OAC Community Day 2014

Every year, our church hosts a Friends and Family Day, complete with great food, pony rides, a bounce house, sno cones, cotton candy, face painting and an little animal petting zoo. It's a great opportunity to invite new people to join us for church and enjoy a fun time together afterward. The kids look forward to it every year. They love running free with their little friends. The weather always seems to be beautiful!

This year, Ella was old enough to enjoy the festivities too. Both girls had their faces painted, tried cotton candy for the first time and rode ponies. Ella was pretty fascinated by the caged chickens and her little peeps. She wanted to sit down with the sheep and play for hours. Everything in me wanted to chase her with antibacterial every time she loved on the little sheep, but tried to restrain my neurotic tendencies until she was done! I'm not the biggest fan of petting/feeding (smelly) farm animals, but I totally don't want to rob my kids of the "experience". I was the one freaking out at Catskill Game Farm as a kid because the petting zoo was running lose all around me and the cheeseburger stand we ate at was right next to the giraffes and their fly friends. My girls don't seem to be bothered by any of it and think they are sweet. I think a redeeming trip to Catskill Game Farm may be in our near future.

loving their pretty face paint

Ella's first ride

The FACE! :) I love her. Joe would say...proof that she is her mother's daughter

"I rode a pony today!"

Abby looked like such a big girl when she climbed up this year.

love her

Ella and her buddy Mason checking out the little chicks.

That sheep! Ahhhh...

Family BBQ

We had lots of fun at Aunt Charlene and Uncle Vic's annual family BBQ.  We enjoyed spending time with family. The weather threatened to rain us out, but we stole moments outside in between the storms. The girls loved spending time with their cousins. You would never know they hadn't seen each other in a year. This year, they had a blast playing on the big blow up water slide.

When I was seven, my aunt gave me one of the best gifts ever for Christmas. She filled a box with every office supply my little heart could handle and made me an insta-box for playing school and office. I'm pretty sure I squealed with excitement for weeks when I played with it. The "While You Were Out" pads got me every time.

After the BBQ, she sent me home with a sealed box addressed to our girls. We opened it to find their box overflowed with everything you could dream to play school with, including rolls of labels with their names on them. Their faces say it all! We've been playing with it for days. If you are looking for us, we are usually somewhere playing school.

Abby's First Day of Pre-K

It's official! We have joined the "First Day" club. As much as I don't want my babies to grow up, I've also been excited for the day when my kids get to experience the amazing experience that is school. I've always loved all things school and learning. Abby is no different. We have been doing school together for years. Not because I was pushing her academically, but because she always wants to learn something. She begs to read, do math problems, learn how to cook, make arts and crafts and even loves sitting in a structured environment with schedules and rules. It is so much fun for her and I can totally relate.

As a little girl, I remember what it felt like to put on my new outfit and backpack filled with new supplies, the smell of the first day in the air, and walk through the doors of a new classroom. I remember how I felt finding my new hook or desk. I especially remember the excitement and feeling of new beginnings and adventure that the first day of a new school year represents. So, as much as I love having Abby at home with me all day, I was just as excited as her for the new experience that awaited her.

 

Our Pre-K is three days a week from 8:30-11:30. She already loves her teacher and new routine.

 

 

As I held Abby's hand and walked her into her new classroom (and into this new season of life), I was reminded again of the total blessing it is to be a mom to these little girls. The days are long, but the years are short, aren't they? 

In other news, it totally smelled like the first day of school. Wish I could make that scent into a candle. I'm totally the grown adult who gets giddy over the smell of paste and new books.

  

The theme this year at Abby's school is God's promises. I love hearing what she is learning about God and his promises when she comes home every day.

Abby's very first piece of school art

 Abby's teacher, Mrs. K, takes pictures of the kids throughout the week and shares them with us in a weekly newsletter. I love having glimpses of what my little girl is enjoying while I'm not with her. She is learning a lot, having fun and making new friends.

I gave Abby a first day of school interview. Her responses are below:

End of Summer Snapshots and Quotables

When Abby learned about the ALS ice bucket challenge, she decided she wanted in on the good cause. After videotaping her Daddy, Abby nominated herself for the challenge. We had fun with the challenge. It was great opportunity to pray for the individuals and families affected by the disease.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoHIsdB3vac&list=UUE9rj8wUMKGKSsg2SQUzVMQ

Then, she nominated her Mommy. 

 

 Joe wanted me to have a breather day and gave me the space to go spend the day with my mom and brother to celebrate their birthdays with them. I spent the day in one of my favorite places, having lunch and shopping with my mom and Cory, visiting with my Dad for a bit and even getting a pedicure with one of my best friends before heading home to my loves. It was wonderful! 

 

I even had some time to sit in one of my favorite spots with an iced coffee and just think and pray in silence without any distractions. #feelslikehome

 

Meanwhile, the girls spent a day with Daddy and their love tanks were all filled up with quality time from their favorite guy. I was so refreshed and filled up by my time. I'm sure it helped that I got these photos from Joe while I was gone. After all, it was tea party time at our house and he didn't want me to miss it. #bestdaddyever

all fancy for their tea party with Daddy

once again...best daddy ever!

checking out the new ice cream shop in town

Where's my dad?

Abby: Mommy, I know that lady is a lot of years old.
M: How do you know that?
A: Because she has all those cracks on her face that older people have.

just a little alone time: all dressed up and making some masterpieces

 Ashley came for a visit, so naturally we picked a new house project for her to help me with. Refreshing the kitchen has been on my list for a while, so she helped me get motivated to put my plan into action while she was there. Then, Heather came over to help us paint and consult. There is nothing like good friends helping that make the process seem less daunting. I love them! AND I love the kitchen updates. The kitchen is naturally one of my favorite rooms in the house, but I have not done much to it since we moved in three years ago. The chalkboard wall, gallery wall, our new cow Henry, fresh paint, the fun new curtain (sewn by Heather!) and the clipboards with my Nagymama's recipes on them make the kitchen even cozier and sweet for me to spend time in. Home sweet home!

 

Meet Henry the cow! I loved him when I saw him at the store and as unconventional as he was, I knew he was the perfect finishing touch for our kitchen.

 With the end of the summer closing in, we had to make sure we got to at least one summer dollar movie at the mall. Last year, Ella was too little to come with us. This year, we took Ella to the movies for the first time. She loved every minute of it and sat through the whole thing.

Potty training is all the rage in our house these days.  Ella had been asking us to take her diapers off all summer, but we kept putting it off because of our lack of consistent time at home. All of our summer travels made potty training seem pretty insurmountable this summer. We came home from Arkansas and spontaneously decided it was time. It was a long weekend and we were settling in at home. Labor Day weekend had arrived  and Daddy was home for three days. Teamwork, anyone? So with Doc McStuffins and Sofia the First undies in hand, Ella excitedly signed up for boot camp potty training weekend.

Three weeks later, we are still very much in process, but Ella is doing great. It is fun to see how potty training is different for our two girls. Abby was very regimented and determined to get on the potty every 20 minutes when we told her it was time to try. She diligently collected her M&M reward after each success and within the first week she was almost completely potty trained.

Ella's training has has been a bit more of a process because in the morning she takes a while to wake up and wants nothing to do with sitting on the potty. When she warms up to it, she does great for most of the day until she starts playing. Then, she does not want to be disturbed from her focused playtime. She isn't motivated by a reward like candy, but loves the cheer leading section (Abby, Daddy and Mommy) who crowd in and celebrate after each success. Little sister LOVES the attention. Bottom line: She has to be in the mood. When she is not, there are lots of tantrums, which lead to us relenting and then an accident five minutes later. Like we've said before, this girl has got some spunk and she's not afraid to unleash it when necessary. Every day she is staying dry a little longer and having a few less accidents! She is doing great.

Teaching her princesses all about the potty

"My did it!!"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S_oqcm46K0&index=11&list=UUE9rj8wUMKGKSsg2SQUzVMQ

This is what life looks like when Lily is here visiting. Double dog snuggles.

This girl was born for adventure and loves those rain boots.

Recently. we sold the little car I was given when I turned 18 in preparation for our minivan. I have eleven years of memories in this baby, but it was time to let her go. From high school through college to marriage and babies, I like to think what these car windows would say if they could talk. It was the end of an era in our home. 

In other news...

Ella likes to sleep with ice. No really, she does! I have little pieces of plastic ice cubes that I keep in the freezer and at some point I think I gave her a bag of them for her boo boo. Now, every night when she goes to sleep, she requests three things: water, eye-sh (ice) and teddy. How's that for an adorable quirk. For now, I'm hoping it passes before winter hits. Just call her Elsa. 

Abby's current favorite activity: going on nature walks

Word of the month: Masterpiece
We've talking a lot about masterpieces and making masterpieces and that we are God's masterpieces. The girls love to make their own masterpieces. We especially can't get enough of Ella running around saying the word!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx--Ks_Pb2I&index=2&list=UUE9rj8wUMKGKSsg2SQUzVMQ

I walked in and found Ella singing Jesus Loves Me to her baby and putting her to sleep. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk-Sg-ro4vU&index=8&list=UUE9rj8wUMKGKSsg2SQUzVMQ

And I leave with you with this gem. This sums our family car trips up pretty well!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilNIcVKUKkM&index=7&list=UUE9rj8wUMKGKSsg2SQUzVMQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu6m1Wr6z7I&list=UUE9rj8wUMKGKSsg2SQUzVMQ&index=6

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_m3Yg8jRR8&index=5&list=UUE9rj8wUMKGKSsg2SQUzVMQ

(Note: As soon as we took this video, I noticed that Ella had wiggled herself loose in her car seat and I fixed the strap on her shoulder right away.)