Hello there! It's been awhile, hasn't it?
We have been keeping busy this summer, trying to fit in fun activities, family time, and memory making.
We had a very low-key 4th of July. Having a great afternoon at Chris' Mom's house eating, playing outside and playing games. We didn't see any fireworks but spending the day all together, relaxing, made for a memorable 4th.
In our patriotic gear!
Our Niece LOVES Wyatt! He is her favorite person and has to be around him at all times when we are together.
Wyatt and Eden!
Our big girl turned 4!
I have no idea how that happened, but it did.
Bailey got to bring snacks to school, they sang to her during chapel, and her teacher made her a birthday crown (which she wore for more than a week).
Bailey and I had a girls day to celebrate. We went to lunch, Bailey got her first manicure and pedicure (at a cute place with kids chairs), we went to see Finding Dory and dinner together, just the two of us.
We had a family pool party for our girl. It was nice to have a party where I didn't really have to do any planning, or decorating, or inviting. It was just as fun as our bigger parties and I was able to relax.
Bailey and Ella, cousins make the best friends!
Bailey finished her first year of preschool! She has grown so much but I didn't realize how much she has physically grown until I compared her first day of school picture to her last day of school picture:
She still looks like a toddler in the first picture, and like a big girl in the second!
We have been having great weather lately, so we have been spending a lot of time outside, Bailey was willing to share her sunglasses with Wyatt one day...
Just call him Elton!
Wyatt is not usually a fan of hats, but he has one baseball cap that he will keep on for a bit and I love how it looks on him!
Bailey is still very into dresses and has begun asking to borrow one of my necklaces almost everyday. She found this headband and wears it with everything.
She still has a lot of spunk in her!
We have a fabulous library in town and during the summer they have kids programs throughout the week. We have been to a zoo program where they brought animals to show the kids, a couple of music programs, and this week we went to a zumba class.
It was so much fun, Bailey had a great time dancing around and hopefully we can find something like zumba to do at home!
We rode our town's free trolley around the other day, one loop took about half an hour and it was a perfect activity! Then we made some chocolate pudding and spent time outside.
Bailey and Wyatt's relationship is so sweet, I love watching them play together, love each other, and even though they're starting to bicker a bit over toys and sharing, seeing them play together makes my heart happy.
I even caught them trying to hold hands in the car...they can just barely reach each other.
My cousin works at OstrichLand U.S.A. in Solvang and we drove up to meet some family members there to meet the ostriches.
They are some strong birds and they know when the food is there!
Bailey was able to feed them herself...
While Papa helped Wyatt...
I was on vacation from work for 2 weeks, we didn't go anywhere but it was nice to get some full time time with the kids. Chris was still working so we didn't get any extra days off together, but it was nice not having to worry about childcare.
I did send the kids off to Mema's house for one night so that I could get my hair done the next morning. I indulged in my favorite beer (reminding me of our honeymoon), some nachos, and lounging in front of the TV.
{it was worthy of a picture}
Like I mentioned... I went and got my hair done...
My hairdresser added pink, purple, blue, green, and red to the underside layers in my hair. It is fun catching myself in the mirror and seeing the colors peeking out from underneath!
I have been able to work on my Etsy shop a bit. I missed being creative and putting new garlands together and spending time with my little sewing machine has inspired me to make time for myself a bit more.
This post may make it seem like things have been great and rosy and perfect lately. While things have been fun, filled with new memories, and overall good; it has also been hard. Learning how to parent two kids at different stages. Figuring out how to divide my time so they both feel like they're getting enough attention. Keeping the house somewhat clean and homemade/somewhat healthy meals made {do these kids really need to eat everyday??}. Having a stressful job, where more unnecessary stress is added day after day. Really needing some alone time with my husband. Craving more sleep. Looking around at all the house projects I want to do and feeling worn out at even the thought of picking up a paint brush or hammer and yet I still come up with new projects everyday. Wanting to take a day to go sit at the beach, walk along the shore, and just breathe. Get rid of stuff and feel less cluttered. Attempt to figure out what my kids need when they are acting out, testing my patience, especially when I'm worn down.
Life is really good. great even, but that doesn't mean that it's not hard. The day to day life that I have can be overwhelming at times and sometimes I have to make it though moment by moment, but an impromptu hug or laugh from my kids, getting a whiff of sea air as I stand in the backyard, and an "I love you" text message from Chris all help me to keep going. Remind me to take a breath and let go of all the stress and enjoy the moment I'm in.
We were able to be spontaneous a few weeks ago, we drove up to Ojai for dinner. Yes we left our house right at traffic time, it was in the high 80s as we ate dinner, and Bailey wasn't interested in eating. But, we sat outside, in the sunshine, had a glass of wine, ate the most amazing strawberry shortcake for dessert, and let the kids run around in the sprinklers behind the restaurant after.
So cheers to enjoying the moment, getting through the tiring days, and making good memories whenever we can!
No comments:
Post a Comment