We have a preschooler!

 

 

So Rylie started preschool this week (well technically last week if you count her orientation day)! She did PERFECT! I can't believe how easy it went, for both of us! No tears, no fears, just "Goodbye, see ya Mom!" Her teacher praised her politeness and sweetness, and said she seemed to catch on to things really fast (classroom rules, raising of hands, etc.) She is currently going just 3 days a week, part time, but it's really is a nice break for me too! Lilly and I come home, she takes a nice nap (usually) and I work or read or catch up on a tv show, it's great! There have been a few tears when we go to pick Rylie up, however, it's just because the nap cots have been taken out and she thinks she has to nap, haha! Silly girl.  

Lilly is just a crawling little monster these days! She just wants to explore everywhere, and you can usually find that she's wandered down the hall and into the bathroom (still so thankful that we bought a one story these days!!) She is still having slight problems navigating the one step that goes down into the living room, she can go up but hasn't quite figured the down yet :( We've had a few minor falls, at least it's just one step and wood floor. She also threw her first tantrum the other day! I took a toy from her for one second, to buckle her into her car seat, and BAM! she flipped out!! We're going to have a super fun terrible two-ser on our hands!

 

And I have I mentioned how good our dogs our with these kids? Just check out Cyra below - as the pile got bigger and bigger and bigger, she just laid there so still and didn't seem to care one little bit!

Our summer so far!

 Geez, time flies! Especially when I realize I have not blogged in over a month, oops! Life gets busy I tell ya! Well, so far this summer, we have celebrated a big 4 year old's birthday and a big 2 year old's birthday (cousin Chase), gone to our share of pool and splash pad play dates, hosted our very first play date in our new house, had the most QUIET 4th of July EVER, had friends come into town and visit, saw a teddy bear making factory, went to the children's museum, napped (and not napped!), slept through the night (a few times), chopped off many inches of hair, and just yesterday - someone officially started CRAWLING! Ahhh we're in trouble now! :)

  

Our Lilly-bug's personality is really coming through nowadays! She's going to be a feisty one, that's for sure! She knows what she wants and will definitely let you know she wants it NOW (usually be screaming her head off, it's fun). She's finally getting better at napping, and almost sleeping through the night... she likes to tease me by doing it for a week straight then waking up usually one time again. Ahhhh what I wouldn't give to sleep until past 7am these days. I guess I could go to bed earlier, but what's the fun in that?! Momma needs her book/tv/relaxing time! 

Rylie has proven to be such an awesome big sis! She will entertain Lilly for me, a very big help sometimes (like when I'm trying to vacuum the house or cook dinner). Lilly does NOT like the vacuum one little bit, I've never seen her get more hysterical over anything else. I try to sweep as much as possible, but I've got to vacuum at least once in a while! Sorry Lil! 

 

 We are really enjoying the area that we moved to, there is so much to do around us! And the mom's group we found has been super great, and we've made some good friends so far. It's nice having other moms and kiddos to go play with during the day, instead of being stuck at the house all day (which sometimes happens too - it is summer). Splash pads are great! We get to cool off, burn off some energy, and the naps when we get home are usually GREAT! 

 

Our girls playing so cute together :) I love watching them grow and play together! Reminds me of me and my sister, we always had such a blast together! Fought too, yes, but the good memories outweigh the bad for sure! I'm so happy our girls will have each other to play with but also to be best friends from now until adulthood.

 

Rylie LOVES crafts! Is she my kid or what?! I love that she is getting older and we can do more structured crafts together ;)

 

And last but not least, I chopped my hair off! It was so overdue, my poor hair was just being pulled back daily (I have a grabber here)... plus it was just so hot and I needed a change. So chop I did!! I'm still getting used to it, but I am loving it and it feels GREAT! :)

 

Until next time! Hopefully sooner than a month from now! Haha!

Almost 4?! And 7 months?!

Where does the time go?!

It doesn't seem like it flies by day by day... but then BAM! Suddenly it's less than 2 weeks until your eldest turns 4! She's not a baby anymore! She surprises us day by day how big and smart she is, and she's proven to be quite the helper. She's by far the best entertainment for Lilly - by a long shot! I notice this even more when Rylie gets to spend the night at Nana's house, and Lilian is so much more trouble to entertain by myself. Rylie also gets the best laughs out of her :)

Our little Lilly-bug is growing by the day also - she's pretty much in mostly 12 month sized clothes at the moment. This little chunker loves her food! I'm excited for her to start more solid finger foods, just waiting on a few more teeth before that ;) She is full-on rolling over, at least from back to belly, and loves to practice in the middle of the night (FUN!) So out the cute comfy bumper went, and in went the mesh one, just in case! I think she is slowly becoming a tummy sleeper. However she wants to sleep is fine, I just wish someone would tell her that sleeping all night is even better (one of these days, I keep telling myself!) At least nowadays, I'm only up once to feed her thank goodness. I still yearn for the day that I can sleep past 7am after an all night's rest!

These days we are enjoying the last few days of 90 degree weather before the hundreds hit and we are forced to stay inside. Chris is working out of Phoenix now, at least for the meantime, so it's been great to see him everyday! I know Lilly especially likes to see another face besides mine all the time. We are loving our house, and finally feeling officially settled in - I still want to take nice pictures and share, when my house is clean (one of these days, haha!) And I can also say, I'm very happy to NOT be pregnant this summer, it should be a much more pleasant experience :)

Appreciation

Lately, every time I have wanted to write a blog post, it's usually been after one of those "trying" days - like the kind where you can't wait to put the kids to bed, veg out in front of the tv and go to bed. I have had a lot of those days lately. I could go on and on about how difficult my little teething/fussy/short napper my Lillian has been for the past couple weeks, or how Rylie is still having those days where she just can't seem to get to the potty in time and it's panty change after panty change. I could go on and on about all that... but I had an epiphany just the other day. I realized how dang lucky I am to be able to stay at home with these two ladies, in our wonderful home, with a husband who provides and takes care of us without complaint, and close family nearby who helps out whenever possible. I'm lucky to have a few close friends that I can call or write and vent to when needed, and get no judgement just understanding. I'm lucky to have healthy children, who are at most times happy and fun to be around. I love being a mother, even when it's hard. I have to remember this sometimes, when Rylie just won't be quiet during baby's nap, or when Lilly is screaming on the way home from the grocery store. Being a stay at home mom is hard, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. I wouldn't want to miss any of this :)

 

March Madness! (Not really, it's been wonderful)

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 We are officially moved in to our new house, yay! What an amazing feeling! Yes, also overwhelming and stressful, but what an amazing thing to OWN your own house and make it into your home. I cannot begin to tell you how different our daily life is, and how much easier it has been in so many ways! We have so much more room, more storage, ONE STORY (love!), and a nice, safe backyard to play in. An added bonus is this screened-in porch which is basically like another entire room, and our dogs have taken to it amazingly. They spend most of day out here and in yard, while it's nice weather right now, and have been sleeping out here too. We still let them in to hang out during the day, but it's nice that they have an area of their own. They have adjusted very well!

 

So have the kiddos! Rylie is just loving her new room, it is set up so cute! Can I just say I didn't realize how many TOYS and STUFFED ANIMALS this kid had until I had to pack them up and move them?!! I even had gone through them all before packing them up! Wow... well, at least Lilly will have a ton to play with when she gets a little bigger too. And Lilly is just loving her room as well! She's not in her crib yet, but the crib sure looks cute all set up! We are having so much success with her sleeping in the swing still, she takes much better naps and sleeps all night (most nights).

I promise I will post more pics of the house soon, we are still working on hanging pictures and getting everything put away - not an easy task with two kids! But it is looking so cute and we are all loving it! We love the neighborhood so far too, what a friendly culdesac! And I discovered just the other day on our walk that the park is only about 15 min walk away, perfect! :)

 

 Just like big sister with the iPad...haha! Learning early!

 Rylie holding little sis :) Lilly is 5 months old already!

 Practicing in the jumparoo!

 We found the park! Awesome!

Lillian's first time in the swing, I think she liked it :)