Caidyn's First Soccer Season

When we were preparing for baby 2 one piece of advice that kept coming up was to make sure the older child still had experiences and things that were "just for big kids". So we signed Caidyn up for dance classes and soccer because they were "just for big kids". 

Well we hit it out of the park with dance class! She loves it so much (separate post to come). 

But soccer... 

Yeah not so much. 

We got a few great weeks. Especially 9am games when it was cool out! That's where these gems happened.

But mostly soccer was Caidyn upset because someone took the ball she was playing with. Which is a totally reasonable response when you are three. 

So we will try again in a few years. But for now, dance class will be her thing. 

Things I want to remember - October 2016

The inevitable back to school first cold after the baby is here has happened. Caidyn had croup. And for the first time Ellie went to school without her big sister.

The hardest part of Caidyn's illness was not being able to touch Ellie. I knew she would miss playing with her little sister. But I didn't know how much the feelings would be reciprocated.

On Monday evening I bathed the girls together. I told Caidyn while we were in the tub she could touch Ellie's toes and play a little with her. Of course Caidyn was so excited and quickly helped me make up a bath and brushed her teeth. She hopped right in and made the most adorable anxious noises and motions waiting Ellie.

So I put Ellie in the tub and Caidyn starts talking to her and rubbing her feet and legs with bubbles and Ellie starts smiling and coo-ing and almost giggling. I had no idea how much Ellie had missed her big sister. It was so sweet to me to see her react that way. I cried a little bit (no shame here!) and of course called daddy over to witness the sweetness. Bathtime was almost an hour that night but I had two very happy girls who loved that precious hang out time they had been missing all day.

Caidyn's Daniel Tiger Birthday Party!

The weekend after I went back to work we scheduled Caidyn's 3rd birthday party... Not the most ideal timing but we had traveling to do the following two weekends so that was when it ended up!

I bought everything in advance and we served her favorite meal of chicken nuggets, broccoli, and mac and cheese! The best part for her was the Tiger bounce house I found from a local rental place. When I called to ask about its availability she didn't even ask what dates, just assured me it was available. It definitely looks like one of their older models but it was perfect for our theme!

Caidyn Says/Does

I have to share this quick story since my little girl is so different from me.

Much to my husband's dismay, I absolutely hate being naked. I sleep in full on pajamas and fuzzy socks. I change quickly. In fact the only time you really find me without clothes is when I am in my sanctuary - the hot shower.

Anways, the vast majority of my family is the exact opposite. Including Caidyn.

Evenings at our house are often hard to photograph because she has this weird rule where after the first time she goes to the bathroom once we get home she just leaves her pants and underwear next to the toilet.

So last night we had company over - my friends Angela and Ray (I married them this past April!) joined our Tuesday night family dinner as they were passing through town and hadn't met Ellie yet. Caidyn did her usual leave her pants routine and I had to remind her we had company over so she needed to put pants on. And she did, no questions asked.

About two hours later she had been bathed and had her pajamas on. She needed to say goodbye to her aunties, but Angela and Ray had already left. She had initially said she was scared to come downstairs because of all the new people, but I told her they were gone. She walked down the stairs, said, "Oh - they are gone!" and immediately began to unzip her pajamas!  I asked her what she was doing and she responded, "the people are gone - now I can be naked!"

Oh my little crazy girl <3

On being three...

Today my oldest daughter turns three. That means for three years now I have been known as "mom" to a human being. Although I truly believe motherhood starts the moment you prepare for or find out you are expecting a child, nothing could have prepared me for the wealth of emotions that come with holding your child.

So on Caidyn's third birthday I want to acknowledge the three biggest things she has taught me so far.

1: The power of a hug.

I'll never forget cuddling tiny Caidyn in the hospital after her arrival. I was, admittedly, a little possessive over my baby girl, never wanting to allow others to hold her when I could be holding her. I just relished in those hugs and cuddles. Even now, as she is such a big girl compared to that tiny baby, she still reminds me of the importance of hugs. Some mornings as we begin to rush to get ready for school she'll be fussy and ask for a "good morning hug". And my heart swells up - knowing I'm about to get as much calm and refocus out of that hug as she will. Even if we are doing separate things (she could be reading a book or playing a game on her kindle and I could be feeding Ellie) she'll ask to cuddle together. Its a wonderful remind of the beauty of human contact and the grounding it can bring.

2: Lower and raise your expectations - all at the same time.

Self admitted type A personality over here. I like things tidy, planned, purposeful, and efficient. I crave that in fact. And then I had children. And I still like things that way, but I have learned to lower my expectations for how a plan is going to go, that my house will be tidy all the time, and efficiency is something I reserve for my time when the girls are with someone else besides me. But, when I lower the expectations of tidy, planned, purposeful, and efficient I raise my expectations of surprise, imagination, play, and observation. Caidyn's day exhibits all of those characteristics to such a high extent - and I find that when I let go and follow her lead amazing and wonderful things happen to us both. And I can always be tidy, planned, purposeful, and efficient after she goes to bed. Late, of course. She was too busy imagining and playing to go to bed on time ;)

3: How amazing it is to be a mother.

Truth be told, I wasn't sure I ever wanted children. I didn't enjoy baby sitting, I spend my days with middle school students who are aware its weird to pick your nose or your wedgie, and I had a hard time trying to play with or talk to small children or babies. But as I watched Brian with his nephews (we didn't have a niece yet!) and how much joy he got out of playing with them I knew I wanted to be able to make him a father. I felt then that with the right partner I wouldn't mind becoming a mother. And then Caidyn arrived. And I knew the true joy of motherhood. The smiles reserved just for you. The ability to be someone's comfort source - someone's definition of safe. I love being a mother (evident by my 2029302 graphic t's about motherhood - the last time I had that many t-shirts about any one thing it was all my emo bands from high school - :P). It is my most favorite thing in the world, by far.

Three lessons taught by my big three year old girl <3 Happy Third Birthday, Caidyn!

Things I Want to Remember - September 2016

This month I want to talk about how Caidyn say's Ellie's name. For most of the pregnancy (after we knew it was a girl) we referred to the baby as Ellie.

Then shortly after she was born I found myself calling her Eleanor out loud.

And so Caidyn started calling her "Ellie-nor". And I LOVE it. So much that I almost never want it to stop, and I even go as far as to refer to Ellie as Ellie-nor around Caidyn so she doesn't hear it the right way and won't fix her pronunciation.

I'm hoping that the sweet relationship my girls have will not be something I have to worry about forgetting - but they do have the most adorable love for each other. When Ellie sees Caidyn she lights up smiling and focusing right on her. Caidyn is an amazing big sister and I find her being distracted from her games and playtime by Ellie and stopping to give her a hug or kiss.

She calls Ellie her "coochie" - something she overheard Daniel Tiger calling his little sister. She often tells me how much of a "cutie patootie" Ellie is. It is just so sweet. I am so thankful my littles love each other so much and I can't wait to see their relationship grow even more.

Disney Trip - Fall 2016 - Day 2 and 3!

Today was for the Magic Kingdom!

We started off our morning taking our time getting dressed and breakfast and decided we would visit the parks twice. Once in the late morning for some rides, a break for nap time and cooling off time, and then back to the park for more rides, the electrical parade, and the fireworks.

I'll say it over and over again - September is one of my favorite times to visit the park. It is decorated for fall and the crowds are low.



We took our crew to meet Mickey, ride a few rides while the lines were low, and headed out in time for some naps!




Later that evening we headed back with 2 intentions. 1: We scored a fast pass for the mine train! The big kiddos were JUST tall enough that they could go. We parent swapped it, with fast passes, so the kiddos ended up riding 3 times in about 2 hours!



2: The electrical parade was doing one of its last runs at MK and we wanted to be sure to see it one more time!

We also took advantage of the short lines again and met Mickey again to try for an elusive all four of us looking at the camera photo - and we did it! Mostly!



On Day 3 (our last park day) we were up early for a character breakfast at the Grand Floridian before a day of fun at Hollywood Studios!



My awesome friend Michelle at Gray Anchor Apparel custom made Sarah and I shirts!


The group met some characters, rode a few rides, took advantage of the parent swap again for Tower of Terror (adults only this time!), and had a great time.



We headed out before afternoon naps and spent the evening at the pool. I don't think we even left the hotel, ordering pizza in for dinner and just relaxing overall. It was a perfect wrap up to the trip!

Fall Disney Trip - 2016 - Day 1

This trip was an extra exciting one for us! It took place over the last days of my maternity leave and we went with our cousins! Sarah, Leroy, and her their two children Beau and Adrianna joined us. It was am AMAZING trip - we had so much fun and I hope it turns into a yearly tradition! 

Details: We stayed all together in a two bedroom suite at the TownPlace Suites. That hotel is so nice - its brand new, includes breakfast, is located right off Disney property, and has a wonderful pool area. 

The first day of our trip started off with Brian in DC and me getting the car and suitcases all packed! I woke up extra early while my mom was still home to go for a quick run - and I do mean quick! I got a gorgeous sunrise view as I headed home and my pace was something I am very proud of right now!

The girls and I got up, got dressed, and we were on the road just after 10am to pick Daddy up at the airport at 11! 

Our first stop was Animal Kingdom. We had fast passes for the safari, Lion King show, and the river rapids!

Caidyn was her usual adorable self and used my phone to take some pictures on the safari. My favorite that she took was also probably her favorite - Ellie with a real elephant! It was the cutest thing to see her get so excited! The whole safari car started laughing with us!

We then headed to the Lion King show which was fun for all of us! Caidyn really enjoyed all the dancing and Ellie liked the bright colors! We had to capture Ellie with the elephant again :)

Our sweet girl had fun dancing in the streets to the fun music playing and trying to hats with daddy while we moseyed our way to the rapids. 

The beauty of September Disney days are the low crowds. So after we went on the rapids we saw our friends Mickey and Minnie before we left for the hotel!

When we got to the hotel both girls did some tummy time and we unpacked and relaxed. Dinner that night was in our room but brought up from the on site restaurant (surprisingly delicious and reasonably priced!) while we watched some Thursday night football and let the kiddos play! 

So I'm actually 28 now...

Every year in about June or so I forget how old I am. I mean I quickly remember, but I start to think about the age I'm approaching and then have a momentary panic attack and think "wait, did I already turn that?" This it was  by far the worst it has ever been. I would tell people I was 28 when they asked how old I was... not yet having been 28.

But alas, I turned 28 this past Tuesday. It was a really enjoyable day! Brian took the day off of work. We brought Caidyn to school, voted in our local election, and met my Dad and Anita for breakfast. Ellie, Brian, and I then headed up to a Best Buy just north of us to their "camera experience center". It was sort of a let down (they had the exact same stuff as our local best buy) but we were able to narrow down our camera choices! We decided to purchase a Canon Rebel T6i - and it arrives very soon!

That evening we met up for our usually Tuesday night family dinner. This week we went to Tijuana Flats and it was delicious as always! We had tiny cupcakes to celebrate and enjoyed a wonderful time.

I dressed the girls in my favorite set of their matching pajamas and we had a relaxing evening together. 

Yesterday I had people over to hang out in the pool to celebrate. I realized as I was approaching this birthday that I usually have someone else watch my kiddos when I celebrate so this year I wanted to celebrate with them. I told my friends to bring their littles too and it was such a nice time! I am blessed with a truly great group of friends :)

It is great to be twenty eight!

#UCFamily

Let's go UCF!

Football season opens today for our UCF Knights!

We had a rough (to say the least) season last year but we underwent a ton of changes in the off season and I'm sure this year will be great!

If for no other reason than...

-the year Caidyn was born her first game was against a team from South Carolina and we had an AMAZING season (won the Fiesta bowl!)

-this year Ellie's first game is against a team from South Carolina! I'm not saying we are heading for a BCS bowl... but being bowl eligible would be nice!

We had to dress Ellie in the same outfit Caidyn wore for her first game!

Let's go Knights! Charge On!

Snaps and Updates

Life has settled into a sweet time that I know will be short lived. The last few weeks of maternity leave - Ellie has settled into a routine. We can feel this magical summer starting to slip away from us - the sun is setting earlier and back to work and the hustle and bustle of the fall season is quickly approaching.

We are enjoying the ease of and relaxed nature of these days. Very few formal pictures just a lot of quick memory captures.

 Caidyn had her first dentist appointment and I could not have been prouder! She did so great and was so brave. The dentist could immediately see that she was a paci user and since Ellie hasn't taken to one we decided it was time to take Caidyn's away. The paci fairy came and traded her paci's for the "fishy toy" she had asked for!

I do have to share how specific Caidyn was. We looked up the synopsis of the paci fairy book and started explaining it to her and she seemed to get it so we saved ourselves the money and figured we didn't need to get the book. Well the night the fairy came she got very specific and we just had to roll with it! "What baby is getting my pacis?" Um... a needy baby. "Whats the babies name?" Um... Jessica? "What baby did my pacis come from?" Um... we don't know they just appeared. "Did the paci fairy come for Ellie?" No, We used your pacis for Ellie but she didn't like them. "Oh ok. Will the paci fairy take Ellie's pacis and she can get a toy, too?" Um... sure. Lets please go to bed now! Lesson learned - just spend the money and get the book. 

Mostly our days have been filled with cuddles and pool time - the perfect ending to our summer of sweetness!

PS: Why does it look like Caidyn is 9 in this picture? Such an independent girl! Also - all of the kiddos at her school right now have Star Wars backpacks! It strikes me as so funny for a preschool!

Things I want to Remember -August 2016

I decided to start a monthly post topic highlighting little things I want to remember. 

This month it is all the little flowers (and sometimes weeds...) Caidyn gives to me. She usually pulls them off of places she shouldn't, taking too long to do so, and hands them to me as I'm trying to grab 293848 other things. 

And I love it. It is the perfect reminder to slow down and take in the little things and appreciate the beauty that is all around us. 

Its so funny because she'll ask about the flowers hours later. I try to keep them places she can also see, but it is hard because they are literally so small! She is such a sweet girl and always thinking of others. I hope giving flowers is a trend she will continue - just learning to be more careful and cautious of where she is getting the flowers from. 

Ellie is 2 Months Old!

Two quick months! 

We put away her newborn clothes just after she turned one month old. It made me so sad to give so many away as the plan is that this is our last little baby. I saved way more than I probably should have but I just couldn't part with it yet. 

She fits into her three month clothes comfortably now, and 0-3 is getting tight (the onesie in this photo is a 0-3). 

So many more smiles! We settled into a really great pattern this month. I accepted the fact that she is a cat napper and it almost felt like as soon as her vision and alertness increased she went from being fussy often to seldom fussy. She just wanted something to do. She loves her play mat and her big sister. 

At her 2 month appointment she was 12 lbs 6 oz, and 23 1/2 inches tall! She grew exactly 2lbs and 2 inches! 

We love this little girl so much and are so glad she is a part of our family! She's got a big month next month with another Disney trip and starting school!