five on friday (10/30)

Posted on October 30, 2015 by tara

ONE. After a couple days of bad weather, we had a short break from the rain. We were anxious to get outside and play, even if the playground was all wet. Meet the newest little “crocodile hunters.” 🙂Never mind that we were poured on during the last 3/4 mile of our walk home.

TWO. We are going strong with our little “homeschool preschool” and Kaya is still loving it. I’m thinking of putting together some blog posts to share some of my favorite resources so far (even just so I can remember what we did 2 years from now… when it’s Kaelyn’s turn)!

And hey, since she doesn’t have to leave the house, she can do it in her jammies. Why not?

THREE. We were invited to a little Halloween-themed book club/play date this morning, and Kaya decorated her own “pumpkin”! She was so enthused about this activity, and she even drew the face on it herself! I am so impressed with her fine motor skills.

FOUR. I got a thank-you card from the youth/seminary students at church for making them cinnamon rolls… and it just made my day. I love these kids. It’s the little things, you guys.

FIVE. Fashion alert: pretend fruit baskets are now acceptable headwear. Just ask Daniel(le) Boone here with her coonskin-cap lookalike.

Happy Friday! 🙂

labor day long weekend

Posted on September 9, 2015 by tara

Yes, I’m finally writing about our weekend… on a Wednesday! Since we had Monday off, I think I can cut myself some slack though, right? #ijustkeepthinkingitsonlytuesday

We didn’t do anything monumental by any means, but we did have some relaxing family time, and that’s always what I like best. On Saturday, Grandma texted us and told us that they were getting Chinese, and I made the mistake of reading it aloud. For the rest of the day, Kaya kept reiterating “I want Chineeeeeese”. Who are we to deny a little girl happiness?

She even offered to drive, but her feet don’t quite reach the pedals yet (and yes, she buckled Kitty in too)!

Kaelyn knows what to do at a Chinese buffet (she was sure to wear her favorite blue necklace out on the town, too)…

I think it’s pretty obvious that I have the best husband ever- he let me sleep in on Monday morning, went and donated platelets at the Red Cross during nap time, and then did all my grocery shopping. Oh, and how sweet is he for reading to our princesses?Lelia came down for the football game on Monday night, so she joined us for dinner (these amazing chicken tacos). When she headed to the game, we went out for a walk and to the playground.

Sadly, the Hokies lost… but Lelia stuck around until nap time on Tuesday to hang out with us! She made up a counting puppy song with my babies, and even watched them so I could take a shower without having to worry about one kid injuring the other (real life mom problems, you guys)… Then she came out for a walk with us. We had a genuinely good time and it was so great to catch up with each other.

Kaya loves her Auntie Lelia so much, and when she left after lunch, Kaya said “Lelia move away? Oh. Miss her.” She’ll be back in about a week for your birthday, sweetie!

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!

feeding the ducks

Posted on July 22, 2015 by tara

Kaya has been asking to go feed the ducks ever since the warm weather arrived. I’ve been saving the heels of the bread in the freezer for a few weeks, and finally felt like we had enough, so on Monday, we had family night at the pond. This little girl could not have been more excited! We even had some ducklings come over for a snack. Kaya broke the bread up extra-small for their little mouths.
Kaelyn was so intent on watching everything! I love her look of concentration here. She blew bubbles for the ducks, too. Hot and sweaty from walking, but I made it in a picture! I’m trying to do better with that lately. We enjoyed a nice, somewhat long walk home. We love summer and all its beauty.

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!

five on friday: a great baby and some good eats

Posted on April 17, 2015 by tara

ONE. With all the rain we’ve been having (plus Kaya being sick), we only made it out for one walk this week. This sweet baby definitely enjoyed her fresh air (and 30-minute nap in the stroller, which she so desperately needed but never would have taken at home)! I think she just has the cutest little scrunchy-faced grin. 🙂

TWO. Kaelyn definitely enjoyed playing with anything she wanted to while Kaya vegged out on the couch this week. It’s not often that she gets to even touch any of Kaya’s toys without there being some sort of toddler protest. The shape sorter is a pretty hot commodity around here! (p.s.- her baby blues… be still my heart!)

THREE. We had the sister missionaries over for dinner this week, and I tried this new enchilada recipe. It was a hit and SO easy!

FOUR. We also might’ve gone through a whole tray of these cookie bars in a week. Oops. I haven’t made them for at least a year, but they were just as amazing as we remembered!

FIVE. No cookies for this peanut, but she did get to try some pureed veggies this week. It seems like she’s more of a fruit lover, so these vegetables didn’t thrill her. She’s such a good sport (and an amazing baby) that she gave them a fair try anyway. Love this messy little face!Happy weekend! 🙂

Linking up with Christina and friends today!

“more walk?”

Posted on March 11, 2015 by tara

We can feel spring in the air here. We’re right on the brink of warm weather, sunshine, and long evening light, and after a seemingly eternal winter of being cooped up indoors, I could not be more excited!

Playing outside is one of my very favorite ways to spend the day, and it’s quickly becoming true for my little ladies, too. I love watching Kaelyn discover the entire outdoor world. She smiles and coos while we walk in the stroller, and squeals when she gets to ride in the swing.

Never would I have imagined having two babies of my own swinging next to each other. We’ve taken four walks in two days, and Kaya just keeps asking for “more walk”? almost as soon as we return home each time. While I was pushing Kaya on the swing, I’d look over and see my littlest peanut just beaming at me.For now, she’s so content to just watch everything going on around her. I love this little grin.

You know you’ve had a fun day when everyone (including mom) takes an extra-long, much-needed nap. I’ll wear myself out any day to have fun with my babies.

five on friday! (10/17)

Posted on October 17, 2014 by tara

I’m finally sitting down and writing this at 9:30 pm on a Friday…better late than never! (And yes, we’re old married folk by now who are actually home nearly every Friday night, snuggling babies to sleep, doing dishes, and finishing up laundry… already in our pajamas. My how things have changed in just a few short years. But I’ll tell you what… I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else!)

ONE. For weeks now, I’ve been brainstorming family-themed Halloween costumes, and I think I’ve changed my mind more times than a mom might change her newborn baby’s diaper (okay, not really, because we all know that’s about every five minutes)… but I’ve finally made a decision and started working on the costumes! I’ve had to measure the girls to be sure everything is the right size, so Kaya caught on pretty quickly and had a whole lot of fun “measuring” her baby doll, too.

TWO. This little cutie took her first-ever nap in the crib this week! It’s only happened once (mostly because we’ve been busy out of the house and I haven’t tried again), but I’m so excited she’s starting to fall into some sort of nap schedule. Good naps = happy babies!THREE. I was curious to see if I could create my own pumpkin muffin recipe, and this week, I decided to go for it. They turned out soft, with just the right amount of spices and chocolate chips! Hopefully I’ll be sharing the recipe soon, but I first need to make it again to be sure they’re consistently delicious!FOUR. Everyone says how photogenic my babies are, and I definitely won’t disagree… but here’s a little reality for you- sometimes they’re less than thrilled to have their pictures taken! (but how adorable is that little baby yawn?)Most of the time, though, I think I have a little baby model on my hands. FIVE. After a stormy week, the weather was absolutely perfect today. Kaya is old enough now to take short walks without the stroller, and I love seeing her explore every tiny thing she finds. Today, she just had to bring her Halloween bucket with her (with Kitty inside, of course). I’m soaking up these days because I know it won’t be long before we’ll be barricaded in by snow and ice. Sidenote: when did my first baby get so very tall?!Happy weekend!!!

Linking up with Natasha, April, Christina, and Darci today!

friday favorites

Posted on August 1, 2014 by tara

It’s Friday again? This week seems to have flown by!

Here are some of my favorite recent moments:

We’ve been going on a lot of walks. The weather has cooled off, so much so that it nearly feels like fall here. Hopefully the winter won’t be unbearably freezing since it’s already this chilly outside.

We’ve spent a lot of time playing with this little princess, who suddenly seems so much more aware and alert.

Could we have adopted a sweeter dog? Jax loves to kiss the baby (although I kind of think he just likes how she tastes…), but I’m not sure Kaelyn enjoys it very much.

I made these lemon cupcakes this week (with this lemon buttercream) and they were amazing! There’s a bakery in Charlottesville, Virginia that sells a lemon drop cupcake that’s rumored to put women into labor. My friend Brittany was overdue with her baby girl, so I figured that was a good enough reason to bake! For the first time ever, I zested and juiced the lemons myself, and I think it really made a difference in how fresh they tasted (compared to when I’ve used lemon extract in the past). They didn’t put Brittany into labor, but they were still a wonderful treat.

Kaelyn was a bit cranky while I was baking, so she had her first ride in the Ergo! After she settled in, she went right to sleep.

Kaya [sometimes] loves to have her picture taken now. She’ll even hold a pose…

If you can’t tell, she really really really loves muffins.

She also loves having Kitty do everything Kaelyn does. She was super excited when we swaddled him!

Happy weekend!

bike rides and sunshine

Posted on June 2, 2014 by tara

Michael drove down to Charlotte, NC this weekend to complete yet another Tour de Cure bike race! He took his friend Marwan with him, and they met up with another random guy to make their own little riding team. They finished 65 miles, although Michael said the route was a little more hilly than he was expecting it to be.

Chester the Cheetah was there before the race, so naturally, Michael asked for a picture with him.

Kaya and I stayed home (since traveling at 35 weeks pregnant might not be the best idea) and tried to entertain ourselves. How could I ever be bored with such a cute and funny sidekick?

We finished a 4-mile walk (Kaya probably slept for about 2 miles of it, which is totally crazy considering how bumpy the walking path is)! After a real nap, we headed to the pool, although Kaya didn’t want much to do with the water at all.She enjoyed her snacks in the shade, and I actually got to relax and read a magazine for a little while! Sitting out in the sunshine reminds me how much I love summer days.

Daddy was home in time for dinner, and we enjoyed a (much-needed) restful Sunday.

Happy Monday! 🙂

Michael and Tara

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