Do you want to build a snowman?

We have snow!! It snowed for hours yesterday and we kept peaking out the window watching the huge flakes fall. As soon as Nick got home, Carli was dragging him back out to build a snowman. There were at least half a dozen kids outside throwing snowballs, making snow angels, and building forts.

It looks like a winter wonderland outside. The trees look beautiful and the snow is sparkling (literally, Carli said it looks like there is glitter in the snow). She told me on the way to school today that Jack Frost came last night! Although, I would take sunshine and sand almost any day....there is something special about snow around Christmas!

Dear Santa....

Carli wrote her letter to Santa and added Kennedy's wish list too. She also drew a really sweet picture of her family for Santa. Parent fail for not taking a picture of this before we mailed it.


Her wish list is quite long this year...if we see it in the store or on TV, it's on the list. Santa is going to have a very hard time narrowing down what her favorite items are because SHE WANTS IT ALL!


We are trying to teach her that Christmas isn't all about presents but also bringing good cheer and helping others. We adopted a family and took her shopping for the 3 year old girl and 5 year old boy. I am not entirely sure she "got it" but she does like to give gifts to the people she loves and has a very generous heart.


Santa wrote back!!!

Kennedy is 2 months old!

Our baby girl is already 2 months old! She is growing and changing so much every day. We gets lots of smiles and giggles. She especially loves watching Carli and her eyes sparkle when she sees her.


Carli is a great big sister. She gets very excited when she gets a reaction from Kennedy. We are still working on "gentle hugs" and being extra careful with the cuddles. Overall, she is very patient when we have to tend to Kennedy. I think she is most jealous when I have to feed Kennedy. It has to be an adjustment for her to share Mommy and Daddy but she is doing really well and we are so proud of her.

Kennedy was 11 pounds and 22.5 inches at her appt. She is in the 52nd percentile. We are pretty much done wearing newborn clothes but most 3 months outfits are a little big. Some days we just stay in jammies which is ok with all of us!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

We have tried to take advantage of the warmer December weather by venturing out to tree lightings and holiday festivities.


We got really lucky for member preview night at the zoo...it was nearly 70 degrees that day so we put the girls in the jammies and headed to look at lights. As always, the zoo did not disappoint. Carli talked dad into an overpriced Christmas necklace and we all had hot chocolate.

Ivy-our Elf on a Shelf came back and has been playing tricks and being silly every day!

Kennedy loves being strapped to mommy!

Although it was a little colder outside we also went to Holiday in the City in Springfield with Nick's side of the family. We visited the candy store for hot chocolate and loved the fireworks display. Carli's favorite part of the evening was a tie between the dance party she had with Grandma in the tent or the iced Christmas cookie she got to eat on the way home (also thanks to Grandma:)

My little girl looks so big here!

A few days later we went into downtown Hilliard to watch the tree lighting and have some holiday fun. I was really impressed with the set up our little town put on. They had kids caroling, live reindeer, Christmas cookies, free hot chocolate, and lots of other activities we couldn't even get to. I think this event will definitely be a tradition in our family for years to come.

Everyone was crowded around the tree singing Christmas songs. It was such a cool moment that brought the whole town together. I loved it!!

Mailing her letter to Santa!

We even had time to finally decorate our own Christmas tree!!





Thankful

Everyone says it and it is SO true..."the days can be long but the years fly by"


We are 2 weeks away from Christmas and I am just posting about Thanksgiving. Trying to find the time in my "long days" to blog. My maternity leave seems to be going even faster now that we are smack in the middle of the holidays. I am making a conscious effort to really savor each special moment this year. It is so precious to see the wonder and excitement through your children's eyes and Carli is the perfect age and in a constant state of amazement with twinkling lights, Christmas songs, and fun all around!


We had a wonderful laid back Thanksgiving at my mom's house. We had a HUGE meal with all the extras...I think we counted 11 side dishes! Crazy deliciousness. Kennedy was just taking it all in as we passed her around the kitchen. Carli loves when family is together. The more the merrier is her motto. She was happy to help  in the kitchen while watching the Macy's Parade and drinking her "wine" aka apple juice in a fancy glass.

My heart is so full I could burst!!

After dinner and pie, we headed to Nick's parents house to visit. They had a house full! Kennedy was pooped and slept almost the entire time. But we did manage a few smiles after we changed her into her "thankful for my family" PJ's.

Nick carving the perfectly cooked bird!

Little turkey

It is so easy to get caught up in the stress and hype of the holidays but I read something the other day that caused me to step back and pause, "most people would be happy to have your bad day".

It really got me thinking....I know we all have "bad days". Too much traffic, not enough sleep, ornery kids, something going wrong at work, the list goes on, right? But aren't those all such small things?

I am so thankful for a healthy family, a beautiful home, wonderful friends, great jobs,  once again...the list goes on. So many blessings. My bad days really aren't too bad at all.

With a thankful heart, we say Happy Thanksgiving!!



Sip and See

My mom and sister hosted a Sip and See for my friends to come meet Kennedy and have a much anticipated (after 9 months) cocktail!
We decided on a "Boozy Brunch" theme as I know how sacred the weekends are to everyone and during football season the nights are spent cheering on our Buckeyes!
It was a beautiful sunny 80 degree November day and they perfectly planned every detail!

The guest of honor

There was a ton of delicious food...fresh fruit, a biscuit bar, pastries, ham, quiche, bloody marys, and a mimosa bar! yum!

So sweet and thoughtful!

I was so busy enjoying the conversation that I didn't take any pictures of my friends (fail) but we had a house full and everyone stole at least a few minutes with Kennedy. Baby hogs will not be mentioned in this post but you know who you are (wink)!

Kennedy, Carli, Nick and I are so blessed to have so many loving people in our lives and I loved that I was able to spend an afternoon with just a few celebrating our sweet girl!

Fun in October!

We are adjusted to being four and managed to slip in some fun in October. Since the weather was extraordinarily warm this fall we have spent lots of time outside.

Our first outing as a family of 4 was to the pumpkin patch. Carli had a ball picking pumpkins from the vine and going on her first hayride. Kennedy slept the entire time in a strappy, baby holster thing. I don't know what the official name for these contraptions is but it is a must have as a mama of two. I feel like I should be zip-lining or skydiving when I wear it but having my hands free and baby safe is a clutch! Kennedy loves snuggling up to me and sleeps soundly every time I put her in it.

The pumpkin patch also had horse rides and Carli was very excited to ride a "big horse, not just a pony". At first she asked the handler to go slow but after a few minutes, she asked to speed things up!

We also made it to the zoo while Mamaw watched Kennedy. Carli enjoyed some Mommy/Daddy time and we quickly realized how easy only one kid can be! She got loads of candy but her favorite was the scary vampire teeth!

Halloween and Trick or Treat was a huge hit this year! Our little princess Elsa had a blast at her school Halloween party and begging for candy in our neighborhood with her friends. It was a nice night so we strapped Kennedy to me and hit the streets! Baby carrying for the win!!



Our awesome neighborhood moms threw together a festive spooky night for the kids on our street...complete with a haunted house!! The kids enjoyed games like donuts on a string and flashlight tag. My super brave 4 year old walked through the haunted house at least a dozen times..... once she figured out the daddy's were the guys jumping out!

We were so lucky to have my mom stay with us for a few weeks while I was recovering from surgery. She helped cook, shop, and cart Carli back and forth to school...not to mention the countless diaper changes and hours playing with Carli. Thanks mom!!

Carli and Mamaw making pumpkin muffins for her pre-school class!

We had a beautiful October!



Big Sister

Carli is adjusting to her new role at big sister pretty well. She loves to help feed and dress Kennedy. She isn't a fan of changing diapers but she will help get diapers, wipes, and blankets. First thing she asks to do every morning is love on her and snuggle in the big bed with me. I don't know what I am going to do when I don't have that extra 30 minutes every morning to love on my girls.

We have started to see a few smiles from Kennedy. She lights up and always reacts when she sees or hears her big sis. Carli always has the biggest reaction and gets so excited to see her grow and change.  It is so fun watching them together.

Kennedy DID NOT like her first bath. She screamed the entire time!! Luckily she has learned to love the warm water and enjoys bath time.

Life with two kids is not for the faint of heart! ha! I know I am not the first person to have two kids but boy, it's tough! It seems that someone always (sometimes me) wants to eat, play, or some other immediate "mommy I need you right now" task. I know that when you are in the weeds it is often hard to step back and relish these precious daily moments but I am loving the chaos. The days and weeks are flying by. It is so evident when I look back at pictures and videos. I know we will miss this time so we are soaking the "crazy" in. 

New Normal

I may have been a little ambitious thinking I would have more time to post updates. Kennedy is 6 weeks old today and we are just beginning to find our new normal and get into a groove. I am feeling great, rested (for having a newborn and big kid) and almost fully healed from surgery.


So what has been happening lately??? Well, Kennedy and I came home from the hospital on Monday October 3. I was moving around really well for a few days post surgery and I was ready to get home to my big girl. Kennedy pretty much hated being strapped into a car seat and cried the whole way home. Carli was in the driveway and was ready to greet us!

First car ride

We knew that we gave Kennedy a special name but the funniest thing happened on my way out of the hospital. Once we packed everything up and loaded on the giant wheelchair, cart thing...they called for someone to escort us out to meet Nick and load up the car. A young friendly guy came and we started chatting on the way down. He asked what we named our new baby and when I replied Kennedy, he said that was his younger sister's name. We commented that it isn't very common but so pretty. I decided to ask him what her middle name was....just out of pure nosiness...I never in a million years expected him to answer "Elise". I swear, he probably thought I was re-naming my child on the spot. I yelled, "no way, that is her name!". We both laughed and he said he couldn't wait to call his mom and sister (who is 12) about the coincidence. I think it was a God Wink that we truly did pick the perfect name for her!



Once everyone was settled at home we cuddled up on the couch and both girls fell asleep. Two hours in and we have this parenting thing down!! (yeah, right!)

The Groves Girls!

I had just had such a fun time blogging through both my pregnancy's. I think it is such a fun way to document milestones and share. Sooooo, I decided to start a blog about both girls.
The books that I made are so perfect to share with them in the future...and who knows how this will turn out or how much time I will have to actually keep it updated but for now I am feeling ambitious!

Here I sit 9 months pregnant with #2 and a brand new 4 year old! Carli had a BIG week! She had "the best birthday ever" and started pre-k. Both emotional for this mama!

Carli wanted a little mermaid party this year and we pulled out all the stops...lots of streamers and balloons, a treasure chest, a mermaid outfit, and a REAL mermaid!! It was so fun for all of us to see her so happy and excited. And boy, did she tear through the presents. I think it was only a preview for what is to come at Christmas time!

Last day as a 3 year old!!

Special doll house from mommy and daddy

Carli day at the trampoline park. Daddy got to jump and mama got to sit in massage chair and snap pictures!

Prettiest little mermaid!

 

Being crowned an official princess!!!

September 7th she started Pre-k at Hilliard United Methodist Preschool. It is three days a week in the mornings. She was very excited to get there! I was SO proud of her. She was brave and didn't shed a tear. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for me. I started crying before we even left the room...partially because it is super scary to leave your "baby" at a new place but mostly because I was reminded how fast she is growing up. Although she has promised on numerous occasions that she won't get much bigger and she will ALWAYS sit on my lap.  After peaking in windows like a mommy-stalker and realizing that she was having a great time, I left....and got a pedicure!
Just a few short hours later, she couldn't wait to share all the details of her day....lots of play time, story time, learning a new song and dance, being the line leader, and meeting new friends. She loved it and can't wait to go back. A relief to us all!!

Now that the first day of school and the big birthday party are behind us, we are in full "baby-watch" mode. I keep joking that I am a ticking time bomb! We are so excited to bring our second sweet girl home in a few short weeks. I can't wait to see how our family will grow and change, how Nick and I will divide and concur, and how our hearts will nearly burst!!! We are just so blessed!

 

 

1st day of Pre-School

When asked why she wants to be a snow queen instead of a regular queen...she simply answered "because I like snow".