A Winter Escape

Papa and I are pretty intentional about doing things with the two of you, getting out and having fun whether that be a meandering trip to Costco or a completely impulsive over night stay at a hotel with a pool.  In mid-January we got out our swimsuits and headed to the Y to enjoy a dip in the extremely warm, heated pool while snow fell outside, but when we arrived, we were informed the pool was closed for maintenance.  It was heartbreaking for you, Zaylee girl, so Papa decided to take us on a search for a pool.  We ended up in Oak Brook at the Hyatt and checked in to a lovely room where you enjoyed very much jumping on the big, plush king sized bed.  Papa and I could have watched the two of you jump around laughing and exploring every nook and cranny of the room and been more than satisfied with our whimsical trip. 

We headed straight to the pool and enjoyed the whole place to ourselves to jump, swim, and scream in pure delight.  The two of you are both far to brave when it comes to water for my liking, but it makes your Papa so proud to see the love you guys have for the water.  It will come in handy for the day your father's dream of living on an island comes true :) We stayed down there until you were both getting exhausted, and headed back to the room.  I got Marcel all ready for bed and was able to get him to sleep while you and Papa headed down to get us some food.  The concierge overheard you say you wanted a sandwich and kindly went to the kitchen and fixed you up a delicious PB&J with a tall glass of milk.  You sat on a bar stool and ate every bite with great joy to be with your Papa having good conversation just the two of you.  Zaylee girl, you stayed up late with Papa and I snuggled up on the pull out couch watching shows together, while Marcel slept soundly in the corner on the other side of the room.  When morning came, you and Papa snuck out of the room while Marcel and I slept in until after 8 when we joined you for breakfast in the lobby area.  We headed to the pool one last time before heading home, and will remember those 18 hours always. 

We sure do love family time with our two little loves and find so much joy in watching your faces light up with each new and exciting thing we experience together. 

The Beginnnings of Spring

The weather is finally warming up and is consistently nice enough to be outside at least a little bit each day, and we have been taking full advantage of every single second of it!!  You two are both lovers of the outdoors, getting dirty, exploring, animals, and just being out in the wide open breathing in the fresh air.  Any moments spent outside automatically change our moods and bring lightness to our days no matter what hardships we faced before heading out the door.  Spring is such a refreshing time of year here in the Midwest.  It feels like an awakening as the days become longer and the weather turns warmer, the neighborhoods come alive with people of all ages walking, running, and playing, filling the streets with life after a long winter (although in my opinion it FLEW by thanks to all our activities!).  It is a beautiful thing.

We have been busy living and time is moving fast.  We had a fun "spring break" with multiple play dates every day at different parks and friend's homes.  Life with the two of you make for lots of social gatherings and many new friends.  After a winter of hibernation for many of our "park" friends, the dates have been plentiful the past month and we couldn't be happier.  Our dear friends and neighbors (Chris, Mandi and Addison) have become some of our closest friends and it has been the biggest blessing for the two of you, but also for me!  Doing life with friends is a joy to be cherished.

We make the most of our weekends with Papa, and leave the house a mess in order to take advantage of our time together and be outside as much as possible.  This past weekend we spent the afternoon at Herrick Lake picnicking, exploring, "fishing", and searching for all the wildlife we could find asking each passerby with a dog, "um, excuse me can I pet your dog?"  Zaylee girl you are shy about a lot of things, but when it comes to animals and wanting to be near them, you have no fear.  Marcel is equally if not a more extreme animal lover, and together we love on all the animals without having to care for any of our own!  We have already hit up each of our favorite parks multiple times, walked to get ice cream, visited the horses and baby lambs, puddle jumped like pros, and blew countless bubbles.  Life is so good with the two of you to enjoy it with.  I love learning and exploring with my babies, and can't wait to experience each new thing with you both as we adventure together this spring/summer. 

Her basket prepared all on her own.  She requested a picnic just like in France.

A good ol' fashion hair pull...

The Bench where Papa proposed to Mama!

Sibling Sweetness

It is no secret Marcel is completely smitten with you his beloved big sister, but lately he has been showing his affections more and more.  He is normally always awake before you both in the morning and at nap time, and the second he hears your little footsteps running across the floor he lights up and points at the stairs while he runs to meet you on the landing.  When you make it to the bottom of the stairs, he throws his arms around you and melts into you, letting go only after you declare you have had enough hugging!  He is relentless and goes back for many more hugs until you shout, "No more hugs!  All done Marcel!"  I usually have to intervene and give you your much needed space to properly come back to the living from your sleepy state of mind.

You are so sweet with him and although he can get on your nerves and in your space, you are never mean to him.  You may loudly voice your frustrations and call (loudly) for me to help the situation, but you are gentle with him and I am so proud of the way you are with him.  He is coming into his own personality and is proving to be hilarious, silly, a bit short tempered, possessive of what he claims as his own (especially food!), loving, affectionate, all while still wanting to do everything you do.  Watching the two of you play and interact with one another is the greatest gift.  I pray daily that the bond I see forming and building between the two of you will only grow and deepen as time goes on.

Here's a little snippet of our after nap snuggles on the couch this afternoon and a dialogue I wrote down right before I caught almost the exact same scene on film:
 
We were all sitting on the couch having our snack together, and without ever realizing it Marcel had made his way on to your lap.  As he moved over onto the couch you said to me,  "Mom, Marcel was just sitting on my lap then I was pretending to be his mom."  You had that look you get when you know you are too cute for me to handle and I just melt at every word you say and I was so in love in that moment.  You looked at Marcel while patting your legs and ask, "Marcel want to sit on my lap?  It's really fun!"  He pushed his hands into the couch with his little bum in the air and plopped it right on your lap.  As you hugged your arms around him both laughing as you toppled over onto the couch you said, "Woah, this is making me nervous, but don't worry Marcel I got you."

And another unrelated video from our after nap play time because I just love listening to the things that come out of  your imagination and watching your crazy expressive facial expressions! :)