Jessica's First Birthday Party

I had such a nice time at my sister Jaimi's house today with Kayla :) Eva wanted to play with her older cousins at Grandma Darling's house, so it was just Kayla and I. She was so fun and was in the best mood, she showed off for everyone. Especially Grandpa Jerry. He loves her so much, she just followed him around everywhere, or should I say, he followed her around everywhere :) It was so cute to see them together like that, I am so glad we went. Jessica was sweet as ever, I love one year olds and how they just bop around and fall down all the time. She has the most beautiful red hair and a very happy little girl. Kayla loved the trampoline and the frosting on the cupcakes the best. The best part of my day was seeing my dad with Kayla and spending time with him. He says he's been feeling okay, but I don't think he's always honest about that with us. I think he hides how bad he really feels, but he looks good and it's always great to be close to him. I love my dad more than anything, and still think a miracle will happen. But all in all, we had a great weekend :) The pictures above are Kayla and my sister Jenn's son, Trevor. He's a little older, he's three. Kayla did great sharing with him, until he wanted to take over the steering wheel!

Linden Summer Happenings

are here! And the girls just love having a carnival to go to all weekend :) The ride situation was a little disappointing because they are so expensive and there is not very many of them. But Eva doesn't care, she'll ride the same one over and over again! Kayla loves the pony ride, she kept saying that she "drove" the ponies, and she has the biggest smile on her face the whole time they walk around in circles :):) Eva loves the big rides, there is a flying ride that Eva loves every year. There were also fireworks on Friday night and it was such a nice show, we had a blanket and bug spray (thankfully), but Kayla was really tired. She loved them but kept saying, "all done"! All in all, we had a great weekend, and right now I am cooking breakfast and looking forward to a great day today. We're on our way to church soon, and then going over to Jaimi's house for Jessica's first birthday party. I'm really looking forward to seeing my dad today, he's been doing good but not feeling too good because of the new chemo drug they put him on. He always has a great attitude though, I believe that if anyone can beat this, it's him.

So glad the weekend is here

I am always excited for Fridays because it's the beginning of the weekend and I have both of the girls all night to myself. Except for this weekend, Eva left with her Uncle Todd and Aunt Angela and Rachel & Heather for Indiana where she is going camping in cabins for the weekend with Sean and his side of the family. I will miss her but I know she is going to have so much fun, and thankfully, it is only a couple hours away. Eva packed everything she owns! Kayla was very sad to see her go yesterday, but I am looking forward to a special Mommy and Kayla night tonight. I swear, the only thing to do is go to a movie, but I want to spend time with her. Maybe I will take her to dinner and then the pet store. Maybe get her a little fish? It will be fun to see her looking at the pets, and just be with her.

Nicknames for the girls

Here are some nicknames that we call the girls sometimes.....

Eva - E, E-ticket, Eva D, Eva Diva, Eva Buckrubba (instead of Rebecca!), sometimes I call her Buck for short, and Tiny Dancer, Aunt Becky calls her Punkinhead :) And before Kayla could say her name, she would call her "ee-yah" so that's what we all called her too:)

Kayla - K, Kay-Kay, K-fun, K-ball, Tiny, short stacks, short stacks of pancakes, Kaylaleelee, Kaylala, and sometimes I sing, "Kayla Lee with the little boo-bies" to her but I know that's kind of weird and not right, so I sing the last part really quiet! And Aunt Becky calls her Peanut :)

Missing you girls.....

I enjoy my job, I really do, but I miss my girls so much every single day. I hate being away now that Eva is out of school for the summer, and Kayla is so tiny and cute, I feel like I am missing the most special moments with her. Kayla has been very sick lately, she has a bad cold and an ear infection in her left ear. And she's been very, very crabby!! She threw a tantrum for almost an hour the other night, and I know it's because she was miserable and over-tired. And boy does she hit us! She especially hits Eva and Todd the most. But I don't want to start out by saying the negative things that she does, because she has been the happiest, funniest, cutest baby since she was born, and I know she hasn't been feeling good at all. And last month, she had her first asthma attack, or so we think, we're not really sure it's asthma but it got really bad. I felt so bad for her, she was wheezing and could not breathe. Then again, about 2-3 weeks later, she had another attack. So, she has been on breathing treatments since, but the doctor just took her off of everything the other day to see if she does okay without it. I was so proud of her at the doctor's, she takes medicine and does her breathing treatments SO good, she's not scared or shy. I think she likes to be the center of attention and knows she's cute:), she just walks right up to the scale, and holds her arm up for her temperature, she's a dream. Now Eva on the other hand, hmmmm, she HATED the doctor even listening to her heart when she was Kayla's age! But Kayla is probably going to be my little actress. Kayla is the best thing that ever happened to Eva and I, and I wouldn't trade her or her cute little blonde curls or her beautiful blue eyes for anything. Kayla, your mommy and sissy love you more than you will ever know and you make us laugh and smile so much. I love you, tiny. Love, Mommy xoxoxoxo

Eva's Last Day of First Grade!

Wow, I can't believe that my little girl is going to be in second grade! I remember being in second grade and I remember my mom back then and it's just really cool and crazy and weird that I'm a mom and my Eva is getting so big and going through the same things I did. I still feel sometimes like I am still a kid! Life is strange because you wait all of your life trying to grow up so fast so you can do the things you see your parents doing, then when you're doing it, you still feel like you shouldn't be, like you're not ready, and it doesn't feel at all like you dreamed it would. Okay, I will stop being so confusing, but it's just the best thing in the world and I feel lucky that I get to be their mom. Today is Eva's last day of school, and I got to help at the Last Day Celebration in her classroom. Mrs. Hardy has been her teacher and she's wonderful. Eva has had all good teachers so far and she really loves school. She has lots of friends and her best friends this year are Paige Davis, Olivia Stoddard, and Lauren O'Brien. She is good friends with everyone, but especially those girls. Eva is an excellent writer and speller, just like her mom:), and a wonderful reader. Subtraction and fractions have been a little difficult for her, but this was the first year for those. I don't think I will ever have to worry about her too much in school. Eva loves Webkinz, Hannah Montana (she went to 2 concerts), High School Musical, and the Cheetah Girls. And she loves her sister Kayla more than anything, all of her classroom writing projects and pictures always include her little sister and it's the sweetest thing to watch her change Kayla's diaper and take care of her. Eva has lost lots of teeth over the school year and her cute little mouth looks a little crazy with all of the new teeth coming in, but she's still gorgeous :) Eva, I am so proud of you and looking forward to a great summer with you and Kayla! Love, Mom xoxoxo

Dear Eva and Kayla,

I love you so much!! I am excited to share all of my memories and thoughts of you girls as you grow up and as I learn how to guide you and be the best mom I can be. I know I am crabby sometimes, and I know I make lots of mistakes, but I also know without a doubt that I love you both more than anything in this whole world and I want to help you on your journey to live the best life you both possibly can. And I know you will and I am so excited for you, I hope you both know how much you are loved by so many people and how lucky I feel everyday that I am your mom :):) Love, Mom