Young Love....

Are arranged marriages still socially acceptable, I suppose not, but if they were my friend Jamie and I would have one lined up!! Jaden and our little Ella. Jaden has been very kind and loving to her since she was born. He always calls her "ELLL-La"! Jamie and I would love the instant ticket to be related! From what I can see so far Jaden would treat her real well, he is such a sweetie!

On a recent walk we saw the love! Jaden was riding with Eva and Tessa....he had finally had enough, and we were still far from Jamie and Matt's house....Problem solving time???

"Seriously girls, your cramping my style!???? Hey, where is Ella???" Well, could he fit in the baby stroller with Ella???? Yep, he sure did! It was adorable and it solidified the idea, he and Ella were cozy comfy! So, here is my official vote to make arranged marriage a concept again, I think it might work! But until then (like at least 30 years as far as Daddy Kevin is concerned), we will savor the sweet friendships of our kiddos! "Now this is more like it"

Party in my crib!

Was that just a flying binky or am I losing my mind? I was recently putting clothes away in Ella's closet. Ella was just "chillin'" in her crib, talking up a storm. I can't get enough of her talking, it is such a sweet sound. She seems to be getting louder at it and there are new sounds from her each day! So as I am enjoying her discussion with me, I see something move out of the corner of my eye...was that a bird, a plane??? No, it was a binky! Did she heave it with her strong Mommy-like toes? Did she throw it? Who knows, I never will but she let out a tremendous giggle and a snort...I adore this sound from both the girls, nothing quite like a good laugh! She smiled a huge Ella Smile, open mouth and bright eyes! Such the happy girl!

I told Tess the story and she said "how her do that Mom?" AAHH, the joys!

Wonderful Ruby

"Can wes do it again sometime..." this is Tessa's newest catch phase, a close second to "Why?"... She asked the question about doing it again sometime after our recent visit with me dear friend Angie and her daughters. Angie was one of my amazing college roommates, I was blessed to have three of them. I am so glad we had the opportunity to have a visit with them. As always, it was short but sweet. Our older girls are seven months apart and the little ones are eight months apart, so it is unfortunate that we don't live closer.

Angie cooked us a wonderful dinner and the girls played while we visited and tended to the "littlest girls", we had a fabulous time. Tess loved her time with Ruby. It was a hoot to listen to their conversations, such cute three year old girls, and their language, sweet as can be! It was a great visit and the answer ...."Yes we can do it again sometime!" Maybe Tess and Ruby can room together at college and put up with their nutty moms coming to visit, but until then, we will enjoy them as little ones!!

Sister Snuggles

I loved having an older brother growing up and even more so now that we are adults. I have the most kind, caring and genuine brother anyone could have. I thankful for him. When I was growing up I often thought it would also be great to have a sister. I also feel that God's plan was for me to see the sister bond through our daughters. I see the bond in Tess and Ella already and it is PURE JOY!!

A Walk on The Wild Side...

wOOhOO! It was a fun day had by all...The girls, Gamma, Pops and I ventured to the zoo for the day! It was a beautiful sunny day and the day together was wonderful! Tess was in pure amazement of all the fascinating animals. She loved talking to the monkeys..."Hey Monkey, over heres monkey,her looking at me Mom." she also thought the elephant trumpeting was interesting..."its loud Mommy".

A day at the zoo is something I will never grow out of, I love it! The nature of the animals and to watch them interact is always intriguing. Tess was very interested in the Mommy animals with their babies, "Ders the Mommy and Babies." Ella also enjoyed the sights from her stroller and the fresh air. We all took in the many aspects of beauty from the day. Tess can't wait to go back and "take Daddy with us next time."

Hello Spring

We love the fresh air!

Pollen aside, spring is marvelous! There is something about the fresh smell of grass, flowers and the beauty of all of the new life! I always looked forward to this time of the year and even more now that I can share my love for this time of the year with the girls. Kevin has an amazing way of making our property look like spring in just a few short days. He doesn't mess around, he gets loads of mulch, cuts the grass, weedwacks, treats the pond and in no time (actually a lot of time but in my mind it is magic because he is so good at it, I love my amazing man!) ...poof...we have spring! So, here's to Spring...The beauty of God's creation and our blessing to be able to enjoy it!

Rollin, rollin, rollin...

Our baby is Rolling all over the place. Once Ella discovered her ability to roll over from her back to her tummy she is making an art of it. Tess wanted to know "what her doing Mom", I told her that she is rolling over and that in a few months she would be crawling...is that possible that crawling in the next milestone already??? We are rejoicing in her being a healthy developing little bundle!

Tess is also very concerned about Ella's table manners...."Mommy, her a big mess" she said to me today as I was feeding Ella her green beans. Tess is not at all convinced that the odd green liquidity mush that we feed Ella is anything remotely close to green beans. Even more humorous is the fact that she is in total denial that she would have even had that to eat. But Ella is not worried about it, she is loving her new practice of having something better then rice cereal and formula. She thinks it is tasty!

Ella is a happy go lucky little baby and nothing gets her laughing belly laughs like Tess does. It is such an amazing sweet sound to hear the innocent voice of Tess talking to Ella mixed with Ella's giggles. Tess also loves to hold Ella's hand, their little hands are adorable! Life is grand!

Toys, Goodies and Clothes....Oh My!

One of the many joys of Grandparents is the fun of the unexpected. Our girls have four fabulous Grandparents that take such good care of them in numerous ways. Most importantly, Our Girls are Loved!! They also tend to get goodies and special privileges from their grandparents, which they also love!

My Dad had some fun this past week preparing for our visit to see he and Mom. He is a shopper when it comes to his grandchildren. He will find some of the most unique and quirky things...it is very fun. His most recent find ...Clothes for Tess....and then at a local garage sale....Toys for Tess. He found a play beauty shop and a kids desk. The items are in great shape, he cleaned them up and the sweetest part was how excited he was to gave Tess see them.

Before we got into town and arrived at their house he set them up, add some finishing touches, like new crayons, drawing books and a cup of fake flowers for the desk. He must of had some extra time on his hands because Mom had been at our house for a few days. He lined up the rubber ducks on the side of the tub. So when we arrived Tess had to get the tour of the goodies. I hope she realized it won't be such a bonanza every time we visit but in the meantime, she is really excited! When she saw it she asked me to sit down in the beauty chair, "I will fix yous hair Mom, you can like it" Fun, Fun!!

Our family is so blessed to have a loving close family on both sides of the family for our girls to grow up with!!

Our Pot of Gold!

I think we found our pot of gold....

Our Family and Our Home!

This is from our front porch looking out Sunday evening. Tess was so excited!!

Life is Good!

Mother's Day!

It was a very special Mother's Day.

I was able to be with Kevin, the girls, and our families! Ella was dedicated to Christ at our Church in the morning and we were able to share in that celebration with our family

Very special!

This Mother's Day I thought I would have some reflection and this is what I came up with....

Kevin is the best team mate in the world....I love you!

Once I became a Mom, I truly understood what my Mom means when she tells me she loves me....WoW!

I am truly blessed, I have an amazing, Mom and Mother-in-Law!

I have the best friends in the world to learn with and share with!

The power of a praying mother is what we all need and need to be!

And....The thing I love most about being a Mom to our Girls is........

EVERYTHING!....THE ENTIRE JOURNEY!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday to YOU!!

Our baby girl is now three years old! The time has sure passed quick and we are so thankful to be so blessed with two healthy daughters. The joys of Tess are endless, she brings true happiness to our lives and the days are filled with fun, love, snuggles and pure energy....That's our girl, and she is LOVED!!

Tess had a fun filled birthday weekend....

Tess woke up all smiles on her birthday! She was so happy to see the birthday sign and balloons in the kitchen at breakfast. Our dear friends Jamie, Eva and Jaden came over for a play date,lunch, and flower shopping at Tessa's request. She said she wanted to "play, play on her birthday."...SO, we did. Then Gamma and Pops came to town in the afternoon.... we had a special dinner with our family on Friday night at Lorene's House. The food and time together was amazing! Tess was so thrilled to have a special dinner on her birthday and to hear their special song for her....very memorable!

Saturday was the big party day, of course we had to have some play time then a long nap to prepare! We were so happy to have a special party at home with our treasured family and friends we shared dinner and cake to celebrate that our Peanut is a healthy and happy three years old.

We are so happy to be where we are, surrounded by who we are surrounded by and truly thank God for the glorious blessing that fill our lives....Thank you.

Happy Birthday to our girl....so fun, funny and full of energy and life!!

We LOVE YOU TESS!

Good Morning Birthday Girl!

Tess enjoyed getting "ready" for her party! Out by the pond with her friends to feed the fish YUMMY! "Daddy, I had fun, but I am tired...Can we snuggle?"

The Girls!

Bye Bye BEBE....The Fairy Flew In Last Night!

Who would have thought, but I should have know with our little one.....A MILESTONE of a Day!

Last night Tess and I were discussing her binky AKA: BEBE. I was holding Ella while Tess was playing in the tub and we were discussing life with a binky. Tess asked me "Does Ella like her BEBE likes me", "Yes, Honey she does". I started to talk to Tess (as I have been preparing her for some time now) about the time when BEBE needs to go to babies who need Binkys. We have read books from the library about this big event and talked about it often. I told Tess about the Binky Fairy last night, she was on board right away!!

"Tess, the binky fairy flies in to get binkys when little kiddos are ready to stop using them and takes them to babies who need them"...."Den (then) what Mommy?" Well, (THINK FAST KIM), then the binky fairy leave big girl gifts for you". After bath time she brought me her binky and said "what do we put it in?"...

We went to the gift bag bin and she chose a bag (zebra print), she put all 6 binkys in it. She sucked on each one of them as she put them in the bag. TOO PRECIOUS, (hold back the tears Mommy) at this point I am asking myself, "Is Mommy ready for this big girl step????" We hung the bag on the front door handle with a note in it... I will be keeping that note forever", it was so sweet, she wanted the fairy to know it was for the babies and that she would like some candy in the bag in the morning.

Tess went to bed fine, after a lot of talking about random things, she only asked for it once. Then she was VERY pleased with her goody bag when she woke up and found it on the door. Today, she requested her binky a few times, we had some tears and some challenging behaviors, I think one would call it "Withdrawal" but overall, we are really proud of her. Se was a bit today, but she wasn't really sure why. So, she got snuggled A LOT, and challenged me A LOT pushing some limits, but all part of it. I can't believe she is getting to be such a big girl, I am a bit emotional about it. More importantly I am thankful to God for the healthy growing of our girls, and glad that I have pictures of the little peanut with her BEBE.

My First Trip to the Dentist!!

Tess had her first visit to the dentist office this morning. With her third birthday is this week, it was time to go and have a checkup and get acquainted with the dentist. I was a bit nervous considering how Tess woke up this morning, slightly out of sorts...a bit hyped up....I thought this ought to be fun in a dentist chair!

Grandma Sherry came to stay at the house with Ella, so Mommy & Tess could go to the dentist. I had my teeth cleaned first and Tess sat on my lap and watched with amazement as the wonderful hygienist explained all the tools and details of what she was doing, you could tell she was a Mommy of a two year old.

Then, it was the big girl's turn....She did AWESOME! We were quite impressed. She sat still, she opened her mouth "Like a Daddy Lion" and she thought the mouth vacuum was pretty neat. She ended up getting her teeth cleaned, her teeth checked, and a bubble gum fluoride treatment...Bonus! She was so proud of herself, you could see it in her beautiful little grin....I Love It!!

Wow, she is such a big girl. Time sure goes by fast, and she walked out proud and ready to come back next time....Goal Achieved! Now if we can convince her that flossing is fun!

I was so proud of our little peanut! We ordered her birthday balloons, had lunch with Grandma and called it a productive day, and it was only 1:30 p.m.!!! Well done Tess, we are so proud of you!!!