You and Me, Babe

There are so many things to love about Lyla being in preschool.  She's having so much fun, making such great friends, and soaking new information up like a little sponge.  But one of my favorite things is all the precious alone time with my little Evie Joy. 

The first time I took Evie out on a quick mommy-daughter date she was so confused about why Lyla wasn't in the car seat next to hers.  I said "It's just you and me, babe!"  We headed to Target and Starbucks and shared a cake pop while we meandered through the aisles.  We weren't even there to do grocery shopping!  It was so fun to relax a bit and just focus on her.

Ever since that little date whenever we get into a car alone Evie will say from the back "Just you and me, babe!"  It's so darn cute, and it makes me so glad to have this time together.  Some days are spent just running around doing errands, but we also manage to sneak in play dates.  Whatever we're doing, just spending that time with her is my favorite. 

Here are some pictures from a recent park trip.  :)

- K

 

We were in the area, so I took her to the park by our old house.  Man, did it bring back memories.  Lyla and I LIVED at that park when she was a toddler.  This bouncy grasshopper was always a favorite back then too.  :)

 

We picked up the movie Land Before Time the other day, so Evie kept calling this dino Cera.  :)

 

When we first started going to this park Lyla was too tiny to sit on that bench by herself.  We'd lift her up onto it and her tiny legs would dangle.  That feels like just yesterday!

 

Swinging has always been both girls' favorite thing about the park.

 

They had a new cool swing that let us swing together.  It was so fun!  Such a good day.

Seasons

Ryan had to go down to Davenport, Iowa on Saturday for a rugby game so L and I had a little girls day, complete with donuts, pizza and the park.  I hadn't been to the park with her in weeks because it's been a little chilly and she's fighting a little cold so we've been bunkering down with Dora and the Bubble Guppies lately.  Ryan had taken her the weekend before for a bit and told me what a pro she was all of a sudden.  Sure enough, as soon as we got there she was off.  Climbing up the steepest stairs as fast as she could and flying around the playground with all the bigger kids, taking turns going down the biggest, scariest slides.  And she didn't need any help at all!  With any of it. 

I was so excited for her having reached another milestone and having so much fun up there, so proud of herself for every slide and tunnel and stair set she accomplished.  I was also a little relieved, no longer needing to climb up there and follow her every move, crawling through tunnels meant for much smaller people and following her down every slide.  But as I stood there on the ground watching and cheering her on, I couldn't help but notice the chill in the air and the leaves mostly off all of the trees and I realized that another season has come and gone.  And now, having a little one, those seasons mean so much more.  It's not just Summer to Fall to Winter, it's a season and chapter in her tiny little life.  I sat there reflecting on how much she's changed since the beginning of the summer.  It's amazing to think back to the days where she couldn't even go down the smallest slide without our help, and just a few short months later we have this big kid running around, totally owning that park.

We had one heck of a summer.  From the start of pigtails, to pools, lakes, and splash pads, to obsessions with school buses, then the park, then puppies, then getting her very own puppy!  We had countless dance parties, read millions of books, watched her skin turn bronze and hair bleach blonde with every day spent out in the sun.  It was a summer I could live over and over and over again.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the last several months.  I'm sure they won't make you cry like they did me.  ;)

- K

Last Weekend

So now that it's almost the weekend I can finally get around to a post about last weekend.  I mean, it's not like blogs are supposed to be timely or anything.

Last weekend was a really good one, and even included some Pinterest success stories, which given my track record isn't exactly the norm.

Saturday was Lyla Snoozapalooza '13.  She slept from 7pm to 9 am.  NINE AM.  I slept in until 8 and had an entire hour to drink coffee in peace, which was kind of amazing.  Except for the slight paralyzing fear I always feel when she sleeps too long and all I want to do is bust in that room to make sure she's still breathing.  Am I the only one that does that?

Once she finally woke up I started my Pinterest experiment #1, power blueberry muffins.  And they were SO delish.  Lyla even helped out with the stirring, in between dancing to the Spice Girls with her dad.

You can find the muffin recipe here.

 
After muffins and a trip to the park we came home and Lyla took a 2 1/2 hour nap.  Have I mentioned that she is officially down to just one nap a day?  And it's typically 2 hours right on the dot.  But why not throw in that extra half hour when she got 14 hours of sleep the night before??

When I went into her room I found out that Carlos, our Mexicat, had snuck in and napped in her crib with her the entire time.  Lyla was ok with it.

Sunday we went to church and MADE IT ON TIME.  Can I get a "hallelujah"?!  Then we went out to this super cute area just north of Minneapolis to have brunch and take pictures with one of Ryan's rugby teammates for Rugby Mag.  It was hotter than Hades and soo humid, so we decided to sit outside for brunch.  Never mind the frizzy, sweaty messes we were all becoming before said photos.  But brunch was delish, and it was fun to get to know the other couple, so not a total failure. 

Is anybody else getting sick of seeing her in the same dresses over and over and over??  I am.  And yet all of the stores are now carrying sweaters, jeans and boots and it's in the 90's every dayyyy.  Come on Fall, can you just live here all the time?

To celebrate the heat that night I went ahead and made some piping hot chicken tortilla soup.  Another Pinterest find, which was tasty, but I'd save it for a nice cool day.  Lesson learned.

I also made a tomato-avocado salad, which it turns out isn't super photogenic, but very, very tasty.  And it didn't have sweaty, frizzy hair, so that's nice at least.

I know, I know.  My photography is breathtaking. 

You can find the soup recipe at the bottom of the page here, and the salad recipe here.

- K

A Visit From Grandma and Grandpa

As it turns out no one likes to visit Minnesota in the winter... or the summer.  But with Joan the Nanny out of town for two weeks, Grandma and Grandpa had no choice but to come help.

We got a bit of a reprieve from the heat and humidity and managed to find lots of fun things to do.  During the week while Kassi and I worked Lyla drug her grandparents on a tour of every park in the cities.  She is becoming a bit of a savant of parks.

On the weekend we hit Prior Lake Farmers Market which is world renowned for its healthy, organic fair.  We ate donuts and croissants.

We made a day of it with some rugby in the afternoon.  And if there is one positive to us having added a dog to menagerie of animals and babies at our house is that we can take the who troop out to rugby games.  Oh, and I made my return number 8... which wont make sense to most of you, but for me its like I have been wearing the wrong size shoes for two years and just got back in the right fit... make sense?

To be continued...

- R

My Strong Willed Child

 

 

The other day Lyla and I went to the park with Kevin, and these are the only two pictures I was able to take before whisking her off the playground and forcing her little butt to go back home.  Don't let that smile and those pigtails fool you, this girl is a sassy one.  She is one smart cookie and tests her boundaries all. the. TIME.

 

I've said a lot of prayers for my baby girl in her 18 months, and among many other things have prayed for her to be strong and confident, to have a strong drive and that she always knows exactly what she wants and goes after it.  (Having suffered from a bad case of indecisiveness all my life I hoped she would be able to avoid that.)  As days go by and I see her little personality developing I can see exactly these things coming out...which I now realize will be so good for her in the long run but probably very hard for her parents over the next 18+ years.  Sigh.

 

Going back to the park the other day, she is getting really good at climbing around that playground by herself and I can finally start to trust that she isn't going to accidentally trip and fly 15 feet off the dang thing.  For the longest time it was a heart attack waiting to happen for me, so I'm glad we're past that point.  However, she now thinks it's hilarious to run straight at those open areas, grab the bars and stick her little body as far over the edge as possible, then stick out a foot too.  I mean, one wrong move and she's asking for a broken leg!  Not to mention finally giving her poor mama a legit heart attack.  So now as soon as she does that I pack her up and send her little booty back home.  Unfortunately she hasn't really figured out she's being punished.  Or else she just doesn't care?  They say consistency is the key with this discipline thing, right?  So one day maybe one day she will actually listen to me.  Right??

 

For the time being I've started on a journey with Dr. James Dobson and The Strong Willed Child.  Wish me luck.

 

- K 

18 Months

This little lady turned 18 months today, and I celebrated by singing "It's Your Half Birthday After All" to the tune of "It's a Small World" all day long, which she seemed to love.  She might be the only one that enjoys my singing, and I'm afraid those days won't last much longer.

We also went to the park, but I think she enjoyed the walk home the most.  We stopped on the path for a good 20 minutes while she busied herself by manhandling the stroller, eating goldfish, spilling goldfish, taking a break to sit and suck her thumb, and repeating all of those things again and again.  She was so entertained, and let me tell you, I'll take it over another Barney episode ANY TIME.

Today I kept thinking about how insignificant a period of 18 months really is in life.  A year and a half of marriage or a year and a half into college, it's just not that impressive really.  But these 18 months, in my hundreds of months, have been the biggest deal.  They have redefined me and are absolutely the most significant months of my life. 

Happy Half Birthday, my sweet Lyla Rose.  I love you more than you ever will know.

- K

Sunday

Sunday was a pretty perfect day.  Lyla and I let dad sleep in for Father's Day, made a big breakfast and went to church.  It was a beautiful, sunny day so we walked to the park after church.  I had to take a picture of the sky because I was beginning to think blue skies no longer existed.

 

L is really getting the hang of the playground, running and squealing and trying to throw herself off of the highest parts.  Never a dull moment with that girl.  She definitely plays hard...and then sleeps hard.  One of the best parts of my day is going in her room after a nap where she greets me with a big smile, a "mama!" and a sweaty, crazy head of curls.

 

After all that we went over to Joan's house to play in the lake and feed some baby ducks.  I think Lyla might think "Father's Day" is actually "Lyla's Day."  ;)

 

- K