Friday, April 10, 2015

Siblings

With it being National Siblings day I thought I would not only talk about my two kiddos who will hopefully have a great sibling relationship one day but about my own sibling.

I have one sister and I can honestly say we are best friends. It wasn't always that way with high school drama, sharing clothes, being competitive, etc. but I am so thankful she is mine. Here are 5 reasons why she's an awesome sister:

1. She's obsessed with my kids.

  • She loves my kids so much and they love her even more! She is such an awesome aunt and they couldn't be luckier to have someone like her in their lives to look up to.
2. She works harder than anyone I know

  • She has always been goal-oriented and I can't think of a single time that she didn't achieve her goal. She worked so hard to get the awesome job she has and I think she works even harder now.
3. She's goofy
  • We don't see each other as often as we want to these days but we still crack each other up. She has such a great sense of humor (unless it's early in the morning) and can laugh at herself. She's also pretty witty and can come back at you with something that would have taken me an hour to think of (and by then the moment as passed!).
4. She loves LOVE
  • She was always the relationship type (and I was the complete opposite) and I really envied her ability to open up to someone and let them in so close. She has found her perfect man and they are coming up on their one year wedding anniversary and I just know in the blink of an eye, it will be time to celebrate their 30th like my parents just did!
5. She works hard to keep our relationship
  • Honestly, its hard to think about other people when you have two little children running around all day consuming every thought in your very exhausted brain. She calls me at least 3 times a week while she's walking to work just to chat and those are my most favorite calls. I love to just talk to her and see how she's doing and what her and her hubs are up to for the weekend. It makes me feel like we don't live two thousand miles apart.
BONUS: She's incredibly gorgeous too!


And after looking through all my photos, I have realized that we need to take an updated picture together. Yikes! This one is almost 5 years old!

I really hope that Brayden and Madison will form a strong sibling relationship one day. Right now they are in the love/hate phase where they fight and steal each other's toys but then want to be with each other 5 seconds later. I know the fighting will get worse as the years go on but I just pray that they can get over the fighting and know that they are life-long best friends. And if they can't do that on their own, I will just have to nudge them along.


Monday, April 6, 2015

Easter 2015

We had such a great Easter weekend filled with egg hunts, family parties, and even a carnival. I'll let the photos do most of the talking.


First up was the carnival. It was small but Brayden loved it. He got to go on a few rides and he won a few prizes. Madison even got to ride on the carousel and she absolutely loved it! 







Next was the Easter Egg Hunt! This was on Saturday, so the day before Easter and it worked out perfectly. Since the kids are still young, the festivities were perfect spread out over two days so it wasn't just one long, exhausting day where the kids got grouchy!

He fell in mud after being there for 2 minutes. Such a boy. It was the one thing I told him to do...avoid the mud. Nope!

They dropped eggs out of a helicopter. Brayden thought it was awesome.





We actually got a decent family photo!

It was finally Easter and the kids had a blast getting their baskets in the morning. Then we visited with some family and the kids had another egg hunt. 






He was so excited about his new Paw Patrol toys.




Another decent family photo! It's a miracle!

Kisses for Daddy!

Brayden with his cousin Clara! They have so much fun together!

All the cousins.



He was nervous about the egg games.

Picked me flowers!

His face kills me in this photo!!

Love them!

So sassy with her hands on her hips.

Egg race!!

He cheated by holding the egg and running!! So funny.

Flying with Uncle Ethan!

It was such a great Easter although I really missed my family in California!




Thursday, April 2, 2015

Update on the Kiddos!

It's been quite a while since I blogged in general but it is most definitely time for an update on the kids!

Lets start with {<Madison>}. She had her 18 months wellness check and everything looked great! She is still small for her age weighing in at 20 pounds 6 ounces (10th percentile) and I don't remember her height but she is in the 25th percentile. Little girl!! She is still wearing 12 months clothing but I am so anxious for her to fit into 18 months stuff. She has so many cute clothes waiting for her!!

Likes:
-running
-being outside
-mud/dirt
-bugs
-dancing
-music
-squeeze pouches
-books
-all Brayden's toys (of course!)
-giving hugs and kisses
-playing at the park
-taking a bath
-torturing the dog
-coloring
-stickers

Dislikes:
-swinging (she sometimes stays in it for a minute but most of the time she wants right back out!)
-eating (we are currently struggling to get her to eat most foods...its a battle!)
-listening (we're working on it)
-getting her hair done or taken out
-brushing her teeth

She is changing so much these days and her vocabulary has gotten HUGE!! She is talking all the time and can mimic almost anything you say. My current favorite phrase of her's is "I yove you". She can't say her "L"s and they have been replaced with a "Y" and it's probably the cutest thing ever. And she says it with such enthusiasm. It's adorable.






Now lets talk about [[Brayden]]. This little (well I guess I should start saying big) guy is growing up so fast! He is wearing mostly 4T-5T stuff but I just bought his Easter shirt from the BOYS section. Agh! I almost shed a tear at the store. Thankfully I was able to hold back this time. He starts a new preschool at the end of summer and I am so excited for him. He is beyond ready to be back in the classroom where he can be social and participate in numerous activities. He will be going 3 days a week which will give him ample time to interact with other kids there and hopefully make some friends.

Likes:
-running
-swinging
-jumping
-sliding
-screaming
-dancing
-reading
-playing with his toys (he's so imaginative!)
-coloring
-playing at the park
-guns
-playdough
-Baby Genius...he's still hooked on Vinko and Tempo
-being outside
-making his sister laugh
-painting
-stickers
-popcorn
-taking a bath
-squirt bottles

Dislikes:
-going to bed and taking naps (he doesn't fight it usually but he always tells me he doesn't want to)
-being limited to just one juice a day
-having to sit still

Brayden has been picking up all sorts of funny phrases from the movies and shows he watches and he spits them back out at the perfect times. My current favorite phrase of his is when he tells me "Mommy, you're one dynamite gal!" HAHA!!! Seriously hilarious! He is such a sweet boy most of the time although he tends to torture his sister quite a bit.





Stay tuned for Easter photos early next week! Can't wait to see their faces when they see their Easter baskets. So fun!

Whelp..I Suck

Apparently this whole blogging with two kids thing is a lot more difficult than I originally thought. Dang those kids keep me busy. Between them, buying a house, trying to get my essential oils business going and schoolwork I have just been swamped. 

BUT!! I am determined to get back to this blog of mine. I really enjoy this creative outlet and I know my family in California and New York love reading it to keep up on the kids.

So here we go. Like I mentioned, we bought a house! It was so fun (and depressing) to house hunt. The emotions were crazy but in the end, we got the perfect house for us. We love the lot and the neighborhood and the yard even came with a play set for the kids. WIN! We still have a few boxes of decorations to unpack (eventually) but for now, this are awesome. We finally got our couch just a few days ago and I can't even tell you how wonderful it feels compared to the dang futon we were sitting on for a month! My buns are happy to have a nice, soft place to sit again. We still need a rug and coffee table but the space is starting to come together.


I will be doing an update on the kids tomorrow full of pictures (and Madison's 18 month stats) but for now here are some pictures from when my parents visited from California! It was there first time to our house and it was so amazing to have them here.













We visited the zoo and the park and just had a great week together! I can't wait for them to come out again and hopefully next time they don't have to sleep on an air mattress!

I'll be back tomorrow with an update on the kids along with some super cute pictures!!