William claps for Daddy

The other night I was at an HOA meeting for our neighborhood (sure, go ahead and laugh) and Kevin was at home with the kids. Kevin was unloading the dishwasher and William crawled into the kitchen and started clapping for him. I love it! I told Kevin that I've trained the kids to clap for him if they ever see him doing housework. Daddy needs positive encouragement too, right? :)

Kevin, the balloon artist

Yesterday Kevin decided to learn how to make balloon animals for Caroline. I'm not kidding. So, like any true member of generation X, Kevin looked on YouTube for help. He started with a poodle and then an elephant. The challenge for the day was the flower. He worked so hard on the flower and finally finished it last night. I laughed so hard watching him try to mimic what the YouTube videos said to do. He did an awesome job and Caroline thinks her "super dad" is extra super now!

Caroline's biggest fan

William loves to stand at the glass wall in the waiting room of Caroline's swim school and watch her swim. He waves at him and he gets so excited he almost falls over!

Moments like these

I've heard when you look back on life its the little things that are really the big things. But I already know that our morning time with the kids is a big thing. 
This is our morning routine that I cherish...
When I hear William on the monitor in the morning, I get him out of his crib and nurse and rock him in the glider in his room. Snowball comes in and lays on the ottoman which also rocks. When Caroline wakes up, she comes in and sits next to me in the glider. The four of us rock together in silence while William eats. As Caroline slowly wakes up a bit more, she will ask what we are going to do that day.  On the days when Caroline does not wake up early on her own, Kevin carries her from her bed to the couch downstairs. She lays on the couch while he fixes her breakfast, which is always oatmeal or Rice Krispies. Then they have breakfast together. No tv or music. Just the two of them talking.
After Kevin leaves, the kids and I sit on the floor in the living room and play while we watch Sesame Street. (By this time, I have a cup of coffee so I am actually able to play. :)  ) Yes, Caroline still watches Sesame Street every morning and loves it. Please don't tell her about Justin Bieber and all those too-grown-up things some kids are into. She finds joy in Sesame Street's word, letter and number of the day. She cherishes the time that she and William watch Elmo's World, Abby's Flying Fairy School, and Murray Had a Little Lamb. Caroline has decided William should have an Elmo 1st birthday party because they both like Elmo.
I know that as Caroline starts kindergarten next year, our relaxed mornings together will be a thing of the past. For now, I cherish that we spend time in our pjs just hanging out and playing together. This time together is why I will never regret quitting my job to stay at home with kids.

Moms and kids night out

Kevin had been out of town and I was in desperate need of adult time. Plus Caroline needed to run around outside with friends. Everyone wins, right?! So we went to our favorite, family friendly neighborhood restaurant with two of Caroline's friends and their moms. The weather was amazing and we all had a great time.

Daddy's back!

Kevin was out of town for 6 days for training and we were all so excited to have him back. I love these pictures of Kevin and the kids we took the day he came home.

Movie night with Rosemary

While Kevin was out of town for training, we had Caroline's friend Rosemary over for movie night. Rosemary is a sweet girl in our neighborhood that will be starting kindergarten with Caroline in August.

Caroline's Easter party

Caroline's preK class had their Easter party today.