Bull riding and 23-month-old selfies

In late March, we celebrating Collin's second year of AWANA.  His cubbie group all received awards for learning Bible verses throughout the year.  

Maya joined us for the ceremony, cheering loudly for her brother.  She was less enthusiastic about cheering for the other children, but liked when the different age groups performed songs.  

Later that week, I picked her up from school and her teachers had put her hair in her first ponytail.  It called for LOTS of pictures!

And right before Easter, they gave her pigtails.  She knew she looked cute!

Pushing her baby on the patio.  Her babies have names, and while Collin's Eric is still the favorite, she's grown pretty attached to Emma (shown) and Ally . . . or she's learned asking for them can further stall bedtime.

If she finds my phone, there's not much she can do when it's locked.  But she can take selfies.  Many of Maya's pictures are of the floor - hundreds of them.   Sometimes she makes it in part of the frame.

She'll also take videos.  We sang "Happy Birthday" to my Uncle Bobby and since then, she's obsessed with requesting a selfie happy birthday video.  We pick whoever is next in the family to have a birthday and sing away - 

The weekend after Easter, Cas hosted a guys weekend at our house, kicking the kids and me out of our home!  So we went to visit my parents and we to a carnival at my old elementary school.  Pretty sure Collin's high was the cotton candy!

But weeks later, what he remembers is how brave he was on the mechanical bull.  It starts out tame but started getting a little more exciting as he tried to follow the one hand rule and had to cheat to stay on top!

Last Sunday, we were coordinated in pinks and turquoises, all to match Maya's beautiful new outfit my mom made.  

This girl loves her daddy - and she's got him wrapped around her finger already!

Family selfie after church . . . which it appears Collin think is painful!

We start spread out around the table, but normally Maya takes two bites in her spot, then moves her plate and sits on my lap (and then eats off my plate even though we put the same food on her plate).  And her move to Mommy prompts Collin to scoot his chair against mine and lean on me throughout dinner.  I'm trying really hard to enjoy the "too much love" moments, though it's not conducive to a calm or efficient eating experience for me - but I recognize it's a great problem to have!

Uncle Alex and Aunt Coady sent Collin these blocks, and when Maya got better at building, we pulled them out for her.  We had a great Saturday morning building towers, some so large they required a step stool.

Backyard fun.  It's warm enough for the kids to get in the pool, and I'll be behind them in a few weeks.  Collin showing off his lizard in the bug box before going for a swim and Maya entertaining herself for ages on the top step!

We love that in between my house and my grandma's - and in between their school and our home - is a park where we can meet B.  Holding Maya's hand down the slide -

As we were steps from the car, Collin saw a rainwater drain.  Where he felt compelled to shout to the Ninja Turtles, who live in the sewer, with Maya imitating.

We're loving this stage with our kids.  Maya is starting to use her imagination with her baby dolls, cooking in her kitchen, and pretending to fall asleep every time we get her out of the car.  Collin continues to love school, loves sharing new things he's learning, and we've started beginner chapter books which is fun for everyone.  

Passover and Easter 2015

Our Passover and Easter weekend was a busy, family and church filled three days!  The kids and I attended a Good Friday service at noon, where Cas couldn't peel away from work and the childcare for toddlers didn't show up, so I got about 3% of the sermon and spent the remaining time keeping Maya from being too distracting and Collin from whining too loudly that Maya was getting to run around while he was supposed to stay seated.  

Saturday morning, we headed back to our church to lead our community Easter egg hunt.  This year we had about half of the attendees come from neighborhoods and apartments nearby, which was the intention to welcome families who don't normally attend our church.  (This compares with about 5 non-members and 50+ members when I led the event last year.)

Saturday evening, we met at Aunt Debbie's for Passover.  Maya wasn't interested in being held for pictures.

I should have cropped my mom and Maya out of this one, but this was the best family shot we got!

Once she didn't have to pose, she was all smiles!

Exploring with Brownie (in the outfit my mom made) -

Collin photo-bombing my Uncle Bobby's family and not understanding why someone asked him to move to the side.

It was a nice night to stand outside and talk with my sweet aunts, cousins, grandma and mom - 

Maya in her outfit sewn with love.   She put it on and was so cute, aware and proud of how adorable she looked!

 My handsome matching boys -

 My grandma and her children - 

Collin once again photo-bombing the group - 

Maya's best posing smile of the night came in the arms of Aunt Cheryl -

More pictures with my kids before we head inside -

Collin was great during the Passover Seder, and after a bit of prodding, recited the Four Questions from memory.  Maya did well for a 22-month-old, and afterwards, was cuddled up reading her new book with Leah.  She stayed on Leah's lap for about an hour, which was sweet to watch as I got to eat dessert, sip wine, and catch up with adults!

The next morning, we headed to church.  Cas and I taught Sunday School, so he snapped a photo of the kids and me in our matching yellow in the 3-year-old classroom.

Since we were the teachers, we couldn't leave early, and church ran a little late.  So we arrived at our house at 12:20 - with our family due to arrive at 12:30 - to this:  my mom unloading the dishwasher and cleaning up our kitchen!  She and my dad also brought all the food!  Cas and I contributed nothing but a semi-clean countertop!  Having access to Maya's crib + the best family ever is why we will always volunteer to host events at our house!!

Maya played with the "hop hops" from Uncle Dick and Aunt Rita - 

I had just stuck a piece of some food in my mouth and thought I could hide it in my cheek, but not so much.  Of course, my mom and Maya look perfectly lovely!

Another attempt at a yellow picture.

We should have used a good family picture as the bribe for some Easter candy!

Collin talked Leo into sword fighting with him all around the backyard, and after lunch, convinced all the older cousins to play "dead man" on the trampoline.  He had no idea that everyone was humoring him, and he had a terrific time.

Friday outings

It's very common at my company to have Friday's off - the structure is supposed to be where you work 9 hour days and take every other Friday off.  My schedule hasn't been quite as prescriptive, but I take Fridays off whenever my schedule is clear.  

A few weeks ago, Maya and I met my mom at the Children's Museum.  She was delighted by all the exhibits, and it's fun to watch her squeal in glee.

Then a week or so later, we met one of my best friends and her daughter at the zoo.  I wasn't sure we'd get her past the entrance where there was a bubble gun.

But we moved on, posed by the elephants with Katelyn (who we inherit many of our clothes from as they are 10 1/2 months apart).  We swung back by the elephants on the way out of the zoo, and they were splashing and dunking each other in their pool.  The adults were much more excited about this than our girls!

It was a drizzly day, but that kept the crowds away.

What a life our girls have!

Then at the end of March, Maya, my mom and I were able to meet Collin and his class at the zoo.  Cas heard they needed chaperones and I had considered volunteering, but with Maya in tow, I would have made a horrendous chaperone, as I was mostly chasing her around.  They were so happy to see each other, running up for big hugs!

And Maya quite confidently joined the preschool group, holding hands between Collin and his sweet classmate, who was really considerate with Maya.

Acting like monkeys outside their exhibit -

Maya was fearless with the snake, though she's scared of doodlebugs - the logic of 22-month-olds

In our matching red and white -

And this is where we peeled off from the preschool group - for them to continue on to the rhinos and Maya and I to ride the carousel -

So thankful for fun Fridays off with my kids and my mom's schedule allowing her to join us (and take our picture!)

Steps away from the exit, Maya plopped down on the concrete for a break, instructing "Grammy sit, Mama sit" to us.  So in the middle of the pathway, we all obliged the toddler, taking a selfie before convincing her to head home.