Aunties and Birthdays and...Go Broncos!!!

Between aunties and cousins visiting, a birthday celebration and the Broncos winning the Super Bowl, we've had lots to celebrate over the last couple of weeks!  My sister, Savannah, and her son, Bane, came out to visit the day after my official retirement.  It was fun to have the little cousins playing together.  We went to the Mall of America for Toddler Tuesday and even rode some kiddie rides, which was a huge hit!  Then we drove home for 2 hours in the biggest snowstorm of the year (a drive that should have taken 25 minutes.)  But we got to play in the snow the next day, and I made snow ice cream with Lyla - a childhood tradition I remember loving.  L was not impressed by the flavor and ended up adding salt and pepper.  She was going for savory and sweet, I guess.

The morning of Lyla's birthday and party Auntie Alycia and her daughter, Brailyn, came into town.  Savannah and Bane didn't leave until that evening, so we had lots of family in town to celebrate!  The party was at a local indoor park, and the kids had a blast.  I tried talking Lyla into some "sensible" clothes, but she could not be deterred from her fancy party dress.  :) 

We surprised Lyla with an Elsa cake at the party.  All she saw before the party was the frosted cake, which she found to be totally anticlimactic.  She'd lost her Elsa doll when we went ice skating in December, so when the new doll showed up at the party she was so excited.  :)  Thanks to all our friends that came to celebrate!

The next day was the best day of Ryan's life, I'm pretty sure.  I mean, forget the whole wedding and baby thing, the Broncos won the SUPER BOWL!!!  We had a little get together, naturally.  Two parties in one weekend?  No big deal.  But we kept it low key, and then woke up the entire neighborhood when Ryan and Lyla ran screaming through the streets with our Broncos flag.  In shorts.

Here are some photos of all the fun!  :)

- K

 

 

toddler tuesday

 

ridin' rides

we happened upon Blue - who is one of sis' favorites.  :)

 

helpers making birthday cakes

4th birthday!

cupcakes for breakfast :)

both girls were thrilled to see Goan!

this is when Evie spotted Goan.  :)

I made a measuring stick to start recording the girls' heights on their birthdays :)

Brailyn trying on L's new Rapunzel wig.  I think she's feelin' it.  :)

getting ready for the big game!

family selfie...minus L

I'm honestly shocked there were no holes in the walls after this happened...

We Have A Four Year Old!

On Saturday our girl turned four!  She slept in until 8 (yay!) and on her way down the hall to our room said "I can't believe it's my birthday!"  When she appeared by our bed she made us look at how tall she was and then how long her arms and legs had gotten - as if miraculously overnight she'd grown a mile.  :)

This year has been a big one for my sweet L.  This was the year she officially went from toddler to kid.  She stopped playing independently, next to friends, and started playing with friends.  And boy, did she make friends!  She used to count our friends as her own, until we moved into a neighborhood with kids galore and she found out what real friends are.  And now she can't get enough. 

She laughed and played and became even more obsessed with Frozen.  She was obsessed with dress up and pretending, and has some legit acting chops.  She learned how to spell and write her name, started drawing self-portraits, and became even more independent than ever. 

Man, they're not kidding about that 3 year mark being hard.  There was a heck of a lot of defiance around here, and at times it's hard to keep in mind the beauty that goes along with raising high spirited, strong-willed little girls.  There's a great responsibility in channeling that energy in the right direction, and it can be exhausting.  But it's also my favorite thing in the world.  I tell her every day that God made her, He made her perfect, and He made her just for us.  The fact that I was chosen to raise this beautiful, outgoing, loving, friendly, caring, heart-of-gold, strong-willed girl just totally blows me away.  I will never be more thankful or proud to be her mama.

Love you, little Lyla!  Now stop growing!  :)

Here are some of my favorite photos from this last year.

- K

 

 

 

Goan Goan

We're four days into this whole stay-at-home business, and having all sorts of fun, but I would be remiss to not mention our completely wonderful nanny that we said goodbye to last Friday.  And by goodbye I mean so long, because there's no way we ever let her out of our lives completely.

When I was pregnant we lived in Denver and had endless options for care givers in our own family.  When we decided to move I suddenly had to think about a stranger taking care of my precious baby.  So I made the best decision I could - I didn't think about it.  :)  I took care of Lyla and worked until she was almost 10 months old.  I had no idea how to choose a caregiver.  I toured daycares and signed up for Care.com.  I finally nixed the daycare idea, and posted an ad for a nanny - which I never looked at again.  I have no idea how many applicants I even got.  A couple months later I posted another ad, and actually looked at the applicants but never reached out to anyone.  Finally I posted an ad, looked at the applicants, and reached out to a woman named Joan.  When she showed up to the interview I found out we were the only interview she'd gone on.  I was immediately comfortable with her and offered the position on the spot.  I even felt excited afterwards.  I still believe that meeting was no mere accident.

She worked with us for just over 3 years, and was the only nanny our girls ever knew.  And boy, did they love her.  Lyla deemed her "Goan Goan" as soon as she could talk, and it's stuck ever since.  Even Ryan and I refer to her as Goan.  :)  I thought a lot over the years about how difficult it would be to nanny kids whose mom is right around the corner.  But she handled it effortlessly and we made it work.  I will always be impressed with her ability to stay calm.  I literally never saw her lose her temper - not something I can say for myself.  At all.

Joan was absolutely the perfect fit for our family.  She was generous and loving and beyond helpful.  She left a mark on my babies, my pets, and my home, and I'm so glad to call her a friend.  She's a part of the family, for better or worse, and we'll never let her go.

Love you, Goan!  Here are some photos from that last day.  :)

- K