Daddy's Little Helper

Caitlin has had a fascination with the lawn mower since she was old enough to realize what Jason was doing outside and she loves to watch him mow the grass through the windows or to run outside and say hi and watch him work. So, for her birthday we bought Caitlin her very own bubble mower to use with Daddy.

She was super excited and kept pointing to her little pink mower and saying "Caitlin's lawn mower?" as if she didn't quite think it was hers to keep.

Caitlin got right out in the yard with Jason and kept pace with him for about a quarter of the lawn and then became more interested in the bubbles than the mowing part.

Caitlin loves to help with cooking dinner, laundry, vacuuming, dusting, taking the dishes out of the dishwasher and now mowing the lawn... I'm starting to feel guilty not giving her an allowance. What's the going rate for a two year old?? :)

The Animals go Marching...

Every Tuesday, we have been joining our neighbors at story time at the West Cobb library on a somewhat regular basis for the past several months... the girls look forward to it every week! Ms. April, the children's librarian does a phenomenal job picking out books that coincide with the theme that week, leading all the kids in silly dances, choosing an interesting short movie and and putting together a quick craft for all the kids. But, with the recent cuts in library budgets, our story time is taking the summer off and will begin again after school starts in September. :(

On this last Tuesday, each child was supposed to bring their favorite stuffed animal for an animal parade around the library. It felt very naughty walking around the library with loud music and even louder musical instruments, but the kids had a blast!

Ava shook her maracas and Abby played the tambourine...

We did get some very strange looks from the people in the library... but most of them were nice enough to smile and wave at all the kids marching by.

Apparently they weren't given any kind of warning about a very loud and long parade that day- I almost felt bad for the people trying to read or study...almost...

After the parade was over, the girls made their own animal parade!

We love story time and can't wait for it to begin again in September!

The Hot Days of Summer

This summer we have spent almost every day at the pool, but on those few hot days where we stayed at home, we had to come up with some other things to do around the house. Caitlin got this sand and water table for her birthday and so far it has been a great distraction for the girls.

Of course, the next best thing to the pool is a sprinkler!!

and we definitely tested out all kinds of sprinklers...

With temperatures in the high 90's, and the heat index above 100 degrees, it is almost unbearable to be outside without some kind of water to cool you off! I am already looking forward to fall... :)

Caitlin's Pool Party

For Caitlin's 2nd birthday, we decided to make it fun and easy. With hot summer days and kids of all ages, a pool party was the obvious choice! There had been hard-hitting storms happening every day for the past week and we were very lucky to have a sunny day to celebrate...

We started out the day with candle-blowing-out practice and sang to Caitlin over a breakfast of coffee cake (her request) and then headed down to the pool to set up and hang out with friends and family.

Ava and Caitlin were so excited to have all of their friends over to their neighborhood pool- I don't think they really knew who to play with first. Caitlin spent most of her time on the steps with Sydney, her friend from school who also happened to be wearing the same swimsuit, and being tossed around in the pool by her Daddy and Uncle Tony. Ava had a blast diving in the water, racing with her friends and doing flips off the side of the pool. But... the thing that everyone enjoyed the most were the water balloons- score one for a last minute purchase at Target's dollar spot! Even the big kids got in on the water balloon action- I'm sure there will be payback for the balloon Jason popped over Uncle Tony's head... :)

Kaitley and her sister Sydney came dressed to impress- we loved their sunglasses!

Caitlin was so excited that her and Sydney were wearing matching swimsuits. She kept pointing to Sydney's swimsuit and giggling...

Hanging out with her two favorite guys...

Bode even woke up for a little while to get in on the action...

Nothing is better on a hot summer day than an ice cream cake!

The practice paid off... Caitlin had no trouble blowing out her candles :)

In fact, she was a little ham and soaked up every minute of being the center of attention.

Her favorite aunt and uncle came to wish her a happy birthday... and thank goodness they were there! Alina was one of the only ones that could figure out how to fill up the water balloons with out breaking the balloons- so we put her to work!

Caitlin held on to her water balloon the whole time- we even had to bring it home with us in a bucket!

After we got home and Caitlin had a much needed nap- we opened all of our gifts. Our friends were so generous- a huge thank you to everyone! Ava picked out this Barney doll for Caitlin, which is a current favorite, and then Tony and Alina spoiled her with this enormous bear!! We love him and have made him a permanent fixture in our living room- everyone that comes over usually ends up cuddling with him at some point.

Thank you to everyone for making Caitlin's birthday such a special day and a fun party! I have a feeling that there will be many, many more pool parties for Caitlin in her future :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Caitlin

June 26, 2010

June 26, 2011

Dear Caitlin,

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! You turned two today and it is hard for me to believe that another year has flown by! I was looking back over the months of pictures and it makes me a little sad to see how much you have grown up and changed over such a short time.


You are officially a full-fledged toddler and you fight for your independence daily! You tell me "No, I do it" anytime you feel like you are getting short-changed out of doing something for yourself. You like to put on your shoes by yourself, open granola bars and fruit snacks yourself, put the lids on your sippy cups yourself (this one can get messy), brush your teeth by yourself, and on and on and on... if it's something that you just physically can't master yet or it is something that is too dangerous for you and I won't let you try, you can blow into a pretty impressive tantrum. These are the moments that remind me that we are entering the two's! :)

You love exploring- your curiosity is so fun to watch. You love going out on our front porch and looking for little snails or ants- you were amazed the other day by a lizard that ran across our driveway. You love to ask "what's that?" and "what doing?" when Daddy or I are doing anything of interest. You want us to stop and explain to you what we're doing and then you usually ask to help or want to join in. While sometimes it can take twice as long for us to finish what we are doing, I love watching your brain work and absorb all of the new things you are learning about. I hope that you never lose that natural curiosity and love of learning- it will carry you so far in this world!

You love to dress up and your sense of style is pretty creative. Even at two, you know what you want to wear and exactly what you don't want to wear. Recently, you have been on a leotard kick, but when I can convince you to wear something (anything else), you usually pick out your favorite tea pot shirt. I think it is because we have so much fun singing "I'm a little tea pot" through out the day, but whatever the reason is, it is going to be a sad day when you grow out of it. I can't wait to see how your fashion sense develops... I have to be honest, I am kind of hoping that you choose a cute and preppy style, but, I will love you no matter what you choose to wear- promise.

I don't know if you know this yet, but you have the best Daddy in the whole wide world. He loves you and Ava so much. He works hard all day and then nothing makes him happier than coming home to your hugs and kisses. He plays chase with you, spins you around constantly, takes you to the pool and he even likes going shoe shopping! Seriously, you are so lucky.

When you are a teenager and Daddy is being annoying or totally unfair about boys, just remember, he only has your best interests at heart.

You and Ava are two peas in a pod. You wake up in the morning and the first question out of your mouth is "Where's Aba?" Your whole face lights up when she comes downstairs and you jump up to give her hugs. You love to be where she is and play whatever game she is playing. Your Daddy and I call you guys Monkey See and Monkey Do because you copy her every move. If Ava is singing, you are singing- if Ava is twirling and dancing, you are twirling and dancing- if Ava is pushing the shopping cart, than you want to push the shopping cart, too. I love seeing the two of you together, it brings me so much joy to see the friendship you are building.

Of course, you both have your ways of annoying each other and getting on each others nerves- you love to take the toy or doll out of Ava's hands without asking or she wants to hug you or mess with you right after you've woken up from your nap and you definitely take a little while to wake up... but, for the most part you and Ava share an amazing bond and I hope that it will only grow and get stronger over time.

You love to move and shake it! You jump, spin, dance and twirl all day long at any given opportunity. We have frequent dance parties where you, Ava and I turn the music up and dance around the living room without a care in the world. Your face lights up when the music comes on and you like to hold my hand and spin around the room. These are some of our best times together- the ones that I will remember forever.

When there is no music playing, you love to play Ring around the Rosie, or London Bridge, or just spin around until you are too dizzy to stand. Usually you can recruit Ava to play with you, but you are happiest when Daddy and Mommy play, too.

Because you love to move and you were too young to start dance classes, you started gymnastics. You ask to go to 'nastics' every day- I hate telling you that it is still several days away! At the beginning, you and I took a class together where I could help you learn some of the basic skills. But once summer started, you moved up to a class all by yourself. After two weeks, your teacher Ms. Jennifer told me that you were above the skill level of all the other kids in the class and suggested that we move you up a level. So, you started in the 30-36 month class and it seems to be a perfect fit for you!

You are so flexible and focused for your age- many parents comment on it when you are in class. It makes me SO proud to watch you doing something that you truly enjoy and of course as your parents we will always think that you are amazing at anything you try to do, but it helps to hear that other parents think you are great, too! :)

Let me tell you baby girl... you inherited my sweet tooth! You could eat ice cream for breakfast, cookies for lunch and cake for dinner and you would be totally and blissfully content.

In your Easter basket this year from Uncle Tony and Aunt Alina, they brought you and your sister each, among other things, a huge chocolate bunny. No one thought anything of it as you and Ava were pulling out bubbles and sidewalk chalk and all kinds of fun things. A little while later, we realized that we had not heard from you in a few minutes and I went searching to find where you were hiding. I found you in the play room in the corner chowing down on that chocolate bunny! It had only been a few minutes, but you had already made it through both ears and most of the head!! No one even knew you had taken the bunny out of your basket! You made me and Daddy laugh for quite a while that day... :)

And speaking of food, you are not a normal toddler when it comes to eating. Most kids your age love hot dogs, macaroni and cheese and chicken tenders- but not you. You have a very grown up food palette- you like chips and salsa, guacamole, steak and spicy szechuan stir fry. I can't wait to share many meals with you of chips and salsa, queso and eventually (in many, many years) margaritas! :)

The one thing you are not a big fan of is riding in your car seat. I'm not sure if you get bored, or feel uncomfortable or get car sick- but you do not like riding back there. It takes a lot of preparation and planning if we are going anywhere over 15 minutes. I have to pack snacks, games, books, juice... anything I can think of that will keep you occupied and it goes in the bag!

You are definitely Mommy's Little Helper. You help take the dishes out of the dishwasher, you help make dinner, bake cookies, unpack groceries and lately you will just pull up a chair from the kitchen table to hang out with me at the bar. You love to spray Windex on all of our glass doors, mirrors and glass coffee tables and you are also a huge fan of vacuuming. Now, if only I can figure out a way for you to help with the mopping, we'd be all set! :)

My sweet girl, nothing makes me happier than being your mommy. Sometimes when I think about you and Ava, it feels like my heart might burst right out of my chest- even as I am writing these words, I am tearing up. And while that sounds really sentimental and will probably be embarrassing to you in a few short years- I hope you never have reason to doubt how much I love you. I know Daddy and I tell you that everyday, but I hope that you truly hear it and feel it and grow to fully understand the depth of our love for you.

Caitlin, I LOVE being your mommy. You are so special and you bring so much joy to our family. I can't wait to watch you grow and blossom this year!

Love you Caitlin-boo,

Mommy

Time Flies...

7 years together and only a lifetime to go! What an amazing year it's been- many more ups than downs, many more kisses than fights and many more days spent laughing than crying. What more can we ask out of life?

Thank you for being such a loving and supportive husband and such a caring and involved father to our girls- and thank you especially for loving all of us with all your heart.

Happy Anniversary, love! I can't wait to spend the next 70 years by your side...

All My Heart xoxo