Then (and Then, and Then) & Now

 

David plays on a Softball team with a bunch of guys from our Church, and every summer they have an all day tournament in July. I go every year, and for the last four (four!!) I've brought the two most adorable cheerleaders with me.

2010

2011

2012

2013

As you can see this year the twins were old enough to even visit the dugout! 

Each year it gets a little easier taking them along, and each year I get to watch a little bit more of the actual game! =)

Milestones

My son didn't walk until he was nearly 14 months old. 

Both my children had their Ni-Nights (binkies) until their 3rd birthday.

They are currently just shy of 3 and 1/2, and we've just started to really focus on potty training.

Why?

Because, honestly? I just don't care too much about those things.

I firmly believe those things will happen in time.

What I care about is their character.

Are they kind? Are they respectful? Are they loving? 

Do they believe in forgiveness? In extending and receiving grace? 

Do they know how valued they are by David and I? By Christ?

Those are the battles I will fight all day long. Those are the things I will work with them on, day in and day out. When I collapse into bed at night, exhausted; if it's from building character, so be it. I can accept that as a part of parenting. As my calling to train my children up.

But if I spend the greatest portion of my day focusing on something such as potty training, I tend to be more exhausted, and annoyed. I suppose that's because it's not like the character training takes the day off while you're working on something new. And also because, let's face it, it's a different kind of tedious.

I know things like potty training and getting rid of binkies are a part of parenting. I get that. We work on our letter recognition, and counting skills. We make sure we read books and eat veggies.
But we don't stress about meeting milestones.
 I just don't think they are crucial to any certain timeline. I used to joke that I didn't care if my kids went to college with their binkies, and it was kinda true. 

I don't have energy to sweat the supposed deadlines of those kinds of milestones.

We'll get there. We will hit each of them. I know we will, so I don't really worry about them or focus on them.

But character? That deserves my attention at all times.

Happy 4th of July!

This year marked our 4th as a family of 4. The first one, we were still in the zombie-like-haze that is parenting Newborn Twins.

The second one, we hosted a small gathering at our house with some family and friends, and our little ones were still pretty little and not so into fireworks.

Last year, we had fun romping with cousins

This year we just hung around the house. We are puppy sitting this week for some friends, and it's our first Independence Day with Dory, so we wanted to be home in case either dog had a hard time with all the firework noise.

Daddy grilled us up the tastiest dinner ever. He's a grill master, and the twins love helping him set up...

It doesn't get dark until about 10pm here these days, and there was no way Abbey and Luke were staying up that late - both because I honestly didn't believe they would be able stay awake that late, and also because even if they could, I didn't want them to, knowing they would still wake up at the same time the next day, only with Demon Possessed overtired personalities.  

We started with Sparklers, always a fan favorite...

 

 

 

Then the kids and I took our seats so Daddy could put on a show 

 for us!

 

 Luke started getting really nervous when the fireworks started making loud noises, and spitting sparks further distances, so he and I went inside to watch from the kitchen window =).

Once inside, he said "thanks Momma, I feel much better in here!" 

Bless his little heart. 

Abbey however was enthralled with the whole display! She could not get enough and was up on her feet saying "let's do the next one!" as soon as the last one had stopped. 

Here's my two brave firework buddies =)

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday!

Summertime

It dawned on me recently that I only have a small amount of years left where my babies are just, around, every day.

They are starting a 3's/pre-K class this very Fall. Now, granted that will only be two mornings a week, and only 2.5 hours each of those mornings, but still.

The year after that will be pre-K, and the year after that, Kindergarten. Then on to Elementary school...5 days a week, for several hours a day.

I'd be lying if I said there weren't days were I look forward to this kind of a future...
Those days when both kids are driving me crazy and I just want FIVE MINUTES alone in the house to get something done already!!!!

But honestly, most the time I feel sad when I think about Abbey and Luke being gone so much.

These days, they talk my ear off all day long. They want to tell me every single thing they can think of. Sometimes, it can be exhausting. But really, how much longer are they going to want their Momma to know about their everyday? I know a day will come - probably far sooner than when I am ready - where they will be vying for the attention of someone else.

They are already growing up so dang fast. Every day they say or do something new that just amazes Dave and I. They grab blankets and pillows and make beds on the living room floor to watch Curious George when they wake up. Babies don't do that. Toddlers don't do that. Kids do that.


I mean, look at how grown up my baby girl looks here...

So, we're trying to make the most of our days together this summer. We're being intentional about our time together and soaking up this summer of Three-Year-Olds =)


Here are some of the adventures we've had so far:



We went and visited The Tulip Festival a few towns over...

 We enjoyed all the beautiful flowers, and also the slides and jumping castles for kids!

We've also spent plenty of lazy mornings, hanging around the house in our jammies, enjoying our toys.

...and our Dog.

We went with some friends of ours strawberry picking! Luke and Abbey had SO much fun doing this!

And I seriously underestimated how many strawberries they could pick!

 We made the trip up to Seattle to see Aunt Mem graduate college. I am crazy proud of this girl. She is heading to Zambia soon to teach 8th/9th grade. (feel free to clinic on the link above and follow her journey!)

And driving that far meant an overnight at a hotel, which we made sure had a pool =)

Luke jumping to Daddy, Abbey jumping to GrandDad!

Our hotel room had one King bed and one fold out couch bed, which is where the kids slept. To help them settle in in this new environment (and with Momma and Daddy in the same room), we brought our travel DVD player and let them watch Clifford before bed. They fell asleep snuggled together like this...melt a Momma's heart!

And more hanging out at home with our toys =)

 We were gifted a Zoo Membership for the twins' birthday this year, and we've decided to make the most of it, rain or shine!

The kids and I planned a Zoo day the night before, and woke up to rain. But, we went anyways.

 Luke declared this Elephant the Daddy one, "cauz it has a beard".
 Naturally.

 

Lots of puddle jumping in our day...

 First time on the Zoo Train!

 And we're made sure to have plenty of fun outdoors at our house as well. We inflated our pool and purchased a little sprinkler, and the kids have had SO much fun.

Hooray for Summertime. And for making memories.