Ohh, The Cuteness

Over the last several weeks, I've had a plethora of cute photos that I've taken.  They don't really warrant a post in and of themselves, though I'm sure I could make one about each of them.  I may even have done that if I was more caught up on ... everything.  But I'm not and I want to capture these little moments that make life so worth it.

Kate has loved napping in our bed recently.  I'm not sure how long naps are going to last, but I hope they continue for a while.

So snuggled and cozy!

She has also loved wearing her bathing suits
around.  #pickyourbattles

I've been cherishing the snuggles with these little
toes too.  They already seem to be dwindling.

We did a trial gymnastics class at Wendy's Gymnastics.  Initially Kate was not too interested, but when we left she didn't stop talking about it!  We are so looking forward to a more regular schedule of such a fun class beginning at the end of the month!

That little pony.  Love.

The morning time is some of my favorite time.  Even if my
eldest is wearing a bathing suit!

They are the best sisters!  Kate is the sweetest with Maya and
Maya still looks up to Kate completely!  Two peas in a pod, they are!

Sister snuggles!

Kate has been itching for Spring and insists on
wearing a dress with leggings most days.  Today,
she also donned her summer sandals and a headband
that she wore like a fashion model would a trend.
#threeyearsoldandshealreadyhasmorefashionsensethanme

Recently, Kate has been all about imaginative role play.  I can't tell you how many times I have been called "Beast" while she is Belle or "Prince Eric/Charming" while she is Ariel/Cinderella.  This day she took dress-up to a whole new level by adding gloves.  Because, "that's what Cinderella has...".  Her words.

Oddly enough, Maya is usually the fun-loving sidekick, like Flounder in The Little Mermaid, and Jack is usually the funny animal/pet, like Max in The Little Mermaid or Sven in Frozen.  For some reason, Brian seems to get stuck with the villain role.  He's been an evil step-sister, Anastasia, from Cinderella.  He's been Ursula from The Little Mermaid.  And he's been Gaston from Beauty and the Beast.  I'm not entirely sure he knows his role when it is given to him, but if he finds out he's the bad guy, he strongly petitions to have a character change.

Cinderelly!

More recently, I feel like Maya plays with more non-toys than she does toys.  I give her toys but being as mobile and curious as she is, she much prefers the non-toys.  Today, she was very interested in the items I had in a box to recycle.

You know, just digging through the box.

Ooohh!  A paper towel roll.  She ate a little piece
of that too...  #secondbaby

And jingle bells by the door?!  I live in a fun house!

That smile!  That face!  That little squashed ear!
I just heart her to pieces!

Ok, in a matter of a month Maya has gone from inchworm crawling, to legit crawling, to standing crawling!  Sister Bear is going to be walking before we know it.  #iamsonotreadyforthat

How is this possible?!  I am literally looking for an answer here.

[Cuteness to be continued...]

Standing (Part II)

Not even two weeks ago I posted about Maya standing in her crib.

Girlfriend is now just standing when she wants...anywhere.  She is just seven months old!  How is this possible?

You don't think she's going to stand.

And then she does this.

She's not even wobbly!

I can't figure out if she is just advanced for her age, extremely coordinated, or trying to keep up with Kate.  Perhaps it's a combination of all three.

Aunt Amy Comes to Visit

My sister, Amy, came into town on Friday and stayed for a long weekend.  I LOVE having visitors because it really gives us a lot more one on one time, and I especially LOVE having visitors that I can totally use the literal "one on one" time with!

Amy and I are 10 years apart, but, nowadays, SO OFTEN it hardly feels like that.  Every time we are together we talk about how it doesn't feel like we are 10 YEARS different in ages!  But we are.  It just goes to show that age doesn't matter.  It's how you feel on the inside that does.

Kate was immediately drawn to Amy, having yet another woman in the house who a.) knows her princesses, and b.) is so beautiful and cool!  When Amy left, Kate said to me, "Mommy, you should wear your hair down like Amy.".  #iwishitwerethateasy

It was awesome to have Amy visit.  I loved every bit of time that I had to spend with her, one on one or with a couple of natives running wild around us!  We talked, we explored Old Man's Cave, we had our own little night at the movies where we saw Sisters together!  It was just awesome.

I call this Maya's "Bubba" smile!  When Amy first
arrived, she and Kate held the fort down while Maya
and I went grocery shopping.  #katesorders

We all packed into Brian's car to head to Old Man's Cave.
Maya was happy to have Mama sitting next to her!  She gave me
this smile every time I looked at her.

Kate and Amy - ready to go on a little hike.

The girls at the trail head.

We packed a lunch to enjoy after our hike.  The
weather was beautiful, but it was a good 20 degrees
cooler down where the caves were!  Also, this is
so Amy!

The waterfalls were really pretty with all the water from the
melting snow.

I love these two girls so much!

Our icy and slippery path!

Out of the caves, we explored this very shallow water area.

Amy and Bri hang on a semi-dry area.

Kate and I were wearing rain boots, so we could get extra muddy
and/or wet if we wanted to!

Home girls.  Kate was by Amy's side the entire visit!

I go through serious Amy withdrawal when she leaves, but I loved having the time that we did together, and I am so thankful that she was able to come and visit!

After we got home from dropping Amy off at the airport, Maya was dishing out some serious smiles while I was making the bed.  Who knew making a bed could be so much fun?!

What a happy girl!

Smiling...

Tasting and smiling...

And smiling more.  Seriously.  She is the happiest baby ever!
#sothankfultobehermama

I am very much looking forward to being reunited with Amy again soon.  Until then, I'll just savor the fun we had together while she was here!  Thanks for making the trek, Amy!  We love you!

Standing

Listen.

Maya is standing.  Yes, in her crib, she just pulls herself up and stands.  And she loves it.  She's not even seven months old...

Stop growing so fast, Maya Bear.

Why don't these littles keep?!

But that smile!!

It just melts me!

Such a happy girl!

I guess it's officially time to lower the crib.  #isthisreallife

Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?

We received the perfect snow for sledding and snowman building a day ago, so what did we do?  We went sledding and built a snowman!  I'm so happy that we were able to go sledding once this Winter season.  I was beginning to wonder if our sled was going to hang in our garage for another year!

Kate, Maya, and I bundled up and went back to the hill that we had so much fun sledding on the last time we went sledding.  Kate was two and quarter, and I was four-ish months pregnant with Maya.

There were lots of kids there and we had a blast.  I totally got my workout in, carrying Maya and pulling Kate while walking up hill in the snow several times over.  At one point, there was a nice woman who spouted off all of her child-rearing credentials who held Maya while I took Kate up for a couple of rounds.  I would have never passed my first baby off to a stranger to hold, but, surprisingly, I have done this more than once with Maya.  I always end up feeling really bad though, so after going down the hill twice with Kate, we scooped Maya back up in our arms and put her on the sled with us for the rest of our sledding.  #thatswhereshessupposedtobe  #backinmamasarms

Bundled and ready to go sledding!

Maya's not entirely sure what to think of this whole
sledding thing.

Kate actually went down the hill several times by herself...

This HUGE hill!  See her up there in the pink?!
Yeah, no fear.

I'm pretty sure right after I snapped this photo she
turned around and asked me to pull her.

Sledding selfie!

Right as we were leaving Kate noticed a group of three girls building a snowman and was so curious!  She wanted to help build a snowman too, so after we talked about going over and asking if she could help, she did!  She amazes me.  Going up to a group of girls, probably four or more times her age, and asking to help.  Yes, she did that.  And, yes, the girls obliged.

Kate was the cutest ever, lifting the smallest amounts of snow and patting them onto the snowmans body.  I couldn't help but smile at her innocence and beam proudly of what a strong and confident young girl she is.

Walking over to ask if she could help.

Part of the group!

These girls were double her size and probably in middle school.

Sticking the stick arm in...but the snow was really packed so she
asked one of the girls to help.  #adorable

The only way that I could convince Kate to head back with Maya and I was to promise that we would build a snowman of our own at our house when we got back.  It's a good thing that didn't take too long because I totally overshot lunch and nap time and Maya was READY to be inside.

Letting Jackie Bones enjoy the snow too.

Kate insisted on chomping down on her snowball for the photo
next to our snowman.  I wasn't going to fight that battle.

We named him Snowy!

Jackie wasn't ready to head in when it was time so he lounged in the
snow for a bit while we warmed up and had lunch!

The snow didn't melt overnight and Kate had been talking about going to the park when it snows to "knock me down" from the swings.  We played this silly game last year when we went to the park in the snow and she never forgot about it.  It's as simple as her swinging, barely brushing me, and me falling to the ground and perhaps rolling a few feet in the most dramatic style possible creating a "you knocked me down" kind of effect.

Once again, Kate thought this little game was hilarious!  Maya, on the other hand, who was sitting in the swing next to Kate, didn't think it was much fun and did NOT like seeing her Mama fumbling to the ground. Even if I was smiling.  Bless her sweet little heart.

Maya Bear - ready to enjoy the show!

Kate - anxiously awaiting the first "knock down".

An attempt to get two girls looking at the camera at the same time
AND smiling.  #doublefail

I'm going to knock you down!!!

Maya and I also had the luxury of purchasing
AND EATING various size snowballs from the
General Store with our mulch money.

Oddly enough, even a day after our snow storm came through, no one had traversed yet on the playground area.  With as many children as there are in this neighborhood, I thought for sure that it would have been played on already.  It was just our luck that we had the playground all to ourselves to leave our very footprints (or body prints, in my case) all over!

I'm so glad we got a bit of snow play in this year!  It just doesn't feel like winter without it!