around here...

around here..... we are doing lots of sammy's favorite almost-three-year-old things. picking out books at the library, playing "jewelrys", taking care of baby dolls and setting up toys to entertain her baby sister, having peanut butter graham crackers and milk snacks, watering the flowers, blowing bubbles outside and asking her favorite question, WHY? she is the ultimate negotiator with reasons and thoughts that make perfect sense and leave me with my mouth hanging open and wondering...how will i ever manage when she's a teenager. hehehe. she remembers everything and to see her little mind working so fast is incredible. hard to keep a straight face and sometimes hard to keep my patience but my samantha mackintosh is the sweetest most affectionate little love. hard to believe she'll be three in just three weeks. woah.

around here.....she is ALWAYS wanting to help and do what we are doing. she says a million times each day, "please i help too mommy?" so here she is helping in the kitchen....

around here....i have an almost three year old who wants her hair braided now. so grown up!

we headed out this day to check out the new dog park in naples....sammy likes to say "lets check it out"

small side note that i sat protecting new baby kinsley and made sure no dogs got too close....and i guess my cherished baby bag probably didnt belong in the dog park either. hehehehe.

sammy figured out how to work the water bowl for the dogs and filled it up every time a dog came by.

around here......we decide to pick up and head out to the driveway at least once a day....the fresh air and change of scenery is always a hit. bubbles, sidewalk chalk, picking flowers, playing in "her house" and chasing colebaby are the highlights.

around here.....we are loving celebrating friendships and birthdays....april and may bring a calendar full of birthday parties and special celebrations for those closest to us. this day was our friend baylee's special birthday celebration. such a creative spot hidden in the back of the industrial park. passionate and colorful and incredibly inspiring to be there. samantha was captivated as she danced and dressed up and painted and pretended to the max. happy birthday baylee!

gotta go back to this place...



fought that lump in my throat as i watched my sammy mac hang with the big girls and at the same time get lost in her imagination and little girl pretend land. so sweet.

around here......we are loving playtime . simple yet creative playful afternoons together with my girls. although with the good comes the struggle...and helping samantha understand how much is too much when it comes to loving on baby Kinsley is very much what we are working on right now. samantha can't get close enough to her sister, shows her everything, kisses her and squeezes her and makes sure she is right there. mostly it makes my heart melt but then its me saying ...oooh too close samantha, please don't touch her face, oops lets not give her those little toys to hold, ohkay thats enough hugs for now...hehehehe. you get the picture.

cant believe i got this on camera...happened to snap this pic right as she peeked around the corner and made her little sister smile. kinsley's favorite thing to do is stare and smile at samantha.

around here......we have a FOUR MONTH OLD. can't believe how fast she is changing and growing. i say that every time don't i? she is still very much a little newborn, happy to snuggle and be held. but in sneaks her new tricks....like sitting up in the bumbo for the first time. grabbing on to toys, almost (as in 3/4ths of the way there) rolling over, talking and babbling, her check up went great and she weighs 14 lbs 4 oz in the 75% along with her height in the 50%.....kinsley loves milks and turns into a pumpkin around 7ish until she gets her bath and is tucked in at 8. we are plagued with her big spit ups (just like her sister did when she was a baby). she had her first trip to the beach and first walk in the baby bjorn with daddy too. she really is a smiley baby and happy to just be near us.

around here.....we are making memories as a family of four. getting out of the house more, planning new day trips, working out the kinks in getting packed and getting out the door, loving that feeling of two talkative girls in the backseat and two sleeping angels asleep in their bedrooms each night.

kinsley's first trip to the beach and samantha's first time back in awhile.....



her peacock hair

talk about major setback....after feeling so confident and having such a wonderful family day at the beach the girls napped all afternoon at home... but when kinsley woke up her little left cheek and part of her forehead was pink. a little sunburnt...how could this be? i fell apart and worried and then fell apart again. i went to that worst-case-scenario place i hate. i really hate that. i have to protect my babies, keep them safe and healthy and when things happen like this i beat myself up and second guess myself. not good. i'm working on this. ever since kinsley was born, actually it started when i was pregnant, i found myself worrying more than i was used to. really not good. here's to learning, accepting, not freaking out and shaking things off.....

so around here......we are ready for Easter and enjoying spring and getting VERY VERY excited about the big 3rd birthday that is just around the corner. happy wishes to enjoy your everyday "around here "moments..... thats the best.