Bring on Spring

Ahhhhh, finally a nice, warm day to spend outside!  The Krauss' came up for a visit this weekend and we all enjoyed our time together, we miss them so much!  We just got a big snow on Thursday so the kids had a great time playing in it, they even 'found' a snowboard and learned how to ride it.  Now Abbie is asking for lessons!  On Sunday, the sun came out, melted most of the snow and was such a lovely day so we headed out to play with the Wubble Bubble (a leftover present from Christmas from Aunt Codie), play with trucks, and take our first family bike ride. The girls did a great job of keeping up, Abbie with no training wheels and Tessa with her big girl bike.

 

Mommy/Tessa Date Day

Working about 30+ hours per week this past month has been difficult, to say the least.  It has truly made me realize how precious my time at home with my little ones really is and how grateful I am to my amazing husband for letting me live out this dream of mine (staying home with my kids, not working 30+ hours per week).  I'm ready to have my time back at home, one more month...I think I can, I think I can, I think I can. 

I snuck away for some quality one on one time with my quintessential middle child today.  The words "this was my most fun day mommy" made the freezing temperatures all worth it.  An hour of swimming at the warf with sweet Tess was just what the doctor ordered.  A few games of "shark", swimming around the lazy river with her in her life vest without holding on to an adult (a HUGE deal for her), playing red light/green light in the water...all to see the smile on that face.  Priceless day. 

I'm back!

As I was putting Jake to bed last night and he laid that sweet little head on my shoulder as I stood by his crib like I do every night.  Then as he does every night, he flopped his body so that he was being cradled in my arms like a baby, I realized that I wanted to get back into documenting these precious little moments that are flying by right before my eyes.  I want to always remember my bedtime routine with him where I change him into pj's and change his diaper while he squirms around like a crazy person, then sit on the floor looking at books with him, then finally standing by his crib to sing him "take me out to the ball game" (great lullabye, I know, but he loves it).  Laying him into the crib as he's signing "more" for one more song before I leave his room. 

I want to look back in a few months/years/decades and re-read this with my kids/hubby and smile thinking about all of these sweet little routines, the great times, the sad times, the hard times, the accomplishments, etc.  I want to remember it all.  Abbie is 6 now, and I already don't remember even a tenth of what I swore in the moment, I would never forget.  Truth is, my memory sucks (thanks mom, totally inherited that gene from you)!  So this is my solution. 

Abbie Turns 4!!!

Wow, I have a 4 year old daughter???  Where in the world did the time go?  And what a 4 year old little girl she has become!  She's one of the sweetest, most caring, compassionate, smart and beautiful 4 year olds I know.  We celebrated her birthday 2 times on Saturday.  Saturday morning started with a "fairy" party for just little girls (her choice).  She had 9 of her closest girl friends over to Carole's (the perfect place to host a little girl fairy party).  They started the party off by getting dressed in their white and pink tutu's and wings, then headed to the kitchen to make cookie fairy wands made of fondant and sprinkles.  Then we headed into the living room to complete the makeover with facepaint and bling bling stickers.  After the little fairys were all made up, they went to the dining room to enjoy a "tea party" complete with real china that Abbie picked out.  After cupcakes and presents, we all headed outside for pictures and to watch the little fairies run around the farm.  I think they all had a great time and I know Abbie felt just like a little fairy!

In the afternoon, we let the boys come to her party/cookout.  Friends and family came back to Carole's around 5:30 and we had a relaxing, laid back cookout.  The food was great, spending time with friends and family was perfect, and the laterns we set off at the end of the night was the finishing touch to what she claims was her "best birthday ever!" 

A huge thank you to everyone who helped make Abbie's birthday perfect.  She's gone through a lot this year with selling our house, moving in with MiMi and Poppa, giving away our dogs, and saying goodbye to her friends at her culpeper preschool.  I wanted her to have an extra special birthday party and I think that was accomplished!  She's truly blessed (as are we) to have such special friends and family.

I saw this on Pinterest (that's how a lot of my sentences start out lately), and thought it was the perfect idea so I had Abbie answer these questions and I'm posting it on here because I figure that's where we're likely to keep up with it best.  It's tough keeping up with things when you don't have your own house!  So here are her 20 answers as a 4 year old...

1.  What is your favorite color?  pink

      2. What is your favorite toy?  princess

      3. What is your favorite fruit?  banana

      4. What is your favorite tv show?  dora

      5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?  Mac and cheese

      6. What is your favorite outfit?  Pink butterfly dress

      7. What is your favorite game?  Hi ho cheerio

      8. What is your favorite snack?  Crackers with cheese

      9. What is your favorite animal?  giraffe

    10. What is your favorite song?  Twinkle twinkle

    11. What is your favorite book?  Tinkerbell books

    12. Who is your best friend?  Carson

    13. What is your favorite cereal? Lucky Charms

    14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?  Splash in the mud puddles with my umbrella

    15. What is your favorite drink?  Chocolate milk

    16. What is your favorite holiday?  Thanksgiving

    17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night?  Flopsie and princess blanket

    18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?  Lucky charms

    19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday?  Breakfast for dinner

    20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A mommy

Goodbye Spring Ridge Road!

Well, the time has come to say goodbye to Culpeper!  We finally sold our house-the proverbial ink is dry on the paperwork finally and we are finished with the stress of selling our house. In a few years, when we are happily living in our new home, we'll look back on this time and laugh (or maybe get mad all over again about our beautiful trees). 

Saying goodbye to Spring Ridge Rd was more difficult than I imagined.  TJ and I went back to do one final cleaning (alone-hard to clean with 2 little girls running around) and as we were finished and about to leave, we did one final walk through.  I walked into Abbie's room, and the tears started.  The memories of the last 6 years flashed before my eyes.  This is the house that we got married in, adopted 2 dogs in, started our family in, brought our 2nd baby girl home to.  This is the house that we learned that we are good at fixing up houses with not a lot of money!  TJ's blood, sweat, and tears are in this basement.  This house has so many wonderful memories!  And leaving Culpeper is tough too.  We have made lifelong friends while in this house (how will I survive not being 8 minutes from the Krauss'), had the BEST neighbors while in this house, joined a moms group that got me through those first baby jitters.  And sooooo much more.  How do you say goodbye to the start of it all??  I guess we will do it with a smile on our face thinking of the next house that we will make even more memories in.  Goodbye Culpeper. 

Cinderella and BFF’s

   

I took Abbie and Savannah to their first ever real Ballet.  We went to a church in Staunton to see Cinderella and the girls had a ball.  They both sat so still on the floor watching, then came to cuddle with me a little;-)  They loved getting dressed up and spending the day together.  It’s the sweetest thing ever to see my little girl and my little sister’s little girl grow up together being best friends.  I hope they stay that way always.

Happy Birthday MiMi!

We had dinner at our house to celebrate MiMi’s birthday-crabcakes, salads, and yummy cake.  The cousins had a great time playing together.  They don’t see each other often but when they do, they play great and make up for lost time.  Happy Birthday MiMi!