Into The Wild

We actually went camping for two night/three days with two kids. Yes, we’re crazy! It turned out to be a blast. What made it a success were a couple of things: Great friends, a big tent we borrowed, a heater for the tent, lots of equipment/stuff, lots of food, and again great friends. We never could have done it without a tent heater. The days were perfect but that meant super cold nights and mornings. It got down to freezing. I had the kids layered and bundled and they actually slept really well. Abby was in the pack-n-play, Kate and I were on a small blow up mattress, and Jason was on a mat. Yes, we were all in the same tent smashed up together. I don’t know if they slept so well because they were exhausted from the day, it was cool, or because you could hear the creek by us but whatever it was it worked.

We spent the days just hanging out and eating. We did do a small hike to a waterfall. The kids all played together and we joked that it was like Lord of the Flies because they were running around wild. I now feel like we would be depriving our kids if we didn’t take them camping again considering how much fun all the kids had. I also don’t think it would be worth all the effort if we didn’t go with a big group. It just made it more fun. The site we were camping out was beautiful. There is nowhere prettier than NC in the Fall.

   Everyone hanging out

Abby getting choked, I mean hugged, by Lucy :)

  

There’s nothing wrong with putting a baby in a cage with a dog as long as they’re happy right?! (Brighton and Nixon)

Night View

Kate walking Nixon. She had so much fun playing with all the dogs and has a pretend puppy ever since we came home!

Just walking off into the woods, luckily Nixon knew the way back since Kate’s sense of direction is a work in progress

 

Wild Kids

 

The Village

Some Girl Time

Some Daddy/Daughter Time

Baby Blues

This is a random picture I took today. It’s not a very good picture and no editing has been done. Look at those eyes! I wonder if they’re going stay this blue. I really hope so!

Abby LOVES the airplane swing we have in our backyard. She can sit in there forever. It’s really cute because sometimes Kate will stop playing to go push her and never seems to get jealous that Abby gets a turn a swinging.

Never take a hungry toddler to the store and watch out for the puppy

After Kate woke up from her nap, I fed Abby and then took them to the store without giving Kate a snack. We were in the produce section when I see her pick up 2 plums and take a bite out of them. I tell her no then turn around to get a bag for the plums when she sneaks an apple and takes a big bite. She lost her walking privilege and was put into the cart while I got another bag so I could buy all the half eaten fruit. I did feel a little bad when I got in the car and saw it was almost dinner time and she never even had a snack. She was just hungry! I know the feeling since I always buy way too much junk food when I go to the store hungry, apparently this advice also applies to 2 year olds.

Kate has a pretend puppy. (I know I’m an awful Mom for not getting her one, but a pretend one is good enough. Someday, we will get a dog but it will be when our kids are older). She whistles for him to come and feeds him and we even have to kiss him goodnight. It’s so cute when she asks for her puppy and then “finds” him. She can also take a simple stick and make it a baby/Daddy/Mommy/gun/food/phone/juice… I love her imagination. This is such a fun stage. I love how she’s so excited to see us and calls us “my daddy” and “my mommy.”

She’s growing up so fast but I’m enjoying each new stage we hit. Minus the occasional tantrums, could do without those.

~the reason she whistles for the dog is because Jason would whistle to get her attention so now when she wants our attention she does her pretend whistle. I know I need to stop it but every time I can’t help but laugh.

Abigail

I say this with every stage, but I can’t believe Abby is 6 months old! She is a wonderful baby. At 6 months she is sitting up and at 6.5 months she is crawling backwards. She has been sitting for awhile but has become a pro at it within the past month or so. Abby loves to hug and cuddle in your shoulder. She is definitely a mama’s girl and will start laughing and smiling when I walk in the room. She is chubby as ever and I love love love it and hope it sticks around :) She “talks” and “sings” ALL the time, nonstop. Looks like we’re going to have a family full of talkers. Poor Jason will never be able to get a word in. Occasionally she sleeps straight through the night but usually she still wakes to eat once a night. I should probably do something about that but if the girl wants to eat…  Here are some pictures we took when she was almost 6 months old.

  

How I Use My Parents

Lets be honest here, nobody wants to hear endless stories about your kids. Nobody, except family that is. Which is why I have to call my parents almost on a daily basis to update them on the latest cute or smart thing Kate and Abby have done. Because really I’m pretty sure Kate is the smartest 2.5yr old ever. She truly amazes me and seems more like a 3.5 yr old in her knowledge and cognitive abilities. Of course I also think she’s the cutest little girl ever. The same goes for Abby. Have you ever seen cheeks as cute or a baby so cuddly and loveable?! Jason is luckily around every evening but a lot happens during the day. Occasionally I have to call Jason to relay an incident because I’m amazed at what happened or can’t stop laughing. However, I can’t call him every hour at work, but I can call my parents who totally appreciate my stories. I guess being a parent never ends; just how you parent changes. It makes me feel better to know that even when Kate and Abby are grown they’ll still need me to listen to all the stories about their adorable babies whom I’m sure I will think are the cutest and smartest babies ever :)