Everyday Life!

One evening, I asked Morgan what she wanted for dinner to which she replied carrots and cherry tomatoes! I'm trying really hard to instill healthy eating habits in my girls and when I hear things like this, I feel proud.

There a few words that Morgan still says wrong and I love it! I keep forgetting what they are until she says them. I want to notate them here so I'll remember forever. Today I heard her say "somepin" instead of "something." The way she says it is sooo cute!

Charlotte's favorite word to say right now is "shoes." I wish I could record it because it's really cute how she says it. She's at such a cute stage right now. Just watching her toddle around and flash big smiles as she learns to speak makes me smile!

 

 

Charlotte Is Walking!

Okay, I know I just published a post that said Charlotte wasn't quite walking yet but she is and has been for a couple of weeks now. I had written that post a few weeks ago and just now got around to publishing it. But either way, our little Charlotte was 18 months when she started walking!

A couple of weeks ago our daycare provider sent us this video. How sweet is this?! I know she's probably going to be embarrassed that I'm posting this but it is the cutest video of little Charlie! Look at her face at the end. Priceless!

I'm not going to lie, I was really sad that I wasn't there for Charlotte really walking for the first time but my sister put it best when she described what she saw in the video. She was so cute because she said she kept watching it over and over. She said she loved how enthusiastic and encouraging Dee was. She said that Charlotte must have felt so safe and happy in her environment to be able to take those first real steps. Whether I was there or not, I'm blessed that Charlotte has so many loving people around her who care for her so much.

My Season...

Today is Friday and I took the day off. I did something different today. I still had the girls go to daycare so I could have a "me" day. It actually turned out to be half a "me" day because Daniel didn't work until noon so he didn't take the girls until later in the day. That's beside the point though. I thoroughly enjoyed my six hours to myself. While it was a much needed break it still didn't feel quite right either.

People tell me I need to concentrate more on myself, etc. I know they're right to an extent. I've recently started eating healthier and carving out some exercise time. I've started reading again and really try to get at least one long bath each week. I understand this time is important but at the same time this is my season.

This is my season to change diapers and wipe tears, to have so much to do during the day that I stay up late even though I really need the sleep. This is my season to spend more time focusing on my girls than myself. Some people may look down upon that but I don't. For every perceived negative and sacrifice there is 5 more positive and priceless benefits for each one of those difficulties.

Lately if I see that the girls are happily playing together in the play room, I'll sneak away to my bedroom, crawl into bed for what I know will likely only be 10 minutes of reading in whatever book I'm engrossed in at the time. I do try to steal those moments when I can and I'm okay with that because I know soon enough as my children grow and become more independent, those 10 minutes will grow to 30 and so on.

This is the season where I'm needed the most and there are so many amazing experiences that come along with that. I already miss the time where I carried little Charlotte around with me everywhere in her baby sling. I loved having her strapped to my chest even though it meant every task and chore was made more difficult and took twice as long.

This season will be over before I know it and I want to soak in as much as possible. I want to make the most out of every moment I'm needed because I know soon enough my girls will need me less and less. Is this my favorite time in my girls' life? I don't know. I'll get back to you on that one. I do know that I want to appreciate each stage for all it has to offer. One day, when the girls move out and begin their own lives, I'll enjoy those many moments/hours to myself knowing that when my girls needed me the most, I did all that I was capable of and for me that's something to be proud of. 

Monday is Memorial Day and Daniel and I took Tuesday off too. We plan on taking the girls to day care again and enjoying a date day together. I'm so thankful to be blessed with this season. My season. 

Baby Goats!

We took Linda to the petting farm near our house! Love the below picture of her.

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We got to see a special treat while at the goat farm! A mother goat gave birth while we were there!

 They let us come over and witness the baby latch on to it's mama for the first time. I thought it was a great lesson for Morgan.

 Just their size...

 Look how they're all sitting. 

 I just added the below picture because I like how Morgan is smiling at Charlotte. I love witnessing their love for each other. Morgan gets really excited for Charlotte when she's able to experience new things. 

Zoo!

Linda wanted to visit the zoo while she was here. We gladly obliged with free tickets from my work of course.

 We had a really nice family day! I think Linda liked the bird show the most. It was fun watching her enjoy it.

 A few people complimented us on our matching blue and white. I swear I didn't do it on purpose. Well I put the girls in their outfits that are similar but I didn't think about the fact that I was wearing blue and white too. 

Just Life

Charlotte has just started walking a little the last couple of weeks. She comes from a family of late walkers. Apparently Daniel and his brothers were late walkers, Morgan was and so was I, although, that mainly had to do with the fact that I was in full leg casts until I was 18 months old. I was born with deformed feet so I was in casts to straighten them out. I'll post a picture sometime of me in them. 

Anyway, Charlotte hasn't been walking because she doesn't know how, she hasn't been walking because she's chosen to not walk yet. I say all of this because this child can climb on anything. For instance, I found her laid out on the couch one day. 

 Morgan has a neighbor friend who comes over to play. Charlotte loves to be a big girl and play at the table with them. 

 Oh, and if Charlotte could reach the pedals, she'd be riding a tricycle. How does a child climb onto a tricycle and practically ride it, yet she doesn't walk? It's been funny watching her. Silly girl!

 She climbs on everything; chairs, couches, boxes, toys, you name it!

 Bath time! I was trying to take a picture of Charlotte's sweet blonde curls. She has curls at the ends of her hair that I absolutely adore!

 Again, she couldn't walk but I found her reading a book and rocking herself one day. 

Grandma Visit!

Grandma Linda came all the way from Indiana to visit us late April!

We got lots of quality time together!

 Linda taught Morgan how to play the card game War.

 The day after she arrived we went to church and then the grocery store. I think the grocery store makes a fun backdrop for pictures. One of my favorite pictures of Morgan when she was really little was taken at the grocery store.

 It took Charlotte a couple of days to warm up to Linda but after that she was constantly in Linda's lap.

Morgan showed Grandma her garden and picked some strawberries.

 I think the girls made up for a year's worth of missed snuggles in the week Linda was here!

 I was given some Maple sauce from work so I decided to use it to mimic Applebee's White Chocolate Blondie desert. It's a white chocolate brownie with walnuts and vanilla ice cream with Maple sauce on top. I was pleased that Linda really enjoyed it. 

 Morgan picked Grandma to read to her every night before bed.

 I made sunshine pancakes.

 When I sat Morgan's plate in front of her, a huge smile spread across her face. That of course made it all worth it. 

 Linda even watched the girls so Daniel and I could have a date night. We had such a good time!

 Baking with Grandma!