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!