Night One of Papa & Grandma's Party

One of the big reasons we were in Tennessee
was to celebrate my parent's 35th wedding anniversary.

They celebrated with a party
with family and friends,
tented the backyard,
put together a delicious menu
of food & drinks
and let the fun happen.

Friday night was a smaller occasion,
with just family.
We got to see grandparents,
aunts & uncles
and cousins.
Many of them were meeting Caroline for the first time.

We had a wine and bourbon tasting,
played a game of Tim & Ann trivia,
dined, drank, danced,
and laughed.



My girls love an horderve table...

they get that from their mama.


It was so fun
and slightly surreal to see my children
running around with my cousins children.
I clearly remember being the child running around...









Oh, was there dancing...

my girls have some moves...

might they get that from their mama?

sisters

art in the afternoon

Grandma's house has the perfect light that inspires an afternoon art project...

signed,
a mama who wished she had more windows at the front of her house

The Heart of Tennessee

Today we spent the morning swimming.


After several minutes of Lauren diving for her shell toys in the pool, she brought over a flat circular toy and spoke.
"It chose me."
I quickly realized she was playing Moana.
I asked if she was Moana.
She quickly told me no.
She doesn't like pretending to be anyone else.
She is almost always,
"Just Laurno."
I asked if she was holding the heart of tahiti.
"No, not tahiti."
As our conversation continued,
I discovered that the heart she had was that of Tennessee.

The Heart of Tennessee

eighteen

Another half birthday has come and gone,

serving as a reminder of how fast these sweet girls grow.

sigh.

Which is why I will take every squishy snuggle and baby giggle

she will give,

because it's just so good.

But so is seeing her little personality bloom.

At 18 months, sweet Caroline...

... is busy. She has one speed. Running. Typically one arm pumps to help her go even faster. It's a sight. And it's the best when she's coming at you for a hug.

... is a total imitator. Especially of her sister. Anything Lauren does, Caroline is right behind her. And girlfriend surprises us sometimes.

... loves puzzles, books, her bunny, babies, the dogs, playing outside, climbing, and snuggling. Oh, can she snuggle. She counts, 'one, one, one' and plays a mean game of identifying body parts. 

... recently learned the word 'mine'. That's fun. It goes well with the recent fits and whining that she has displayed.

... when she really needs something, she can be heard yelling, 'MOM' from any room in the house.

... will answer any question you have for her... with a 'uh-huh' or 'uh-uh'

... calls every princess 'Anna' and we love it. 

... has the biggest smile that displays those big little chiclet teeth and we can't get enough of it.

She is so loved.

Angelina Ballerina

Did you know the beloved story book character, Angelina Ballerina, has movies on Netflix?



Lauren does.

a Tennessee weekend

lazy pajama mornings with play-doh
popsicles, naps, & smiles by the pool
boat rides at the lake









Oh Tennessee, we do love you.

children's museum

Good Morning from Tennessee

no stroller, no problem

At about midnight on Friday {or Saturday}
it dawned on me that my previous strategy for successfully navigating the airport with two little girls may need to be upgraded.
Previously, I strapped Caroline in a carrier and pushed Lauren in a stroller.
But now that Caroline runs everywhere,
and sadly is bigger & longer,
I didn't know if this would work.
So I did some research and Matt i spent the weekend searching for an umbrella double stroller,
only to realize they were pretty much only available online.
Amazon guaranteed delivery on Monday by 8pm.
Sadly, USPS didn't make that happen.

Plan B consisted of an internal debate of whether to convince Lauren to walk,
despite her love for a stroller ride,
or carry Caroline in the carrier.
I decided to stay with what I know.

Except, *someone* forgot to load the single stroller.
To make a long story short, my anxiety was much worse than the actual experience was.

Both girls had a great flight
and in all our flights,
we've never been invited to the cockpit,
until today.


We've been looking forward to our time in Good Ole Rocky Top
and kicking it off with an afternoon in the pool was pretty perfect.
Especially in new swimwear.


And in case you're wondering, the double stroller arrived today.

Monday

We've got a case of the Mondays.

My little Caroline was at the doctor a week and a half ago with an ear infection.
She finished her antibiotic on Friday.
Woke up Saturday night,
crying,
grabbing her ear.


It appears as though there is an infection either starting up or going away,
which shouldn't be happening since we just finished a round of antibiotics.
And since we have a flight early tomorrow morning,
we're doing another round of antibiotics.



thankfully, my sweet girl is in good spirits with no fever.
So, we'll keep crossing things off the to-do list
and sneak in a couple extra snuggles though the day.

Father's Day

I wish I would have thought to take a picture of our special breakfast made just for daddy,
or
thought to bring my camera with me on our walk around the lake where Matt and Lauren stopped to look for fish.

Getting an action shot of Lauren as she jumped off the diving board to where Matt waited for her in the pool below would have been perfect.
So would a shot of him and Caroline sitting on the couch together - Dad watching golf, Caroline eating veggie sticks.

But I didn't.
I saw each of those sweet moment and filed them away in my heart as proof of what a wonderful father he is to our girls.
I feel so fortunate that I have examples like these that get filed away, everyday.

But I did manage to get one picture today.
While it wasn't the perfect father's day themed shot,
it sums up Caroline's thoughts about celebrating Dad with some strawberry shortcake for dessert.

Daddy Daughter Dance

Our local Little Gym put on a little daddy daughter dance.

Matt was brave and took both girls,
while I stayed home and wondered what to do in my quiet house.

Dad reported that there were cupcakes, flowers, dancing, and two busy girls.



But those girls,
their eyes and sweet little voices said much more.
When they returned home,
with those flowers,
carried in their proud little hands
while they told me all about their exciting little adventure with daddy.
Oh, and the air track.
They told me about the air track.
But their eyes summed it up...
They love their daddy.

dance recital

Big night at the McQuinn household.
Lauren performed in her third dance recital.

This year she danced to 'Going to the Chapel'
and wore a bridal costume.

which stressed both her dad & I out a little bit

And much like the cliche bride theme,
there were a few moments during the process,
that were a little 'bride-zilla' like.

Our tiny dancer was all about the hair and makeup

but things started to turn south when it came time to put the costumer on.
It itched.
While I tried to distract her with some lotion on the itchy area,
her comfy cozy robe seemed to provide the comfort needed.

Things went south again when we requested she remove the robe so we could get a picture of our blushing bride.


Thankfully, things turned around when we arrived to the auditorium and she was able to reunite with her sweet little dance crew.

She had a wonderful little performance,
spotting mom & dad sitting in the front row about half way through,
while her sister tried to wiggle from our laps to have her own moment on stage through most of the show.

Lauren's Dance Recital 2017 from Sarah on Vimeo.

A big part of my mama heart wanted a picture of her posed on the front step in that comfy cozy robe.
Because while the posed pictures and big smiles are so sweet,

I think the memories of the real stuff is so good.
So, heres to remembering the bridal meltdown,
the comfy cozy robe,
the itch cream that we brought to the recital and reapplied,
but most of all our tiny dancer.

popsicles II