Keeping Busy!

After Ayda's birthday weekend we have settled back into our normal routine...except we have been missing one thing...Kevin/daddy! This is the longest stretch we have gone without seeing each other. I can't say I am a fan and it is only day 5! I won't lie I am counting down till he is back down here for Christmas and then we will all move up to NC together at last. I also know that the girls and I must keep busy so that time will not drag on. So we have had fun finding little activities to do that are cheap, fun, and at home (save on gas!)...

Since we are not decorating the house this year for Christmas I decided to bring some Christmas cheer in the form of crafts. We made Christmas tree pictures with their feet. Ayda thought it was hysterical that I was painting her foot and it tickled!! Hadley just kept trying to eat the paint brush!

 We also made a wreath for the door! I love walking up to the front door and seeing their precious little hands! This might be my favorite Christmas in regards to decorations! Fun memories to make with them, easy to store, and just so cute!! I have some other ideas but am spreading them out across the next couple weeks!

 Hadley has found time to sleep and catch up from a busy weekend. She was no where near being on her schedule all weekend so she has enjoyed the quiet and time to rest! I do my chores while she naps!

 In the mornings while Ayda is in school Hadley and I have gotten in the routine of playing on the floor. I drink my coffee and eat breakfast while she crawls all over me and plays with her toys. It has made for some sweet time to snuggle, giggle, and improve her pulling up skills!

 Digging through her toy basket!

 I think this is the face of "put the camera down already!"

I saw this idea on a blog I follow and thought it was really cool. I knew Ayda would think it was great!

 You use milk, food coloring and soap.

 You put the milk in a bowl. Ideally something flat and wide. We didn't have a lot of milk so I used something pretty shallow. Probably would have been even better if it was deeper but we were limited on milk (the only reason we had some in the house was from making cupcakes for Ayda's birthday!)

Then put a few drops of food coloring (different colors) in the middle of the milk.

 Drip some soap into the milk/food coloring and watch the colors go crazy. It was so cool! Ayda was so impressed and then thought the "picture" it made was beautiful! 

 Our finished product! It was pretty neat I must say!

Ayda requested to wash the dishes in the sink after lunch. I would love to think this will last for years to come...haha. Of course I handed her a sponge with soap and let her go to town. She actually did a really good job! She would wash and rinse and then I would put them on the drying rack. Who knew washing dishes could be fun...I love my 3 year old!

  She got serious about washing my coffee mug. She said it was very dirty!

 And she was very gentle while rinsing it off.

So we are staying quite busy around here! Tonight we are having dinner with a friend and I can't wait. Everyday this week I have taken Ayda to school, come home, picked her up and come back home for the day. To go out for dinner and talk to an adult will be quite refreshing!! And we have some very fun things planned for this weekend. Of course I miss Kevin terribly and I'll be honest life is so much more fun when we are all together. But as he said the water takes forever to boil when you are staring at it and that is so true. So we are keeping busy till Christmas! 

Oh yea and eventually I'll need to start packing. Now that does not excite me at all! Must find the motivation! haha!!

Hadley is 8 Months!

I'm about a week late with this post but the picture was taken within a few days of Hadley turning 8 months. So here's what you're up to these days...

+Not sure how much you weigh but you definitely filled out some this month. 

Your little cheeks are a bit chubbier!

+You are wearing 6-9 month clothes except your onesies are still 3-6 months.

+You are in size 3 diapers and on the middle snap in your cloth diapers still!

+You have 3 teeth and one on the way. You look so stinkin cute with them!

+You are sleeping about 8-9 hours at night, unless you are cold or teething. 

(You now have a space heater in your room to help with that one!)

+You are crawling EVERYWHERE! You chase me around the kitchen/living room because you want me to pick you up. You are quite persistent too!

+You started pulling to a stand. You are not cruising yet which is fine with me!

+You love eating! You enjoy feeding yourself (no pureed food for you) anything I put on your tray. And it is messy! But so fun to watch you try new things!

+You are still pretty laid back but you have definitely figured out how to get my attention!

+You are playing more with your sister which is sweet for me to see. She loves you so much!

+You love toys with lights and music. 

+You are smitten with your daddy. He's been out of town a lot lately 

but when he's home you just love smiling at him. It's so sweet!!!

+Though it is not as often you are still our snuggler. 

You would probably let me hold you all day if I would. 

 +You are just a sweet little girl. You make me laugh just from your goofy faces and persistent little personality. You know what you want and you are determined to get it! 

Happy 8 months baby girl. It's been another fun month of watching you grow, learn and explore. You have a few bruises on your head to show for all the pulling up and moving around. You are a blessing and joy to daddy and me. We love you!

(Ayda at 8 months)

Happy Birthday Ayda

Ok so I had planned to do a post each day this weekend. Well our feet hit the floor friday and we have not stopped since. I think this is the first time I have sat down at the computer since my last post! So here is a longer post to honor our big 3 year old!!

I can't believe that Ayda has been in our family now three years. I remember the day she was born like it was yesterday. The emotions, exhaustion, excitement, love. Everything. It was a cold rainy day in Atlanta but our apartment was warm, cozy and peaceful. It was perfect!

Ayda has taught me so much. Mostly about my shortcomings and how I need my Lord to get me through each day of parenting.  I have loved every second of the last 3 years though. I never knew I could love someone this much. And not to leave Hadley out...that has just doubled since she was born 8 months ago! Amazing! Ayda is so fun. We certainly did not have a year of "terrible twos" this past year. We have had fun, learned a lot, and she has kept us entertained! We are so proud of her!

I thought it would be fun to take a picture of her with Tommy the Monkey. For those new to the blog I did monthly picture of Ayda and Tommy her first year like I am doing with Hadley. It was funny to see her sitting with Tommy the other day!

And to conclude here is a slideshow I put together! Im signing off to enjoy the day with the birthday girl! I'll hopefully get her party pics up sometime this week when things settle down a bit!

Ayda Grace Turns 3

I always get a bit sentimental the week of Ayda's birthday. I'm sure I will with Hadley as well but we haven't gotten there yet...check back in March! I remember Ayda's first birthday and being a little emotional the whole weekend. And each year it gets a little better I suppose, but I am still quite reflective on this little life God has entrusted us with. So in honor of a special little girl's birthday I am going to post something each day about our little darling. Forget the fact I am way behind on this blog...she will come first! 

Today I took both girls outside to burn some energy/take some pictures. I think we were successful with both! And in true Ayda fashion she completely entertained Hadley and I! I was able to catch a little glimpse into her crazy personality!

 Life is a party...and she loves to laugh. And when she gets into a good laugh it is quite contagious!

 Her eyes sparkle all day and truly catch the curiosity she has for her world. She has always been our explorer.

 She has her moments of being contemplative and serious. 

 But more often than not you will find her being quite silly and making us laugh!

 She is gentle and kind, especially to her baby sister.

 And at the end of the day she finally lays her head down and rests. 

Ayda made me a mommy. She has taught me so much about myself...good and bad. She keeps me on my toes. I love this girl!

So Funny!

Since Ayda was my first I never realized what a chunk she was. And really it is that she was just a solid baby...no wonder she walked at 9 months. So now that we have Hadley it is crazy to me that Hadley is 7 1/2 months and wears 3-6 month clothes a lot of the time. She is slowly making her way to the 6-9 month clothes. I loved having Ayda being so ahead of every milestone and adventurous and now I love having Hadley that is little and more sensitive! Funny how very different our two girls really are!

 Ayda at 4 1/2 months old!

Hadley at 7 1/2 months old!

Milestones for Ayda

(Overheard at our House-Ayda conversations is at the bottom of this post!)

I feel like I have not really done a milestone update on Ayda in awhile so I thought I should jot down some of hers.  I'll say this is stuff that has happened in the past month...

She dresses herself...and picks out her clothes. So if you see her out and about and she doesn't match, you'll know why! I do try to direct her to things that look ok together but I don't push it.

She is fully 100% potty trained. No more diapers...even at night!!! It is wonderful. She has had a couple night time accidents this week but that's fine. We're prepared for that. She is so proud of herself and has been telling people we see that she doesn't wear any diapers any more! 

She puts on her shoes by herself. Sometimes on the wrong feet but again she is proud of herself so I let it be. 

She has taken up quite an interest in cooking. We have made lots of muffins the past couple weeks. I feel like at least by making those I can sneak in fruits or veggies too! She requests we make cupcakes so muffins are usually our compromise. She just loves being in the kitchen with me making something. 

And her vocabulary has increased so much! She is talking in full sentences and has quite a wit about her. I'll end with a couple conversations I've had with her the past couple days:

She received a postcard from Naples FL from my mom:

M: Ayda this is a card from Grand-Pam (and I read what it said to her. In there GP mentions the beach)

A: Oh the beach?

M: Yes Grand pam is at the beach working.

A: Ayda go to the beach. And mommy and sister. Come on! Ayda's bathing suit!!! (and proceeds to run in her room and get her bathing suit)

M: Baby we can't go to the beach. it's too cold and too far away. This is just a card from Grand Pam

A: Ok mommy! Ayda go to beach. With pam pam, papaw, daddy, mommy, sister, agong, ema, and Ama!!! 

M: Well we can't go right now. (totally didn't want to break her heart but I couldn't just say ok knowing full well that we were not going! The girl loves the beach!)

A: Mommy, sing the bear song on your phone

Me: I don't know the bear song. you sing it

A: Yes you do know it mommy. sing it please!

M: I really don't know what you are talking about. If you sing it maybe I will know it then.

A: Mommy you really do know!

(At which time I redirected the conversation because she was getting frustrated. I still don't know what the bear song on my phone is!)

She was out of bed and I walked in her room to get her back in bed and found her completely naked:

M: Ayda why are your clothes off?

A: I don't know

M: Well you took them off. What made you do that?

A: I picked panties (And points to some panties she put next to her outfit for the next day)

M: So you took all your clothes off so you could pick some panties for tomorrow?

A: Yes! I get dressed now.

M: Um. Ok. Thank you.

I had told her we were going to see some friends of ours but they had to cancel. Their little girl was sick with a cough. When Ayda woke up she asked to see them:

A: I want to go see Lyvleigh

M: Awe, Lyvleigh is coughing and is sick. We can't see her today.

A: No mommy. lyvleigh not drinking coffee.

M: (trying not to laugh) No baby...Lyvleigh is couGHING. She is not feeling good today. She needs to rest.

A: Oooh.

She really keeps us laughing so much during the day. I love this girl so much!

Overheard at Our House...

So Kevin has been home for a week and a half (well he left again today) which is the longest stretch of him being home AND healthy since August! It was so nice to have him home to help with the girls but we had a lot of laughs too. We had some good laughs and had so much fun with the girls. They keep us laughing plenty too! So here you go...overheard at our house...conversations between me and the hubs! And forgive me if these are not funny at all to you...I understand fully that Kevin and I have a weird sense of humor!

(Driving to lunch):
Kevin: Where do you want to go?
Me: I don't care at all...the Lin girls are quite hungry!
K: The Lin girls? YOU are a Lin too you know.
M: Uh, yea...I said the Lin girls, as in all the girls in this car!
K: (sly chuckle) I made a white girl a Lin. You're a white girl...and now a Lin. ha!
M: Um yes, yes you did.

(Finishing up dinner and I get a text message):
K: Whoa that looks different!!
M: Yea I did that huge update on my phone. There is a lot of stuff that is different.
K: I updated my phone this afternoon and nothing is different.
M: Babe, you have the 3G phone...
K: Hmm, Clearly Apple has stopped updating my phone. My update is to go down to the store and get the one with more GBs!!! I want the black one...with more GBs.
(referencing the cartoon)

(Driving past this random Donkey farm down the road from us):
M: Ooo slow down. I want to get the website off their banner. I mean really a donkey farm?
K: What?
M: They have a website. I want to know the point of all these donkeys.
(We slow down, I get the website, and we slowly pass the donkeys)
M: That's a whole lot of donkeys
K: That's a whole lot of asses
M: Ha!

There are so many moments that this man makes me laugh. More than I can even record. I'm thankful for our laughter. Even if we have a weird sense of humor it's perfect for me!