Love

Every moment of every day I fall in love with these two ...

{Larkin "feeding" her baby}

{Ady movin' and groovin'}

Lined Paper and Lunchboxes

I woke up one morning a few weeks ago and could feel it in the air; the sunlight has changed and autumn is right around the corner. We are not quite ready to pull out our sweaters and jeans yet, but we are ready to trade in our sun dresses and swim suits for school shoes and backpacks ... and when I say "ready", I really just mean: ready or not school is here!

vISITING dAY 

Larkin is a Preschooler this year, and has transitioned into a new classroom with a new teacher. She LOVES teacher Cal (or Cowl as she calls him), and has been waiting patiently for the day when she could go play in his class.

Adylade is growing and changing so quickly, and she loves exploring lately. We love Ady's teacher, Jina and couldn't be more happy with the classroom environment and how it is set up to support Ady's unique development. 

fIRST dAY oF sCHOOL

Our first day of school was a little rocky. Larkin was awake and in my bed at 1:30 am and needed some convincing to go back to sleep. She is such a big girl, and I am excited to see what she will learn and discover this year. She is so passionate and inquisitive and loves absolutely EVERYTHING about school!

Don't let Ady's happy face fool you ... she spent the entire day wailing. It broke my heart to turn and walk out the door! I know she will love school once she gets the hang of it, but it was a truly awful first day with tears and meltdowns for both momma and baby.

I love school. I hope that my girls see me as a mother who models a love of learning, and I hope they will understand the importance of education. I hope that these early experiences they have with school will cultivate a passion for education and a hunger for knowledge within them. 

We have our lined paper and our lunch boxes, our pencils and our backpacks. 

Ready or not ... 

10 Things I Love About Summer

 10 things I love about summer:

1. Homemade Lemonade

2. Reading novels instead of text books

3. Dinners outside with the family

4. Art outside in the yard ... really I love taking everything outside in the summer

{spray art on coffee filters in the backyard}

5. Farmers Markets and fresh fruits and veggies

6. Spending a little more time with my girlies (who are growing too quickly)

7. Family vacations

Yreka, CA ... Kodaik, AK ... Lake Tahoe

8. Gardening

{Scot harvesting a little rhubarb} 

 9. The Fourth of July

10. PlAyInG   PLAYING   pLaYiNg!

{Larkin started dance classes this summer, and loves it more every time she goes}

I am not even ready to think about summer coming to a close ... so here's to putting responsibility out of my mind and focusing on enjoying every last moment of summer sunshine with my family!

Letter Cc

What starts with letter C?

Cat, Cupcake, Car, Cow, Caterpillar ...

I cut up some paper and wrote big C's on them. Then I hid them all over the house for Larkin to find. 

We baked and frosted some cupcakes ... yummy and educational, right?

To finish learning about letter C we painted with cars. 

I love to take normal everyday activities and add a fun twist.

Adapt this activity: Do this painting activity any day, not just to learn about letter C, and if this seems like fun, but you don't have any matchbook cars at your house, try painting with kitchen tools like wisks, potato mashers, or slotted spoons ... kids love to use familiar objects in new ways. 

Enjoy being creative with you little people today!

aRT bEAST

Our annual trip to the Art Beast ... if you haven't been, you should check it out this summer! 

The Art Beast is downtown Sacramento, and is a fun art and science adventure that Larkin loves!

Modeling clay, finger paints, light tables, music, puppets, texture tables, balance beams ... what's not to love!?!

How to Make a Rainbow

Summer is in high gear at our house! (and not a moment too soon!)

We are doing Learning Time again this summer, and first up on our list of summer science projects was to make a rainbow.

Luckily, I had a billion empty plastic water bottles after Ady's baby blessing. I tore off the labels and washed them out. I gathered up our abundant supply of food coloring and put Larkin in her "Art Shirt" ...

We talked about the colors in a rainbow and sang a few songs about rainbows. We also read a book about colors. 

Then we set to work squeezing, observing, shaking, and sorting.

We watched the colors swirl in the water and then shook each bottle. Then we decided if the bottle needed more color or if it was ready to go in the window.

Larkin sorted the bottles and grouped them together in several different ways before she was ready to climb down and admire her rainbow.

{Please note the giant flower in Larkin's hair. She brought it to me and requested that I put her "fairy hat" in her hair before we did our project. Such a goof-ball!}

This quick and easy science project has a home in our dining room window right now. We love to admire our beautiful rainbow when the sun shines through the window each afternoon and lights up the colored bottles.

I am focusing on the Alphabet and numbers this summer, so stay tuned for our ABC and 123 projects!

Adylade's Baby Blessing

Adylade's baby blessing was last Sunday. We were overwhelmed by the family who came to support us in blessing our baby and welcoming her to our family!

... here are some of us ...

After the baby blessing we took the afternoon to celebrate with our family ... after all, the day was a celebration of the newest addition to our eternal family!

This is the Rice family (minus a napping Ady) at our best!

Three generations of female DNA!

(this was the only photo of the four of us from that day ... not perfectly posed, but all gussied up in our Sunday best at least.)

I am so grateful for the family I have come from and the family I am creating. This is what I wanted as a little girl- to be a mom, so I suppose I truly am living the dream!

Baby Talk

Adylade is turning into such a chatterbox!

I took this a few weeks ago ... enjoy!

Blue Skies Smiling at Me

This last month was a combination of rain and sun, work and play.

When we had a little down time ...

We broke open the art cupboard on rainy days and painted.

We went family-room-camping, complete with flashlight tag, a campfire, and s'mores.

On sunny days we spent time riding bikes and working in our yard.

... oh, and basking in the sun.

I am grateful for the little breaks in our busy schedule to spend time enjoying each other.

Every day slips away so quickly and my girls are getting big too quickly!

Got Burp Rags?

Have I mentioned my super talented and incredibly sweet cousin Racheal? She makes the cutest burp rags and baby apparel and sells them (as well as other darling goods) on her etsy site, Mod Tot Spot, found here.

She made matching sister shirts for Larkin and Ady to wear when they met each other at the hospital for the first time, and made these darling burp rags (which I love and use every day).

Go check her out ... if you've got a baby, you've got to have burp rags!

A Stolen Saturday Morning

Adylade,

You melt my heart. I love the way you need to be snuggled to go to sleep. I love the way your big eyes search and search for me when you hear my voice. I love your tiny little fingers that curl around mine. I am eager to see who you will become, but already feel each moment slipping away too quickly. I feel like I have loved you forever.

Larkin,

You are my warrior. You are such a joy to me. I love to watch you learn and grow as you conquer each day. You always keep me on my toes, and I am grateful for your passionate and tender spirit. You are beautiful in ways that make me proud. I am grateful and honored to be your mother.

Scot,

I love to watch you scoop marshmallows onto tiny plates and pour pretend tea with Larkin. I love the way you kiss and sing to Adylade. I love the way your touch instantly calms both our daughters. You make every day an adventure, and I am grateful to be able to raise these little girls with you. You are my quiet place, my champion, my support, my love, and my friend.

It was a stolen Saturday morning. Ordinary in every way, except that all of us were together. For that moment there were only little yellow flowers, and us.

A New Measure of Success

I love my life!

I am SO blessed!

Juggling the needs of two children has added a new kind of chaos to my life, and I love it!

I can feel myself becoming THAT mom. You know the one- who forgets the bake sale until she wakes up the morning of ... who leaves her keys on the counter at the grocery store ... who leaves laundry in the washer (oops) ... who eats leftover cold toast and eggs from breakfast for lunch ... who has to check to see if she remembered deodorant ... who finds missing homework in the stack of magazines by the toilet ...who serves dinner on paper plates ...

But I seriously LOVE my life! I have adopted a new mantra to help me navigate the chaos of my new normal:

"Success is only having one person crying at a time, with bonus points if that one person isn't me."

{Quote from Maria at Ordinary Time}

Adylade Louise

Adylade Louise kept us waiting and waiting and waiting ... but she was worth every moment of the wait!

She is absolutely perfect!

I was induced Tuesday, February 21st at 8:30 am and Ady was here by 2:10 that afternoon. I wont subject you to all the details, but it was a fast and easy labor and delivery. She had her cord wrapped around her neck twice and was smurf blue when she was born. It took a little work to get her breathing well, but she was a healthy 8 lbs. and 20.5 inches long.

Ady looks so much like Larkin. It is fun to watch both these girls developing a relationship already. Larkin is in love with her little sister, and Adylade loves all the snuggles and kisses that Larkin showers her with constantly!

It is amazing how suddenly grown up Larkin seems ... she is such a great big sister, and is such a big girl in every way! Big ideas, big energy, big attitude, big helper ...

Larkin made birthday cupcakes for Adylade while Scot and I were at the hospital. When she came to visit later that night she brought them to share.

I am so in love with both my little ladies! I am one blessed momma to get to snuggle and spend my days with these two cutie patooties!