five on friday (12/4)

Posted on December 4, 2015 by tara

ONE. I finished up my first-ever set of quiet book pages this week, loosely based on this one. They weren’t anything fancy and definitely didn’t turn out perfect, but I certainly learned a few things along the way. And miniature felt food is pretty adorable.

TWO. Mia had Kaya over for a little princess tea party last week. Katherine sent me this photo below. Two adorable girls, dressed up as princesses, sipping from their tin cups… Be careful looking at this, it might just make your heart explode from a cuteness overload.

THREE. Kaelyn had an unexpected trip to the doctor last week for what I thought would be her first stitches/skin glue, and for the craziest reason… she had a piece of hair wrapped around her toe, and when I took it off (not realizing how deeply it had cut her), it looked like it had gone through half the width of her tiny toe! The doctor ended up leaving it open so that we could clean it (instead of gluing it shut and worrying about infection), and prescribed us a strong antibiotic ointment. I feel like this photo doesn’t even show how deep the cut truly was.

So really, check your baby’s toes/diaper area for hair tourniquets. I’m just glad we seemed to find it pretty quickly and it’s healed up nicely.

FOUR. With the rain and colder temperatures lately, we’ve been staying inside more and getting a whole lot of preschool work done. Kaelyn loves to be included, so I sit her up at the table with Kaya and give her any extra worksheets to color. She loves it!

FIVE. We finally busted out our hardcore winter gear this week. The weather is suddenly feeling more like it should for December! One of my goals this winter is to get my kids outside and playing, even when it is on the colder side… so I got them some awesome-heavy-duty-warm coats (and you know, if you’re buying new coats, you might as well make them match 🙂 ).

Barring extreme wind/snow/ice, I think we’re set to still have some fun on the playground this winter! 🙂

Happy weekend! 🙂

Linking up here!

puppy party weekend

Posted on November 24, 2015 by tara

Kaya pretty much had the best weekend ever. It doesn’t get any better than spending time at your best friend’s puppy dog-themed birthday party! I might have been just as excited as she was, because I knew how much she would love Mia’s party.

We arrived early, and she got to choose a puppy for “adoption”. She picked a little Dalmatian, named him “Ruff”, and is still carrying him around, right along with Kitty. He’s a current favorite for sure!

They did a lot of fun activities, including decorating a dog house for each puppy. Kaya plastered cat stickers and drew circles all over hers. 🙂

Kaya was so excited to give the birthday girl her gift! They then shared the very sweetest hug. I love their friendship.We filled the rest of our weekend with schoolwork (for Michael), a few family photos, church, and breakfast for dinner. We ended with some cookie-dough making. I love spending time in the kitchen with my little pal.

halloween cookie-decorating party

Posted on October 29, 2015 by tara

On Tuesday morning, we hosted a mini (very mini) Halloween party for the kids. We invited both old and new friends, and kept it super simple. We basically just decorated some sugar cookies and then let the kids all play.

Kaya was truly the happiest little girl as she sat there and decorated cookie after cookie. I think she made more cookies than anyone else did (and actually only ate one… the very first one she made, of course)! I helped her out with the frosting, and she did an excellent job of loading them up with as many m&ms, Resse’s Pieces, marshmallows, chocolate chips, and sprinkles as possible. Would you like some cookie to go with your toppings? (this is my favorite sugar cookie recipe, by the way 😉 )

We played some Halloween music, and Mia and Kaya started dancing. I’ve said it over and over again, but I just love that my baby has a best friend. I put together some super simple goody bags for the older girls- pumpkin bubbles, glowsticks, a kaleidoscope, and some homemade pumpkin play dough. Kaya was so excited to hand them out and even more excited to open hers up. Kaelyn tried her first sugar cookie at lunchtime, after the party. She had woken up around 5:30 am that day, and so sadly, she was cranky and cried for the majority of the cookie-decorating activity.We had a great time with friends, and this little party was a great way to kick off our Halloween festivities! 🙂

five on friday (10/16)

Posted on October 16, 2015 by tara

Happy weekend! 🙂

ONE. We’re a little bit late to the game (considering when the official school year began), but we started our own little at-home “preschool” with Kaya this week! We saw how our friends were using these alphabet worksheets, and it finally got me motivated to just start with a “letter of the week” kind of program. Can you tell that she was just a little bit excited? She loves to “do school”, and I’m honestly impressed with how quickly she’s learning and retaining information. _MG_9514

TWO. We had a play date with friends on Tuesday! Seeing these two little BFFs together never fails to warm my heart. Kaya loves Mia so much- she laughs her hardest when they’re being silly together, and is always sure to hug her goodbye. I never could have imagined that our once tiny little babies would grow to be true friends.

THREE. Kaya nearly begged me to go to the library on Wednesday, so we spent the early afternoon over there. I think my kids were more interested in these bead mazes and pushing the kid-sized chairs around than actually reading any books! I still consider their quiet self-entertainment a success. 🙂

I thought it’d be cute to take Kaelyn’s picture with this pumpkin… but she just wanted help getting out of the chair so she could climb right back into it. Haha.

Don’t worry, we still managed to come home with some fun books.

FOUR. Kaya had her first-ever gymnastics class last night! She was SUPER shy for almost the entire time, didn’t even want to look at any of the teachers (never mind letting them help her do anything), and just seemed really unsure of herself. By the end of it, we had her jumping down the trampoline all on her own, and she was having so much fun that she didn’t want to quit. Hopefully next week starts out a little easier for her. 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-A0hscQVkY

FIVE. I’ve said it before and I’ll probably being saying it for eternity- I don’t know how Michael does everything he does. School, work, fatherhood, church service, and a side-business… and he doesn’t seem to sleep much. Well, I guess it catches up to everyone eventually, because my sweet husband ate his dinner last night and then promptly fell asleep on the table. I kid you not. I am so grateful for everything that he does for our family.

family festival weekend

Posted on August 17, 2015 by tara

Our Friday night was one of those nights. You know… the kind when you’re having such a good time that you just know you’re right in the middle of making an amazing memory.

Those kinds of memories are the ones I like to revisit for years to come.

Michael’s work puts on this “Family Festival” at the end of every summer. I always bring my big camera and never really take any pictures, so this year, I left it at home. Well, apparently we just needed our oldest daughter to grow up a little bit, because she was so involved in everything… and I wanted to take her picture doing it all. So… all I have for you today are some nice phone photos. Whoops. (Really though, it is hard to use a DSLR when you’re wearing a baby on your chest, too, so it might not have worked out so well anyway…)

We met up with Ben, Brittany, and Caroline! We can always count on Kaya to push their stroller around.
There were so many good treats at this mini festival. After some hotdogs and hamburgers, there were snowcones, cotton candy, and ice cream!We waited in line for balloon animals for quite a while, but I knew it would be worth it once Kaya saw what was going on. I requested a horse for her, and her whole face lit up with joy. For me, there is no better prize than that.Balloon horses have to gallop on Daddy’s head, obviously. 🙂 collage08142015 This might have been my second stick of cotton candy… So obviously I had to do some kind of crazy dance. #YOLO Kaya went down this inflatable slide as much as we would let her! I think Michael had just as much fun as she did.

A video posted by Tara (@tarairwin) on Aug 15, 2015 at 10:01am PDT

MIchael and Kaya danced to some live bluegrass music, and then she requested a photo with this giant cow in the center of the square. IMG_20150814_194942 The end of the evening was a little bittersweet, since this was our last hurrah with Ben and Brittany before their move to Texas. We are already missing our sweet friends. IMG_20150814_182416

Happy Monday! How was your weekend?

five on friday (08/14)

Posted on August 14, 2015 by tara

Happy Friday!!! Here are our recent top five:

ONE. I never posted about our weekend, but I had an awesome run on Saturday! The weather was so perfect (we finally had a short break from all this humidity) so I took full advantage. Some people have told me that if I can just go out and do 8 miles like this, I could easily train for a half marathon. I was sore for two days afterward, but it’s definitely something I’ve thought about doing. Seasoned racers, any thoughts?

TWO. Somebody discovered how delicious graham crackers are this week! Sometimes when I look at that four-toothed grin, I see a little girl instead of my baby. THREE. This little $5 stroller has given Kaya so many hours’ worth of fun. I let her take it outside this week to meet Daddy at the bus stop, and she pretty much thought it was the best thing ever. Various stuffed buddies have taken turns getting rides!FOUR. The easiest way to get my two sweaty, sunscreeny kids clean lately has been to put them in one bath! I’ve done this a few times now, and they LOVE it. They laugh and splash so much that I usually end up cleaning water off the floor, but I love how much joy they find in each other’s company.FIVE. This has been our last week with Brittany and Caroline before they move far far away to Texas. We’ve been relishing our playtime and trying not to think about the fact that soon they’ll be gone. I love these little baby buddies! (photo cred to Brittany!)

Happy weekend!

Linking up here today!

five on friday: farewells, footwear, and fuzzy cuddles

Posted on July 31, 2015 by tara

We’re here at the end of another week… the last in July! I know the rest of summer is going to be over in the blink of an eye, and it’ll be Fall before we know it. Here’s our top five for the week:

ONE. This last week brought our very last play date as a full group before Brittany moves away and Katherine headed off to visit family for a while. I knew this day was coming, but it seems like it came and went all too quickly.

We’ve shared so many good times together and watched our children grow alongside each other. These ladies have been there through thick and thin for me, and I am so grateful. There’s nothing like knowing that somebody’s got your back.Aaliyah wasn’t too excited for a picture. Real life, you guys. I love it.Talyah, Luke, Kaelyn, and Caroline!TWO. We made it to the pool a grand total of one time this week! Kaya is getting more comfortable with swimming in her puddle jumper (with support from Daddy, of course), and really loved kicking her way from the middle of the pool to the edge. I love these two goofballs.

THREE. After 3.5 years of running in barefoot shoes, I wanted to switch to something with a little more support. I went to a local running store, and a knowledgeable clerk set me up with these. They’re a great median between barefoot and traditional shoes, and he suggested that I can switch between these and my barefoots as needed. I’m loving them so far!

FOUR. This little girl still loves her baths. Is there anything cuter than a giggly baby with shampoo in her hair?

FIVE. There’s nothing like a girl and her Panda…

… or a girl and her Piggy. We’ve got a couple of regular stuffed animal lovers over here.

Happy weekend!

Linking up with April today!

kaelyn’s 1st birthday: a giraffe party!

Posted on July 14, 2015 by tara

I don’t know why I took so long to put up this post, seeing that her party was two weeks ago already. Whoops! Finally, here it is, my sweet baby’s first birthday party! It wasn’t anything fancy, but we really had the best time with family and friends. My heart is so full knowing how many people love our little princess.

We had a giraffe-themed party, since Kaelyn really seemed to get especially excited over any and all giraffe toys for a while. I made the cake, and was inspired by this to try to make it 3-dimensional. This was my first-ever attempt at something like this, and while it is far from perfect, I am definitely proud of the result! The body was cake and the rest was make of Rice Krispies Treats.

This girl only wanted to pull crazy-faced smiles that day! I think her grandmas brought this on… Love my girl. So many presents for such a tiny baby! Don’t look too hard at the cake… his ears were already falling off at this point, and by the time we cut the cake, his whole head was crumbling. It was a hot day, his head was too heavy, and I probably should have used more marshmallows to glue his head together. Now I know for next time! The decor was pretty simple. I loved having all twelve months of my princess on display!When we sang “Happy Birthday”, Michael and I automatically filled in “Baba Grace” instead of saying “Kaelyn”. Whoops. We might call her by her Kaya-given nickname more than her real moniker. She wasn’t sure what to think of the candle! She had no idea what to do with her cake. She did get some on her finger… and when she just barely tasted it, she was disgusted. I promise the cake was good! I’m sure things will be different next year. 🙂 Big sister got to help open all the gifts. This was the highlight of her week after everything she endured just a few days before. I think this piano was the biggest hit. Naturally, everyone wanted to play with it at the same time.
Our good friend Caroline loved being in on the action! For some reason, this picture just cracks me up. Kaelyn’s big gift from Mommy and Daddy was a Little People farm. She loves it! Daddy left this as a surprise on my camera… It’s the only picture he’s in besides the group one (whoops), so I figured I’d throw it in. Also… #kittyphotobombI’m grateful that so many people could come to the party! Bianca and her girls left before we snapped this picture. And then of course I had to do something crazy, like put my baby in a bucket, tie balloons to it, and take her picture.Also, let me just mention- same bucket, same baby, one year ago. I cannot believe she was so small! Back to the present…

Love this little scrunchy, double-toothed grin.Happy 1st Birthday Princess! We love you more than you know!

dragon’s lair mini golf & the skywheel

Posted on June 16, 2015 by tara

On our last full day at the beach, we headed down to Broadway at the Beach to walk around for a bit. Mini golf was on our must-do list, so when we saw “Dragon’s Lair Fantasy Golf”, we knew we had to try it!Who wouldn’t want to golf inside a castle? Kaya was SO excited about golfing (maybe she remembered last year?), and was big enough for her own club this time. She was persistent and made it through 14 of the 18 holes before she was just too tired to keep going. Cutest little putter I ever did see! Kaelyn and Caroline were troopers in the heat and enjoyed just watching from the stroller! Kaelyn’s entertainment was trying to take her hat off the entire time… After naps and some more time at the beach, we headed down to the boardwalk to get some dinner. We passed a place called “New York Pizza” and stopped in. It reminded me of this little pizzeria we had in the town I grew up in, so I was hoping the pizza would be just as good. Well… it was amazing. And HUGE. And I didn’t take a picture of it because we were too busy stuffing it into our mouths…Afterward, we headed further down the boardwalk to ride the SkyWheel. Normally, I’m terrified of ferris wheels, since the cars usually seem rickety and about to fall off the hinges. The SkyWheel was all enclosed and didn’t rock at all, so I loved it. It was so beautiful to see the whole city from up there!Question: How many crazy people can you fit in one ferris wheel car?And that’s the last of the beach posts. It’s time to go back so I have something else interesting to write about, right?

on the beach

Posted on June 15, 2015 by tara

There’s just something magical about the beach that makes me never want to leave.

Hot sand on your toes, the clearest blue sky, and the swish-swish of the ocean current. The view of the pier, people laughing, and kids running up and down the beach.

Those things might have something to do with it. Hearing Kaya creep into our bed in the early hours of the morning, whispering “beach beach beach!” added a whole new level of excitement to our trip. There’s nothing like watching your children enjoy the experiences you’re providing for them. We spent our first morning (and second afternoon) on the beach. Poor Kaelyn started to cry the moment I put her in the sand. I definitely wasn’t expecting this reaction from my typically calm, easy-going baby!Baby Caroline was more than happy to just sit in the sand (and attempt to eat seashells)!
Kaya definitely had the best time of anyone. She had some brand-new beach toys to try out, and everyone helped her build a little moat to play in. She was thrilled! Kaya’s construction team 🙂 :Everyone took turns walking her down to the water to fill up her bucket…
Brittany and I sat our babies on our laps, right at the edge of the water. It was so fun to watch their reactions when the cool waves would wash over our legs!
Someone was happier after some mommy cuddles and getting a turn to play with the bucket… These are my favorite days.