June Phone Pics

For us, June means swimming lesson time!  Katie Wynn took another 2 week class at a neighbor's pool and did a great job.  I am really impressed with her swimming abilities after taking the class!  Her best buddy, Levi, was in class with her and I took a couple pictures after the last class when they got their certificates.

It was high time our kids had real bikes to ride on so they each got a new one for Thomas's birthday.  They love them so much it's the first thing they want to do in the mornings...as you can see below since they're still in their pjs.

Lala and Poppa gave us their riding lawn mower so this year we're doing our own mowing.  The kids love to be pulled in the wagon behind it, and when Dad picks up the church sign, they become a riding advertisement.  :)

Maybe I like riding in the trailer too...

Some Thomas shenanigans - riding in his sister's lap in the mini cooper and watering Mimi and Poppy's grass.  

Katie Wynn accompanied me and Mimi on a pedicure trip and packed all her favorite toys for a day at Lala and Poppa's.  

I have just discovered how neatly Thomas colors!  I'll be honest, I thought the school papers that were coming home were colored by the teacher.  I watched him color in church one Sunday morning and realized he was the one doing the coloring!  Thomas wanted Lolli to lay in his crib with him for bedtime one night.

Swimming lessons on top of normal activities makes for an exhausting month!  Charlie, my parents' dog, didn't go to swimming lessons but he was happy to help Katie Wynn nap anyway.  

Have you ever been so tired you fell asleep with your hand in the popcorn bowl?  Katie Wynn has!  And you know both kids are tired when they fall asleep that close to each other - something that never happens!

This month's Mint Tulip modeling...

We're loving these summer days with the kids! 

May Phone Pics

In May, we got to go to a super fun fishing birthday party!  It was such a pretty day and, even though we didn't catch anything, we had a lot of fun casting our rods over and over again.  :)

We also let the kids have their first sibling sleepover...but it didn't last all night!  Thomas was back in his crib within an hour. 

Early in the month I got to attend a special brunch at Katie Wynn's preschool for Mother's Day.  It was nice to get to eat with my girl and our friends!

On the actual morning of Mother's Day, I woke up to my special little blessings emptying a bottle of baby powder in our closet.  Needless to say, our clothes smelled powder fresh for a few days. 

Thomas got his first tattoo!  Temporary tattoo, that is.

Whether on the couch, in his Daddy's lap during church, or curled up with his big book of trucks, this boy is sweet, sweet, sweet when he's sleeping.

He's a pretty cute helper at the grocery store too.  

But sometimes he makes it sound like a machine gun is going off in my laundry room when I was all the rocks he brought home in his pockets.

We had a nice afternoon that was warm enough to get the water table out.  Katie Wynn laughed at Thomas when he stripped down to play, but the next time we turned around she was nekkid too.  

My sweet girl colored me a heart on the driveway.

In preparation for our beach trip at the end of the month, we tried on swimsuits after bath one night.  Can you tell when Thomas was over it?

There were some cute Mint Tulip outfits worn throughout the month too!

This early morning series melts me!

After May comes June and that means a birthday for Thomas!  Back soon with all the details about our little guy turning THREE!

April Phone Pics

Picture this: it's early on a Sunday morning.  Like, super early.  Kids were up at 6:00am and it's your turn to take the early shift.  Sleepy-eyed, you let the dog out and shuffle into the laundry room to throw last night's forgotten load of laundry into the dryer.  You're bent over, shoving damp clothes into the dryer and you rise up to see this:

The first April Fool's Joke of the day was on me and no one even knew they had played it!  Screaming and jumping, I nearly wet my pants before checking to see if that gargantuan, dangerous, poisonous, scary spider was real or not.  

After pulling myself back together - definitely awake now! - I snapped the picture and fired off an Instagram post about little boy's laundry was not for the faint of heart; never know what you'll find in their pockets.  Fast forward to later in the day when I was again in the laundry room and quizzing Thomas on the origins of the scariest spider ever.  "Where did you get this?  Who gave you this spider?" As he stared at me blankly, Katie Wynn popped up behind him and shouted, "Hey!  That's mine!  Where'd you find that?!"  

Oy.  Life with girls is not for the faint of heart.

There's just nothing better than clean kids after a bath!  Especially when they're wrapped up in matching hooded towels.  :)

In April we attended the kids' school's annual Wine and Cheese fundraiser.  It's always a fun grown-up night with our friends, even if it does end up costing a fortune after we tally up our Silent Auction winnings (and raffle tickets, dinner tickets, babysitter, etc...).  I didn't get a picture with my cute date, but I did get one of me and the girls.

Since Easter was in April, we spent a night during the month dying Easter eggs.  This was the first time I really let the little kids do their own, and they loved it!

We spent some time playing outside and lounging in our Eno hammock. 

This month we started our first season ever of T-Ball!  Our, er Katie Wynn's, first practice outfit really hit the ball out of the park.  Cute matching exercise clothes from Walmart (shirt tucked in, of course), new socks, first pair of real tennis shoes, and all topped with a big ol' bow.  I took her with me to pick out her new glove and naturally she picked an orange one.  T-Ball is getting a whole post of its own because it was such a fun season!

This boy right here.  Oh, he knows every trick in the book to prolong a bed time.  He has a million questions, needs a drink of water (warm not cold), has to teetee, wants a "huggie, kissy," wants a story, needs a song, et cetera, et cetera.  He will drive you bonkers and make you go crazy but, when he finally sleeps, oh!  Then he's just the absolute sweetest.  Time is just going way too fast with this little one.

You know what they say about April Showers, right?  They make big mud puddles!  Katie Wynn enjoyed an afternoon of puddle stomping in her Mimi's and Poppy's yard.

Our buddy Levi delivered donuts one Saturday morning and he showed up in matching jammies!  Couldn't have planned it better if we'd tried.  His momma and I enjoyed an early morning visit while the kids loaded up on sugar and drove the Mini Cooper around the house.  Maybe we should plan more playdates for 7:00am.  

This monthly post wouldn't be complete without some Mint Tulip matching clothes modeling!  This month we wore bunny rabbits to a birthday party and lighthouses to a Redbirds game.  

Now, on to May!

March Phone Pics

The month of March was made extra-sweet with hot chocolate sticks and chocolate ice cream cones!

In mid-March, Matt and I took a trip to Phoenix to see his cousin, Jonah, get married.  We left the kids with my parents (thanks, Mom and Dad!) and had our first airBNB experience.  While the house we rented had a few kinks to work out (I think we were their first renters?), it was definitely a good experience and one I think we'll do again!  We had perfect Arizona weather - clear skies and sunshiney days followed by crisp, cool evenings.  The house we were in had a great pool but brrr!  It needed a heater!  I was slightly obsessed with the lemon tree in the backyard.  Just look out how big these lemons are!  I brought some home as souvenirs.  :)

We had a full weekend of events to celebrate Jonah and his new bride, Maggie, starting with a rooftop rehearsal dinner on Friday night.

The wedding was held at the coolest venue - an estate with a house (where the whole wedding party and family stayed), beautifully landscaped lawns, pavilions, ponds, sand volleyball court, basketball court, tennis court, outdoor kitchen and bar, and more.  We arrived shortly before the 3pm wedding start.

After a beautiful ceremony out on the lawn overlooking the lake, we were treated to a sit-down dinner, speeches, slideshows, a night full of dancing, and a cookie truck that served up the most delicious warm cookie sundaes ever.  

We left the reception before the party bus picked up the youngins that wanted to keep partying.  :)  

The next morning, we returned to the venue for a brunch and hangout time before flying back home.  It was a great weekend for a wedding!

I brought home "melting" Easter bunnies for the kids to play with as the holiday approached.  They loved them and immediately played with them on the kitchen table.  It's basically a ball of silly putty that you mold into a figure and press in the plastic bunny features.  They "melt" down to be flattened blobs after a few minutes, or in our case, overnight.  These were a nightly dinner time activity all through Lent!

Katie Wynn's spring break started off with a bang.  And by bang, I mean strep throat.  Poor girl got hit hard out of nowhere.  We were actually at a birthday party when we realized that she really did not feel well, and I decided she felt warm.  We took her straight to a Saturday clinic and sure enough, it was a strep diagnosis.  Poor girl slept her first day of vacation away.

Thank goodness for antibiotics that work quickly!  She was back to her normal self by the next day and able to celebrate my birthday and help blow out my candles.  Yes, the girl with strep got to spit all over my cake.  :)

Here are just a few pictures of us getting to play outside in the nice weather!

By the end of the month, we had our bunny clothes out and were ready for Easter to come!

I can't believe how quickly this year is flying by! 

February Phone Pics

My New Year's Resolution this year (and then, my Lenten Goal as well) was to keep my blog updated.  I'm already falling behind.  But, dang it! I want to keep it up!  I'm gonna try a little harder to post more than just a monthly photo round-up...'cause we're up to more than just phone pics over here.  Help keep me accountable?

But first, better post February's phone pics.  The highlight of the month was definitely our trip to Atlanta.  Not much happened the rest of the month so this should be a short post.

Two days before we left to go out of  town, I found myself sitting in the doctor's waiting room with a fevery little girl that couldn't stay awake.  Just what we needed right before vacation.  Luckily, flu and strep tests were both negative and her ears were clear, so it was just a short-lived little fever bug.  I sure hate it when she doesn't feel well but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the cuddles.

Nothing better than going for a drive with your best buddy!

The blog is not the only thing I've been behind on, I can't seem to find time to finish my DIY projects in the woodshop either.  We now have two embroidery machines for Mint Tulip and need a better work station.  Matt and my Dad built new drawer bases back in January but I haven't been able to get them painted so we can finish the project!  Currently, they're just being used as houses for Katie Wynn and Thomas...

One evening, just before the sun went down, we finally went to check out the Big River Crossing - a pedestrian bridge that crosses all the way over Mississippi River.  It has fun to be able to stand with one foot in AR and one in TN!

Nice weather means snack time is outside!

Katie Wynn somehow downloaded a Kid's Bible App onto Matt's phone and she and Thomas laid on the couch together listening to Bible stories.  We don't really encourage games on our phones, but I guess if this is the worse that's going to come from it, it can be ok! 

Katie-bug actually let me put rollers in her hair one Saturday night.  Aren't kids just the sweetest ever when they're sleeping?

She was really excited about sleeping in the rollers, but then was NOT excited when she woke up with curls in her hair.  I thought it turned out cute! 

I love it when they match and I love it when they both smile and look at the camera at the same time, so this picture is pretty much it for me.

Have you ever walked into your kitchen to see a four-year-old standing in your refrigerator? Someone thinks she's big enough to get her own snacks.  And someone else was watching said four-year-old and got busted climbing up for his own snacks too.

And that's it for February!  Like I said, it was a light month for pictures.  More soon!