Blessed

My beautiful babies are getting bigger by the minute- as I type this, they are "sleeping" (giggling and talking back and forth to each other before drifting off to dreamland). I know that these moments are fleeting and the two year old phase holds many frustrations, but it is also so enjoyable and brings us so much joy that I am eternally grateful to bear witness to these two beautiful, loving toddlers growing into witty, compassionate children.

We had a very busy weekend playing, attending two parties, shopping, going outside, and enjoying each other's company. The kids have been busy at home trying out future professions: Jack has been working on the front door and various other things around the house- he insists on wearing his tool belt. If his handyman projects don't work out, he's also been training for the Masters.

Harper is still enamored with her Doc McStuffins doctor's kit and she enjoys giving regular checkups to her daddy, her brother, me, and all her stuffed animals.

We also played with the Little People and Jack and I had a mini dance party- he cracked me up because he pulled out my old Zeta lapboard and used it as a dance floor (something we did with the kids when they first learned to walk, but we haven't done in a long time). The little ones also got me some flowers this week- the first flowers that they've ever picked for me (thank you, Durinda) and we got to curl up on the couch and watch some tv together on Friday afternoon to start off the weekend. These are the simple things, the little things, that I know I'll forget one day, but I long to press these images into my heart to carry with me forever. This was a great way to start the weekend.

Saturday morning the Colletts trekked up to the gym for their grand opening of the new space. We are so lucky to have such a great group of people to suffer through workouts with and to call our friends. The grand opening consisted of a workout and music, a bounce house obstacle course for the kids, and good food for everyone. The kids enjoyed the bounce house the most (no pictures of this because Tony and I had to climb into the bounce house with the kids to help them with the obstacles). I did manage to get a few pictures of these cuties enjoying their time outside- we couldn't have asked for better weather.

Saturday afternoon Harper got a package in the mail from Aunt Becky that contained some new shoes- kind of like Jellys- that Harper loved immediately. She insisted on wearing them right out of the box, wore them to dinner, and to play outside- Tony had to talk her into taking them off to go to bed. Thank you, Aunt Becky, for the new shoes!

Sunday we went out to eat pancakes (yum), ran some errands- the kids even got to walk around the grocery store a little bit. They are so funny at the store suggesting things we should buy, and saying "hello" to all sorts of people. I'm glad they're good little shoppers.

After the store, we came home and played and took baths and got ready to go to our friend Ava's first birthday party. I was a little worried the kids might act up because they skipped their nap, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well they behaved. They were polite and funny and got along well with the other kids there, most of whom were older. We had two small meltdowns 1- when the dog came up and took Jack's bread that he was eating, to which Jack replied "bad doggy!" 2- when we told Jack that it was time to leave- he wanted to stay and play outside. Tony and I were commenting on how well behaved the kids were as we were driving home and Tony turned around to find these two tired ones in the back. Harper slept for about thirty minutes and Jack read until he conked out too. Parties make us sleepy.

We ended the weekend with fun at home. The kids got to play outside a little while longer- I see lots of outside time in our future this summer- we ate pizza for dinner and Jack and Harper recounted all the things they'd done this weekend. It's so funny to hear them talk about events and it's interesting to see what they remember. As we got ready for bed, the kids played with Tony and I couldn't help but smile. We are truly blessed; the meltdowns and whining and frustrations are all worth it and then some. We are truly blessed.