I feel the same way...

This is how I am feeling too, after our fun party weekend!  It was all SO much fun, and I enjoyed every single second of celebrating our sweet girl, but I am one tired momma!  More birthday posts to come, but I've got to rest up first! :)

TWO!

Sweet Rowan Caroline, you are TWO today!

Lately, you say "Mom, watch me!" countless times every day.  It has been such a privilege for me to watch you grow, explore, discover, and learn over the past two years.  I can hardly believe that you are so big.  It makes me wonder what I'll feel like when you turn five, or twelve, or eighteen.  You've gone from two days to two years in the blink of an eye.

I continue to marvel at who you are, Rowan -- I know that you are exactly who God created you to be.  I often kid about your boldness and your independent spirit, but even more often I pray that God would equip me as a mom to celebrate everything that makes you YOU, and to train you to use those traits to further His kingdom.  I pray that you will be bold for the cause of Christ -- that you will love Him, serve Him, and seek Him boldly!  I pray that your independence will allow you to stand apart from your peers in a way that reflects who Jesus is.  That others will look at you one day, and know Whose you are because of how you treat people.

I pray often for your spirit.  I know that you are only two, but sometimes it's tough to be a girl.  To see all of those images of perfection and wonder why the world tells us that we have to strive for something that isn't even real.  I pray that you will always know that your value lies in the fact that Christ gave his very life for you.  You are priceless, and I hope that you always find strength in that.

Your emotions are big, sweet girl.  When you are happy, you are really happy.  You LOVE having one-on-one time with me or daddy, and you love when we pay special attention just to you!  You think that you are SO funny and smart....and most of the time, we do too!  And when you are unhappy, you can be really unhappy.  I hope that you always live your life with such passion - that you will strive passionately to fix the things of this world that are broken.

I talk often about the dreams that I have of girly fun in our future.  Nail polish, braids, tea parties, and girl talk.  I can't wait for all of those things one day.  The greatest dream I have for you, though?  It's that you'll know and LOVE your Savior.  That you'll choose Him one day, and then every day for the rest of your life.  I pray that in all I do as a mom, the one thing that will stand out to you the most is that I showed you the JOY that comes from living like Jesus would.  You'll need him as a friend in this life, Rowan.  There is no doubt -- you will need the strength, grace, and love that only He can give you.  As long as you live, this will always be my greatest prayer for you.

Today is for celebrating YOU, Rowan!  The words "It's a girl" that we heard at your 20-week ultrasound mean more to me every single day.  God knew that our family needed you.  You are irreplaceable, and I will forever be humbled by the fact that God gave you to me.

Hugs and kisses on your 2nd birthday, Rowie!!

Two more days

I'm savoring my last days with my one-year-old.  Tonight she and I had some girl time while daddy and Trey were away, and I just couldn't help thinking about how close she is to being two.  She's almost not one anymore, and it makes me a little bit sad.  I love (LOVE!) this age, and I know that two is going to be great, but right now I'm loving one, and I'm afraid I might miss it a little.

We have a weekend full of celebrating ahead!  I can't wait to sing "Happy Birthday" to my girl and watch her take in the fun of her day.  I'll enjoy one for one more day, but really...I know that she's ready to be two.  

Favorites from today

I was woken up by my cell phone ringing at 5:30 this morning with the fun news that school was cancelled today!  We've had snow and freezing rain around here.  John had an in-service day planned for today, so he still had to go into work, but I enjoyed a rare mommy-only day home with the kids!

While the entire day was wonderful, my favorite moments were wake-up time and bath time!

I loved being able to get Rowan out of bed this morning, and just play and snuggle without having to rush to get her dressed and eat breakfast right away.  And then to be home when both kids woke up from their naps too...love those cozy, cuddly wake-ups!

And bathtime was SO much fun today.  I LOVED watching Trey and Rowan in the tub together.  They had a blast playing, splashing, and swimming around!  

Snow days are special gifts for teacher mommies!  I loved every SINGLE second of this one!

Dribble

Seriously.

The dribbling has to stop.

Or maybe it just has to get warm so the dribbling can move outside.

An entire day is a long time to listen to almost non-stop dribbling.

My boy loves to dribble.  And he's getting quite good at it.  But we have wood floors.  And as proud as we all are of him, it really is beginning to drive me crazy.

Really.  Crazy.

This video was taken a few days ago -- at the beginning of Trey's dribbling obsession.  You'll hear how supportive I was...if only I knew what was coming.

Spring cannot come soon enough.

Second chance prom

Last weekend, John and I got gussied up and he took me to the prom!  As silly as we felt going to the "Second Chance Prom" hosted by JQ99, I did feel a little bit giddy about the whole thing.  It's fun to get all dolled up, and I just couldn't shake the feeling of how lucky I am to have gone to three proms now with the love of my life!

We were surprised by how many actual prom dresses were at this event....I didn't go there. (Although John did ask if I could try to fit into one of my old dresses.  Come on now...I have aged 12 years and birthed two children!!)

One of the best parts of the night was that we got to enjoy the silly fun with our dear friends, Mike and Lee.  It was a blast to do something so fun together!  Maybe a new annual tradition??

We had a delicious meal, got our prom photos taken, and danced the night away!  And we were reminded how much fun it is to just be together!  Here's to possible countless more proms with my one and only!

Feelin' the love

We're feelin' the love around here!  Crazy hair, chocolatey mouths, and all!

We had SO much fun putting together fun treats for the kids' friends at Toddlerville.

And, of course, we had to display a little love around the house too.

Trey came upstairs today holding valentines for John, Rowan, and myself that he had made with his babysitter on Saturday night.  He hid them under his bed until this morning, and woke up knowing that the first thing he wanted to do was pass out his cards.  Moments like that make me so proud of my boy!

Trey couldn't wait to open all of his valentines when we got home today.  He was so sweet as he looked at each card and asked me to tell him who it was from.  On the way home from Toddlerville today I asked Trey if he had enough valentines for everyone as he was passing them out.  He told me "no", but then told me that he had given one to himself because he "really liked the valentines that he had made".  Oh, sweet boy.  My apologies to the kiddo who didn't get one of Trey's valentines! :)

Rowan's turn!  She had cookies in her bag!  That was her favorite valentine for sure!

We got such a special and fun Valentine's Day package in the mail from our dear friends Mark, Abby, Nolan, and Heath.  Trey loved the car he got from them, and Rowan got the cutest bows!  Thanks a million, Jansens!  Love you!

John and I had very small gifts for our two favorite valentines!

Trey was so sweet.  He waited downstairs with his back turned and his eyes covered while I got his gift (his idea!), and then kept his eyes closed and put his hands out until the gift was there and I said "open!".  He just has the most tender heart.  I love this boy!

Rowan wasn't quite as patient! :)  As soon as I handed her the gift she said "Clips!", and pulled every one of them out of the packaging.  She told us what color they all were, and was as cute as can be!  Such a precious girl!

One thing is for sure -- I can't help feeling BLESSED beyond words on days like today!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Me time and calling daddy

Oh, how I LOVE a Friday off from school!  Knowing that today was coming made it easier to get up every day this week!  

Typically, when I have a day off from school, I plan an entire day with the kids.  Today, though, I knew that I just needed some time for me.  I brought the kids to Toddlerville a little later than normal, and picked them up earlier than normal, but I enjoyed a few hours just for myself.  It was a wonderful treat for this busy mommy!

I did a little shopping, and a LOT of cleaning.  The feel-good DEEP cleaning that hardly ever gets done.  Like, "move the furniture to clean behind it" kind of cleaning.  

I turned on the music (country music, to be exact. I love me some country music lately.  Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, Rascal Flatts -- I love them all!  At one point, Sugarland's "All I Want To Do" came on, and I may or may not have been singing and dancing around my kitchen.  It's impossible to NOT dance to that song!), put my yellow rubber gloves on, and got to work.  It's amazing how much you can get done when there isn't a child in the next room making a mess while you clean a different one!

So, after all of my hard work...does the house look much cleaner?  No.  The kids and hubby came home, and there is clutter all over the place again.  BUT...it feels much cleaner, which makes me feel good!  

It was such a treat to pick the kids up right after their naps today, and we got home by the time John got home from work.  John and Trey decided to cheer the Dux on at the basketball game tonight, which meant that I got to enjoy an evening with my little girl.  I LOVE when that happens.  Rowan turns into a different child when you are one-on-one with her.  She is such a delight and we had SO much fun.  I couldn't help but think about how, someday, these nights together will involve nail polish, hot rollers (maybe???), and girly movies!

Tonight, we played with her babies, watched Dora, and folded laundry.  I couldn't help but laugh when this happened:

Whenever I fold laundry, Rowan likes to help by handing me the clothes out of the basket and telling me who they belong to.  She has a very strong attachment to a particular pair of her pajamas.  They have been affectionately named by her "puppy jammies".  They are a size too small, but she would wear them all day, every day if we let her.  She asks to wear them almost every night.  

These are the beloved puppy jammies:

So, when she was handing me the clothes to fold tonight, she gave me the puppy jammies pants, but suddenly because very concerned because she couldn't find the puppy jammies shirt.  She asked me several times where it was, and I told her that maybe it was still in the basket, and we'd have to wait and see if we could find it.

The next thing I know, I found her like this:

She was calling daddy to see if he knew where her puppy jammies shirt was. (This is a play phone, of course. :) )

I just thought that it was too cute how she went to find the phone to give her daddy a call.  I pray that she'll still be calling her daddy to help with life's questions when she is grown!

We found her puppy jammies shirt.  It was at the bottom of the laundry basket and suddenly everything was right in her little world again.

Today, everything seemed right in my world, too.  I am thankful for this day of relaxation and rest, and am entering this weekend feeling completely recharged!

Weekend getaway

Last weekend, we enjoyed a fun day away with John's family at Splash Universe indoor water park in Indiana. Trey had been counting down the days for over a week, and the kids were excited from the moment we got into the car on Saturday morning.

We were all smiles when we arrived at the hotel!

The kids couldn't get into the water park fast enough! We had never seen any place quite like this before, but it was just fun, fun, FUN!

Rowan LOVED the kiddie pool area....and especially this little slide!  She went down it over and over and over again!  

Trey was happy doing everything!  He went from one fun thing to the next, and explored every part of that water park!

Of course daddy was a good sport and was there to help with everything!  I, too, enjoyed some fun on the lazy river and the big slides!

But the most fun of all was that Trey and Rowan got to enjoy the whole thing with their cousins!  They just LOVE Brooke, Riley, and Maddie!

We have so many fun memories from our time away!  It was the perfect getaway to beat the winter blues, and let the kids splash around a bit!

But let me just say... I am SO ready for summer!

Snow day painting

I know that I don't have to say how much we enjoyed our day being snowed in at home today.  It was WONDERFUL and much needed to spend the day at home as a family with no agenda and no reasons to leave.

We had so much fun today, just spending time with the kids.  After Trey's nap we pulled out the paints for a fun creative outlet and he got to work.

He thought that it was so fun that he could write his name with paint!

Oh boy.  Look who else woke up!  She wanted to paint too!

She just put color on top of color on top of color, but it was her own little masterpiece and she was very proud of it!

Then THIS happened.... this right here was the beginning of the end of our not-so-messy painting fun.  Trey asked me if he could paint his hand to make a handprint.  I said yes, and it was all downhill from there!

It all started with just one little finger...

Then, just one hand.  Trey likes a mess about as much as John does (not at all!), so I knew that I could trust him to stay semi-clean. (Not that I really cared at all because they were having fun...and it's washable!)

Rowan, on the other hand....well, we all know that I can't trust her a bit!

This is as messy as Trey got....and even this is him stepping out of his box.  He took a shower right away to clean up. :)

But Rowan...oh, she could have covered her entire body with paint and still wanted more.  I love her reckless abandon.  I had to pull her away from the paints to get her in the bathtub.

We ended up with paint all over the floor, and a huge mess for me to clean up.  But also with several special, one-of-a-kind paintings and two happy kids.  Definitely well worth the mess.