Michigan - Fun with Family Part 1 - Happy Birthday Brian

Our first full day in Marquette happened to also be Brian's birthday!  :)  They had a family barbeque and a cake for him at Brian's step-sister's house.  It was so sweet and thoughtful and we enjoyed getting to hang out with family that we normally only get to connect with on social media. 

Naomi loved the cake as usual!  And Olivia was all smiles!

Baby Lily and Gloria

Justin and Kylie

Bill, Dawn and Gary

Michael and Lily

Chris and Kerri

SeaLife Aquarium - Octonauts Edition

Naomi loves Octonauts and sea creatures.  She even had an Octonauts themed 3rd birthday party (I don't think any of the other kids knew anything about the Octonauts, but at least one of them is a fan now).  Consequently, Olivia is also a fan.  

So, when we heard that SeaLife Aquarium in Grapevine was doing a special Octonauts event, we had to go!  My Dad and Step-mom came with us, although  I didn't happen to snap any pictures of them.  (Olivia would only wave to the Octonauts characters; she was not interested in hugging them or anything.) 

Naomi with Captain Barnacles

Our Little Family (the girls are watching Octonauts on a screen in the room.)

Naomi with Kwazi

Aquarium Fun

Naomi saw this carousel before we went into the aquarium and would not stop talking about it the whole way through the aquarium.  We should have just let her ride it before we went inside so that she could get it out of her system and enjoy the rest of the day.  Lesson learned.  She was fixated on it, so the minute we exited SeaLife, she made a mad dash for the thing.  We let the kids ride it twice. 

Ballet Pictures

Naomi's Ballet studio had a professional photographer come in to do photos of all of their classes including Naomi's.  We had gotten Naomi's hair cut that day and I asked the gal to put Naomi's hair up into a bun for me.  She looked adorable and was so cute for the camera!!!!  I really love all the girls' expressions and how individual they all are!

First Swim of 2014

Yesterday, we took our first little trip to one of our neighborhood pools.  I LOVE that we have access to some great pools in our new neighborhood.  The girls had a blast.  Naomi loved the little pool and the splash pad.  Olivia wanted to run in the splash pad with her big sister but cried every time the water hit her.  She preferred to swim back and forth between Mommy and Daddy in the big pool.  We stayed for a while before Olivia started shivering and we were all a little hungry.  So much fun!  I'm so looking forward to spending time at the pool this summer with my little family! 

Olivia's First Haircut

On the last day of Mother's Day Out (aka "school"), I took both girls to get their hair cut.  It was Olivia's first haircut.  She did great, but I'm pretty sure she cared more about her lollipop than the haircut.  Naomi was having pictures taken at ballet later that day so I asked the gal if she could put her hair up in a bun for me when she was done.  It turned out great.  Both girls had a great time!   (Tip for those of you with toddler girls - Sweet N' Sassy at Firewheel has a Tuesday Toddler Cut special for $10 (ages 3 and under), so we always go on Tuesdays after MDO.) 

Zoo - May 2014

We had a great Mother's Day trip to the Zoo!  I was so glad that my Mom (aka Gram T) could join us as well.  Bummed that I didn't snap any pics of her with the kids!  :(  But here's what I did get! 

Conversations with Naomi - 5-7-14

I've decided that I have to start documenting some of my conversations with Naomi (and Olivia as they progress) because they've gotten quite cute - sometimes funny and sometimes they just bring a little happy tear to my eye.  

This morning, while playing "nap" and calling them my babies...

Naomi:  Yeah, we're the baby birds and your the momma bird.  (This is a reference to my bird nest necklace that I've explained to Naomi before.)

Me:  That's right sweetie.  You know our little baby birds out front, they've grown up and flown away from the nest.  Someday you will grow up and fly away too.  

Naomi:  You'll have to hold my hand when I fly Mommy.  

Me:  You bet sweetie!  I will definitely hold your hand when you fly.  

Naomi:  And Daddy too.  

Me:  Of course, Daddy and I will both hold your hand when you fly.  

And, cue happy little tear.  She doesn't have the perspective that I have or understand the symbolism of this conversation yet.  But that is my hope - that she lets me hold her hand a little as she learns to fly and that our nest is a warm, happy place to land when she flies off on her own. 

I love you Naomi!