We are living a dream...our dream! Before kids, my house was immaculate, I had time for everything, I was great at keeping in touch with people, I was well-rested, and had lots of down time. Now, my house has toys scattered in every room, but it's because I have two little blessings that give us the need for toys. I have shoes and socks scattered throughout the house because we have four additional feet romping around. Dishes and laundry are a daily task, but I'm thankful we have more family around the table and are blessed with family and friends who have gifted so much clothes to the girls. My community of friends that I can keep in touch with on a regular basis has shrunk, but my relationships with those that I do have frequent contact with are that much stronger. My idea of fun has been redefined; it involves baking cookies with the girls, hand painting, playing outside, drawing with sidewalk chalk, singing songs, rocking my "babies" in my arms and so much more. Down time is the most amazing busy time that I can dream of. I might not have time to get everything done on my "To-Do List," but I know that if during the day my priorities were God, Jason and my kids, then my to do list is complete with checks. I know this dream won't last forever and one day I will wake up reflecting on these best days of our lives, but in the mean time, I'm thankful for every day and every moment we have.
Jay and I had a lot of great family time to start this year off and we really enjoyed some days and nights sitting in the chair reading books, singing songs, sitting on the floor doing puzzles, teaching the girls letters, numbers and shapes, and just spoiling them with tickles and love until they couldn't take it any more. I'm thankful for these family times because they are so important during this busy fast-paced world that we live in. In March, we enjoyed a visit from both sets of grandparents and we know that it's a special blessing that the girls get to spend so much time with their grandparents. We are so lucky to have Aimee and Israel so close by too because the girls just adore them. Any mention of their names will turn a sad face into a happy face!
The girls continue to say more words and string 3-4 words together. Aubrey mom says "mommy come here" when she is up in her crib waiting for my to give her a big hug. Avery likes to say "help me please" whenever she is trying to do a big girl task; Aubrey is pretty persistent with "I do it, I do it!" My favorite is Avery saying "I love you Mommy" and when Aubrey says "Jesus loves me." Avery definitely has a much longer attention span and will sit on your lap reading several books. Her favorites are "The Hungry Caterpillar" and "Up" (Dr. Suess). We read these books at least 8x a day!! Aubrey does 'drive by reading' on most days. She will stand next to us as we sit with Avery in the chair and listen for a few pages then go on to her own activity and come back and this goes on and on throughout the book. Obviously, she inherited my short attention span. Aubrey's favorite books are "Goodnight Moon" and "I Love You Forever." The girls are saying every letter of the alphabet and counting to ten with prompting (repeating what we say). Aubrey surprised me one day when she counted to 6 on her own. One of their favorite games is hide and seek--believe it or not, they like the covering their eyes and counting to 10 part the best (they repeat after me). They are just starting to properly identify shapes and colors. Their favorite activity is playing at the park, going to the zoo, baking, playing with play dough, walking (or sometimes running) along the sidewalks in the neighborhood, and playing with their friends. Avery is attached to Hello Kitty and Aubrey is attached to her "roars" (her brown and white tigers). Their favorite food is Chic-Fila chicken nuggets, Kolaches and yogurt (and then fruit!). Avery continues to love the color blue and Aubrey prefers pink. I am loving seeing their personalities shine through and it is such a good life being able to do so many activities with them day in and day out.
Here are some pictures from the last three months:
January 2014:
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| Aunt Maria and Uncle Jim gave the girls these beautiful dresses for their 2nd birthday. They are some of my favorites. |
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| Avery's "Cheese" face! |
Outdoor play:
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| How can you not love this face?! |
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| Here I go mom! |
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| Posing for the camera! |
Days at the Zoo:
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| Riding the carousel at the zoo on our play date with Ella. This will probably be one of the only pictures of Aubrey on a carousel, she isn't thrilled of the movement yet. |
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| This picture says it all...Pure fun and fear on Avery's face, pure trepidation on Aubrey's face!!! |
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| Avery's face just never gets old!!! |
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| Zoo family fun. Daddy is very calming I guess! |
Classic bath time fun:
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| 1, 2, 3 SCREAM!! |
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It doesn't get cuter!
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February 2014:
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| Unfortunately, the pictures are blurry because they are selfies, but I love the side by side faces. She is my daughter for sure. |
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| Avery snuggling on her dragon from Aunt Aimee and Uncle RaRa. |
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| The girls love hanging from the swingset these days. Avery is tall enough to do it on all her own. |
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| Picnic in the treehouse. |
Valentine's Day 2014:
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| Here sister, let me give you a little push!!! |
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| My favorite little valentines:) |
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| Too beautiful. |
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| What does the tiger say...ROOOOOOAAAARRR!! I love this kid! |
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| Opening presents on Valentine's Day...Look at how old Avery looks! They love the kitchen helper that daddy built. |
Other fun days in February 2014:
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| Avery driving the fire truck during our fire station tour. |
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| Aubrey driving the fire truck during our fire station tour. |
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| Having fun at the zoo "swimming" in the fish tank. |
March 2014:
Nana and Grandpa visit March 2014:
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| Mommy and Daddy got to enjoy a B&B overnight during the visit. |
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| Grandpa reading books (Yes the girls picked out their own outfit ensembles!) |
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| Snuggle time. |
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| Avery singing songs with Nana. |
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Aubrey singing songs from a book with Nana.
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Hanging out in the sun:
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| Waiting at the pedi office for the second time that week. Both girls had bilaterial ear infections;( |
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My budding Movie Star! Yes, Avery still prefers to wear her penguin winter outfit even though it is now spring!
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Strawberry Picking (Froberg Farms) 2014:
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| Lots and Lots of strawberry eating going on! Believe it or not, we still filled two buckets! They should really weigh the kids before going in an out! |
Rodeo 2014: (Girl's first rodeo!)
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| The girls loving snacking on daddy's dessert! |
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| Digging to plant carrots. |
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| Aubrey driving the tractor and Avery working on the gear shift. Team effort! |
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| She is a natural, what can I say?! |
Grandma and Poppy March 2014 visit:
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| CFA play group with Grandma. |
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| Enjoying lunch with Poppy. |
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| Someone is eyeing up Aunt Aimee's strawberry! |
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| Aubrey picking strawberries with Uncle Israel and Grandma. |
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| Strawberry time! |
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Uncle Israel and Aunt Aimee with Avery. Avery is looking for her runaway sister Aubrey!
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Making CFA biscuits:
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| The girls made cowgirl aprons to make their CFA biscuits this rodeo season. |
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| Someone is having a great time!!! |
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| After watching momma make bread so often, the girls know how to knead the dough! |
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| Eating the fuits of their labor. |
Other favorites (some great ones from our very own front yard!):
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| I fall in love with this sweet face every single day. |
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| Look at her face when she pulls out the piston...that's my Avery! |
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| I fall in love with this sweet face every single day. |
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| Tooooo funny not to add! |
