Cousins

We took these pictures a few weeks ago, but I didn't have my camera so I just got them. They're of Zachary and Daphne with their cousin Sophie. Sophie and Daphne are about 4 months apart, but it's really funny to see the difference in their size. Neil and I are both short and have small kids, where my brother and his wife are both tall and apparently have not so small kids. :)

Random Pics

Zachary and Daphne were being good together for a while this afternoon, so I snapped some pictures:






And here's some more that I took a few days ago:

Treading Water

I have to say that when I found out I was pregnant with Daphne I was excited, but a little scared. I knew it would be difficult to have two kids, especially with a two year old like Zachary. I had no idea!!! At the moment, difficult feels like an understatement. Zachary is in his terrible, terrible twos and Daphne isn't happy unless I'm holding her or she's sleeping, which she doesn't do well. I feel like I am constantly treading water, just barely keeping my head up. At times I get too tired to tread (literally and figuratively) and I start drowning. I go to bed exhausted and feeling like I wasn't able to accomplish anything during the day. It's impossible to keep both kids happy and my house in any semblance of order, and I am completely in awe of anyone who has had more than two kids!! Just when things get really bad, however, something happens to lift my nose back out of the water, such as a wonderful husband who takes both kids so I can have a few minutes of alone time, or Daphne will miraculously sleep for 5 or 6 hours. I have moments such as I am having right now, where Zachary is happily playing with trucks and Daphne is happily watching him. I need to remember and cherish these moments, and remind myself that these are precious times that in the scheme of things won't last long. And someday I may be able to stop treading water and learn to swim!

Tulip Festival

Tonight we took one more shot at the Tulip Festival, and this time it was a success :) We headed out for FHE, and apparently a lot of other people had the same idea, but it was a great way to spend a beautiful evening. Zachary had a great time running around, and even Daphne enjoyed being outside. I love the springtime, mostly because there are so many beautiful things that begin to grow and it's awe inspiring to watch the earth come alive again.

Farm Country

The weekend before last, Neil and I decided that we wanted to go to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point. We took our engagement pictures there four years ago, and we've been wanting to go back but haven't quite made it. It was a beautiful day, so we packed up both kids and our brand new awesome stroller and headed out. On our drive to the parking lot, however, we realized that none of the tulips were blooming. There were beautiful patches of green, but no flowers. :( A tulip festival without any tulips didn't sound like very much fun, so we decided not to go. We didn't want to waste the drive up there, however, so we headed over to farm country to let Zachary look at the animals. This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time now because Zachary absolutely LOVES animals. He had a blast petting them and he even got to ride on a horse two times! By the expression on his face while he was riding you wouldn't think he was having fun, but he kept saying "again, again!"

Of course, his favorite thing was driving the tractor....

Look mom, this horse is just my size!

And this is how Daphne spent the morning :)

Daphne Pics

I know there has been a serious lack of Daphne pictures on here, so this is my attempt to remedy the situation :) I can't believe she is four weeks old already!!!

This is right before a bath. She is content now, but a few seconds later she was totally screaming because she HATES baths! (I know this is a blue blanket and she looks like a boy, but it's really soft and she loves it, so.....)

Just Chillin

Content with a binkie....

but can't keep it in her mouth :)

Daddy is the best!!!

Here's a few that I took today when she was really alert

I love the ruffle on the bum :)

I think this is my favorite--she has such big eyes!

Family Pictures

I've been meaning to post for a while now, but I haven't had my camera with me the last few places we've gone and I haven't gotten the pictures from other people yet, so I guess you'll just have to wait a little bit longer! In the meantime, we did go get our family pictures taken on Saturday, so here's a few of my favorites: