Beginning Our Blog

Today is day one of our new blog and I am beyond excited!  I have so many things to share.  For starters, I want to catch everyone up on what is new with us, which really seems like a lot!

Caroline is 10 months and into EVERYTHING!  She will be walking any day!  She has been cruising around the furniture for several weeks and has just started letting go and taking a step, before falling on her bottom, of course.  She is so different from Olivia, it is truly amazing how strong their personalities are, even as infants.  Caroline is such a happy girl and is always smiling and giggling.  She is content no matter where we are, as long as someone familiar is in sight.  She says "Mama", "Dada", and shakes her head no when she is doing something she shouldn't!  Following around after her big sister is her favorite thing to do, and when we call Olivia's name, she has started to mimic the syllables.  She will make a great big sister one day.  For now, we are content with keeping her a baby!  :)

Caroline swinging at Euan's 2nd Birthday Party

As for the 3 year old in our life...  Where can I begin?  Olivia is gaining so much independence.  She has always played well alone, but lately she has an imagination bigger than life itself.  She is frequently another character by hour.  It is so entertaining but EXHAUSTING!  I am not complaining, though.  She is very intelligent and her ability to express that in different ways is impressive.  Speaking of impressive, that is one of her new quotes.  She likes to say, "I'm so impressed!".  I have no idea where she picked that one up! :)

Olivia, jumping in puddles at the park

 This past Saturday, she went to work with her dad for the morning.  I think that mostly consisted of eating cookies and conversing with his coworkers.  She came home and we got ready for the afternoon, which was a line-up of not one, but TWO birthday parties.  Everyone had plenty of cake, some of us had more than plenty.  We made the cutest gift bags for the party gifts!  They were strawberry shortcake gift bags, filled with everything a girl needs for a movie night; A new DVD, comfy nightgowns, popcorn, popcorn holders, Mike and Ike candies, and Raisinets!  So adorable.  I wish I had a better picture, but you get the idea.

Movie Night Gift Bags

After the Saturday chaos, it was nice to spend a relaxing Sunday at home, and what better way to celebrate Father's Day?!  We got up early and fixed breakfast while Nathan got to sleep in a little later, which doesn't happen often enough in our household.  Olivia had made him a keepsake booklet a few days before and she was very excited to give it to him.  We used a printable format (found here), super easy and very meaningful.  It is always the things like that you cherish.  She even wrote her own name in his card!  That preschool curriculum has been paying off!

Father's Day Book

After breakfast, we got ready and went to church.  They had a very nice Father's Day sermon.  I was glad we were there to hear that message!  When we got back home for lunch, Olivia got her gifts ready for her dad.  She was so proud to show him what she picked out!  I always try to let Olivia choose a gift that comes from her.  Nathan ended up with a digital meat thermometer for grilling (okay, I helped with that one), a set of corn cob holders that are shaped like cows (definitely Olivia's pick), and a chocolate cake.  I think he was happy!  We are very thankful for him.  I seriously have the best husband.  He is pretty great! 

Daddy with his girls before church on Father's Day

The Father's Day haul

I know the exciting part is the news about the kids, but I wanted to share a few things that have been going on in my world aside from diapers and laundry.  I recently joined a bible study group at Cape Bible Chapel and I am SO loving the fellowship.  It is nice to have that time each week to unwind and get closer to God.  I am so grateful that I stumbled upon this group of ladies!  It has been a great outlet.  I have also been meeting more and more local moms interested in homeschooling, which is something I am very interested in learning more about.  I feel such a strong pull towards homeschooling for many reasons (which I won't get into right now) and it brings me peace of mind to know that there are so many women in the area who are on a similar journey in life.  Over the last couple of months, I have been working with Olivia on a preschool curriculum that I have formed from several different resources.  She has improved in many areas and I think we will begin in the fall working on getting her prepared to read.  I have been working on turning our basement into a child-friendly learning area and I am FINALLY happy with how it is set up!  We had to purchase two bookshelves to store all of the things we have accumulated.  I received TONS of free materials from a retired teacher (FREE materials, I said!) that will be useful now and for years to come.  Little things like that reassure me that we are on the right path with the girls.  That was definitely a blessing.  My dad picked up the table and chairs for us, so Olivia has a place to do her work and art without little sister "helping".  All of Caroline's toys are now within her reach and they both are enjoying their kitchen set from Santa!  It is such a joy to see them playing together and forming that close sister relationship.  We are so blessed, I cannot say that enough.

Progress of our Learning Area downstairs

A few weeks ago, my dad started working on a water table project for the girls.  This is something I have been wanting for a while, but I just couldn't justify spending $40 on a plastic Little Tykes version.  The wooden ones I found online were VERY pricey, and that wasn't an option for us.  He  "sort of" volunteered to make one for us, and it turned out GREAT!  The tubs are completely removable so it is easy to fill with different things like sand, water, shaving cream, and other fun sensory items!  Each side has a lid that matches.  I was so impressed that he color coordinated for us!  Caroline can reach it with some help.  Usually I sit beside the table and she stands in my lap to splash in the water.  This was just what we needed for summer fun!  I think during the winter we will bring it downstairs (water removed, of course) and use it for an indoor sensory table.  

Olivia giving her dinosaurs a bath in the water table

Last on the list of things to update everyone on is our FINAL pregnancy!  I am so happy to announce that I am 27 weeks and on the downhill slide!  I can see the end in sight.  This pregnancy has been very smooth thus far.  We saw a healthy baby on the ultrasound at 20 weeks, but we opted not to find out the gender of this little one.  We have two precious daughters already, and a third child is a blessing from God, no matter if it is a boy or girl.  I think that element of surprise will add to the excitement of the third child joining our family.  Even though this pregnancy has been healthy so far, I am tiring more easily.  I think we are planning to slow down our outings and spend more time at home over the next several weeks, especially since we have such a great area downstairs to play in!  Back to the baby, we have the nursery all ready and only a few key items left on our to-do list before he or she arrives.  It will be an exciting time!  

These moments let us know we are doing something right

I think I have rambled on long enough for the first post.  Hopefully, next time I will have ballet pictures to share!  Thanks for stopping by to check out our new blog!  

-Maegan