my baby brother is all grown up

Posted on May 18, 2016 by tara

On May 7th, my no-so-little-anymore brother graduated from Radford University! He finished with two Bachelor’s degrees (for Accounting and Criminal Justice), and I was so proud to see him walk across the stage that I started to tear up a little.I missed out on his high school graduation, so I was glad to be there for him this time. The ceremony was outdoors, and the weather was perfect… maybe even a little too perfect, because after sitting in the sun for a few more hours than we were expecting to, we each had a slight pink tinge to our skin. Oops.I stood up at the front, waiting to take this photo for probably close to an hour… Karl and Kaitlyn are good sports when it comes to my paparazzi-like tendencies.We took a ton of photos afterward, too, as you might have expected. It was so nice to see my whole immediate family together!Seriously, I’m already missing this kid, but I know he’s moving on to bigger and better opportunities. Since my Mom, Dad, Karl and I were all in the same place at the same time (and looking pretty sharp, I might add), I absolutely had to get this photo of the four of us. Kaya really wanted to be in it, too, and that was just fine by me.My sunshine in her favorite rainbow dress! The kids were so well-behaved for the entire outing, despite being hungry and tired.We all went to Subway downtown for lunch afterward. Someone couldn’t quite make it through the afternoon without passing out on Grandma (which she seems to do almost every time she visits)!

Congratulations Karl and Kaitlyn!!!

breakfast at grandma’s

Posted on April 21, 2016 by tara

We spent some time visiting with my parents when we went down to Richmond for my first official 10k race. We arrived on Friday night, enjoyed some pizza, and watched our girls get spoiled by their grandparents, per usual. My mom made them some belated Easter baskets, and Kaya and Kaelyn were so glad to have some new things to play with away from home.
Chapstick… always a favorite for Kaelyn. These chapsticks actually taste like jellybeans, so it’s amazing the kids haven’t completely used (aka eaten) them. Kaya’s also been really interested in Winnie the Pooh lately, so she was excited for this tiny plush. Later, she enjoyed watching one of the old Pooh VHS tapes I had as a child. Grandma kisses! We went to the race on Saturday morning, and then spent the rest of the day relaxing and showing my parents “Despicable Me” for the first time.

Sunday morning, Kaelyn enjoyed some chocolate donuts (what other kind is even worth mentioning?) while my mom cooked a special breakfast. Those are some sleepy eyes! French toast…This is what Michael and Kaya were doing while all the breakfast-making commotion was happening in the kitchen, right next door! Traveling really takes a lot out of all of us, especially the kids. They’re past the age when they’d nap in the car for most of the trip (even if we leave town right at nap time), and then our nap and bedtime schedule is almost nonexistent when we’re not at home. Hence, we had some exhausted kids.Socks was begging for some bacon. Too bad he’s on a green-bean diet… We finished our breakfast, headed to church, and made the drive home. It was a simple, but fun, weekend!

turtles and basketball (weekend)

Posted on February 24, 2016 by tara

Grandma Debbie came up for a visit this weekend! Kaya was so excited and just couldn’t wait for her to arrive. Grandma brought lots of hugs and surprises for everyone, including Valentine’s candy, Beanie Baby turtles for the girls, and a steamer stock pot for me. Because of spoiling us, she always has much fewer things to pack up when she leaves. We’re just helping lighten her load, right?
We spent a lot of time just relaxing and playing at home. Kaya loved pretending to tuck us in for a nap on the couch.

After Michael got off work on Friday night, we all went to look at another house. It was beautiful and in a great neighborhood… but there was a line of clients to get in and see it! Crazy! We waited in the car for quite a while before it was our turn.

We knew it would sell quickly, and I wasn’t ready to jump into anything yet, so we didn’t make an offer. It was sold by the next morning, after being on the market for only one day!

After seeing the house, we took my mom out to our favorite Chinese place for her first time ever. Kaya hid behind Michael for this picture and Kaelyn was too busy with her cup to turn around! Haha.

On Saturday morning, Michael headed off to a stake basketball tournament. It lasted about 4 hours, and his team made it to the championship! He was sore for days afterward, and sadly, there are no pictures from this event.

Since he was gone, I took Kaya to her gymnastics class. She is getting so comfortable with most of the activities and even told me that she loves her teachers!

Later, we decided to decorate some sugar cookies with Grandma. Michael decorated two cookies. And he ate two cookies. And that was all for him! “Cookie decorating” is actually code for “cookie eating”. Kaya got a little excited about covering her entire cookie with candy and sprinkles. She made this bunny on the top right, and she was worried because she “missed a spot”. Hahaha. I got a little snowman-happy.

We also enjoyed time with Karl and Kaitlyn, although I somehow didn’t get any pictures of their visit. We had church on Sunday, and finally took naps, after not having our regular nap routine for a few days. We were wiped out! Grandma left on Monday morning, and now, we are looking forward to our other set of grandparents visiting next weekend!

pre-christmas christmas

Posted on January 5, 2016 by tara

The weekend before Christmas, we headed out to visit my parents for an early holiday celebration. I’m actually glad I’m a bit late writing all of my Christmas-themed posts- why not relive the magic for just a little longer?

And yes, I really put one million pictures all in one post. (Or, you know, 27.) There are just too many good moments to leave out!

We arrived at their home early in the evening on Friday night, enjoyed spaghetti dinner (with my mom’s homemade meat sauce… now, that stuff is magic), and then played by the tree until my dad got off of work around 9 pm.

Kaya, Kaelyn, and Grandma Debbie had an indoor “snowball fight” with these plush white balls. Don’t be fooled by Kaya’s placid expression… it actually got pretty wild!

Everyone was excited to see that the stockings were already filled and just waiting to be opened!

I don’t remember if she was dancing or yelling “CHEESE!” at me here…

Kaelyn was SO into opening everything this year. She was ready to get started as soon as my mom brought all the gifts downstairs! I think she spent just as much time putting everything back in her stocking as she did taking it out.

Kaya has really been loving penguins lately (just like Auntie Lelia)!

Both girls received magic (glowing) snowballs… so yes, there were more snowball fights after this.

Kaya’s big gift from my parents was a set of Calico Critters and their little cottage. She was the happiest little girl ever and loves her “bunny house”, as she calls it.

So much excitement in one little girl!Kaelyn got some toddler-safe cars (since she always tries to eat Kaya’s small plastic ones) and couldn’t have been more content.

Matching snowman jammies! I love having two little girls.

New polos for Daddy…

And a new Hallmark singing snowman for our collection. I think this is my favorite one yet, since it sings “Deck the halls with lots of cookies”. Really, I can’t think of anything more appropriate for myself.

My mom’s friend, Susan, gave the girls giraffe and elephant plushes, along with some books. Both my girls love all their animal pals so much.

My mom got some new flats…

… and a “Grandma necklace” with both girls’ names on the pendants.

And finally, we surprised my Dad with a Wii! I was waiting to give him this for several months, and it was so fun to finally see his reaction. He guessed that we were giving him some kind of tool because the box felt so heavy. I think he was definitely surprised!

Plus one of his favorite games, Animal Crossing.

We went to bed soooo late that night, and we were up early the next morning. Kaya was very excited to make gingerbread cookies (for the second time this season) at Grandma’s house!

This is probably one of my favorite pictures ever.

Kaya is the most serious decorator of us all. Other than decorating cookies and playing the Wii, we took it easy for most of the day.

My mom made a fancy pot roast dinner (and even lit a candle… so extravagant)! _MG_0438 We completely enjoyed ourselves and tried to go to bed early so that we could pack up and leave by 7:30 on Sunday morning in order to get to church.

This trip was the perfect start to our Christmas week! 🙂

spaghetti for thanksgiving dinner (2015)

Posted on December 3, 2015 by tara

On Wednesday afternoon, we headed out of town to visit my side of the family for Thanksgiving! You never know how your kids will do on long trips, but our girls did great with riding in the car for a few hours. We were the only ones staying at the house (my brother had already come and gone the day previous), so we basically took over every room with our luggage, blankets, pack and play, and assortment of other kid necessities.

I had an excellent 5-mile run on Thursday morning, and then ate a million pickles and olives while watching parts of the parade and waiting for the turkey to cook. Michael and Kaya (and her stuffed puppy, “Ruff”) enjoyed some back porch swinging instead of gorging themselves on sour, salty appetizers.
She’s so in love with “Ruff” lately and has been taking him almost everywhere, so he had to come on our Thanksgiving trip, of course. 🙂
And we actually took a picture of the two of us! I love this guy so much. My mom did all the cooking, and did an amazing job, as always. My dad carved the turkey, per tradition.There were (almost) 10 pounds of mashed potatoes in that bowl!

We really missed Karl this year, but he was enjoying some crab legs and prime rib with Kaitlyn at her dad’s house!

The gravy is my favorite part…

Kaya sat down to dinner with us, told us what she wanted on her plate, and then… decided it was nap time. Traveling is tiring for little kids.

Kaelyn went down for a nap even before my aunts arrived for dinner, and slept until the meal was already over and cleaned up.

I guess sleeping is more exciting than turkey. She didn’t even need to be trippin’ on tryptophan to nap the day away.

When she woke up, she had her first-ever Thanksgiving dinner (she was too little last year)! She seemed to like some of it, but mostly chewed on her spoon and made a mess. Kaya woke up hungry, but opted for leftover spaghetti over turkey. Auntie Joyce celebrated her 67th birthday on Thanksgiving, so we had a little party for her! This buttercream cake was too delicious. Of course, there were plenty of grandma cuddles and kisses. She also spoiled them with new jammies and a book. I have some lucky girls.

grandfavorites

Posted on October 8, 2015 by tara

We’ve enjoyed some special visits with both sides of the family over these past couple of weeks. Our parents all live a few hours away, so we don’t just get to see them all the time. My mom tries to come up a few times a year, and we see Michael’s parents every couple of months or so. _MG_9233

Now, the sweetest part of these visits is watching my girls love their grandparents. I am amazed at the instant bond they seem to have with each other- my shy, cautious little girl instantly gives hugs, kisses and cuddles as soon as they walk through the door. She cherishes any surprise they bring for her and takes full advantage of their willingness to play with her.

I just love the level of comfort that my babies automatically have with their grandparents, even though they don’t see each other all the time. Processed with VSCOcam with m4 preset

And of course, I love the level of silliness that only a grandpa can incite! 🙂

a “rainbow rainbow cat” birthday party

Posted on September 23, 2015 by tara

I can’t believe it, but Kaya’s 3rd birthday party has already come and gone! It always feels like I spend more time preparing for it than the amount of time the party actually lasts.

This year was the most fun by far, because she had been asking about her birthday for months (especially after seeing Kaelyn have a special cake and presents). She all but counted down the days… she was so excited! When she woke up on Saturday morning, she immediately looked down the hallway to see if I decorated… and the biggest grin came over her face when she saw the streamers. She ran through them and excitedly proclaimed “it mine birt-day!” several times.

Michael took her down to the local bakery (a.k.a. the best place in town) to get some special birthday donuts. Can you tell what kind we like the most?

_MG_9252 We practiced singing and blowing out the candles at breakfast! 🙂 We moved the table and put up some balloons and streamers (thank you to Lelia and my mom for lending me a hand)! _MG_9267 Kaya’s request this year was a “rainbow rainbow cat” cake. I actually made it the day before the party, so for once, I didn’t stress about getting it done on the morning of. The ruffles are buttercream and the little cat is made of fondant. Kaya saw the cat a day early, and immediately told me “I want to hold him”. I told her she had to wait until her party, and she said “But I need him!” in the sweetest, most tender little voice. I guess he looked enough like a real kitten, then, to get that reaction out of her. 😉 _MG_9261 Uncle Karl and Kaitlyn came. I think he spent the whole party trying to win Kaelyn over. He even hand-fed her some pizza! She alternated between crying when she saw him and wanting to sit on his lap… _MG_9271 Uncle Jeff and Auntie Lelia drove up all the way from Richmond! _MG_9272 We sang “happy birthday”, and she was beaming the whole time. She even blew out all three candles on the first try! _MG_9284 We had cake and ice cream, and then it was present time! Honestly, we were all starting to crash a little at this point, especially the birthday girl. Going two days without a nap and eating a ton of cake will do that to you! _MG_9288 She was spoiled with a Fisher Price DoodlePro, a stuffed Daniel Tiger, and lots of books! _MG_9290 Michael and I gave her a “GoGo My Walking Pup”, and she wasn’t so sure about having a robotic dog around at first, but now she loves walking and “feeding” her. (also, present-opening apparently makes a HUGE mess!) _MG_9299 We had an amazing party and a wonderful weekend.

And because I just love these little videos that Google automatically puts together, I have to share this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5slNIA58ic

We love you so much Peeky! Seeing you truly enjoy your day was my favorite part of everything.

bubbles and breakfast (with grandma debbie)

Posted on August 27, 2015 by tara

After spending two of Michael’s vacation days at home, we packed up and headed east to visit both sides of our extended family.

Funny (or maybe not) side-story before we even left:

We timed our departure right at nap time, with the hope that our two kiddos would sleep for most of the ride. The car was all loaded up, lunches were stowed in the front seat to be eaten on the way, and we were ready to buckle the kids into their car seats when we realized…

Kaya’s beloved Kitty was missing.

If you don’t know, Kitty goes everywhere, and a day (let alone a week) without him would be pure agony for everyone involved.

We asked Kaya if she packed him in a suitcase… and she told us she hadn’t. We started searching frantically through the house… opening everything that can be opened and pulling various items from their places. We couldn’t find him, and Kaya was sobbing. My heart was breaking for my little girl.

Michael searched the inside of our suitcases in the car. No Kitty. He even went to the dumpster, found the trash we had taken out earlier, and searched it. Still no Kitty. We were starting to lose some hope, and gave her the new “backup” Kitty to try to calm her down.

Michael went out to the car to look (for a 3rd time, I think), and this time, Kaya immediately climbed onto one of the suitcases… Michael looked in one of the front pockets (which looked waaay too small to have Kitty in it), and finally, there he was. Apparently, she packed him, forgot she did it, and we had no idea it even happened.

So then we took two Kitties on our trip, but everyone was happy.We made it safely to my parents’ house by evening. Our plan to get them to nap in the car mostly failed, so we still had two sleepy girls the next day. _MG_9041 We spent a lot of time just lounging around and relaxing. Grandma had some new bubbles for Kaya to play with! We enjoyed sitting out on the swing and just soaking in the warmth of these late summer days. _MG_9047 This was also Kaya’s first time having extended contact with a dog since the bite incident, and for the most part, she did great. _MG_9051 My parents’ dog, Socks, is really sweet, but also very loud, so she was afraid when he would bark a lot. She asked about him whenever she couldn’t see what he was doing, and laughed when he would give us all kisses. I am still so proud of my girl for being so brave. _MG_9052 Grandma and Kaya took several walks around the yard. We had a lot of really great food on our trip- especially for breakfast, like these muffins. Mmmm.
My mom made pancakes and bacon another day. Even Kaelyn dug right in! _MG_9075 We also played some classic old games with my dad, like “Thin Ice” and “Cootie”, but I forgot to take a picture of those. Friday night, we packed up (again) and headed down to my inlaws’, but this post is already way too long, so I’ll save that for another day. 🙂

cookies with grandma

Posted on March 17, 2015 by tara

My mom came up to visit us this past weekend! She originally wanted to come see us just after my birthday, but then a massive snowstorm squashed that plan. Kaya was more excited than ever for “gwam-ma” to arrive!For every precious pose, there are at least 3 more goofy ones behind the scenes.
My mom is always up for baking something, so I thought it’d be fun to make sugar cookies for Kaya could decorate with her! I originally wanted to go crazy with shamrocks and green frosting for St. Patrick’s Day… but then I realized that I don’t have a shamrock cookie cutter! And this is coming from the girl who has well over 100 different cookie cutter shapes to choose from… go figure! We made springtime cookies instead. 🙂 _MG_6771 As usual, we also made a pretty big mess……and Michael made a “doggy doo” cookie. I have no idea why, but he insisted I take a picture, so here it is.My mom also brought me some belated birthday presents- earrings and new converses! YAY! My littlest was in such a good mood all weekend long. This is her insanely-happy smiley face before church on Sunday! As usual, there isn’t much napping that goes on when we have visitors (and there’s never any napping on Sundays with afternoon church now), so by Sunday night, everyone was exhausted. My little bug just couldn’t stay awake!My mom left yesterday morning, and Kaya has already been asking for her to come back. Soon, we hope! 🙂