Springtime Highlight Reel

Spring means a lot more outside playtime, and a lot less time to get any blogs written! I realized I haven't really sat down and written anything on a general family recap in quite some time.  I think I'll let pictures do most of the talking though, because more outside time means way more pictures on my camera roll than I can count. 

So here's my highlight reel for this spring and all the little moments I don't want to forget in the crazy life we are living. 

We've been basically living on the trampoline. The kids love to do tricks and crazy jumps on there and want me to film everything they do so they can look back and see their cool trick.

We've also been loving the camper. We've been twice this spring, once to Lincoln Trail State Park and once to Red Hill State Park, and the kids keep asking when we will go camping again. We have one more camping trip for sure in June when we go to Michigan, and I'm hoping that we get to go again later this fall once this baby is maybe sleeping through the night. 

Eric and I celebrated 11 years married this May. I am thankful every day for this man and the life we've built together.

And the kids have had a fun filled spring as well! We spent lots and lots of time outside together doing all the things- fishing, four wheeler riding, eating ice cream, feeding baby cows- you name it, we have probably done it.

They've gone on tractor rides with my dad. (And Katie loved it so much that when she saw another tractor in the field she asked if they could go on that one next haha.)

They've had swim lessons.

And T-ball games.

Katie turned 2! (You can check out that blog post here if you missed it).

Ashley had a performance for her dance class at the Wright Family Center. 

The twins had preschool screenings to start school in the fall. 

Ashley got her first pedicure. (And only messed up her toes about three times because she couldn't stop touching them.)

And the kids spent some time with their cousins-I love the bond that these guys all have!

It's been a fun spring, and I can't wait to see what the summer months have in store for us!

Katie: Two Years

How Katie is two years old is beyond me. I swear we were just bringing her home from the hospital yesterday. But seeing how fast Brayden and Ashley turned four, I know that time won't slow down for her (or this next baby either!). So I'm soaking in all the good (and not so good) things that I never want to forget!

Katie has the orneriest smile and the most infectious laugh. The way she says "more daddy" when she wants him to keep tickling or kissing her melts my heart and always brings out a smile in me and Eric. 

She wants to be big so badly and do everything that Brayden and Ashley do. Just a few examples- she much prefers to swing on the big kid swings instead of hers, and will always say "higher mommy" when I'm pushing her. She wants to do everything herself, and has actually gotten really good at putting her own tennis shoes on, and even on the right feet! She will only eat off the same plates that Ashley and Brady use, and will only use the real silverware like they do as well. She tries to ride their balance bikes, wants a pony in her hair like Ashley has, and would much rather ride in the twins' carseats than her own. 

Her vocabulary is SO big it amazes me sometimes. She speaks in pretty long sentences and her articulation is pretty clear. She has the sweetest "why?" that drags out the "eeeeee" at the end of the word. 

This girl also has a 'tude, and that bottom lip will stick out pretty fast as she slips you the side eye. She doesn't like to be told no or to share my lap with Brayden or Ashley. Sometimes she will lay face down on the floor and just pout. She's recently hated getting strapped in her car seat and will start saying "ouchie" before you even have the buckles tight. Some days I can jiggle the neck straps and legs straps a bit and say "all better" and she's fine. Other days she cries for a while about them. It's honestly a toss up at this point.

We went through a stint a month or so ago where she cried and cried when I left her at daycare, but thankfully she's over that now. And while Katie is the best sleeper ever, we also went through a stint a month ago where she refused to lay down and go to bed, and got so mad she crawled out of her crib. After that night we finally dropped her mattress to the floor! Thankfully that only lasted about a week, and she's back to her normal sleep routine- goodnight and "luh you" to daddy, goodnight to mommy as I put her in her crib, "i want a kiss", and then sometimes "one more kiss", then "see ya morning, bye mommy" as she cuddles her purple baby, lobster, and most recently her pillow and blanket. We definitely can't complain!

Katie weighs 25.6 pounds and is 34.5 inches tall. I'm still squeezing her into 18 month clothes. I have the 2T upstairs, but just haven't had the time to switch over her closet yet. She's in size 4 diapers and size 4 shoes. She has 16 teeth, 8 on the top and 8 on the bottom. 

She loves carbs, fruit, eggs, and oreo cookies, and will only eat meat if it's chicken nuggies, pepperoni on a pizza, a hot dog, or if you can convince her to take a bite off of your plate. She loves to be outside and is very concerned about where the dogs are, though she doesn't always want the dogs close to her. She likes having her own things, coloring, jumping on the trampoline, and reading all the books. 

Katie likes to put on "lips"- or chapstick- and if you can't find her, she's either hiding to poop, rummaging through things she shouldn't be in the office, or in our bedroom getting my chapstick out of the nightstand. 

 

Katie loves her best bud Austin. And if you have an owie, she is right there to check it out and show you her own owies- she is quite proud of them. 

Katie is singing the ABC's and has started counting. She always wants to watch "Elsa", which we initially thought meant that she wanted to watch Frozen, but have to come to realize she just wants to watch a movie. One of my favorite things she says, in addition to her "luh you", "more daddy", "I sit right here", and "why", is "I faster" when she's outside playing and starts to run to catch up to Brayden and Ashley. She loves to drive, and will want to sit in the front seat to (aggressively) turn the steering wheel before you make her get in her car seat. 

I'm so looking forward to watching her become a big sister in a few months, though I'm slightly nervous of the sibling jealousy that I know she's going to have. Hopefully it's short lived. If you ask her where the baby is, she will point to her own belly and say "my baby". And if you clarify to ask where mommy's baby is, she will now usually pat on my stomach, but still sometimes gets a little too high and says baby is in my chest. Maybe by the time baby is here she will have it 100% figured out ha!

We can't wait to continue to watch this big girl learn and grow, but my golly I'd love if time slowed down a bit. Happy second birthday Katie, we love you so much!