Our First Beach Day of the Season

And it was a beauty!

We headed back to the shore this weekend, and we had a blast. Saturday night, we continued our big Texas Hold'Em game with beers, laughs, and music. I may or may not have a new Texas Hold'Em obsession and play it on my phone every chance I can.

We woke up to a breezy, cool morning but it was the clearest blue sky I have seen in a while. After a slow start, breakfast, and multiple cups of coffee, we headed to the beach. We packed our stuff, got dressed, and we walked our 5 blocks to the beach. Once we got there, we started unpacking and realized that we forgot our beach bag! Fail.

Good thing Pop Pop was still there to drive it up to us. We were able to avoid disaster (and it wouldn't be the only time that day). 

Kailyn was right at home on the beach playing in the sand and snacking her head off. She didn't miss a beat from last year. 

This girl adores the beach. She plays her heart out. The water was freezing, and she wanted to be held and run away from it. "Here comes the water!" she kept screeching in her sweet little voice.

Baby Keira loved her first trip to the beach too. She sat on the blanket and rocked the cuteness.

As we headed back to the house to eat and get cleaned up, we realized that we forgot our house keys. Thank goodness for my future brother in law - he was able to break in for us or we would have been miserable while we waited to be bailed out.

It was the perfect beach day to start off our summer. Work is winding down, and soon I will be able to be with these baby girls all day every day. Summer here we come!

Memorial Day Weekend

The unofficial start of summer is behind us and although the weather didn't cooperate, we had good times to be remembered. After work on Friday, I got home, made dinner, bathed our kids, packed our bags, and we were off. We headed to Ocean City with a shit ton of shit in tow. No, seriously, our car was packed to the brim.

I was dragging Friday night, but it was nice to wake up down the shore with our family, breakfast, and relaxation. We also woke up to 40 mph winds. It was cold and windy at the shore to put it mildly. Not a beach day, but we enjoyed it just the same at the playground.

With so much wind, we spent time relaxing inside, joking around, bringing back Texas Holdem, and realizing that putting an iPhone in a glass is an instant speaker. Thank you Pinterest. 

Once we woke up on Sunday, the weather had changed drastically and it was BEAUTIFUL! We walked the boardwalk, ate lunch, and went on some rides. This little girl loved the Merry-Go-Round, and she rode more times than I would like to count. She absolutely loves it. "Can I go again Mommy?" 

The Merry-Go-Round watchers were perfectly happy snuggling and waving to the big girl. 

It was a great weekend to kick off the summer. Even though we didn't hit the beach, we had a great time and enjoyed the shore. I can't wait to be with my girlies all day every day.

8 MONTHS

Baby Gaga turned 8 months old a few days ago. I can't fathom how quickly the 8 months have gone by. On every 19th of the month, I wonder how she could possibly be creeping closer to a year old. She is my sweet baby girl and the light of every single one of my days.

So much has taken place in the past month and a half. I missed her 7 month post, and I am a little pissed at myself. The last few weeks were a little rough... work, illnesses, and lack of sleep made for little time for blogging.

So here we are at 8 months sweet baby girl! At 8 months...

* our biggest accomplishment is that you are still nursing! You have only had breast milk, and I still doing everything I can to make sure it stays that way. It has not been an easy road, but it has been so worth it for the both of us! Lately, you seem to be distracted and looking around the room instead of nursing so I am wondering if this is the beginning of the end. Are you starting to wean yourself? I hope not.

* you are a GREAT eater! I have only given you homemade baby food, and you have eaten every single thing like a champ. Chicken, peas, yellow squash and broccoli, cannelloni beans, pretty much anything I puree, you will eat and smile. I am so relieved! We have a small stash in the freezer, and I am starting to give you some small banana pieces for finger foods. You love reaching out on your tray for those bananas. I should start giving you more finger foods, but I am in no rush!

* you just started sitting up on your own. You go from rocking on all fours to sitting up in the blink of an eye. You love sitting up and playing with toys! You are becoming more and more mobile by the second. I know you are going to be crawling in no time!

* your hand eye coordination is improving. I guess you think this means that you deserve to have the iPad every second. If you don't get said iPad when you want it, watch out. You throw a mini-tantrum that is simply adorable.You and your sister are going to have some battles... I am sure of it.

* speaking of your sissy. You love her. You stare at her and your eyes follow her around the room at all times (probably making sure she doesn't take your binky). Between her and Teddy Baby Boy, I am fighting for your attention!

* you FINALLY started sleeping through the night! After two nights of a little crying and no nursing, you are sleeping from 7:15-6:00. I am starting to feel normal again after getting some sleep.

* you are wearing 12 month clothes and you have the longest little torso. You better fit into all of your sissy's summer clothes, but you are growing like a weed.

* you have the best gummy smile and the clearest, blue eyes I have ever seen. Your skin is so smooth and without a blemish. You hair is soft and sweet smelling. Every inch of you is perfection.

Happy Mother's Day

Time flies when you are having fun... I have missed you all! We have so much catching up to do.

My husband says, "Go do what you want to do, go shopping, go out while the kids nap."

All I want to do is sit in bed, relax, and look at some pictures. Catch up on the blog. Well, actually take a nap but that will mess me up.

Happy Mother's Day to all the incredible moms out there. It is a deserved celebration for all the selfless, dedication we give to our children. This Mother's Day started with me being able to get a little more rest as my husband took the kids downstairs. Waking up at 8:30 does wonders for your mental and physical state.

I went downstairs to feed my sweet baby girl and have a cup of coffee. It was nice walking downstairs to find my family there just waiting for me and happy to see me. That really is all I need. Something about having kids, they are genuinely happy to see you, and it makes me feel so blessed and content. After coffee, we got ourselves ready for our Mother's Day brunch.

These sweet girls rock my world. I was getting Keira ready, and I remembered my very first Mother's Day. My sweet Kay wore this pretty little yellow dress, and I couldn't resist having Gaga wear the same one. A little first Mother's Day throwback of my sweet Kay spending our first Mother's Day together. Look at those smiles. She was even getting up on all fours!

Piercing blues eyes on the left and sweet, deep brown eyes on the right. They look so much alike here. The only difference is the eye color (and some chubbier cheeks). The loves of my life. Thank you for making me a mommy. I didn't even know love and life until I met you.

Masterful Weekend

Well, I survived parent teacher conferences, open house, and a field trip. Talk about an exhausting week. It all ended, and I was looking forward to enjoying some family time this weekend. Then, I remembered we wouldn't be leaving the house since it was Masters weekend. As in golf. As in my hubby is obsessed and has talked about it all week.

Now, I love me some golf too, but my hubby is too obsessed that it is borderline intervention worthy. And if Phil isn't in the final pair on Sunday, then I usually feel disappointed.

Saturday, we ran around all morning. Running errands with your family makes running errands so much more fun. After running errands, we stopped for a bite to eat.

These two with their vests are so sweet!

And this one is going to be having a bite to eat soon with these two teeth that have popped through!

Then, we spent the rest of the weekend with family. The Masters was one of the most exciting ever with Adam Scott getting his first green jacket. I still have a gallon of things to do, but I guess they will have to stay on the to-do list until next weekend. Hope you had a beautiful weekend!

Busy, Busy, Busy

I've been one busy momma. I have so much to write about a fierce growth spurt that left me questioning my milk supply, two new teeth cutting through, Friday night family time, spontaneous trip to Ocean City to enjoy a beautiful day, and the bleakest of all Sundays that included cleaning, cleaning, food shopping, baby food making, and more cleaning.

Too bad, I am too tired and I have too much school work waiting for me to tell you about these things. They will have to be put off another day. I will leave you with some pictures from our weekend.

Sissys sharing a bath

Heading to Ocean City

Beautiful Ocean City Bay

 Hopefully, I will have a better grasp on this week so I can get back to blogging!

Easter

Happy Easter everyone. I hope you and your family had a beautiful day full of love. This Easter was full of love and fun for our family.

Earlier this week, we headed to Duffield's Farm to visit the Easter bunny. Kay was not feeling the Easter bunny love last year. I was skeptical this year, but she was with her buddies so I was hoping she would follow suit. She was a brave soul with Santa this year.

So we bundled up, and we headed out for a chilly, windy hayride. It was supposed to be spring break, but it was cold. My sweet girl loved the hayride so much. She was hanging with her buddies and loving life. The cold didn't bother her one bit.

 She even let me throw her on the Easter bunny's lap. Why do we do this to our kids? At least this is one of the least scary bunnies that I have seen. She let me take a picture then she had her fill.

The Easter bunny. Ridiculous. I wish the Easter bunny bartered a trade for the binkie, but I wasn't quick thinking enough for that. Maybe next time.

Easter morning was a treat. We were up before 8 which is early for us in this house. Kay loved her Easter basket stocked with goodies. A book, a rubber duck, slinky, shovel for her sandbox, Minnie Mouse socks, and some other goodies waited for her along with some hidden eggs.

We had a wonderful day with family eating good food, playing, and celebrating a big engagement! Great

Happy Easter to you and yours!

Spring has Sprung

We are starting to turn the corner to spring. It is staying lighter a little later. The warmer weather is slowly starting to creep in. I can feel the energy in my bones...unless that was just a week off of work. We had a great few days. This has been such a great week with my family. 

To get ready for the Easter bunny, Kay colored and decorated some Easter eggs. She went to town dumping the eggs in and taking the eggs out. Our eggs look like a million bucks.

What Easter bunny wouldn't be happy with these eggs? 

The past two days, we were able to spend a lot of time outside because the sun was shining. My little girls loved the warm sun. We played, did some yard work, and enjoyed some fresh air. As I weeded the back, Kay tried to build a rock tower on my ankle. 

Gaga just jumped and entertained herself...happy as a clam.

After working in the yard and having a lunch (or staring at our lunch and saying "I don't want to eat), we headed to the park to play. This little girl LOVES the park. She goes crazy when we get there, kicking her feet and squealing with delight. 

Today, we had a serious family fun day. Fresh sand in the sand box, bounce house blown up, after dinner trip for ice cream. Our day was pretty much perfect. 

As I wind down tonight, I am worrying about lesson plans that need to be done. I had such a wonderful week making memories with my family, and I wish every week could be like this. I am having anxiety thinking about being away from girls and the rush of a busy work week.

Leading up to every spring break, I make a million plans to get organized, get ahead in school work, and clean my house. I am not doing it anymore. As this break comes to an end, my house is more of a mess than when we started and my lesson plans are exactly where I left them last Friday, but my heart is full after spending a week snuggling and laughing with my family. This is exactly how it should be.