sister sister

Posted on November 25, 2015 by tara

My girls.

I’m not even sure there are words powerful enough to describe the way I love my two daughters. Sometimes, I feel a bit of writer’s block when it comes to transcribing my feelings for them.

It’s just hard to translate such raw, intense emotion into text.

Something that I continue to realize lately is how grateful I am that Kaya and Kaelyn have each other. A sibling is someone who can understand you (because you’ve got the same crazy upbringing), make you laugh your hardest, and always stands by you, no matter how hard things might get. Having a sibling is having a built-in best friend.

I’m so incredibly thankful that we could give our girls the gift of each other.
Sometimes they fight, and even at this young age, it seems like they already know exaclty what to do to irritate each other. There’s yelling, screaming, crying, hair-pulling, eye-poking, toy-stealing, and pushing.

But then there are hugs, kisses, cuddles, and the loudest laughter.

They teach each other patience, kindness, and sharing (even if that means being sad about sharing Daddy’s cuddles in the morning).

They protect each other, anticipate each other’s needs, and melt my heart with the way they love each other.

I hope each of my beautiful girls always takes care of her sister.

five on friday (09/25)

Posted on September 25, 2015 by tara

We’ve been spending most of our week playing outside (in drizzle or sunshine), so I just have a bunch of phone pictures for you this week. They might not seem very momentous to anyone, but being outdoors with my kids is my definition of happiness, so these are some of my favorites.

ONE. This is the first year that Kaya has been so aware of the change in seasons. She was fascinated that so many leaves are now on the ground instead of on the trees! She might have carried this one all the way home to show Daddy.
TWO. I feel like this photo perfectly sums up their sisterhood: the little sister looks to the big one for guidance and direction, and the big sister tenderly takes her by the hand and makes sure she’s safe. All while pretending to nurse Kitty, because he was hungry of course. Haha.

THREE. My dad restored this old tricycle to give to all his grandchildren, and since Kaya is the oldest grandkid, she obviously has first dibs. She had her very first ride on it this week and absolutely loved it. We didn’t think she’d make it very far, so she truly surprised us when she pedaled for about 1.5 miles. My kid is hardcore.

FOUR. I have the cutest baby ever… and I just can’t get over how adorable she looks with these little neon sneakers that I picked up for $3.50. Her shirt says #toocute and I think it’s spot-on accurate. 🙂

FIVE. Because we all know how obsessed I am with these Google video compilations… and you know you want to see three crazy girls go down the slide all at once…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GShC55ZkXI4

Happy weekend everyone!

five on friday (08/28)

Posted on August 28, 2015 by tara

Happy Friday! 🙂

ONE. Monday morning had a slow start! After all our traveling last week, we’ve been a little extra tired. Kaya likes to snuggle up to me while I’m nursing the baby, and lately, she’s made herself even more comfortable by putting her pillow over my legs. I know she might not always want to cuddle her mom, so I’m soaking this up while it lasts.TWO. Our friend Katie surprised us with this gorgeous orchid! It’s the most vivid blue flower I’ve ever seen, and I love how it brightens up the room! It’s supposed to be pretty foolproof as far as care goes, so here’s to a (hopefully) long-lasting relationship with this beauty. THREE. So this must be the reason I had two kids… _MG_9117 …even if the end result is a giant mess! 🙂 _MG_9122 FOUR. These little baby piggies are growing so fast already! They had their first baths this week and look better than brand new. 🙂

Claire is still a little shy… 🙂 _MG_9133 FIVE. We kicked off our Friday with sidewalk chalk! Kaya loves creating and even tried to make a rainbow. Kaelyn just loved tasting the chalk.. haha. Playing outside with my girls is definitely one of my favorite things.

Happy weekend! What are your plans?

Linking up here!

five on friday: driving, swimming, dating

Posted on July 24, 2015 by tara

Another week has come and gone! I will never cease to be amazed at how fast time goes once you become a mom.

ONE. My babies have actually started playing together. Everyone told me about how magical it would be… and they were right, it’s true! Kaya has been giving Kaelyn nearly-endless rides in the cozy coupe this week and they are both loving it. I’m loving how happy they are and that they can entertain themselves for short periods of time (total honesty here)!TWO. Kaya’s mantra this week: “I’m so excited!” She’s been saying it in anticipation of so many things, but the best time had to be when we were at the pool and she was dancing around! They just built a new wading pool over there, and it’s perfect for both my babies to play in.

THREE. We went on a date this week, just the two of us! I know that this shouldn’t be something monumental… but we can count the number of dates we’ve gone on sans kids on one hand since Kaya was born. Ridiculous, I know. At least we’re making the effort now!

We went to Buffalo Wild Wings (only after finding out that my favorite Greek restaurant was closed) and shared what they call the “sampler”. Mmmmm.

FOUR. We finished up our guinea pig sitting yesterday! We had such a fun time looking after these two sweet girls. Kaya already misses visiting them and has even asked me for our own guinea pigs. All I have to say is… we’ll have to see 🙂FIVE. Sometimes it’s rough being a big sister.Happy FRIDAY! 🙂

Linking up with April today!

sister snuggles

Posted on June 3, 2015 by tara

I’ve said it before, but I’ll repeat it a million times over.

Seeing my babies love each other, play, and laugh together is one of my very favorite things.Of course, they have moments when they make each other cry, the baby gets pushed over, or they aren’t willing to share.

But there is no sound more joyous than their simultaneous giggles. One day I just know they are going to be best friends. (this is how Kaelyn gives kisses, by the way!) 🙂

My heart beats for these two little girls.

five on friday: walks, chinese food, and sisters

Posted on April 24, 2015 by tara

We had such a fantastic week, filled with the kind of little moments that I love. Here are my favorite things:

ONE. Spending so much time out in the sunshine with my sidekicks. Seriously… there’s no one else I’d rather spend my days with. It was still a bit chilly most days, as you can surely tell by looking at Kaelyn’s adorable sweater and hat (both made by Grandma, by the way)! Kaya rocks those sunglasses any chance she gets. TWO. We had a family dinner date out to a Chinese buffet! It’s been sooo long since we did anything like that, and it was so fun to get out as a family. Kaya loves Chinese so much that she probably eats more in one sitting than she does during a whole week of home-cooked dinners! We let her have ice cream for dessert, and she insisted on using her fork. Hilarious! Also, don’t mind her super-messy-played-outside-sunscreeny hair… THREE. These two… playing together. There is nothing sweeter, and I just love watching them grow to adore each other more and more each day. Kaya set up this little pretend picnic for them. She spoon-fed Kaelyn some fake yogurt, and then gave her a felt donut. Kaya had a pretend slice of cake and offered me some grapes!

FOUR. Baby laughter is my favorite sound ever. I also just love how Kaya made her giggle so hard that she was throwing her head back and laughing! #cutestbabyever

A video posted by Tara (@tarairwin) on Apr 24, 2015 at 11:42am PDT

FIVE. What better way to start Friday off than with a chocolate-glazed donut? Or two. Haha. Thank you Michael for spoiling me with these! 🙂
Happy weekend!

Linking up with Christina and friends today!

a perfect hint of spring

Posted on February 11, 2015 by tara

Being a mom is my favorite “job” ever.

There are good days, frustrating days, fun days, and somewhat boring days.

And then, every so often, there’s a perfect day.

Monday was definitely one of those.

It felt just like spring with temperatures in the low 50s. My lungs basked in the warm air on my morning run, and soon after I returned home, I hurried back out the door with my babies in tow. There was no way we were going to miss out on warm weather when we’ve been enduring single-digit and teen temperatures often this winter.

We walked 2.25 miles and made a stop at the playground. Kaya enjoyed running from the slide to the ride-on space shuttle, with a few stops on the swings in between. She just kept telling me “fun!”, and that made my heart soar pretty high. From time to time, she’d look over at me with the biggest grin on her face. Kaelyn took a mini-nap in the stroller, and then enjoyed snuggles with mommy and her first-ever ride in the baby swing! Kaya was so eager to help push her, and they were both all smiles.
We all went to bed happily tired that night. Having fun is the best way to wear yourselves out!

Michael and Tara

It's Us!

Category Archives: sisters