Rylee says... Natalee says...

The things they say this month...

Natalee...

Instead of hand stand she says, " I want to do a hand back stand."

Favorite items... blanket and lovie

She continues to carry around way too much. This girl is carrying at least two bags at all times.

Natalee is in the question phase. She has to know exactly why I am doing what I'm doing at every moment of the day. She is a sponge right now constantly wanting to feed her curiosity.

Rylee...

Blanket- This week it went from lampie to lanket now it's lankie.

She was so excited to see Lolli dance in her recital. She keeps asking if she can do "lallat" and " wur ah bun"

May

Closing out May

We have had a busy couple weeks! The girls finished up school this month. We were all sad to say goodbye to our new friends and teachers. I'm going to have my hands full keeping these active girls occupied/entertained this summer. Mothers day out was a blessing for all of us.

 They have grown so much this year

Natalee with her teachers, Ms.Julia and Ms. Kara

Rylee and her best pal Lucy (aka Loopy)

Ry saying goodbye to Ms. Kristi (aka Ms. Pippi)

After wrapping up school we had to get ready for Natalee's dance recital. It's amazing to me how serious these studios take a 4 year old's recital. You would think we were in preparation for the NYC ballet! Needless to say this Momma put a smile on her face and did everything the studio expected (including waiting in line at 7 am for 3 hrs to buy tickets for the recital at $21 per ticket...insert sarcasm). Some days I wish she would have liked soccer, haha. In all seriousness I am elated that I get to share these memories with her! I can remember my dance recitals like it was yesterday. 

As I sat in the audience in anticipation for the crocodiles to run on stage I had a nervous feeling come over me. For the first time I was nervous for my little dancer. They finally ran on stage and I scanned through to find my little crocodile. Watching my little angel on that big stage was such a special experience. I was overwhelmed with emotions. I was so proud of my little girl. She got on a huge stage in front of a massive audience and danced her little heart out like she had been doing it every day. I am trying my best to savor these moments. I know they are only little once and I don't want to miss anything. I often remind myself of this when I feel like I'm on the verge of insanity after a long day ;)

  

Dance buddies

Proud little sisters 

Natalee and the lil sis fan club

The girls were over pictures. This was as good as it gets

We wrapped this month up with a weekend of playing outside. 

Now we're off to the beach! Happy SUMMER!!!

GRADUATION DAY

Natalee officially graduated from her Pre-K/Mother's Day Out program this week. We have been so blessed to have had such a wonderful year. She absolutely adores her teachers and all the wonderful friends she has made. Natalee is such a sensitive soul. She has not been herself since the graduation ceremony. I finally sat her down and asked her what was going on. She told me, " I'm going to miss all my friends. I don't like that I won't get to see my teachers every week." This is when the true water works began. I explained this just meant she got to spend more time with Rylee and I over the summer.  That thought didn't calm her down... it may have made her more upset ;)

We have decided to hold her back from Kindergarden next year. I went back and forth but truly feel another year under her belt before we throw her into a strict schedule will only help her developmentally in the long run.  She is going to attend a five day pre-k program from 9-2 Monday through Thursday and 9-12 on Fridays. The program is amazing! They really work on mastering all the skills necessary for Kindergarten. Rylee will go Monday and Wednesday from 9-2. This allows for a much needed Momma break on those days! 

It's funny what defines "break" these days! A break for this full time Mom means cleaning alone and uninterrupted. It means running errands without the fear of meltdown and grocery shopping slowly. Our normal shopping experience looks a lot like the old show supermarket sweep. I don't know why I watched that game show as a kid but some days I feel like I'm living it. Of course I love spending every moment with my little ones but some days my brain needs a break.  I try to squeeze as much as I can into the 10 hours a week they are both in school. 

It is getting HOT here and we are ready for SUMMER! 

 Proud lil sis

 I'm so thankful they have each other

Our new friends and best buds

Rylee's Words...

Wanted to make sure I documented Rylee's "words"

Favorite word right now at 2 and 1/2 " My boody" as she stick her bee hind out.

Her blanket = Lampie

Natalee = Lollie

Prayers = Purs

Liploss (of course that is in my kids vocab) = lip bock

Mandy and Kristy (her teachers at school) = Manie and Pippy :)

Maddy (our dog) = Mannie

Don't do that = Don do dat

Breakfast = bebast

I love you = I la u

A couple years later...

It's safe to say I'm not a good consistent blogger... I have come to the conclusion that this is the best way to keep our out of town friends and family up to date on our crazy life.

Two years later in a nutshell... We had "little sister" and what a blessing she has been to our life. We moved into a new home, Trey started a new job, I left my company to start the stay at home journey and my babies have turned into little girls. Now you're caught up...

I have always wanted to start a journal for the girls. I wanted to start one for each of them to read as they became young adults. I wanted to document their stages throughout the years. What I came to realize is that I had already begun that process when I started this blog back in 2008. To me, this is a keepsake for our family documenting "life." It is not a "perfect" life but it is our life and I love living it. The good and the bad :) I am so thankful to be home full time with my kiddos but it has been a big adjustment. Transitioning from corporate America to "mom life" has been a challenge. After one year I am finally starting to settle into my new role. Now that I've worn both hats I have a tremendous amount of respect for both sides. It takes a strong person to work full time and be a mommy. At the same time it takes a lot of strength to be with those precious babies 24/7! What a gift they are! So what do we do now...? I have taken up gardening, haha. Seriously... I have... and I love it. Give me a hat, a plot of land and some garden tools and I'll be a happy camper.

This girls planted sunflower seeds this year and we are so excited to watch them grow! 

Life has been full of changes this past year but we are so thankful for our family and can't wait to see what God has in store for us. We are looking forward to a fun filled summer!