Phone Phavorites

Time for some more photos from my phone's camera roll!

This girl has decided she LOVES peaches!  After completely ruining a nice shirt, there is a new rule that they have to be eaten nekkid.  :)

I can NOT put Thomas in his crib for any amount of time without Katie Wynn begging to get in with him.  Now that she has learned how to jump, it's getting a little dangerous. 

Wearing his swimsuit for the first time!  It is ridiculously hard to find teeny tiny swimsuits.  Most of them start at size six months.  We received this 3 months one as a gift and Thomas already kind of fits in it.

My little mama bear had to help me get him completely dressed while he was in his bed.  "Hat on! Hat on!"  Good thing we protected him from all that sun in his room.

It took way longer than it should have but I eventually got all three of us suited up, lathered up in sunscreen, and to the pool where it turns out the two of them just wanted to hang out in the buff.

I hate that I occasionally let her watch Let It Go on my phone.  I know everything is fine in moderation but I really don't want her to be glued to tvs and i-devices.  She mostly gets to watch something when my Mom Energy is running really low for the day.  I snapped these pics because she looked so grown up to me!

Guess who's finally decided it's cool to be smiley occasionally?!?  These gummy grins totally make my day!  One big smile can almost make me forget about an hour's long screaming fit.

The day that I finally let Katie Wynn push Thomas in her little stroller was probably the best day of her life.  She was beside herself excited when I sat him in it.  And, like the good mama bear that she is, she made sure he got his paci back when he dropped it.  

Just chillin'...

I swear, this girl keeps us laughing.  After taking the picture below on the left, I asked her if her belly was big and she looked down at it and then told me "noooo-oh" as if that was the most ridiculous question ever.  On the right, she had carried my rain boots to and said "Hep me, Mama!" so that I could help her get in them.  Then she couldn't even move!

First ride on the lawn mower!  I used to beg my parents to let me ride with them; I remember loving it.  She seemed to enjoy it too.  I was shocked she didn't cry when Mom started it since she's scared of loud noises.

I've been working on perfecting my selfie with the kids...

Since Thomas enjoys being upright so much, we got out the bumbo for him to try.  He liked being able to sit up like the rest of us!

She doesn't stay still for anything!

Sometimes when we're playing in the floor, Matt thinks he can sneak in some exercises.  He had some help with his crunches!

This past weekend we drove to visit our friends, the Kinsers.  It was our first night away from Thomas as he stayed back with my parents.  Katie bug loved getting to see Gus and spend the night with him!  They took us to a really cool neighborhood park where we could have stayed and played for hours if it hadn't been so dang hot!!  That evening, the kids played with Gus's grandparents while we got to go on a kid-free double date.  It was a great night!

Ok, the baby in my arm is crying now (I've been typing one handed...) so I better wrap up.  More soon!

Fun At The Playground!

We've had some unusually nice weather for this time of year and I absolutely love it!  It really makes having two small children much easier when it's not miserably hot outside while they're playing (or you're holding them).  To celebrate the cooler temps, I started taking Katie Wynn to a playground in the early evenings after picking her up from daycare.  

The playground we visited has LOTS of slides so I thought it would be a big hit!  The first day, she was pretty much scared and too timid to do anything.  I think she went down the slide one time while sitting in my lap.  The next day she was braver and would go down the slides while I held her hand.  By the third day she was a pro and I couldn't keep up with her!  (It probably helped that one of her best buddies was there too.)

I didn't get any pics from the first day since she was glued to my leg and Thomas was with us, so these start with day two.  She would climb up to the top of the slide and then reach out and say, "Hand, hand, hand, hand!" until I held her hand for the slide down.

I had to crawl through this tunnel to show her what to do.  I'm just glad I made it all the way through - it was questionable if I would fit or not.

Here are a few more snapshots from day two at the playground.

On day three, Addi Clare joined in on the fun!

Addi Clare's mom, Michelle, was kind enough to bring drinks for the girls.

The night before this playground date, a mosquito made its way to Katie Wynn's bed and went to town on her face.  I nearly cried when I woke her up and saw all the red whelps.  I think I counted 22 bites just on her face!  Poor thing looked like she had the chicken pox.  :(  (Excuse the bad pics; she wouldn't stay still long enough for me to photograph them well.)

Last week we went back to the playground to slide some more, and we took cousin Ramer with us!

Unfortunately, the temps seem to be creeping back into miserably hot territory, so it may be a few days before we can go slide again.  I'm sure we'll log plenty of hours at the playground over the next few months!

Fun-Filled Weekend

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! 

Lookalike Kids

Nearly two years ago when we had Katie Wynn's newborn pictures taken, the only prop I provided and made sure was used was a wooden dough boy.  This dough boy usually sits on my mom's kitchen table, but it originally belonged to her grandmother.  That would be Katie Wynn's great, great grandmother.  We just knew a picture in it would be perfect, and we were right!

The pictures of KW in the bowl were some of my favorites, so after Thomas was born I tried to recreate them.  I am far from a professional photographer so my pics aren't nearly as good, but I think they turned out good enough for comparison.  It took both me and my mom shushing Thomas over and over to get him to fall asleep in the dough boy.  He just wasn't feeling it that day!

Here is Katie Wynn's picture, taken by April Garrett Photography.

And here is Thomas's, taken by me.

Practically twins, right?!

Here are some close ups.  Katie bug is first again.

And now Thomas.

Am I the only one that wants to kiss those sweet little lips??!  I can't wait to get these in frames and on the wall.

Speaking of frames - here is one of Katie Wynn we've had in a frame sitting on our dresser.  I took it of her in the fall when I also put her in the pumpkin.  

Just like the dough boy pictures, I wanted to recreate this picture with Thomas so I could add another frame to our dresser.  I laid him in our galvanized tin on two different occasions, but I still struggled to get a picture of him with his eyes open.  I guess that summer sun's just too bright for a little guy!  This is the best one I got with open eyes.

I think this sleepy one is the picture I'll frame though.  He just looks so sweet and innocent, something I may need to remind myself of as he grows to be big and rambunctious.  :)

Until the next photoshoot...

Splash Pad!

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!