Be My Valentine

Woohoo for my 3 sweet Valentines! 

These two cuties looked adorable in the fun shirts that my sister, Ashleigh made for them! She is so talented! Both of the girls had fun helping me put up our homemade decorations a few days before. 

Our friend held a Valentine's Day party on Friday for all the littles. We decorated cookies and the kids passed out Valentines. Taryn was SOOOOO EXCITED about this! She had just learned the concept of a "mail box" for little cards or gifts friends pass out. She was ready to go days before! But actually executing the valentines was harder than I thought it would be. Taryn likes arts and crafts but can only stand it for a very short period. So after taking all my old scrapbooking supplies and spread them out, I traced a few hearts and she went hog wild on about 10 cards with markers and stickers- I mean….soooo many stickers!!!! It took her about 3 minutes. Then she was done. Like soooo done. I tried to get her to finish a few more so we would have enough. But then she said, "I can't, this is making me sweaty!" Oh boy! So that was that.

One of the Valentines. I wish I had a picture of the sticker filled ones. But this is what was left over. Taryn loved the stamps, too. INside the little bag, Taryn had counted out heart shaped marshmallows (her choice) for he friends. When we got to the party, she asked over and over again if it was time to pass out the treats. She made sure to give one to everybody and to collect one in return. Taryn was so very happy with her loot. 

These photos were so funny to get out from them. I especially love Hadleigh's scowl because she thinks it's hilarious to do and always laughs right after. 

For dinner we made heart shaped pizzas that were delicious and then we ate some treats. It was a fun Valentine's Day- snow and all!

Snapshots of Taryn from the past year

Taryn is such a joy and full of life! I loved finding these pictures in our files last night. The bring back so many memories, funny quotes, and anecdotes. 

We love you, Taryn!  

I know, not a picture of Taryn. But as we walked through the grocery store aisles, 

Taryn saw this "Sugar in the Raw" and said, 

"Mom!!!!! Look!!!! They sell pixie dust here!"

The U.S. Capitol Building (under construction)

While out and about on a Saturday, Tyson volunteered to run in and grab some needed items from the store while us girls waited in the car. He couldn't find what he needed so it took a long time. We sent him this picture letting him know we wanted to go home for dinner :)

These princess dresses are an everyday accessory!

These puppets from Ikea were one of our favorite Christmas gifts we (Santa) gave to the girls

Just a lover of life, that girl!

These two pictures above just show how hard it is to catch a "still" shot of Taryn ;)

"Mom, look! This is my snail!"

Taryn handed me my scarf one day and said, "Mom, wrap this around my head and make me a ninja!"

Monkey see, monkey do. When Taryn puts on her princess dress, Hadleigh is quick to say "dess! dess! dess!" Then they both start twirling. 

Before Tyson left for work one day, Taryn said, "Dad! I'm going to make you a picture so you can take it to work." She told us it was a picture of "Daddy and Taryn"

Eating snow is what she was born to do :)

Such a cutie!

Just helping out Tyson on one of the snow days he worked from home.

Our little Sunbeam! We were a bit worried about how she would do in Primary, sitting for so long. But after the first few weeks, we've had multiple leaders asking us "How did you teach Taryn to be so reverent? She sits still the whole time!" Phew! She is such a good girl. Taryn loves singing time and especially doing the sign language and actions to songs they are learning. 

Our little gymnast! 

Let the birthday "week" continue!!! More pictures and quotes to come!

Happy 4th Birthday, Taryn!

Warning: Lots and Lots of Sprinkles Ahead!!!!

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

4th Birthday

Taryn LOVES her sprinkles! This year I asked her what kind of cake she wanted and she told me she wanted one like Hadleigh's 1 year old cake, with the number done in sprinkles. These girls make it so easy to please them! She was the happiest girl opening up presents on Sunday morning and she asked for more cake all day long!  Taryn said, "This cake is so yummy in my tummy!" The night before I laid in bed with her before she fell asleep and we talked about her birthday the next day and how we were so happy she was in our family.  Taryn said, "I'm so excited for my presents! When I go to sleep, then I wake up it will be my birthday right now!"

We are so happy that Taryn is apart of our family. She keeps us on our toes! 

We love you, Taryn!

Over this week I'll be sharing some birthday post about what we did for her 4th birthday and a few special thoughts about our special little 4 year old. 

Those seals love to play!

There is so much I want to share on our little blog! I'm trying to keep it updated because it's so fun for me to share our little daily happenings with you! So, though I am playing catch up, here is a little about our time a the zoo last month!

So though it feels like we've done it all here, we seem to always find new things! (Really- there is a TON we have yet to do!) Like the Amazon exhibit at the zoo. I thought the Baltimore aquarium was the only place near by that housed such big fish! It was incredible. Although it was almost 60 degrees in January, it still felt a bit too chilly so being inside this tropical environment felt perfect! 

Most of the animals were out playing in the wonderful weather. It was a real treat to see so many. These seals were loving the girls right by the glass. Taryn loved it and it completely freaked out Hadleigh any time they swam by. I think they were showing off for us :)

This is how I see Taryn almost everyday. Drinking tons and tons of water, sandwich in hand, taking a brief rest from her activities. It's not very often that this girl sits still, and when she does it's only for a quick second. 

These two silly monkeys! 

So we played hookie from preschool so we could get out and enjoy our last day at the zoo with our free Zoo pass our friends gave us. It expired Jan. 31st so we were happy the weather warmed up enough for us to enjoy one more winter zoo trip.  It was such a perk to have because with the zoo pass you can park for free. Otherwise, riding the metro takes almost an hour one way. And I don't have a double stroller so Taryn usually melts right after getting to the zoo. Driving to the zoo takes only about 15 minutes and so I may consider getting a zoo pass for our family this year because I know we will use it up! Right after this trip, the girls got sick (actually, I think Hadleigh was sick in this picture) so we were so happy we made the choice to get out and enjoy our time outside for the last "warm" time in awhile.