Muffins With Mom

It is one of the last mornings in our home that I brought two babies home to. Ryder and I made muffins together (his absolute favorite) and we took a minute to eat them together and enjoy our time here. I love this memory, and I will miss this giant kitchen where we ate breakfast together and Ryder sat on the counters as I cooked. This home helped me be a better mother. It taught me to enjoy those moments in each room. It taught me to let my kids grow creatively and paint does in fact come off shiny wood floors quite well. It taught me that tiny little sticky handprints on my walls were in fact adorable. It taught me that shoes on really isn't that big of a deal, it simply means more grip as he sprints down the hall so he won't fall. It taught me that big drawers were awesome for sippy cups and teaching you how to unload the dishwasher. It taught me that the steps were short from our room to your room in the middle of the night and that would come in very handy. It taught me that crown molding and window ledges were awesome mountains for dinosaurs and animals. It taught me that when you all live on one floor together there was going to be a lot of toys ... everywhere... and that's okay. These walls were good to us. We are leaving behind a beautiful house, but the people that make the home and the memories are moving on to their next big perfect adventure. Excited to see what I will learn next.

Working Hard

So very thankful for all these nice days so little man can play outside while I get this house ready and pack up the last of our things. <3 Love you Ryder and love that your imagination is so very huge and you are capable of playing inside 'your world' for hours. I hope you hold on to this forever, you are my child and I love being alone and enjoying the quiet just like you.

Surrounded By Goodness

Surrounded by trees in all directions while one baby is sleeping on my chest and the other is telling me wild animals stories. My kind of Saturday.

Hide & Seek

We are at the phase where you literally have to search for them when you return to a room. I wonder how they get themselves in the spots that they do so quickly!

A Girl & Her Bunnies

We have oodles of light up toys, toys that roll, toys that make obnoxious noises but all she ever wants to play with are her bunnies and her brother's toys.

{Story} -- Your Heart Is Gold

I want to start inserting stories into this -- things that may not have a picture but need to be told so I can look back on them later. Today we were at Toys-R-Us. Miss Evie continually sits up and slams her head on the side of the crib in the middle of the night, so this sleep deprived mama was going to try a breathable bumper. I had one in mind so I wanted to see if they had one. I found one similar to the one I was looking for. I picked it up and said, "jeez Ryder seventy bucks, I don't know if I want to pay that for this" I was just kind of talking to myself and didn't even really think he was listening. He wanted to go look at his toys so I decided to just put it in the cart and wait on a decision. He asked me if I was getting it. I said, "I'm not sure bud it's very expensive and I don't really want to pay that much for this -- it's not a very fun thing". I told him I would think about it. We went and looked at toys and I gave him his time to sit and look at the things he wanted to check out. We were getting ready to leave and I said -- "ok buddy let's go back, I am going to go and put this away". I walked over to the aisle and he said, "Mom, does Evie need that"? I told him not really, I was just wondering if it would help her sleep. He looked at me and said, "Mom you can take the money out of my piggy bank for her to have it, I will buy it for her". My mama heart about broke in two. I instantly got on my knees and hugged him and told him that was the sweetest thing ever and he is a good big brother. I also informed him I could infect afford the bumper I just wasn't sure it would even do anything to help. Love this kid's giant heart. You are made of gold little man. 

7 Months

Happy seven months baby girl. You are sitting like a champ and so close to crawling. you are still so very loud, and can drive your brother crazy with your happy yelling. You are still not crazy about baby food, and sleep is slowly (kinda--maybe--sorta) getting better. You love your daddy, the dogs, and dancing. You have a wild heart and make us laugh continually. The world is a better place since you came along. <3

Because You're Adorable

New Beginnings

I'm so going to miss this spot when we move. We always have so much fun just sitting up there and talking and feeling the sunlight on cold days. It's our reading corner, it's the place where my favorite newborn picture with Ryder was taken. Some days it's a dragon ship, a diving board, a nap space. If you open the lid it's my saving grace to about eight million stuffed animals. #whereamigoingtoputthemall Such a simple detail but so many of the memories were made here. Wondering where "our spot" will be in our next home.

Hello Gorgeous.

Little girl you are gorgeous. My hope for you is you always know you are good enough and you are beautiful inside and out.

Learning All About You

On Saturday I had the opportunity to go on a day date with this little guy to Wild Kratts. It was in KY so we had a bit of a drive. I wanted the day to stick out for him so I decided to come prepared with some questions to ask him on the drive to get us talking about different things. He was so cute because he would turn and ask me questions in moments of silence as well. <3 Here are a few of the questions that his answers were my favorite--
1. If you could have any super power what would you have? I would shoot lightning out of my finger tips.
2. If you could do any job in the world what would you do? I would be an animal protector.
3. If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, morning, lunch, dinner what would it be? Pancakes.
4. If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you travel? To the African Savannah.
5. What is your favorite color? Orange.
6. What is the one thing you wish you didn't have to do again? Sleep.
7. If you had a million dollars what would you go buy? A Lego Guy
8. What makes you happy? Playing
9. What makes you sad? When my mom is sad ------ Why does your mom get sad? Cause Papaw is gone.
10. What is the coolest thing about Ryder? I am really good at playing and I am nice.

Love this little boy. He is such a cool kid. So thankful he is mine.

Stubborn

She is so stinking beautiful but she is stubborn. I think we will have our hands full. She knows exactly how to work situations to her favor and yells at you when it is something she feels strongly about. She can be in full on melt down mode and I can look at her and tell her "we aren't doing this" and she miraculously turns it off. Testing limits at six months has to mean we are in for it... right???

{story} -- Sweet Boy

Today we went to Wild Kratts. He was so excited, heck to be honest I was excited. The car ride was fun, the show was fun, he thanked me multiple times for taking him. He knew it was a privilege and he was very grateful. After the show we were in line to pick up a souvenir. Next to us in line was a little girl in a wheel chair. He was kind of staring at her and as most moms do I started to get a little nervous about if he was going to say something that could come off as insensitive. His staring got a little more intense and he started to move towards her. There was not much I could do at this point. I just took a deep breath and trusted him. He walked over to her and asked her about the cool thing she had in her hand that held her Creature Power Chips. I sighed relief. It was me. I was the one that was noticing the differences and I was ashamed. They talked about her little holder, and she opened it to show him. The Creature Power Chips fell out on the floor and before I knew it he was down on the floor picking them up for her and said "I will get them for you". He picked them all up and handed them to her and we got back in line. I love the simplicity of their little minds. There are no differences, we were there for a common cause and that is all those little kids thought about. I sure wish adults could be more like children, myself included in this. Love you little man, love your heart of gold.

Wild Kratts

Feeling like super fans today. Drove all the way to Kentucky with this little guy to see his favorite television duo Chris & Martin. Such a fun day. He was completely star struck. When they came out he giggled uncontrollably and said "it is really them in real life". He was yelling at the stage when they asked questions and telling them the names of different things. What a fun day and what a fun thing to watch. <3

Beautiful Baby

This girl. She is just too much. Her giggles, her smiles, her eyes that seem to suck me in. I love you baby girl and am so thankful you are in our lives.

Toes Toes Toes

You little girl are obsessed with your toes, you eat them, you pull at them, you look at them, you constantly have to be touching them. Socks don't really matter, but you love it when I pull them off. What is it about those chunky little feet that you love so much?

This Picture

This picture sums her up. She is like a little puppy. Always so excited to see you, it literally goes down to her toes and she kicks her legs and can't contain her excitement. She sure makes it fun to say hello to. :))

Half A Year

How is it even possible that I have a 6 month old little girl. I still remember sitting in the ultrasound hearing, "it's definitely a girl" and Ryder yelling "I knew it was a girl". You are my sweet sweet little girl and I can't believe how many smiles you add to my day. I love to kiss your sweet little cheeks and neck and make you giggle. You love to watch people dance and be silly. You kick your legs like you are a marathon swimmer. You love bath time and we literally can't keep your toes out of your mouth. You are moving around the entire room and getting yourself up on all fours, it won't be long until you are crawling all over the place. Little girl, you light up my whole world. I can't believe how big you are getting.

Smile

I just love this girl's huge smile. I know teeth are around the corner so I am enjoying this gummy smile while I can.

Staying At Home

This year has been jammies all day, jumping on beds, and enjoying each other's company. It has been wonderful. <3 Cherishing the time I have left because it is going way to quickly.

Reenactments

Everything is a story at our house. Everything can be reenacted, everything is an adventure. We love Wild Kratzz and this little dude loves to act it out. He has the entire shows characters and builds awesome vehicles and environments for Chris and Martin to go "creature adventuring. This child of mine could play for three weeks straight, never leave the house, and never run out of things to do.

Favorite

She doesn't sleep. Like we are still waking up 6-7 times a night. For some reason I can't seem to produce children who enjoy sleeping. I am so very thankful for this time off with her for two reasons -- I get to spend time with my babies & I get to sip my coffee and open my eyes slowly and let the light flow into the house. Our mornings are beyond slow and I love my husband for taking care of us so I can have these mornings with them.

Imagination

You never fully know what you will turn a corner to find with this little guy. Today he was constantly making treasure maps to lead him to treasures that he hid around the house. He would pull a map out look at it and walk around the house while he "followed" the directions. He is just so cute with his imagination. The world inside his head must be huge with endless possibilities. Hold tight to that feeling little boy.

My Little Girl

I don't get a lot of time to be with just her. It is definitely different than the first. It seems like there are just a lot more to-dos this time around. I am thankful for the three mornings that little brother is at preschool so I can enjoy some quiet time with her. This little girl has my heart and I am so blessed to call her my daughter. She is needy and always seems to want her mama, but I am enjoying it and I know that this phase will be gone before I know it.

Belly

You will never find this girl on her back, she is constantly on her belly and can get to just about anything even though she isn't crawling yet. I can set anything across the rug and it doesn't take long for her to get there.

Peaches

My sister calls her peaches and I think it fits her perfectly. The cheeks, the smiles, the sparkling eyes, gosh this girl is cute.

Toes

I love these toes. When she sits she is constantly rubbing them together.

Happy 5 Months

Happy five months sweet little girl. She is all smiles for us. Our days revolve around this little girl, but she is constantly making us smile. She is rolling around a room to get whatever she wants. Her favorite thing is to just sit up and watch what is happening around the room. She loves her toes, they are always in her hand or her mouth. :)) Her brother continues to be her favorite person and can always turn a frown upside down for her. We are still not sleeping, but that is okay we will get there.

Sweet Little Features

A Little More Fun

He has discovered that he doesn't have to be quite as careful with little miss and loves to roll around with her. She just laughs and stares at him like he is the coolest person in the world.

Such A Goof

Growing & Changing

This kid is so intense with his phases. I never really did think we would exit the doosaur phase. I thought for sure I would see him roaring down the hallway at other children in kindergarten. Then we moved to animals, he was a kodiak brown bear for months. I am not going to lie I was worried that his vidi imagination was going to make him appear young next year, but I always let him put his whole heart into all that he does. Now we are moving to legos and art. both of which seem older. He gets frustrated when he doesn't stay win the lines, he cares what others think. As I stare at him tonight concentrating on painting I realize those imaginative phases where he didn't care who saw him roaring int he middle of Target might be ending and I find myself missing them. Parenting is such a strange mix of enjoying the now, looking forward, and longing for what was.

Belly

When she wears anything that is not a onesie this belly is always out... always! Love this little chunky belly.

Family Picture

 I don't live close to my family, I sure wish I did but we make it work. They have this adorable little downtown area next to my mom with an alley that I adore. It is really nothing special, but I have always loved it. Every year I try to get a picture there and coax one of my family members to take it for me... #itwillonlytakefiveminutes #mykidswillbeadreamtophotograph. Well we probably took about 100 pictures and got...well...one. One decent picture. One. Not kidding. It probably didn't help that it was about 5 degrees out. The one above is our one, the one below is an outtake and I love something about it. I am trying my hardest to get Evie to stop crying. Ryder looks about as exciting as a can of tuna. My husband is doing exactly what I told him to do -- stand there and smile no matter what. However, these are my people and I love them. Looking forward to the coming year and continuing to watch these little humans grow. So Much changes in a year, I am so very grateful for this past year and all the love I received. I pray that god continues to bless my family in the year to come. Cheers!

Who Knew?

Ryder has been asking for Pie in the Face since it came out. My quick response was no way dude. Thinking I am not playing that game. Well Aunt Christy brought it over at Christmas and it was a hit! What a fun simple game. She had the battle one and it was so much fun playing. Ryder and Colin loved it and were referred to as the scavengers because every time it went off within seconds those two were picking up the whipped cream mess with their fingers and tongue. You can not play this game without laughing. Mr. Kratzberg of course was extremely competitive with as most who know him could have guessed he was in it to win it. I like to think I am decent at most things I try -- not pie in the face. I can not win it for the life of me. If you are looking for giggles and something to turn a drab day into one that is full of laughter go get this game and two cans of the spray Reddi Whip. It will be worth it.

Merry Christmas to You and Yours

Handsome Dude

We had an ice storm and this handsome dude was out sliding around on it with dad. I just had to get his picture because it was one of those days where you simply just can't believe how old they look.

Where is Ryder?

We are at grandma's house and if anyone needs to find Ryder for the next 24 hours, he will be in the other room staring at the presents and waiting.

First Christmas

She would lay here forever just talking to herself and staring at the lights. Love the ease of being home with family.

Sweet Little Girl

Love this little girl and her fascination with ceiling fans. They can almost always calm her down and give her mama about 10 minutes of quiet time.

Ornament

Every year we do an ornament for family. Every year I think why do I do this. He is not always the easiest to get on board when we have to make so many of them. We have to go in short bursts so we start it early. This year I asked him what kind of ornament he wanted to do and he said "a bear one" of course. So we made a bear one. I love having his ornaments on our tree. I know that one day I will put my tree up and he will be putting up his own tree with his family and I will look and hold each ornament in my hand and think back to the day we made those together, and it will seem like yesterday that he was running circles in the kitchen growling at me while I tried to beg him to just stamp three more.

Hurricane

Your hair Evie Gray. Oh my... sigh. I don't even know where to start. I find myself wishing it would hurry up and grow cause it is so ridiculous. Thank goodness for hair bows. I do find myself giggling from the back though and now I can see little fuzz in all her bald spots and I know this wacky little head of hair will be gone before I know it so for now I will try to appreciate this little hurricane Evie on the back of her head.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is a little different at our house, because we always have to drive to family we always have to celebrate christmas a little early. I refuse to give up Christmas morning in our home. It is not something I want to bring to other homes. Thankfully we always have reindeer food and our snowflake that tells santa we are ready. :) Tonight was fun, filled with a Polar Express party, him making his own cookies, and even stealing a sip of Santa's milk. We are ready Santa.

Comic Book

His favorite thing right now is this simple DC comic book. The teacher's child is not a reader, I try and try and he doesn't want a ton to do with it. However this simple little comic book has held his interest for days now. He sits and reads it and laughs and acts out the scenes. I am always baffled at the difference between a boy and a girls brain. :)

Christmas Parenting

Wondering to myself what I am going to do when I have to put all these lights away. This girl will sit and stare at them forever. Maybe I could incorporate christmas lights into my everyday decor...

Candy Canes

He has been begging me to put candy canes on the tree since we have put the tree up. I finally remembered to get them at the store and when he woke up I showed him the box. He literally squealed and asked me to let him hang them on the tree. I love the way he values the simple things, and enjoys some of the simplest traditions we carry on.

Mornings

My mornings are pretty wonderful with these two. <3

4 Months!

Christmas Magic

Man I love Christmas. 

Not Too Sure

We were putting the tree up when I found him like this.....