Nana turns 90!

 Nana turns 90 this year. What an honor to be a part of such a special milestone. As I searched for the perfect 90th birthday card, I loved reflecting on how much life there is to live in that amount of time. The way the world has changed. The way her family has grown. The memories she has made. The blessings she has been given. The loss she has experienced. I was the sappy girl in Hallmark, not just buying a pretty card with the number 90 on it, but recognizing all it represented and being thankful that I've known Nana for seven of those years.  It was the perfect start to a wonderful weekend.

On Mother's Day weekend, the whole family gathered at Skytop Lodge to surprise Nana and celebrate her birthday. We soaked up the beautiful location, spent time with family enjoying lots of fun activities, dressed up and ate delicious meals and watched Nana's face light up as each grandson appeared at the hotel to surprise her.

The view as we pulled in

the lodge 

capturing the beauty

Nana's surprised face 

Ella Margie bonding with her namesake. They love each other.

breathtaking flowers

afternoon chat with Nana enjoying pink lemonade, cookies and Les Miserables on the piano

God is an artist.

I love my baby girl 

winding down before bedtime = chasing each other around the room and squealing

Saturday morning the guys went golfing in the rain...

...while the ladies enjoyed some fun indoor activities.

Ella's first time in the pool 

so grown up

having a blast 

had to post this picture because Ella's personality shines here! 

Nana and Abby

Abby and G-Diddy 

so sleepy...snuggling with Uncle Tommy 

Nana and her girls 

beautiful birthday girl 

Uncle Brad and Aunt Alex

smooshy baby 

Aunt Alex

keeping busy at dinner 

Nana's boys (and Ella)

classy Ella putting her chubby baby feet on the table :)

As if the weekend wasn't wonderful enough, it just happened to be Mother's Day weekend. We enjoyed a Mother's Day brunch complete with flower corsages and delicious food. 

So so blessed to be a mommy to these two sweet girls 

my family 

Nana ready to go skeet shooting 

Abby wore pink headphones and helped push the button to shoot the clay disks for everyone.

Happy 90th Birthday Nana! We love you.

Snapshots and Quoteables

Abby woke up from her nap today and called me to come get her from her bed. She called me once and I didn't respond right away. When she called my name the second time, Ella took off and started crawling as fast as she could down the hallway towards Abby's room. I walked ahead and opened Abby's door for her. Ella crawled right up to Abby's bed, pulled herself up and planted a big kiss on Abby's cheek.

Their love for each other melts my heart. There are few things sweeter to me than moments like that!

sometimes babies just need to snuggle with their mommas

matching in their beautiful new sweaters from Nagymama

"Thank you for our cool blue sweaters, Mama!"

My mother-in-law knows my love for candles. For Mother's Day, she gave me a lovely dark chocolate scented candle. Yum! Abby was helping me unpack from our trip, when walked into the room holding the open candle and sniffing it.
A: Mommy, I'm not sure what this smells like, but it makes me want to have a treat. Can I have a treat for cleaning up my toys?

Now, how can I say no to that! Let's bake some brownies. :)

We've got a climber 

playing dollhouse together

Snapshots and Quotables

first wagon ride of the year 

Abby (eating her breakfast and piercing her pineapple with a fork): OUCH! It's okay little friend. 

sister playtime 

Check out the pose. A natural. :) 

Ella-bean

beauty.

Daddy: You are my little girl. 

Abby (clearly frustrated and about to cry): No, Daddy...I'm a not a little girl. I'm a big girl. I'm a grown up.

D: Why do you want to be all grown up already? Being a little girl is great. 

A (with the most genuine serious face): No! I want to be a grown up because I want to be mommy. 

sweet little momma to her babies 

my favorite hairdresser

There was a dead bird in the street right in front of our house. Abby saw it and was instantly concerned. Her  empathetic heart was so sweet and evident. She squatted in our yard fifteen feet from the bird and just watched it. When I went over to ask her what she was thinking, she said: 

A: Where is his family? Do you think his mommy and daddy are going to come looking for him? Mommy, he needs his family. I'm so sad. 

She then walked over to a dandelion, picked it and threw it toward the bird. 

It was time to go. Daddy wasn't ready yet and this is where we found Abby. She kept saying, "Daddy...Daddy,  please hurry up. We are going to be late!"

baby feet in jelly sandals = overwhelming cuteness

Abby's First Day of Soccer

There is just something about being outside in a field on a sunny Spring morning. Add to that the smell of hotdogs coming from the snack tent and cute little kids learning how to play sports and you've got a really great way to spend a Saturday morning as a family. Before Joe and I had kids, if we had nothing to do on a Saturday, we would drive an hour and a half to watch my brother play baseball and soak up the fun atmosphere. This past Saturday, Abby had her very first soccer game! We loved every minute of it. Though I'm still wondering when my little girl became so grown up. Look at her in those shin guards. Watching her as she experiences new things brings us so much joy.

I did not teach this her how to pose! She's a natural. 

ready to go! My baby is so grown up!

Abby is on the same team as her little friend, Makena, which means Joe and I get to sit on the sidelines with two of our good friends (Makena's parents), Heather and Ryan!

excited to be on Makena's team

practicing before the game 

Abby was very shy in the beginning. She got in line and kicked the ball really slowly to the goal as they practiced. When the game started, her excitement grew a bit, but she never really ran after the ball. It was actually cute because she would kind of forget why she was running and often stopped when something distracted her. The one time Abby got control of the ball, someone else kicked it away and she was offended. The concept of stealing the ball from each other was hard for Abby and a few of the little girls. They are so used to sharing and taking turns that they were offended when someone tried to knock them out of the way and take it from them. I thought it was precious to see them grapple with why anyone would want to do that! Halftime was a hit. The little players sat around in the grass recharging on goldfish and capri sun. Abby was excited to get back on the field when it was her turn to go in.  Overall, she really loved it.

serious face

listening to their coach

 

Joe and I couldn't get over how much Abby's coach looks like my cousin Chris. Coach Scott is a good coach, but my cousin Chris would be an awesome little kids' soccer coach!

Daddy and Ella on the sidelines 

huddled up

some celebratory pizza for Abby's first day of soccer