September 8 = 3 Months Day

We started today by going to Liam's appointments.  I tried a new strategy today- bringing the iPad in hopes it would entertain Malia- she's not a fan of going to these appointments and I don't blame her- Liam gets to do all the fun stuff and she just sits out in the waiting room with me.  It worked for a few minutes...

But it didn't last.

Rosie's latest project:

Look at that little hand sticking out.  So stinkin' cute.

Kayleigh is three months old today!  While on one hand it's gone by super fast, it also feels like she's always been a part of our family.  I adore this little girl.

August 13 = 10 Minutes Day

I'm so proud of Liam!  We've had some new rules in our house lately like eating and drinking in the kitchen (no more crumbs on the couch) and we limit iPad time with a timer.  So today he had the iPad and said "ten minutes iPad" and brought me the timer- already set to 10 minutes!

My dad came in today- he left this morning and is leaving tomorrow morning but we'll take whatever time we can get!  Here's Liam "washing Gramps' hair."

 One of our favorite things to do in the Holliday house:

 Malia got her time with Gramps too!

Also I saw this and laughed out loud because this happens to me pretty much all the time.

July 1 = Sit Together Day

All I know about this picture is Malia is cute.  Liam is too but he's hiding from the camera.

April 1 = New Backyard Day

First I saw this on facebook today and I loved it.  They're simple things that can help us be better moms.  At MOPS the other week, we talked about how it's hard for us to see ourselves as "good moms" and chances are, we all are.  If someone asked me, "Do you think you're a good mom?" the first thoughts that would come to my mind are all the things where I fall short.  The fact that I don't do my preschool routine every day.  The fact that I let my kids watch a little too much tv and play on the iPad too much.  The fact that we might eat chickfila too much.  Sometimes I forget to put their coats in the car.  Sometimes I let them go to bed without brushing their teeth.  Sometimes I sit in the locker room for an extra ten minutes to check my email and facebook and maybe play a game of Sudoku before going to pick up the kids from the gym's kids' club.  But in the grand scheme of things none of that matters.  He'll be in school soon enough... he doesn't need preschool every day.  I can't tell you how much he's learned from watching Caillou and it's hard to believe what all he can do on the ABC Mouse app.  Chicken nuggets and french fries once a week isn't going to kill anyone- in fact, both kids could use some extra calories.  Now the brushing teeth... I really want them to learn to take good care of their teeth.  I gotta work on that one.  The extra ten minutes in the kids' club- they need time with peers.  So why not concentrate on the tons of hugs and kisses I get and give every day?  The fact that they are kind and friendly to other people.  The love they have for each other.  The fact that they feel safe and loved and know when they're hurt or upset or frustrated they can come and sit on my lap and I'll rub their backs and kiss their foreheads and squeeze them until they start laughing and forget whatever made them come to me in the first place.  And I know I'm not the only one. This was a good reminder that it's the little things- things we probably don't even realize we're doing that make us all good moms.

 Speaking of using the iPad too much...

Anyway- what I wanted to talk about in this blog post is our new backyard.  Well it's not new but the "grass" is!  We put these outdoor carpets down today was our first day being able to play outside!

Liam's a fan... of the backyard and still a fan of his bow tie.  

February 9 = Adele Day

I took a screenshot of a text I sent Zachary today so I'd remember to write about this story.  

The only problem with Liam's quickly expanding vocabulary is sometimes it takes me a while to catch on to what he's saying.  Like today.  He was playing music on his iPad and he was saying "DELL.... DELL" and I had no clue what he was talking about.  I was trying to figure it out all day.  Later he started it again and not having any idea what he was talking about I said "uh huh..." and started singing along with the Adele song he was so sweetly playing for us.  Then it hit me- He knew it was Adele singing- what a smart man!

February 6 = USNA Basketball Game Day

Zachary has some of his midshipmen on the basketball game so we wanted to go support them- he and I went not too long ago and while we were there we thought maybe the kids would be able to tolerate it.  Well our timing was a bit off- Malia fell asleep on the way there...

...and Liam was super close to falling asleep.

So I thought the kids would be miserable during the game but they actually did pretty well.  Thankfully we were able to bring snacks inside- the candy cane went a long way with keeping them happy and of course- the iPad.