It's been a long while

Life is busy, fun and full of adventures lately. So much that I don't have much time for remembering to write here! Ryland and Natalie have been busy playing together for days. Luckily they get a long most of the time and love being sisters. Christmas is over, but the fun of it continues on as we play with new games and new toys. We can't wait for the new year!


R and N in their matching pj's (they love matching outfits, I wonder how long that'll last?!)



Ryland with Swiftie



Ryland with Tinker



I told Natalie to smile really big, and so she used her hand to make her smile extra big.



This is the sweetness that is Natalie

Disneyland

Ok, so it's been a long time since posting. Summer has been busy and we've been having too much fun! It's been hot, sunny, and oh we went to Disneyland. We didn't just go to Disneyland, we drove there. A long 30 hours in the car (round trip) which I might add, was not that bad! It was actually sort of fun and adventurous. Yes there were several "are we there yet?" moments, but Ryland and Natalie did so amazing. In fact, they handled it way better than I could've imagined. Our Disney trip was wonderful. Highlights of the trip include:

-Ryland riding her first roller coaster- Thunder Mountain Railroad

-Natalie getting to go inside Minnie Mouse's house

-Natalie enjoying her first churro!

-Ryland and Natalie both making it through Universal Studios' Studio Tour (which had some unknown terrifying moments)

-The girls riding on Dumbo and loving it!

-Meeting princesses and all sorts of fun Disney characters. Oh! And minions too!

-Ryland went down her first water slide, and then braved the even bigger one.

As you can see, we had a ton of fun. Ryland shocked me with her adventurous attitude while we were there. She insisted that The Haunted Mansion be her first ride, and she did it! She is becoming an amazing person, and so is her sister. I can't think of two people I'd rather share Disneyland with. What a special thing.





























On a side note- this post never posted when I thought it did. Since then, we've also gone to see Taylor Swift in concert and recently adopted two kittens. Summer has been busy and fun, but we are ready for fall adventures and cooler weather!

End of School

Well, summer is almost here. Ryland only has 6 days left of kindergarten, and I am standing here shocked at how fast it went. My little Ryland is almost a first grader who can read and write. I'm so proud of her in all of her accomplishments. She has made friends, and learned so much this year. She is so thoughtful, caring and a great friend to others.

This upcoming Thursday is her first field trip to the Children's Museum. She is very excited to have a day of fun! Poor Natalie keeps saying "I'm going on a 'sield' trip with Pete!". We keep having to remind her that she will be staying home. Although, I'm sure we will find something fun for her to do.

These girls are becoming quite the little duo. They play really well together (most of the time).








We've recently joined the Marshall Center, and have been taking the girls swimming. Champ and I have been taking fitness classes too. Last week Natalie got to watch dada do Tai Chi. She was trying to copy the moves. It was really cute.

Happy Mother's Day

These two girls are the reason I am a mother, and I am so proud to be their mom. They have already spoiled me this morning with cards, gifts, breakfast and love. Happy Mother's Day to you all!

A day in pictures

Yesterday after Ryland left for school, Natalie took a nap on the couch while I got to catch up on some tv watching. When Natalie woke up, she immediately got down from the couch, walked to the middle of the room and said "where's Pete?". When I reminded her that Ryland was at school, she fell to the floor in this position. She was so sad that her favorite person wasn't there to play with her.



Happy girl ready to go pick up Pete from school. It was such a beautiful day too. Felt like summer!




Natalie making faces at dinner time



Ryland too!

Natalie is 2!

Sweet little Natalie is 2 years old. Where does the time go? Seems like I was just meeting her, and now she is talking in full sentences, saying her abc's, and trying to dress herself. She is such a sweet little girl with her very own unique personality. Here are a few things you may not know about her:

-she says an "s" sound for words that have an "f" sound in them. So funny becomes sunny and phone become sone. It helps to know this to be able to figure out what she is saying.

- Natalie's favorite food is noodles, sauce and cheese. She requested it yesterday morning for her birthday breakfast, and ate two bowls full, silly girl.

-She also loves rice. Especially rice from Baja Fresh.

-She follows Ryland and tries to play with her constantly. She has started saying "Pete!! Come play with me!!".

- She loves clothes, and tries to put them on herself. She is getting pretty good at it too. Yesterday she got some socks for her birthday, and requested I put all four pairs on her at once. Then she said "dada, this is not good" when she realized how uncomfortable it was to wear that many socks.

Here's my sweet girl the day she was born...look at those cheeks :)





Her yesterday...

Laughter

The sound of these girls laughing and playing together is one of my favorite things. Natalie is really good at making Ryland crack up, and let's not forget that Ryland was the first one to get a giggle out of Natalie. Enjoy!

The weather has been so beautiful most days this month, so thankfully we have spent a ton of time outside. The girls absolutely love being out in the sun playing. Ryland's been practicing her Skip-It (video below) and yesterday was trying to learn how to do a cartwheel. Natalie loves playing in the sandbox, digging in dirt, and picking flowers. It's been really nice for being able to work in the yard because the girls never usually want to come inside. I can see many fun sunny days in our future.

Picture updates

Here is Natalie, looking silly. I gave her my apple to eat. She loved being able to hold the whole apple and take bites.



The girls at the children's museum. They were having such a great time together. I can't believe how big Ryland is getting. She used to be little like Natalie when we would come here, and now look at her!



Her sweet smile. I would say this is one of her favorite parts of the museum (the grocery store), which is so cool because It was one of my favorites when I was a little girl.



She painted her face, and said she was a puppy. Look at that sweet smile.



Natalie getting ready to tackle the clay. She was very content sitting there making art.




Natalie sitting in our hall closet, with all of her babies. She's such a good little mommy.

Happy New Year

It's been busy. Christmas came and went in the blink of an eye, and now it's almost time for Ryland to head back to school. We had a great holiday season, and made many happy memories that we will always cherish. I think Natalie will miss all the Santa stuff. She even pointed out a "look alike Santa" at the mall the other day. The white bearded man didn't seemed to phased by it, and humored her with a smile and wave.

On another note, Ryland's ability to read has really improved in the last week or so. She is sounding out words everywhere we go, and seems very proud to be doing so.

Now, here are some pictures for your enjoyment :)

Natalie tries on my hat all by herself...




Sweet sisters




Me and my girls




Natalie tries on Champ's hat all by herself




Natalie loves her sister