Secret Sewing Project

Looking back, I still find it amazing we kept this a secret. We realized last winter that we needed to have at least one warm weather vacation each winter to keep our spirits lifted from the cold and dreariness of living in the mid-west.  And so, last March, we began planning for Winter 2015. Originally, we arranged and booked a Disney Cruise out of Miami for February. However, when we began looking at flights to Miami during peak travel season, we were shocked to find flights were close to $400 per person! We began looking into our options, and given we were already excited for Disney, we rearranged some things and booked a trip to Walt Disney World instead.

I am a dork, and I like our photos to be matchy-matchy and themed to our vacation...and so, I began sewing. Sewing with two small kids is a bit tricky in and of itself, but sewing secret clothes for a trip they didn't know about...well, that was even more difficult!

By Christmas morning, I had finished 2.5 outfits. Not the 7 I had planned on, but hey...a girl needs to sleep too! And so, we wrapped up the goodies below along with a few Disney goodies and put it under the tree for Christmas morning.



 And so, at last...Christmas morning came. We saved this gift for last.

And now the countdown begins until we venture down south to meet our favorite Disney friends. I'm hoping to make a few more outfits for our family before then, but if not...that's okay too ;) 

And after all of that prep work, I am 150% okay with using an advent calendar from the clearance Christmas aisle to use as our countdown. Tomorrow...only 24 days until we leave, and there just happens to be exactly 24 days in this countdown. :)

 

Our Day Starter

I've heard stories, urban legends is how I prefer to think of them, of women who wake up early, clean, workout, and accomplish a million things before the kids wake. As much as that sounds amazing, it's not really how we roll. 

My kids are early risers and I am not. I have no trouble having full conversations with my Hubby as he prepares for work in the early morning darkness, and then flipping back into sleep mode moments later. I try to sleep until I hear the little ones stirring. 

Most days, this is how we start our day. Snuggled on my lap, in my arms or across my legs. We wake up together, engaged in one another. 

I cuddle my babies, and sip coffee, careful not to spill it on those cute little heads beneath my chin. Somedays for twenty minutes, other days for much longer. Sometimes I feel pangs of guilt, thinking we "waste" time each morning. Society frequently tells me that this routine is not productive or yields any fruitfulness, and I must ignore such nonsense. This is important stuff we do! 

The reality is, this is one of my most favorite parts of our day. And the girls too. We all sit on one tiny couch cushion leaving the rest of the couch empty. Our arms are intertwined among each other, and we enjoy just being together. 

  I know that these days of relaxing mornings will end all too soon, interrupted by the schedule of school, or perhaps in the further future, the reality that cuddling mom just won't be that cool. So until then, I will keep cuddling my babies, watching animated shows, explaining what we've learned during the show. And kissing their heads, every few minutes. 

This momma is beyond grateful for these mornings, and the little girls I share them with. 

Maya and her bah-bahs

We typically are pretty strict about pacifier usage ("bah-bah" as it

is loving referred to), limiting it to car time, stroller time and bed

time only...until the age of three when we really start discouraging

it all together.

Maya, at just over 2.5 years knows her time with her favorite

"bah-bahs" is quickly dwindling, and she intends to take full

advantage of usage whenever permitted. So, imagine my shock when last

night, Maya requested to go to sleep with NO bah-bahs! Before I

thought about it too much, I quickly ran walked to her crib to remove

the bah-bahs before she changed her mind. I removed 7 from her bed!

Maya politely asked for lipstick (princess chapstick- a treat only for

non-pacifier users).

She puckered her lips, put her hand on her hips, and then twirled to

show off her floor length nightgown and immediately I saw images of my

baby girl preparing for Prom Night. She insisted on going to bed with

no pacifiers and slept 11 straight hours without her most favorite

item for sleep. When she awoke at 6:30 this morning asking for

bah-bah, I happily obliged. Afterall, I'm not THAT eager for my baby

to grow up!! Maya went back to sleep until 7:45, what a pleasant way

to start the day!!

Throughout the day, Maya asked for bah-bah more often than usual. So,

again I was surprised when she went to bed AGAIN tonight with NO

pacifiers and just a beautiful shiny coat of princess chap stick.

We are officially out of diapers, almost done with pacifiers, requests

for a big kid bed have been made. My baby is growing up, and what a

marvelous little girl she is becoming.

Raising Little Ladies

Our family is growing up. Our baby days are long gone. Our youngest is officially out of diapers, even during the night. It hardly seems possible that my baby is wearing the clothes big sister wore when our baby came home from the hospital. Seriously, how is time going so fast?

As a stay at home mom, there are days when the hours drag on!  Up before sunrise, filling the days with activities and learning, exploring and disciplining. Some days we play, dance and truly get silly and the house fills with deep belly laughs, the kind you can still feel in the air hours after the girls have gone to sleep for the night. Other days I feel like I merely clean up messes, repeat requests and separate the girls from one another. But the fact of the matter remains, the days are going by fast and these sweet little girls are growing up.

I blinked and these beautiful little girls are walking, talking and independent. They ask questions that actually make me think, rather than repeating the same basic answers over and over. This morning, Elliana (5.5 years old) was asking questions about the directional rotation of the sun and Earth and how it related to the sun in other parts of the country. Then hand gestures started as she was trying to explain the slight angle of the Earth and how the sun shines on just a part of it at a time. I hated to stop her, but I was driving on the highway and continually turning around to see her presentation didn't seem wise.

We are two months into our first glimpse of public school, which has been a big change for all of us. The freedom of Mommy picking activities is no longer shortened by returning home for nap-time, but instead we are rushing home for afternoon Kindergarten. Elliana recently took a test at school depicting she has a 2.4 grade equivalent (equal to a child in second grade, four months in). We always knew she was smart but wasn't really ready for that news. She truly has a love for learning and I've been supplementing additional homework from what is assigned. I genuinely pray for this excitement and passion for learning all the days of her life. What a gift from God to be so eager to know more!

Maya has a passion for playing and moving. Even our traditional pizza movie night is typically interrupted by cartwheels or somersaults. She is fearless and confident. This past weekend, it was time for the annual flu vaccination. Maya marched right into the office, rolled up her sleeve and said, "Me ready. I so brave." The nurse looked at us, questioning if this little two year old was really ready for this....we nodded our head in agreement. The needle went in, and Maya said, "your turn, Elli. It no hurt." Not a tear was shed, no ounce of fear. The rest of the day, Maya walked around confidently saying, "me so brave. I not even cry!" Just a small glimpse of this confident, amazing little girl!

Sometimes I sit back and just stare at these precious little faces. There is such beauty. Hope. Laughter. Love. I am honored to be a Mom, but beyond blessed to have these two little girls to call my daughters.

Happy Halloween!

Since the first of October, these little girls have been counting down until Halloween. Elliana is just now really understanding months of the year, and the concept of a holiday being at the END of the month...well, that just meant we got to countdown all month :) 

We enjoyed searching for the perfect pumpkin outside of Chicago with Aunt Jenna, Jackson and Nolan.

 

A few weeks later, we cut open that perfect pumpkin and roasted up the yummy pumpkin seeds. Maya was less than impressed by the pumpkin innards, but she sure did LOVE to eat those roasted salty seeds. 

 At last, Halloween day arrived. Up at 6:00 am, I was able to hold them off from putting on their costumes until 8:00 am...when Elliana and Maya disappeared and transformed into the popular sister duo of Elsa and Anna from the Frozen movie. The girls even got into character and have been calling each other Elsa and Anna all weekend long.

We spent the day running errands and basically stalling until school time, as they were so very excited! We even duplicated the hairdos of the famous sisters. :)

Nana came down so I could join Elliana at her school party. And what a party it was! Just look at all those snacks! 

I never did snag a good photo of the girls trick-or-treating. It was cold, and they were on a mission to get as much candy as quickly as possible. That's okay though, I have the smiles permanently etched in my memory, as it was priceless!

The day after Halloween, a light covering of frost/snow covered the rooftops when we awoke. The girls immediately switched out of Halloween mode and into Christmas mode. Let the countdown to Christmas begin! 

Maya - 2.5 Years/30 months

Oh Maya, you bring us such joy! Your spirit of adventure, lack of fear and overall love for life is truly contagious! At Kings Island last week, you begged to go on rides for kids three times your size but settled for the kiddie land with a humble and grateful attitude.

You live and breathe playing! From the moment you wake, until you go to sleep each night, you are busy with play. Your "friends" travel with you in a purse or backpack and even join us for meals most days. Every friend has a name, and you make sure each and every friend is involved.

Dinner at LaRosa's with a few of Maya's friends

 You are happy to just be involved. Shopping, running errands, you make me laugh of loud. I love quality time with you, watching your personality develop, hear you ask questions from such a fresh perspective.

Last week, we dropped Elliana off at school, and I said something like this, "Maya, I think we need to go to the grocery, but what sounds fun to you?" Without hesitation,  you answered, "Um, vacation. I think we should go on vacation now!" Half way through the grocery store, you yelled, "Can we go on vacation now?!"

You find joy in all you do, and can quickly turn helping Mommy in the kitchen into a game of hide and seek. I love hearing little giggles echo through the closet where you are hiding. If I pretend to look for you, and ask, "Where's Maya?" your genuine concern that I might be worried makes you answer every time. While reading your favorite book, I Love My New Toy by Mo Willems, there is a part of the book where the main characters cry. As I read the crying aloud, every time you hug me tight and ensure me it will be okay. You are so sensitive and sweet.  I pray for this sweetness and love for others to last!

It is currently nap time, and I can hear through the baby monitor the adorable singing, talking and playing of you from your crib. Napping is pretty rare now, but you remain pleasant even without the extra sleep.

I love you sweet girl! I love your strong will, your personality and your love for life. And I LOVE being your momma!

End of Summer

Again, summer has come and gone. The second half of summer flew by even faster than the first. And so, as promised, here are a few photo highlights.

Sparkler fun on Fourth of July

Monsters, Inc. artwork fun

Family Movie Night - Frozen under the Stars

Community Outreach - packing meals for South Africa

A little sewing project for a friend

Zoo Day with friends

gymnastics fun!

Coney Island

lunch date with cousins

Swimming fun 

Family hiking at Clifty Falls State Park

Potty Training Reward - Build a Bear! 

Back to School?!

It hardly seems possible, but the time had come for my baby girl to enter Kindergarten. Wait, what?! Kindergarten?! Several hours a day, every week day, all year long?! Surrounded by bigger kids, and officially in grade school. Wow, how on earth has time gone so fast?

To kick start the school year right, I decided to take our big grade schooler out for a pre-school date night! First stop, Elliana's first manicure! She was so excited, she practically was dancing in the aisles of the salon. Of course, she chose hot pink with silver sparkles. Love my girlie girl!

Elliana's first manicure! 

Next stop, shopping! We hit the mall for new school approved shoes (guess I wasn't ready for dress codes yet!), and a pair of owl pajamas, as this girl is obsessed with owls. We browsed the mall, enjoyed the mommy-daughter time and even were silly as we jumped over colored tiles on the ground, pretending there were alligators on certain colors. It amazed me how much more grown up my little girl was already, just being able to spend quality time with her, to witness her confidence and have time to explain her detailed questions.

Girl time = shopping!

After shopping, we loaded up on sugar and calories at Orange Leaf where Elliana had more toppings in her bowl than ice cream. We giggled. We danced. We savored the moment. And, finally at 9:00 (1.5 hours PAST bedtime) we began to venture toward home. As I drove home and listened to Elliana explain the solar system (complete with hand movements and circular gestures), I began to pray. Prayers of gratitude, thankful for this sweet girl that God has blessed us with. Prayers for protection as she goes into the world without the shelter of our wings. Prayers for friendship, strong, healthy friendships, where Elliana can be herself, yet learn positively from her friends as well.

We snuggled and prayed before bedtime. We read "the Night Before Kindergarten" and talked about her hopes and fears for the next day. She had a lot more excitement than she did fear, and that alone was an answered prayer. For I, myself, had some unspoken fears.

At 7:11 am, I was woken by a beautifully dressed and groomed little girl, who had already made her bed, cleaned her room and was ready to go to school. Unfortunately, school didn't start for another 5 hours, so we decided to have breakfast first!

We had picked out her favorite breakfast treat the day before and we arranged donuts (glazed and chocolate) in the shape of  a K for her first day of Kindergarten. Every other bite, "Mommy is it time to go to school?" The concept of AFTERNOON kindergarten was clearly one I hadn't prepared for.

By 8:00 we had finished breakfast, curled her hair, oh and played two games of Bingo already. I knew it was going to be a long morning with such an excited little one.

Thankfully our awesome friends and neighbors came over to play, and eat lunch and before we knew it, it was time to go. We took the traditional first day of school picture and off we went!

Waiting for the doors to unlock and the school day to begin! 

First in line, eager to wave goodbye and head into her new world! 

At the classroom, Elliana looked like a natural. She quickly found a seat, started coloring and flashed me a truly genuine smile. I knew she was going to be okay, even though I was not yet sure about myself.

Ready to start her school day! 

Although Kindergarten hours are shorter than her days at preschool, I found myself checking the clock abundantly and excessively! I prayed for her constantly. And, a few hours later, she came out smiling.

I will continue to pray for this sweet girl and give thanks. I ask for direction and guidance with her future schooling. I ask for wisdom for her and discernment with the choices in front of her. Jesus, may you preserve her sensitivity, yet help her guard her heart from hurt. Lord, give Elliana the confidence to let her light shine brightly, and I praise you for allowing us to experience the light you've given her.

Day #2! Already more grown up!