Halloween

We had SUCH a fun Halloween this year! We finally live in a neighborhood and could just go door to door trick or treating. We invited our friends over for dinner! Then we got the kids all dressed and headed out! Not sure who had more fun...the kids or us adults. Kevin and Joseph stayed at the house to hand out candy! It was just all around a fun fun time! So glad we were able to share it with the Nilo clan!

 Ayda ONLY wanted a pumpkin carved if it could be a ballerina. For Kevin...challenge was accepted! He did an awesome job! :)

 Ayda was (in her words) a "Princess Fairy Ballerina" 

Hadley was a "dog dog"

 I dressed as a dog dog too to match Hadley! 

 Ayda and Sophia had a blast together!

And Lucas rocked his Gnome costume! Loved it!!! :)

Tough Mudder

October 27: Kevin was part of what's called Tough Mudder. It's an 11 mile course with 25 obstacles throughout. Not just simple obstacles like run through a bunch of tires. No these obstacles included ice, electrocution, mud, etc. He had to jump off a cliff into a lake of water, he had to crawl through a lot of mud, he had to jump into a huge "bath" of ice water (we watched them refill the ice bins), cross a set of monkey bars that were buttered and at an incline and decline. These are just to name a few. I was so proud of him for finishing and he loved every minute of. The soreness afterwards was no joke as well!! I can only imagine. 

Backing up a few months...Kevin decided in July it was time to get in shape and lose the "baby" weight. He joined me on eating Paleo and started committing to go to the Y almost every morning at 5:15AM. Me being the encouraging wife I am chuckled when he said 5:15AM. I know well that Kevin is not a morning person. BUT he did it. Every morning I'd wake up to the garage door going up at around 5:15. 

One afternoon we were driving home from somewhere and he saw an ad for a Triathlon. He said he wanted to do that and was going to sign up. Again, me being the encouraging wife I am, asked if he realized Triathlon included running, swimming AND biking! He wanted to do it though. He looked up the one we saw and set the date to do it. But before he could sing up, he came across Tough Mudder. Now if you know Kevin well at all...when he does something he does it right. Simply getting in shape was not going to cut it. He needed something big to keep him motivated and he'd have something staring him in the face for some accountability. The boy was pumped about Tough Mudder. He briefly tried to talk me into it and I told him he lost me at mud! We found out one of our friends was doing it too so Kevin was able to join his team. 

And Kevin got in shape, lost almost 30 pounds, and accomplished his goal of Tough Mudder! I am a proud wife! I watched all these people do these crazy obstacles and still had no desire to be out there. I knew Kevin was going to do great and he did...and I was happy to cheer him on!

Ayda ready to cheer daddy on at the starting line 

 Kevin's 9:40AM group ready to start!

 Buttered up monkey bars!

 The girls were SO excited when Kevin ran by us! They cheered him on! 

 A huge wall he had to run up and get over! 

All finished!!

So proud of Kevin and our friend Eric. They stuck together during the race and finished strong!

Florida Trip

Kevin had a week off from work in October so we decided to head south and spend the week with his family. It was a much needed vacation and we love the time with his parents. We really laid low and enjoyed relaxing!

Ayda asked to go to Disney and see the Princesses so we planned one day for that. She has been to Disney several times (perk of living there for 2 years and knowing ppl who work at Disney and can get us in free!). But it seemed like this time she really got how awesome it is. Even Hadley was excited. It wasn't crowded at all when we first got there in the morning. We rode 5 rides within about 2 hours. It was great!! Then we waited in line to meet Pooh and Tigger. That was the highlight for Hadley. She ran right up to both of them and gave them a hug. It was so cute!! Ayda was still asking to see Princesses so Kevin and I decided to see if she'd be content with just watching the show right outside the castle. There are several Princesses, music and dancing!! Then we watched the parade and she saw them again. She was thrilled!! Whew!! We really had no interest in paying an arm and a leg or standing in an insane line for her to meet a Princess.  On our way out of the park Kevin and I ran into one of the main stores and decided to get Ayda a princess nightgown. She doesn't have a favorite princess really so we went with the safest color...pink! It was Sleeping Beauty on the gown. Kevin's brother got us a discount so it was perfect. She was beyond excited when we gave it to her. She couldn't wait to get home and wear it to bed! So we are heading for the exit and Kevin's mom grabs me and tells me there is a Princess off to the side and not much of a line. She asked if we should let Ayda get a picture. I checked out the line and it only had a few people in it!! I grabbed Ayda out of the stroller and headed over. She couldn't believe she was going to meet a Princess. AND it turned out to be Sleeping Beauty!! I mean seriously...the place is magical! :) We met Aurora and Ayda got a picture with her. She still talks about meeting her and her night gown is definitely her favorite.

As we left Disney for another time, I looked at Kevin and said "well that could not have gone more perfect if we tried!". It was a great day!!

Baby Girl is 18 Months!

I can't believe Hadley is 18 months! I look at both my girls and wonder where the time is going. They are so much fun and keep us laughing.

Here's what Hadley has been up to:

Hadley, your personality is truly coming out everyday! You are saying more and more words. You still have your feisty side and totally chill side. You know what you want but you also tend to be laid back.
You try to do anything your big sister is doing and you get mad if you can't. I love that you always try though!

 You and Ayda are growing closer and closer. She still is the one who can really get you laughing. I can get the same laugh but usually because I am tickling you. Ayda can just be her goofy self and you are belly laughing. It is music to your momma's ears!

 You are barely wearing size 18 month clothes. Your 12 month stuff fits but is getting a little short on you. You are still mostly in your cloth diapers but if you wear disposable it's a size 4. According to the scale at home you are about 22 pounds. We'll see if it's the same at your 18 month dr. appointment.

 You LOVE your dolls. I am so excited to have a little girl that loves to play with dolls. You sleep with 3 in your bed. You play in your bed for about an hour every morning. You "ssh" and rock your dolls so sweet and gentle. It is adorable to watch!

 You are still such a momma's girl! You would much prefer to be in the Ergo on my back than anywhere else. I hike with you, shop with you, and go for walks with you in the Ergo. You love to pat my back and play with my hair while you are on my back. It is pretty sweet and I certainly don't mind you there at all! You love your Daddy too. You get so excited at night when he comes home!

 You've just recently started having an opinion about what is on TV. Your sister usually picks what we watch but you get really excited if Curious George or Mickey Mouse come on. You recently started singing the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse songs. You call Mickey Mouse "Mee Mow".

 I think it is safe to say you are obsessed with DOGS!!! If you see a dog you immediately start yelling "Dog Dog!!". I have to watch because you will run up to any dog. You just think they are the greatest and you definitely love our pup most! You have taken it on yourself to be the one to feed Jonas everyday (sometimes more than once a day). You get his bowl, go to the pantry, put food in his bowl (we help monitor how much!), and take the bowl to him. I think you are now his very best friend! You also love to give him water in his bowl.

 You are sleeping GREAT now! I am so excited! You sleep from about 8pm-7am. Unless you are cutting a tooth you don't even cry out through the night anymore. You are napping once a day for about 2 hours. Your sister cannot wait to share a room with you...probably when you turn 2!

 You are a really good eater. You still prefer fruit over anything. You eat most vegetable pretty well and you are not crazy about meat. You definitely prefer your Daddy's cooking over mine. You even ate his Salmon the other night! If he cooks dinner it is a good bet you'll eat it. Mine is hit or miss! You are nursing twice a day which is such a sweet time with you.

Hadley you are such a fun little girl. You have brought so much joy into our family. We laugh at your many expressions quite often. Everyone says how cute and adorable you are. The ladies who watch you at the Y while I work out are completely crazy about you. I know you get lots of sugar, hugs and snuggles from them. I'm so proud to be your mommy and am loving watching you grow!! 

(And I can't leave out Miss Ayda!! Here are a couple pics of her being silly at the playground!)

Silver Linings

It has been an interesting 24 hours (well a little more). It started yesterday with a decision to have a Larabar as a snack before picking Ayda up at school. Well let me just say it did not settle well. By 5:00 I was laid out on the couch. I somehow managed to get the kids fed. They played incredibly nicely for an hour before Kevin made it home to take over. As soon as he arrived I went straight to bed. My stomach felt like someone was punching me constantly. By 10 last night the cramps or whatever was going on was radiating to my back. I can honestly say my back felt better during labor than those several hours. Finally at around 2AM I woke up and all was calm in my stomach again. If I moved it cramped but overall I knew I was on the mend. I rarely get sick so when I do the girls can tell something is up. Ayda kept asking if I was ok and if my tummy still hurt. She ran in my room this morning to ask if I was better. So sweet! And of course Hadley could tell something was up and didn't want me out of her sight. She came and checked on me several times while Kevin was getting her bathed and ready for bed last night.

So I get up this morning feeling weak but ok. I decided it would probably be wise to skip working out and just relax with Hadley. We made plans with a friend to meet at the park for a bit. The weather was gorgeous today! At 8:25 when we are all heading to the door to load up and take Ayda to school I ran out to the van to throw in a few things. I noticed our sliding door on the van was no longer automatic. I thought it was strange but figured the button had been hit to make it manual. But something told me to check to see if the car would start. Yea...it was DEAD! Didn't even try to crank. So now I have Ayda dressed, Hadley dressed, me dressed and no where to go! I called a couple friends and one called back and came to my rescue. Tricky part was my car was in the garage and would have to be pushed out in order to jump it. So once my sweet friend arrived we put our 17 month olds in car seats and Ayda hopped in the back (figured it would be better to have them all strapped in and not running around). The babies were screaming because they had no idea what was going on and Ayda was thrilled with the adventure. Except...the car wouldn't go into neutral! AH! We unloaded kids, I grabbed the manual, Rebecca hopped on google and we looked up how to get the car in neutral. Thank you Google!! Rebecca found out how to do it! Success! Rebecca showed off some serious skills and pushed the van to the driveway while I managed the brakes (yes I got the easy part). We successfully jumped the car! I have to say I am quite impressed, mostly with Rebecca...she knew far more than me when it came to the car jumping part. By this time it was too late to take Ayda to school so we all just hung out at our house and let the kids play. I told Ayda she was getting a car "sick" day!

Then I get in the car to take Ayda to Chinese School and the radio is requiring a code to let me use it. Come on! We can't find the code anywhere so I have to call the dealership tomorrow and make them look it up. Hoping it's in the system like it should be!

So in all of this I have been looking on the bright side. In the past it would be easy for me to get really frustrated and stressed out. I would just throw up my hands and say I give up. But my amazing husband gets me thinking a different way. The past day has not been bad. Yes being sick for 12 hours was not great but it allowed me to see my kids' concern for me. Their gentle side to make sure I am ok. It reminded me of what an amazing Husband I have. He rushed home (after stopping to get me real Ginger Ale and some soup) and did everything for the girls to get them to bed. Things we usually share in doing at night (dishes, picking up toys, laundry, etc) he just did.

With the car it reminded me of what a luxury we have in that I can always just hop in my car and go wherever I want. I got to spend an unexpected day with Ayda at home. She goes to school 5 days a week so it was awesome to have her company all day today. She enjoyed it too. I was reminded of what awesome friends I am blessed with. Rebecca came right over and helped out big time. Then spent the morning with us and we had a great time chatting (between interruptions from the kids!).

Really when I look back at the last 24 hours I think of it more as being random. Just random things happening but good still came from it. There is too much real suffering in the world for me to ever complain about a day like this. Because at the end of the day I know I am so blessed. So happy. And I get to spend my days with these precious little faces...

Noise

The past couple months has brought me on a slow, gradual step back from my norm. I started with simply getting into a better routine for myself in the morning. Instead of waiting for Ayda to wake me up (usually that was still by 7AM), I started getting up at 6:15 when my alarm went off. It allowed me time with God doing reading and praying through The Common Prayer book and scripture, take a shower without kids destroying the upstairs, and think. Now a month or so into this and I don't really need my alarm clock anymore. I wake up by 6:20 most mornings. And with this praying and thinking I have come to realize the noise in my life. Yes...I have two small kids...there is noise. But their noise is a welcomed noise that I was missing out on. I started with getting rid of the XBOX which is what we watch most of our tv on. When we moved to NC it just wasn't in the budget to get cable. So we subscribed to Netflix and Hulu. I fully expected to have full cable within 6 months! That would be a top priority in our budgeting. Well we have been here 9 months and it is the least of my worries. I think Kevin would agree...except with football season here he's a little antsy! Just kidding...he's on the same page! The kids can watch PBS, which is a station I actually trust. No nonsense commercials or shows. And now I have cancelled Netflix. Haven't gotten rid of Hulu yet but that might be soon. 

So I felt I was doing just fine by drastically decreasing TV in the house. I actually threatened Ayda with getting rid of the entire TV because she kept asking to watch it all the time. I think she was relieved when she came down one morning and all that was missing was the XBOX!!! We now have set times she can watch some television and she's ok with that! 

Then came political noise. Yes I know it is election year. I know it can get brutal...and it'll only get worse the closer to November that we get. But as Kevin said to me one night...I don't have to read the negative, I don't have to be part of it. And I am not just saying I only want to read what people say who agree with me. I like to be challenged, I like to be educated. So my Facebook took a hit. I sat down during nap time and started clearing out the negative. Can I tell you how refreshing it is to get on there now and see my friend's bragging about what their baby or child did today, how great their job is, how excited they are about a new endeavor? I don't want to live in some bubble, but I also don't need Facebook to frustrate me and get me down. If I want to know about politics and what candidate stands for what, I have plenty of other sources to turn to. I also deleted FB from my phone so my ability to get on there is limited to basically when the girls are asleep.

As I have decreased the noise in my life that is really unimportant noise I have seen change within myself. I feel less burdened. Less busy. My days are still full but they are full of what is truly important to me. My girls. My husband. Chats on the phone with close friends. A long chat with my brother about political stuff...I am not running from it...trust me! :)

I want my girls to see me give them my undivided attention. Not have my phone in my hand checking something all the time. I want to sit down with them and just play. How this time is flying with them. Ayda will soon be 4, Hadley is talking. Kevin puts in long hours at work and I cherish the time we have to just share goals, dreams, our day.

It's been such a needed and welcomed change of pace. I love it. I spent over an hour today just sitting on the floor with them doing various projects and activities. We had such a great time. Ironically, I did pick up my phone to grab this cute pic of them working together on a Science thing we have!

They are growing up...too fast in my opinion. I don't want to miss anything. Statuses can wait, tweets can wait!

30 Years

Ok seriously, I'm not even sure where to start because it has been so long since I blogged. This summer has been absolutely crazy!!! We have traveled so much and seen so much family. Ayda's school starts Thursday so maybe, just maybe, I will catch up. We'll see!

But today I turn 30! If you know me at all you know I love my birthday. But this year it does feel very strange. Going into another decade. Leaving my 20's. It's bitter/sweet. I still love my birthday and have always said I will never say I'm "29...again". Each year is a blessing! So as I enter into my 30's I wanted to reflect on the amazing last 10 years I have had in my 20's. When I think about it I am reminded of how blessed each of those years were!

August 13, 2002 I turned 20:
2002-2005: Enjoyed my college years
2005: Graduated from Samford University
          Started my first job as an RN at CHOA NICU
          Met Kevin
2007: Got engaged to Kevin!!!
          Married the most incredible man!
2008: Had Ayda Grace in the comforts of our home!
2009: Quit work at CHOA to be a SAHM to Ayda
          Moved to FL
          Became a Bradley Instructor
2010: Attended my first birth as a doula!
2011: Had Hadley Mei in the comforts of our home!
2012: Moved to North Carolina

So it has been a busy 10 years, and those are just the highlights, with LOTS of excitement. Graduation, job, my sweet husband, 2 babies, new endeavors, moves. I can only hope the next 10 years are as exciting and happy. I am definitely going into my 30's excited. I can't wait to see where our family goes and what we do. Kevin and I have so many goals set and I can't wait to continue doing life with him as we raise our family.

And of course I have to say the last 10 years would have been nothing without God, my family, friends, co workers, students. I have grown so much because of the people who have challenged me and encouraged me along the way. You know who you are!!