Matching Buddies

September 9, 2014 Laura

A week or so ago, Thomas and I had a visit from my friend Jenny and her little boy, Henry. When Thomas was born, Jenny had gifted us with a cute little outfit from Janie and Jack and said that she'd gotten one for Henry too so that when the time was right, they could have their pictures made together in them. Well, when they came for their visit, the time was right.

Who doesn't love two matching little boys?!

I realize my photography skills are majorly lacking. I didn't have time to edit any of these either. :(

Henry is exactly two months older than Thomas so he's a few milestones ahead of him right now. It's funny how big a difference two months is during the first couple of years but then after that we'll just say they're the same age.

Henry is pretty much sitting up on his own these days but during this particular photoshoot, he was feeling a little lean-y. Also, see Thomas's hands? I am pretty sure he's going to be a thumb sucker. His hands are always in his mouth. He doesn't always find his thumb right now but I think once he starts getting it consistently, it'll become his favorite thing ever.

"Get off me, bruh."

Henry's turn to let Thomas lean on him. :)

Thomas was the one who eventually put an end to my picture-taking. Poor little fella just won't sit happily for long!

Fun-Filled Weekend

July 28, 2014 Laura

I think if Katie Wynn were capable of voicing a clear, coherent opinion, she'd say, "That was the best weekend ever!!" We had a weekend full of events that kept our little toddler busy and excited. I kept my camera and phone close so I can recap it all in photos.

Friday

My mom had my niece Bren with her on Friday so we planned a picnic at a local park on the river. We found a big shade tree to spread our blanket out under and had a basket and cooler full of sandwiches and junk food! Our picnicking neighbors had a kite which kept Katie Wynn mesmerized. We had a slight breeze which kept the weather pretty perfect. After filling up on a bottle, Thomas thought it was pretty much the best napping environment ever.

Isn't Bren just the prettiest little girl? Her bright blue eyes and freckled nose just kill me!

Mimi let the girls use her as a jungle gym all while she kept Thomas calm too. She really is the best Mimi.

After I got out the baby wipes to clean up a spill, the girls decided that Mimi need a baby wipe bath from head to toe! So much for putting on makeup, Mom...

Ol' Mr. Blue Eyes. I can't remember at what age Katie Wynn's eyes changed from blue to hazel, but I kinda hope he keeps his baby blues!

He thought Bren was pretty stinkin' funny!

The sun started creeping onto our blanket so it was time to wrap up our fun little picnic. But we weren't headed home just yet! Instead, we made a pit stop at the splash pad for some water fun.

I ended up having to get way more involved than I bargained for since my timid girl wouldn't run through the water without me. I got just as wet as they did! Mom hung out with Thomas and tried to take pictures as we ran by.

As expected, Katie Wynn didn't even make it all the way home before falling asleep. After a good long nap at home, we ended up over at my parents' house for a cookout that evening. Poppy got to log some time on the playground with his granddaughters.

I didn't really take any other pictures since it was a little chaotic (who am I kidding, it's always chaotic), but we had a good time. We left with our bellies full and got the best night's sleep in a long, long time! Our lights were out before 10 and the first noise we heard was at 6:13 when Thomas woke up. A glorious full 8 hours of sleep!

Saturday

Matt hit the golf course early Saturday morning so it was just me and the kiddos. I couldn't resist snapping some pictures of Katie Wynn in her room because I thought she looked so darn cute!

She played on the floor with Baby Doll while I worked on laundry. I was afraid she was gonna fall asleep before it was time for our outing!

Speaking of our outing, we went swimming! My aunt and uncle graciously invited us over to their pool since my parents had Jett and Bren for the weekend. We all donned our swimsuits and took them up on their offer. This was Katie Wynn's first time to use a puddle jumper and she loved it. She jumped in the pool over and over and over again!

Of course, since Bren was jumping in the water to Matt, that meant Bren had to too. He would try to see how far out he could make her go.

Any time Matt needed a break he'd just head to the deep end. He knew they wouldn't follow him there! Every time he jumped in and went under water, Katie Wynn would throw her hands up and say, "Where he go?"

Just like the day before, three hours in the water meant we got another awesome afternoon nap out of Katie Wynn. It's a good thing, too, because there was still more fun to be had! My parents had a party to go to so Jett and Bren came to our house to hang out. We decided to go to a local diner for burgers and shakes for dinner. Yum!

When we got home, Bren and Katie Wynn took a bubble bath together. Isn't it funny how big kids always really get into playing with little kids' toys? Bren played with every bath toy we have while Katie Wynn just splished and splashed.

After the bath, they played with Katie Wynn's dolls until it was time for her to go to bed. I'm sure she was exhausted from all the weekend's activities but, unbeknownst to her, there was still one more surprise coming on Sunday!

Sunday

Thomas didn't make it quite as long Sunday morning as he had the morning before, so I was up early to feed him. Thankfully he went right back to sleep so I could crawl back into bed for some more Zzzzzs. Matt got up with Katie Wynn and they made a trip to the donut shop! When I got up, I snuggled with my little girl on the couch while watching Frozen for the first time ever!! We only made it through half of the movie but I can tell it's a good one. No wonder it's all you ever hear about these days. I was impressed that Katie Wynn sat through as much of it as she did (we never really watch tv at home). She would get distracted during the talking scenes but was glued to the screen during any song. (I think this may be because they listen to the soundtrack at daycare so she knows the songs already.)

Sunday morning was the first time I was able to put Katie Wynn and Thomas in matching outfits for church so of course we had to take pictures. I've had several matching outfits for them for a while but Thomas is just now getting big enough to fit into his. You can't imagine how exciting this is for this Southern mama. Let the fun begin!

Below is the picture and caption that I posted to Instagram.

"Yesss!" I hope this isn't foreshadowing to Thomas's teen years any time he gets kissed by a cute girl.

We put Katie Wynn down for an early nap so that I could wake her up when her surprise arrived.

And her surprise was.....GUS!! Our friends Sarah and Charlie and their son, Gus, came over for a visit and to meet Thomas. K-dub always has so much fun with Gus so I knew she'd be excited to see him!

We stripped the kids down for a little watermelon action. I didn't even know if KW would like it (I don't - bluh! - so I never buy them). The jury's still out because she never really took a bite, but she loved holding it!

It's funny to me how they assumed their typical gender roles. Katie Wynn sat with her legs crossed while Gus spread out. Gus dove right into his watermelon and let it drip down his belly while KW didn't want to make a mess. Typical male and female. :)

The best way to clean off sticky watermelon is by jumping in the pool! And don't worry with a swimsuit - aint' nobody got time for that.

Is this not livin' the life or what?

And then it just got even better when I brought out popsicles! I love the bubbles in this picture...

...but I love their giggles in this one!

This one too. :)

I know what you're thinking - "Surely the weekend fun's gotta stop there, right?"

Nope! A couple hours after our friends left, Katie Wynn and I stopped by my brother's house to drop off some stuff and, after getting to pet two kitty cats, she got to ride on the four wheeler!

All good things eventually come to an end, and that's what happened with Katie Wynn's Best Weekend Ever. We ended it with several loads of laundry and, as you can see, Katie bug was as excited about that as I was.

I'm not sure if next weekend will be able to keep up with all the fun we had this past one. We've already got a couple things on the docket though so who knows? Maybe it will be!

Splash Pad!

July 9, 2014 Laura

I'm a huge fan of splash pads and a new one just opened up very close to our home. It's awesome because it's brand new, perfectly sized for Katie Wynn-aged kids, and is free! My friend Emily and I met there with our kids one Thursday morning and pretty much had the place to ourselves. I'm sure it will become more and more crowded as word gets out that it's open, but we enjoyed letting our kids run wild while we could.

I tried to snap a few pictures on my phone but none of them are stellar. All four of the kids were too scared to actually run through the water sprinklers, but they loved for them to be on so they could splash around them. The slide was a super big hit too.

Four kids looking in one picture? Impossible.

Narrowing it down to three doesn't make it any easier...

In typical kid fashion, if one was interested in the slide, they were ALL interested in the slide.

Actually, Katie Wynn pretty much stayed on the slide the majority of the time we were there. She has definitely gotten past the fear of going down them alone!

It's funny, even though Katie Wynn is much closer in age with the twins (they will be in the same grade), she almost always ends up buddying up with Alice and they play together. They even showed up in matching swimsuits!

Checking out the water spouts, but keeping a safe distance...

Anna Charlotte's bright blue eyes are always so pretty!

Emily came much more prepared than me. Thank goodness she brought snacks!!

Alice was a good big sister to all three of the little kids and doled out cheezits to each of them.

By 11:30, we were loading everybody up to head home for lunch. The best part about a morning at the splash pad is definitely the awesome afternoon nap!! I can't wait to go back!

Spring Break 2014

April 13, 2014 Laura

Still in catch-up mode here; hopefully I'll get caught up someday soon!

The last week of March, we decided to head to the beach! We have been wanting to squeeze in one more beach trip before baby brother arrives since we don't know when we'll be able to go again, and spring break sounded like the perfect time. We hit the road bright and early one Saturday morning and I'll be honest, it was the most trying road-trip with Katie Wynn so far. She was not too keen on sitting in her car seat all day! We finally arrived in Florida around 3:00 in the afternoon and were all very ready to get out of the car.

Among the many, many things I forgot to pack (I literally fell asleep on the packing job) was my camera so any and all pictures from the trip are straight from our iPhones. Which means there aren't a ton (compared to last June!) and they aren't that great.

Our friends Sarah, Charlie, and Gus joined us at the beach. I guess since Charlie is the only teacher in the group that he was the only one technically on Spring Break, but the rest of us like to pretend we still get Spring Break too.

It's crazy how much these two little friends have grown since our last meet-up at the beach! Here they are hanging out in the bike trailer...on the left is the most recent picture and on the right is from last June. Can they please stop getting so big?? (Also, on the left is when we had just gotten to the outlet mall. Doesn't Gus's expression show a typical male's feelings about a day of shopping??)

Katie Wynn and I went for a short dip in the pool that afternoon. The water was freeeeeezing when we first arrived...thank goodness for a heated pool! We cranked up the heat and it was good to go by the next day.

And of course our matching swimsuits are intentional. :)

I think it was that first night that Charlie made gumbo for dinner and it was delicious! You really can't beat having guests over that cook dinner for you (twice!). :)

The name of the game for this vacation was definitely RELAX. We had a slow start to the next day, with everyone kinds doing their own thing. Katie Wynn and I hung out on the porch until her daddy finished working and could join us. She was in a great mood!

That afternoon we biked down to a cool little playground. Wish we had this in our backyard!

Gus was brave enough to climb up and slide down himself!

Just like last June, the swings were a big hit with our little people.

Here's another set of Then and Now pics. Isn't it crazy what a difference 9 months can make?? Sarah, our babies are getting too big!

KW is so big that she wanted to try the big kid swing. She may think she's ready but her mama is not!

Katie Wynn had zero interest in getting out of the bike trailer when we got back home. She played hide and seek in there for about thirty minutes by herself!

Even Gus couldn't convince her to come out!

Of course, she finally came out when she realized there was a pile of rocks she could play in.

Later that night, poor Gus got put into time out - probably for something that Katie Wynn did. She didn't like that he couldn't play anymore so she sat with him and kept him company.

When they were released from time out, they played a mean game of chase up and down this little pathway in the kitchen and living room. I know the pictures are blurry but they were so funny running after each other.

The next morning is when our Spring Break vacay really started to go south. Both kids had arrived with snotty noses so we'd already been wiping constantly, but on this particular morning, Katie Wynn woke up with crusty-sealed eyes. Yuck!

I had actually taken Katie Wynn to the doctor right before we left because I thought something might be brewing, but the doctor told us it was just a cold and there was no need for anything more than Mucinex. When she woke up with goopy eyes, we figured a trip to see a doctor was on the agenda for the day. On his third attempt, Matt found a walk-in urgent care clinic that would see her and, after a forever long wait, got the dreaded diagnosis of double ear infections. Not how I saw our vacation going! Thankfully he left with three prescriptions so we could get to work knocking them out.

It was a nice sunshiney day so as soon as they got home, we went to eat lunch at a restaurant where we could sit and play outside. The kids enjoyed running around in the grass!

Like typical spring breakers, these two did a LOT of drinking!

After lunch, Katie Wynn and I took a very quick dip in the pool while her daddy went to pick up her presecriptions. I had to do something to keep her awake because she was fading fast!

After everyone had napped, we decided to take a quick trip down to the beach. We couldn't travel all that way without actually laying eyes on it. Plus, Charlie had brought a kite and it was a perfectly windy day for it. As it turns out though, lots of wind on a sandy beach doesn't make for happy sick toddlers, and their daddies miiiight need to practice their kite flying skills before our next kite-flying attempt. It was a short trip that didn't necessarily leave a good impression on poor Katie Wynn. :(

We had contacted a local babysitting service so that we could go out for an adult-only dinner on our last night, but with KW's ear infections and Gus coming down with something too, we decided we better hang around the house. Sarah cooked us all some delicious spaghetti for dinner and then we were probably all in bed earlier than any other night of the trip.

Charlie had been getting sick over the course of our vacation and the next morning I woke up with the beginnings of a sinus infection. Gus took a trip to the doctor we'd seen the day before and got an antibiotic and steroid to help him feel better. With four of the six of us sick, we hit the road for home and called it quits on our vacation. I really hope we get a re-do soon where we can actually get out enjoy the beach and warm weather! Except next time, we'll have an additional kid in tow...

A Shower for Henry

February 25, 2014 Laura

This is my parents' dog, Henry. He's lazy and overweight but the best cuddle buddy you'll ever find. He enjoys walks on the beach (seriously), wet dog food, and licking babies from head to toe. He dislikes exercise, haircuts, and pottying outside when the ground is wet. He may drive us all crazy occasionally, but we love him!

But that is NOT the Henry we threw a shower for on Saturday.

Instead, we showered the baby Henry my friend Jenny is about to have. You may remember his airplane-themed nursery from here. Jenny is just five weeks out from her due date so it was high time we gifted her with all the things she'll need for Henry's arrival. Allison and I chose to copy his nursery and carry the airplane-theme out for the shower.

Easy peasy name banner made out of scrapbook paper.

I used scraps of fabric leftover from the nursery to make the bunting for the mantel.  I sent it home with Jenny so she can use it to decorate her hospital room when the big day comes. — I used scraps of fabric leftover from the nursery to make the bunting for the mantel. I sent it home with Jenny so she can use it to decorate her hospital room when the big day comes.

I made tiny airplane decorations out of Lifesavers, Smarties, and sticks of gum (an idea we found via Pinterest).

The coffee table had bowls of traditional airplane snacks: pretzels, peanuts, and Biscoff cookies.

Since the party was from 10am to noon, Allison and I decided on brunch type dishes. Brunch is pretty much my favorite meal ever, so I was especially excited about all the food!

The best monkey bread ever, if I say so myself.

Ham and cheese puffs, also very delicious.

You can't go wrong with Sister Schubert's sausage-filled rolls.

Individual servings of fruit parfait.  These were quite tasty!  Katie Wynn gobbled one up as soon as she got home. — Individual servings of fruit parfait. These were quite tasty! Katie Wynn gobbled one up as soon as she got home.

Red velvet cupcakes with handmade (by Allison) propellers on top.

Since it's been an exceptionally cold winter, we decided to have a hot chocolate bar to go along with the food. Go figure that it was over 60 degrees on Saturday! Oh well. It may not have been very fitting but at least it was still cute. We named all of the garnishments to go along with the airplane theme.

Whipped topping = turblence and Peppermint Schnapps and Bailey's = jet fuel

The arrival time for this party was set for Jenny's due date!

The best part of the shower was definitely getting to spend the day with some of my very favorite friends! Some (including Lydia and Margot) traveled in from out of town to help celebrate baby Henry. It was so good to get to see everyone! (I'm realizing right now that I did not do a good job of getting a picture of everyone there. Shame on me.)

Jenny insisted that I take a picture of every gift that had pretty wrapping. I should probably be offended that she didn't want a picture of my present.

With all the great stuff she received, Jenny should be just about set for Henry's arrival. And let me tell ya, that is gonna be one well-dressed little boy.

We couldn't let the party end without a picture of the guest of honor and hostesses!

Cheers to Henry! (The baby, not the dog.)