Ms. Sarah

Miss Sarah is our new BLESSING of a day care provider for the girls.

Let's see...I feel like I could go on for days about her, but she has a degree in early childhood ed, went to a Christian college where she met her husband, has been on a missionary trip (last year in fact) and has a 3 yr. old son, Jonathan.

We've only been with her a short while (in fact, this is week 2) but things are going SO well with her.  Cora gives her the big smile when we get there and today, Beanie didn't even cry when I left, that is HUGE!

We met her through our old neighbor on Schuylar, Lisa, who also watches kiddos in her home. 

She plans fun days of crafts and activities for the kiddos and had SUCH a special day for Amara's birthday last week.  They made cookies, did a craft where they made crowns, took a walk, and she even made Amara all her favorite foods for the day!  It's so fun for her to get to try new things and make new friends :)

She's also homeschooling her son, so Amara (and eventually Cora) will benefit from her background and experience as well. She'll be coming home smarter than mom and dad at 3 I'm sure!

I feel so lucky that we found her and so happy she watches over my lovelies during the day.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU Ms. Sarah!!

Trampoline (happy b day beanie!)

Doesn't this picture say it all?  

We decided on this for Amara's birthday a few months back and couldn't wait for it to arrive!  After our big zoo trip, the guys showed up to install it for us and Amara was very curious to say the least. 

I was inside with Cora at the time, but Eric came in to tell me she had figured it out. I guess they got the supports on the thing and she said "I think they are building me a trampoline!" Eric said "oh really?" and left it at that...stinker :)  She waited patiently for them to finish and pack up, but as soon as they were gone, she was already climbing the ladder!

She started running in circles, doing flips, and asking us "what next..." which is the trampoline equivalent of me begging my poor mom to "tell me what to do" at the pool for I don't know how many summers in a row.  Kids really do 'pay you back' in that way.  I mean how many different tricks can you have a 3 year old do?  I guess I'd better start getting creative!

Running around in circles was pretty fun.  I asked her to run in the other direction and (as most of us do) she struggled with the mechanics of it and quickly went back to her more comfortable direction.

Jumping as high as she can--or as high as her 34 pound body will allow her!  It will be fun to watch her grow with this, and eventually Cora--assuming she is sharing by that point.  I'm so glad she had exposure to the trampoline with Tumble Bears last fall and up at Recreation Outlet where we found this.  I'm sure we'll have many more fun evenings with friends ahead!

Did I mention we have it locked up when we're not in it?  ;)  Eric suggested getting her blanket and pillow and letting her sleep out there, but I wouldn't put anything past her!

annual zoo birthday trip

Beanie's big birthday zoo trip day!  A day we (at least Eric and I) look forward to, and this makes our 3rd year!  This year (as it will about half of the time) her birthday fell on Memorial day weekend, so knowing it'd be packed, we headed for the zoo at 9 when gates opened.  Grandma Young surprised Beanie with doughnuts at home and followed us up there, and we had a warm day, just slightly overcast, perfect for the zoo!

  After visiting the polar bears and finding them still sleeping (LITERALLY) we headed towards the carousel.  The flamingos were out and prancing around though, so we stopped to watch them for a few minutes. We watched the weirdest exchange though, one of the zoo keepers snuck in and took one of their eggs from the exhibit!  When they came back over, they were looking for it and certainly didn't "miss" what happened.  We kind of felt badly for them!

  At the carousel, we all took turns riding with Amara and Grandma got some time with Cora when she woke up.  I'm not sure if we rode it 3 or 4 times, but it was field trip day, so it was very full of kids--she loved to watch.

  One of the trips Amara wanted to ride on the bench.  This was a surprising first for us, never even asked about it before!

We headed off to see the manatee after that, then on to the monkeys--with each passing moment though, the zoo was growing more and more crowded and we knew we were getting close to go time. 

  Waiting outside to see the Lorakeets, this was the face I got when I asked her to look at me--HOPING to get a picture of both girls at the zoo.  Silly mom.  I have to say, this was right before we left, having clearly pushed past our "fun" window for the zoo.  We know we have about an hour and a half, but we were all the way in Australia, 20 minutes from the car, and overstretched our welcome, so to speak.

A trip to the zoo is never complete without the gift shop.  A bucked hat for Cora (that in this picture looks HUGE on her, but in reality fits her perfectly) and a flamingo for Amara--oh, and the tiny blue tiger from Grandma :)

We had a great trip and visit, no crazy sunburns or mishaps (knock on wood) and already looking forward to our next trip!

Siesta

We got this little cot for Amara to use at Miss Sarah's, similar to what she uses at preschool.  It's like those fold up sports chairs, so it's very portable and cute.  Amara was thrilled to see me get it out and set it up, so being as it was SUPER hot and we were all in the garage working anyway (and she had been spraying Ily with the sprayer in the yard) I put it on the porch.

First she was sitting on it, then lying on it, then asked for her green blanket.  I think she likes the satin-y feel on her face, especially when she's sleepy.

While I rocked and nursed Cora, Bean laid there and listened to the fountain trickling and nodded off.  Heck, I was sleepy too!  They enjoyed a little cat nap on the porch, even in the heat, and I think it's safe to say she likes her new cot (which, incidentally, she calls a "pot"--even though Eric has tried to correct her :))  

3 years and 3 months: checkups and pics

The AMAZING Susie Jarvis took the girls first photo shoot together--surprise, surprise, it was momentous.  She was able to get great shots of both girls, and some beautiful ones of them together.

Amara's beautiful smile, JUST under 3 years old.  She's grown up so fast!  Cora, always wide-eyed, couldn't take her eyes off Susie!  We just had their checkups yesterday and Amara is 34 lbs and 38 inches tall, 75% in both categories.  She didn't have to get any shots, and Dr. Dicarlo said she seemed great and he'd see her in a year!

Little sis' Cora was also a peach.  She is 14 lbs. 11 oz, putting her in the 89% (down from last month's 95%) and her height is 23 1/4 putting her in the 75%.  She got 2 shots, but only cried for a second, and smiled widely at Ashley as soon as I picked her up.  Amara quickly claimed her sucker and stickers from Dr. Dicarlo and we were out the door. 

I feel SO amazingly lucky to have these girls and cherish every moment with both of them!

Spring Fling: Primrose

Last Friday was the 2nd annual Spring Fling event at Primrose, Amara's school.  I'd heard about the event and it sounded great: bounce house, face painting, child IDs, balloon animals, petting zoo, etc. and JUST up the road from us!

We headed over around 6, later than our typical outing, but we were really trying to make Amara comfortable at her school.  The whole way there, she kept saying "you're not going to leave, you're going to stay with me."  We had to convince her to get out of the car!

Once we got there, she was all into it.  We saw her teachers, Miss Shirey, Miss Turley, and many faces and friends we don't know yet.  We played a golf game, plinko, got a green giraffe balloon animal, played a cornhole type pig game, and played a lot on the different playground sets.  I even bid on a round of golf at Pinnacle for Eric but lost out in the end.

She aslo enjoyed her hot dog and brownie (with sprinkles) before we headed out to the fire house and petting zoo area--then we headed home.  Even though we were there later than normal, we all had a lot of fun and saw a lot of new faces.  It was fun and the first of many fun Summer events for all of us!

I was so glad some of our friends could go and join the event too, Amanda and her family made it out as well as Annie and her family too!  I hope everyone had as great a time as we did!  We're building quite the little network for events with all the great happenings around Columbus for sure!

Little AnnaBella Miller

In this season's We Joy Sing classes, we learned a song about a caterpillar.  Ms. Kelly does such a great job of mashing songs together, I don't know if it's really called Little AnnaBella Miller, but that's what I call it.

Anyway, between that song (to the tune of Twinkle, twinkle little star, a favorite) and her love of bugs, she was THRILLED when I point out this crawly guy at grandma's house.  I don't REALLY think it's a caterpillar, but what do I know?  it works.

"Little AnnaBella Miller

had a fuzzy Caterpillar

First it crawled upon her mother (EEK!)

Then upon her baby brother (Boo, hoo, hoo)

All said AnnaBella Miller,

TAKE AWAY THAT CATERPILLAR!"

Grandma grabbed a piece of paper to scoop him up with, then she held her arm out to let him crawl up, JUST LIKE THE SONG!  It was so adorable to watch her enjoy that and not run screaming.  She has REALLY made me aware of how much kids mirror what we do.  I can't claim that I would let bugs crawl on me, but I'm so proud that she does :)

Mother's Day shopping

Mother's day for me is all about spending time with my girls.  I don't need or want to go out to dinner, or anything fancy, just something fun with all of us.  This year, Eric surprised me with a number of great treats--a hand made garden stone, complete with Cora's fist print, Mrs. Prindables apples (a favorite for both of us) and a beautiful Lilac bush.

We've been slowly landscaping (and unpacking STILL) over the last few months and we're putting work into the yard as we can.  Eric has it looking green and weed free, now we want to add some pretty things.  Since we moved in August and had no idea what we really had plant-wise, we decided to wait till things bloomed. 

We wanted to go to one of our favorite greenhouses, Oakland, to pick out a nice Lilac speciment to start our back landscaping.  While Eric hunted, I entertained the girls in the play area (so smart) and since we went on a weekday, it was pretty empty!

We also got a rose and peony for my mom (must be where I get the desire for yard work) and headed home with our finds.  Baby sister Cora was asleep in my sling for most of the trip--I'm kind of proud of this self-portrait of us that I snapped while Beanie was playing :)  We also went to my old Elementary school, Harrisburg, to play for a while over the weekend, and really enjoyed the time together with my family.  Thanks honies!

COSI

 On a cold, rainy, Spring Ohio day, we decided to hit up COSI before running out of leave time with the girls.  We hadn't been in a while, but this time we decided to hit up some of the exhibits, not just the kids play zone.  I didn't get any pics of the geckos, but those were a HUGE hit for her! 

She also enjoyed the ocean exhibit, where she tried several different fountains, the wave machines, etc.  We also ventured into the submarine room, where she enjoyed this contraption that made a little scuba man dive and surface under her control.

She started tuckering out after all the excitement, but quickly revived after seeing all the kids.  She shouted "I love this place!  Thank you mommy and daddy for bringing me here!" That certainly makes you smile.

Playing with a litte friend to race balls down the track never gets old.

We hadn't played with the fog machine before, that was different and fun--I think it was actually supposed to replicate clouds, but I hate it when kids ask questions that you can't answer (AT 2 years old) so yeah, I called it fog :)

As usual, Cora tuckering out on dad's shoulder.  Clearly neither of them mind :)  He has to ward off the adoring moms at COSI with this one in his arms!

The water table area is always the last stop.  Between being DRENCHED, hungry, tired, etc.  it's a good way to wrap up the visit.  Next time I'm sure it'll be summer and warmer, but there was still a little chill outside.  We packed it all up and headed home for some dry clothes, lunch, and a nap :)

Cora beating up on dad

I had to jot this story down.

Yesterday the girls had their checkups: 3 years and 3 months.  We expected shots for both, so we played it low key, ordered pizza, and played inside.

Grandma stopped by and took Amara to pick up the dogs, so for a bit, it was just the 3 of us.  Eric was walking Cora around (who was a tad fussy from HER shots) and he started noticing a pattern...

She was waving her big left arm kind of in a windmill motion, in essence clubbing Eric on the shoulder every time Eric would stop walking with her.  Then he'd start walking and she'd stop hitting.  He repeated this for me while I watched several times, and each time she did it.

Doctors say we don't give kids enough credit, but especially with Cora, I've seen time and again her efforts to communicate to us.  She wasn't fussing, and it's POSSIBLE it was all coincidence, but man was it funny.  We're keeping our eyes fixed on this smarty-pants!

Jahn's egg hunt

After church on Easter morning, we headed to grandma and grandpa Jahn's to meet up with the cousins.  Amara had her hunt with the older boys first, then she decided to jump in and help Gideon with his eggs too.

The boys did a great job of hiding the eggs for her--I guess years of practice with each other!  The yard was so fluffy and green, you actually did have to hunt for them, even in the grass!

Our attempt at a girls picture :)

Cora making daddy swoon.

Even though it was warm, we bundled Cora up for the outside portion of the day.  Funny enough, a few hours later, we were all sweating, literally!  That's Ohio, 4 climate changes in a day!

Garhett helping Amara hunt :)  They are so cute together.

I LOVE this pic of Amara and the tulips!  Mom's flowers look great and I'm amazing that Amara left them alone.  Clearly she was focused on her eggs with candy and coins!

Running for a long one

I think this is a cute picture too.  Jackson was wanting her so badly to find some of the ones he thought were super obvious :)

Digging around in grandma's flower beds for the eggs.  Good thing this is now and not in another month!!

I think by this point, they were all looking for bugs more so than the eggs.  She is DEFINITELY not as afraid of bugs as the boys are.

This must be Garhett helping her out with a really heavy egg, either that or they are playing with bugs again.

FINALLY, opening all of her treasures!

You think you're going to share this candy?  I don't think so!

Sweet little Cora enjoying being outside and watching big sister run around.

Everyone was egg-stausted after all that running around and hunting.  Apparently the chocolate high hadn't kicked in yet!  It was a great hunt and we all enjoyed the brief dry spot in the day.  It's always fun for the girls to get to see their cousins.  Amara especially loves those boys SO very much, I hope they all continue to be close and not "too cool" for each other :)