Adrienne Mae is 5! We have been talking so much to her about all of the things that will happen when she is 5. She will be starting school soon and will be becoming a big sister again. She is so excited to be 5 finally. Unfortunately we had another Covid birthday meaning we did not have a "party" for our special 5-year-old. We did celebrate with balloons and presents by mail from our loving family members. I think we still created enough of a magical day that she felt celebrated and excited to be turning 5.
Josh and I blew up 80 balloons the night before her birthday.
A box is always the best present.
She enjoyed her headband making kit from Aunt Amy and Uncle Chris.
She enjoyed her ballerina outfits from Grammy and Grandpa.
It has been quite a while since our last family post and it has been quite a crazy year! Covid continues to dominate our lives and caused us to miss out on most family gatherings for the last year. I am grateful that the girls are at a young enough age that they do not feel that they are missing out on anything other than the fact that they keep asking when we will visit Grandmama and Grammy! Luckily the visits are about to start as we are all finishing up our vaccinations!
The biggest news of the last year is that our family will soon be growing (and be complete) as we welcome Baby Girl #3! She is due any day now. Although we do already know her name, Josh and I have a tradition of not telling anyone until after she is born.
I'm currently on maternity leave (which explains how I finally have the time to make an update) but as I look back at the pictures from the last 9 months I realize that even though this year was sad and weird in many ways it was also extremely happy and full of many special memories. Trying to narrow it down to a few pictures was hard!
Cecilia has turned into a little artist. Drawing is one of her favorite activities
Both girls love to play doctor
Amores in the driveway
Halloween consisted of backyard candy hunts this year
Ultrasound pictures from when we found out Baby #3 was a girl
The girls loved our Christmas tree
Adrienne set up this scene. The family is sitting on the couch relaxing while the Daddy makes dinner😆
This picture perfectly captures the craziness of our house right now.
Cecilia told me the tag on her winter coat was her "heart". I still haven't been able to cut it off.
We couldn't visit Santa this year but the girls did get to "talk" to him via FaceTime. It was so cute!
Christmas Eve presents
Admiring the presents
Adrienne likes to make her own restaurant
Dress up happens on a regular basis
Not much snow this year but we did get to build our Frosty
Snuggles with Daddy
She loves Bruce so much
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Happy St. Patrick's Day
Cecilia loves to color
Lots of building with Magnatiles and LEGO this year
Cecilia is 2! This was a weird year for birthday gatherings with COVID. We couldn't really have a "party" for her but we did have a backyard celebration with a few family members. Cecilia didn't seem to mind as she was just happy to have ice cream! We kind of had a "Moana" theme with coconut cups and an ocean themed cake. Grandmama also brought down an amazing Fairy Castle for the girls to play with. They both loved it!
The week before we also were able to do an outdoor visit with the Howell side of the family. As always, both girls had an amazing time with their cousins.
Hoping that next year we are able to have a better and bigger celebration for our amazing Cecilia!
March to ????, 2020 (who knows when this will end!)
Today is May 24th and we have been under a "Stay at Home" order for over two months. This whole thing seems like something out of a movie and I can't believe how abruptly our lives were completely changed. I have been off work since March 13th and have only left the house a handful of times to go pick things up at work. We go on frequent walks around town but other than that, the girls and I have been stuck at home. Josh started to be off work just shortly after me so the whole family has been home together. I will admit that mostly, the extra family time has been amazing. I love being able to have a calm morning and not have to rush out to get the girls to daycare. Although I wish terribly for things to go back to normal, there have been so many amazing memories made and I am so grateful for that! Here is just a sampling of the fun we have been having around home.
Adrienne has the best bed head
They love this little toy!
Piano time
Slime and Play-Doh have provided hours of fun
Dress up has been another popular activity.
We have really appreciated our backyard throughout all of this, and the play structure. We aren't allowed to go to parks or playgrounds so our backyard has gotten a lot of use.
Bedtime story by Adrienne
Adrienne loves to help out with dinner.
I love to watch Adrienne draw people.
Easter was in the midst of all of this too. We spent Easter at home with no visitors.
Adrienne was only allowed to dye a few eggs. We are limiting our grocery trips due to the quarantine and eggs are a hot commodity!
Cecilia painted an egg.
Finding eggs on Easter morning
Easter outfits
Adrienne is a great Mommy
Cecilia loves to yell "Bad Guy" when she sees a villain on TV. She also loves to be the bad guy when playing.
I brought home my MagnaTiles from school and both of the girls love building with them. We are definitely going to have to buy some to stay at home permanently.
Fun with Daddy
They can be really sweet together.
Adrienne "decorated" the house for a pretend party. I guess the effects of seeing absolutely no one for two months is starting to wear on her.
This was a long post! So many sweet moments. Hopefully next time we will have some moments with extended family to share!
