Easter Weekend

On January 1st, I could not run for more than a minute. And I thought my legs were going to fall off. That's when I wondered how in the world people can run for long distances... and actually enjoy it. I mean, 60 seconds was excruciatingly long and tiresome and it was a mere minute. How do people run races? And many actually do that multiple times in their life! At the start of 2014, I was up for a challenge - something to strive for and work towards - so I embarked on a "couch-to-5K" running plan. It's a 9-week plan (with a manageable 3 workouts a week) that starts with just 60-second stretches of running with generous amounts of walking in between - I can handle that. At the end of the 9 weeks, I was actually running jogging for 35 minutes. So my mom and I ran a 5K together the day before Easter (her millionth race, my first)...

She's on the verge of retirement with many races under her belt and I have gone from 1 to 35 minutes of jogging in four months. Woo hoo! The race was sponsored by the YMCA - which we not only love and visit a few times a week, but without the Y where all my training took place I would be in no condition to run a 5K. The race was around Lake Calhoun in Uptown, which was scenic (see downtown Minneapolis behind us) and also flat :) It was a great morning which resulted in a strikethrough on our bucket list for sure. Thanks, Mom! 

The kids, along with my Dad and Michael, had fun watching it all and cheering us on. What a joy to see them at the finish line!

It worked out well for Gramma Kathy and Papa to visit for the race and stick around for Easter weekend. We had fun dying Easter eggs (which we "hard-cooked" in the oven - best idea ever!) 

Kendall's favorite color is "boo" so she was especially fond of the blue ones; and here she is pointing out an "ohge" one.

Sunday morning we all had a great time checking out the goodies from the bunny and hunting for eggs around and outside the house. The Easter bunny left a note that explained Katelyn's eggs were pink and purple and Kendall's eggs were blue and yellow, so they each knew what they were looking for.

The girls got some great clothes and games from Gramma and Papa. 

Once all the indoor eggs were discovered, we went out to the front yard for more searching. It was fun to watch the kids' eyes light up upon spotting a bright egg!

The eggs had lots of treasures inside: jelly beans, bunny crackers, stickers, bouncy balls, and MandM's. 

It was a beautiful, bright, sunny morning; just perfect for Easter's celebration of new life.

We went to church and snapped a picture of the girls on our way inside. The cross against the backdrop of a bright blue sky is striking. He is Risen!

After the Easter service, we attempted to get a family picture. How'd we do? It's clear these girls have an appreciation for a great family photo. ;)

We were going to go out for brunch, but the wait was too long and we were too hungry (which is a toxic combo for "hanger" as we call it). So we went for tacos, chips, guac, and salsa. A perfect meal for our family! 

After lunch, we snapped a few more pictures before Gramma and Papa went back to Iowa. Here are Kendall and Papa watching an airplane :)

Tickling usually brings out the smiles, but sometimes it brings out the straight-up giggle attack!

And one more try for our family... at least we don't see the back of anyone's head this time!

It was a wonderful weekend from start to finish - busy and active, but fun and memorable! Easter is such a meaningful holiday as we celebrate the risen Christ with renewed hope, optimism, and promise. We hope you enjoyed the holiday, too!

Top 10 Things I Learned Over The Weekend

Last Friday morning, I flew to Phoenix with some of my greatest girlfriends to celebrate our favorite bachelorette: Katie! Here's what I learned over the three-day, fun-filled, amAZing getaway.

10. Packing and traveling for one person is nothing short of a total breeze. Clothes. Book. Phone. Make-up. Toothbrush. Done. And I even have a free hand for a latte. Win!

9. Friends, sunshine, and darn near non-stop laughter is a recipe that feeds the spirit and nourishes the soul.

8. Michael is hands-down a contender for Dad of the Year. He had grand plans for his weekend with the girls which included park playtime, a day at the zoo, shopping, out for lunch, and Palm Sunday service. And, get this, Katelyn's preschool teacher told me on Monday how impressed she was with Michael's ponytail skills. Way to go, Daddy! Michael Mlakar, DOY.

7. Nothing makes me happier than getting a photo of my whole heart when I'm a thousand miles away...

6. My day at the pool and Katelyn's interpretation of "mom's day at the pool" are two very different things. She thought I rocked my goggles, took on the water slide, and spent quality time with diving rings, when really my day looked exactly like this...

5. Michael referred to my "cheat sheet" quite often, which included a general timeline of the day, meal ideas, and activity suggestions. Glad it came in handy! Here's what Katelyn thought should have also been included (Michael texted this to me and it made me laugh so hard!)

4.5 (a slightly modified countdown ;) Getting dressed up, going out to dinner, and dancing the night away to celebrate a dear friend's approaching nuptials is so, so, so fun! So. Fun! We all had perma-smiles on our faces all night long.

4. While a bit rusty on the outset, there's no doubt Katie and I still have our dance moves. Even in our 30's. Even in heels. Always with the pointers.

3. Michael is more flexible with nap time than I am...

2. Thirty toenails never looked so sweet. Upon returning home from the trip on Sunday evening, the most delightful sight was 30 freshly painted toenails... 20 of them belong to two little girls. The other 10 are noticeably more manly. Michael rocks our socks off! (Toe pun intended :)

1. Forever friends are one of life's biggest blessings. They fill us up to overflowing. They make us laugh with wild abandon. They make us dance with wild abandon. They are a goldmine of memories. They remind us of who we are, know who we were, and lovingly draw out who we have yet to become. 

20 Months Old

Ahh, I've been dragging my feet with the blog lately - sorry! We have a lot going on this spring, so it's been tough to dedicate the time to the blog, but I promise to do my best to do somewhat regular updates. Here we go!

Psst... someone in our house is in her 20's. Now, I know you all think it's me (ha!), but actually Kendall Jean is now 20 months old. It feels like not that long ago I was writing her two-month update. Crazy. Just crazy!

Kendall is adding more and more words to her vocabulary, but one of her favorites (and most frequently used) continues to be "ah-yah." Ah-yah? Yep. We've figured it pretty much means one of two things, either "that" (she says it when pointing something out or drawing our attention to something) or "I want" (when she wants to hold or have something). She's also been saying "peas" for please, "yake up" for wake up, and "tee-two" for thank you.

Some of Kendall's favorite things to do at 20 months include coloring, using stamps, painting with water colors (shockingly, we've only had a couple water spills), playing with babies (including changing their diapers and feeding them), and helping herself to food out of the pantry (oye!)

With 8 teeth and one molar so far, we think Kendie's working on some more big molars. While she's always been a little persnickety, she's been even more so lately which makes us think she'll be cutting some big ones soon.

One big lifestyle change for Kendall has been a change of scenery in the car. Last week, we moved Katelyn into a booster seat and Kendall upgraded to Katelyn's convertible - and forward facing! - car seat. She seems to really appreciate the new view and all week we sang, "A Whole New World" from The Little Mermaid every time we got in the car. Ha!

Now that it's finally (!) getting nice enough to play outside, Kendall is all about it. It's been fun to see how much her independence and abilities have grown over the last 6 months or so. She's now able to climb the ladder up our play set to slide down the slide and she also sits nicely on our big kid swings and even likes Katelyn to push her on it. 

Last week, we met some friends for a play date at an indoor park with slides, steps, bridges, and more. Kendall spent a mere 3 minutes in the toddler area before she was off with her big sister and other big kids climbing, sliding, and making this mama's heart skip a beat! She's fearless! 

Kendall has recently been introduced to Crocs - the shoes or "shoosh" as she says - and she's obsessed. We have three pairs that Katelyn used to wear and Kendall loves putting them on and keeping them on constantly. Oh, the tears when we have to take them off for nap time or bed time!

Katelyn or "Tate" as Kendie says is still her favorite playmate. She's always wondering where Kate is and wants to be near her. They often snuggle on the couch together or play doctor, dance recital, or re-enact "Frozen." They are just the best duo!

Kendall, you are such a precious one! We love the little person you're growing into and are thankful that you continue to teach us so much about our capacity to love, laugh, be present, and be patient. We delight in watching you take in the world around you and are blessed to be your mommy and daddy. 

Care for Your Pets, So They Don't Get Extinct

What have we been up to lately? Oh, you know. The normal stuff.

Like using Dad as a jungle gym... 

...and painting colorful masterpieces...

...and singing, strumming, and jamming to our heart's desire...

...and playing school with Minnie Mouse...

...and having fun...

(and apparently Katelyn is constantly wearing her princess nightgown - ha, ha!!)

...and savoring the very first signs of springtime. Ahh...

...and smooching... borderline constant smooching...

~~~

Here are some of Katelyn's recent zingers: 

"Ow! I just hit my el-bone."

"Why is it when some people talk their slobber spits out?" (Eeek! Glad she didn't ask the offender him/her self!)

"God can do anything. Anything! He takes away our sins AND our hiccups!"

"I think they should call it 'kiddergarten' because it's for kids!"

"We need to take care of our pets so they don't get extinct like dinosaurs."

"I adore your new shirt, Mom." (Fancy Nancy, some of our favorite books, uses fancy words like adore :)

"My heart just bubbles over! That's how Jesus feels about us." (Amen, sister. I love this truth. I think she learned it at church.)

"Tomorrow is the first day of spring, so that means all the snow will be gone when we wake up!" Oh, how I wish that's how it worked.

After I tucked her into bed one night, she called me back in and said, "I just have one more question to ask you. Are you Russian?" Ummm, where does she get this stuff?! So funny!!

~~~

A couple weeks ago, Beth and I hosted a bridal shower for our wonderful friend Katie. It was so fun to plan and once the day arrived, it was a blast to celebrate our favorite bride-to-be! 

Kendall was overjoyed on Friday when Papa and "Gaga" (as she says) pulled into the driveway as we were blowing bubbles. It was so cute! She had fun trying on Papa's readers, too :)

We hit up the Children's Museum on Saturday...

And Kendall loved spending time with Gaga all weekend, can you tell?

With our favorite babysitters in town, Michael and I enjoyed a night out together. We made a New Year's resolution for monthly date nights - so far we are 2 for 3. Not bad, but still room to improve. As always, it was great to enjoy drinks, dinner, and conversation - just the two of us. Love this guy!

Hope you enjoyed the updates and recent pictures. Have a great week!

19 Months Old

Kendall is 19 months old! I can hardly wrap my head around my fingers typing those numbers. Holy. Moly. And let's just say the monthly photo shoots are getting more and more challenging...

and sometimes more and more emotional... with this little one wanting to do what she wants to do not what mom wants to do!

Kendall is little by little wearing more 2T and 24 month clothes and fewer 18 month clothes. She's still in size 4 diapers and wears 5 or 6 in shoes. She's up to 8 teeth now, people!! Four on top and four on bottom with a few more about to poke through. Slowly but surely they'll come in.

Since last month, Kendall has been saying several more words. She really does her best to repeat words when we ask her - it's fun to hear her progress over time. Some of her more recent vocabulary additions include:

- "no way" (yep, she picked this one up fast from Michael. He tends to say it with excitement as we tell him about our adventures from the day :)

- "babas" for bubbles since we've been blessed with some nice outdoor time in recent weeks

- "Mimi" "Emma" and "Ab-bay" are all little friends from her various classes and activities

- "E! E! E!" every time she marks with a pen, marker, or crayon on paper she says this. I'm fairly sure she's heard Katelyn say, "Look, mom, I wrote an 'e'" and decided to participate too :)

- "Dutch" this is the most recent attempt at saying (Uncle) Mitch

- "way" is in reference to throwing something away. If she has a tissue in her hand or a piece of paper, she'll say "way" and wave goodbye as if saying, "see ya, I'm throwing this away."

- "hoop" for basketball hoop, which we have in our basement.

- "Essa" and "Aaanna" are Elsa and Anna from Frozen. While she's never seen the movie, we have a few books and (still) listen to the soundtrack on repeat!

- "Open" for assistance opening something.

- "oh maaah" is for "oh man" which we sometimes say when we're disappointed in something.

- "doo doo" for tutu, her newest fashion obsession.

In addition to saying more words, she's blowing us away with her understanding of what we say. We can give her simple one or two step tasks and she knows exactly what to do (for example, "Kendall, please get your shoes and bring them to mommy." or "Where is your toothbrush? Can you find it?") It's a lot of fun to watch her eyes light up with understanding and then respond appropriately.

Kendall and Katelyn are having a lot of fun playing together. We all play grocery store quite often where Katelyn sets up the food around the play room and Kendall and I are the shoppers. I'll say, "Kendall, we need peas, can you find the peas and put them in the cart?" The girls also play doctor (Kendall the patient and Katelyn the doc), basketball, and "tag" together. But Kendall is also just as likely to play independently. Many times throughout the day, I'll see her interested in something in the play room and exploring it quietly on her own.

Kendall has officially dropped her morning nap. I think last month she was still taking it a few days a week, but we're officially down to one afternoon nap now. And she's sleeping in regularly until 7 am - woo hoo! We have definitely made some great strides in the sleep department over the last couple months and I'm grateful for that (and so is Kendall, she's just so well-rested and ready to take on what the day has in store.) 

As for her favorite foods, she still loves scrambled eggs with cheese, oatmeal (but oh so messy!), fruit of any kind, mac and cheese, crackers with hummus, and cooked carrots. She's still particular about getting food on her hands or arms (but could care less about her face, probably because she can't see it!) If she gets yogurt or ketchup on her hand, she'll say "uh-oh" repeatedly until she's clean again. This girl!!

Kendall Jean, what a difference you make. Your sweet, perceptive personality, larger-than-life hugs, and tender snuggles are almost too much for this heart to handle! :) We all love you so very much and look forward to watching the story of your life unfold - and lucky us, we've got a front row seat!

What Renews a Mama's Heart

You guys. These girls...

They just make my heart swell with joy. Oh, how we treasure them so!

Let's be real. It's not unicorns and rainbows all day long (though we do like both :) Not by any means is every moment like this... 

But that's what makes us stop. And notice. And appreciate. And savor these moments so very much when they spontaneously take shape.

These moments. Sometimes as quickly as they manifest, they dissolve due to a wiggly 18-month old or a distracted preschooler. But oh, how these brief moments renew my heart! How they remind us in one glance what love looks like; what everyday, ordinary, organic, in-our-real-lives love looks like. And how thankful we are for it. ♥

And by the way, this duo is grOWING! We had their 4-year and 18-month wellness visits a couple weeks ago and here are their stats...

Katelyn

41.5 inches tall (85%)

40 pounds (84%)

BMI is 16.33 (17%)

Kendall

33.5 inches tall (91%)

24 pounds (43%)

Head circumference is 18.75 inches (78%)

Both near the 90th percentile for height?! Clearly that's from dad, not 5'4" me :) They are healthy, growing, learning new things, and developing their own personalities. What a gift to be a part of it all!