything I make. Also… those baby blues. My other favorite thing!_MG_1221FOUR. We spent some time outside in the sunshine this week. There is nothing like exercise, fresh air, and a break from being at home with all the chores and other distractions. I love this time with my babies.

Kaya loved it until a fly landed on her hat… and then she was too frightened to play anymore. We’re working on tolerating bugs at the playground… 😉

FIVE. Now that Kaya can recognize the letters in the word “donut”, I’m calling all our homeschool preschool learning a success (or maybe we really have just had too many donuts lately). Seriously though, I am SO proud of her and happy to see that she is retaining information.

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Happy Easter!
Linking up here!

donuts and a daddy-daughter date

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Yeah, it’s definitely Thursday, and I’m only just writing about our weekend now. But how can you let a great weekend go undocumented?

On Saturday morning, I went out for my run, and when I came home, I discovered that we had no muffins left… and there wasn’t enough milk to make any more. What’s a girl to do when you have a breakfast crisis like this? Make donuts, of course! I haven’t made any in quite a while, so I revisited this recipe, and I think these were the best cake donuts I’ve ever made. We obviously skipped the glaze, because we’re chocolate-on-chocolate-with-sprinkles kind of people.

Michael and Kaya had a daddy-daughter date that morning. First stop- Home Depot for one of their kids’ workshops. Kaya built a miniature toy wagon, and apparently drove all the nails herself. I’m so proud of my skilled little girl!

She was also thrilled because apparently they gave out juice boxes at the workshop… and Kaya has never had juice (of any kind) before, so this really was exciting for her! She had a few sips and didn’t really know what to think of it at first.

They ran some errands at Walmart, where the bank inside just happened to be giving out balloon animals and stickers. It was Kaya’s lucky day for sure!

Daddy took her to Wendy’s for a Frosty (her favorite treat). And yes, apparently you can get a Frosty in the morning!

During nap time, Michael worked on patching our tire. We’ve had a slow leak in it for months, but we couldn’t find the cause. Finally, Michael spotted a nail stuck in the tire. He pulled it out and patched it up.
_MG_1139 Saturday night always means bathtime! We like to have clean kids for church, at least. 😉 Someone loves her lion towel too much…_MG_1142 I taught the young women on Sunday, we had nice long afternoon naps, and then rounded out our weekend with some coloring. These small things might not seem important, but I always love looking back at these tiny details and little moments._MG_1151

And now I’m practically ready for the weekend (again)!

if you give a kid a cookie (weekend)

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We kicked off our weekend with a Friday-night Hokie football game! Kaya was more into reading books than actually watching, but she still loved cuddling up with Daddy and staying awake a little past bedtime.

On Saturday morning, Michael took Kaya to another Lowe’s Build and Grow activity. This one was a “haunted birdhouse” for Halloween! She was so proud of her handiwork and keeps opening up the roof while telling us “I want to catch a birdy!” Kaelyn and I had a fun hour at home together, although I didn’t take any pictures (whoops). We worked out our abs, and she played with any toys she wanted to without having to share with anyone.

After nap time on Saturday, we ended up running a ton of small errands around our local shopping center. Michael was pretty much my chauffeur, and that made it a whole lot easier to just run into stores super fast without having to unbuckle, re-buckle, and carry kids in and out of everywhere. Thanks buddy.

Of course, we had to spend some time playing on the playground at the mall and getting some dessert. 🙂

If you give a kid a cookie… you’ll have to clean the frosting off of her face and jammies. Whoops.

Sunday was church, and these sweeties were so exhausted by the end of it. This might sound crazy, but I am so excited that we have 9 am church again in a couple months. It will be so much easier on all of us when we can have our regular naptime.

daddy-daughter time

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There’s something so amazing about seeing your child’s beautiful, smiling, happy face.

And then there’s something even more wonderful about watching your child beaming from ear to ear because she’s having fun with her daddy.

One of my very favorite things about motherhood is being able watch my husband enjoy fatherhood. Seeing our little girls scramble for the door when he comes home, hug him, climb all over him, and snuggle up to him warms my heart.

I love how they trust him and know that he’ll always be there for them.

Michael has been having some great daddy-daughter time with his girls lately. Last weekend, he took Kaya on a “date” to a free Build and Grow activity at Lowe’s. They were building a toy firetruck and Kaya could not have been more excited.

Michael said that she was a little apprehensive of all the hammering at first, and he did most of the real building, but she helped put the stickers on it. She was so excited to drive it around before the wheels were even on!

collage109262015They had so much fun together and she was so proud of her new firetruck! She couldn’t wait to show her stuffed animals (and mommy, too)! 🙂

As soon as he arrived home from work yesterday, Kaya shouted “Have a picnic with me, Daddy!” and all three of them sat down on a blanket on the kitchen floor, prayed, ate invisible food, and drank pretend juice._MG_9356 I love my three sweethearts and the way they care for each other._MG_9360