Maybe Tennis is our Match

Landon and I have been talking about some hobbies we could do together.  I married a super athletic stud and I'm very uncoordinated so finding something recreational is a little challenging.   I wish we could play on a co-ed softball team or something like that, but not even private coaching would do me any good! Right after Capri was born we started training for a marathon with Capri in the jogging stroller.   I complained almost every time we ran but now some of my favorite memories are running around the San Francisco Bay area with my little family.  I never could have run 18 miles without Landon's encouragement (too bad our running slowed down when we got back to the Arizona heat and Landon's MBA classes started again).  We decided we need more recreation as a couple and a family, that's when great memories are created!  We live by tennis courts so we thought we would give it a try, who knows, it might be our thing.  My sister Jackie gave us some rackets for Christmas the last time we lived across the street from tennis courts, hopefully they get used more this time around.

We learned that next time we have to bring a racket for Capri, she hardly let us play because she wanted to hold a racket so bad.  We also learned that I'm still uncoordinated, but I left better than I started so we'll keep trying!

Easter

We started the Easter festivities earlier in the week with an easter egg hunt for play group.  Capri casually hunted for eggs, she didn't understand that they would be all gone before she got to them!  We've played with Calvin before and they didn't interact a whole lot but funny enough she talks about Calvin at home like they are best of friends. 

Easter morning everyone woke up to a bag of easter goodies.  The girls had little chick easter baskets because I wasn't going to make a big deal and just put a few little things in them but I started a shopping and changed my mind ;)  Capri got everyone's bags for them and helped open them before her own.

We pulled off the road on our way to church and snapped a few Easter family photos.   My Dad did a pretty good job behind camera.  I'm kind of a sucker for matching dresses, this was my vision of having two little girls right here.  Matching pink fluffy dresses and flowers in their hair.  

Kate picked a great day to sleep through 2.5 hours of Church in my arms.  I loved the messages that were shared about Christ and why we celebrate Easter, He lives and because of His Atonement we can too.  

After church we went to Katie's house for dinner in Conroe with David and Julie too. One thing about the Garretts is that they all know how to make delicious food; we had a great Easter dinner.  The kids had a little easter egg hunt in the backyard.  Capri seemed pretty content with her five or six eggs, she didn't understand that more eggs equals more candy until her candy was all gone.  

Happy Easter!

My TWO year old

 I guess you could say this is a birthday post continued.  I actually recorded the little interview below the day after her birthday and wrote this post a few days later but wanted to get her two year old pictures taken before I posted.... and then it didn't feel right to post about Capri's birthday when I hadn't even posted Kate's birth!  It's only been a month since Capri's birthday, but it's amazing how much she has even grown up since then.
I wanted to do a more formal interview but realized Capri can't sit still for more than a minute so here she is eating noodles after her nap, bed head and all.  It will be fun to have a birthday interview every year to see the changes and growth.

Favorite Food: Noodles, Avocado, Gold Fish

Favorite Treat: Ice Cream

Favorite Color:  She usually says Blue but in her birthday interview she said Green

Favorite Movie: Mary Poppins

Favorite Toy:  Basketball,

Favorite Book:  I Love you Forever (She calls it “back and forth”) and The Very Hungry Caterpillar (she knows this one by heart and can tell you the whole book without looking at the pictures)

Best Friend: Londyn

Favorite Animal: Cow

Favorite Song: I love to see the temple

Favorite Activities:  Going to the park or walks with Grandpa, cuddling and watching a show with Daddy, sidewalk chalk and coloring.

This year’s highlights:  going to two aunt’s weddings and a Las Vegas trip with cousins, summersaults, learning animals sounds, shapes, colors, counting to 10 (almost 20), letters of the alphabet and about half of their sounds, putting on own shoes, first urgent care visit after cutting her finger on a knife, and getting a baby sister.

Height: 35.13" 86th percentile  (Dr. Flanagan said she will probably be between 5'6" and 5'8" as an adult)
Weight: 27 lb 57th percentile

“Oh Ca-Pea” (in her words) she has added so much joy to our world!  This girl knocks my socks off on a daily basis and I wish I could take credit for quick wit and sweet gestures, but it’s all her.  I overheard Landon telling his family that he thinks Capri and I do flash cards and preschool all day because of all the new things she is constantly learning.  I should just go with that and make him believe that’s the case, but really she’s reciting a book or singing an entire song with actions back to me after doing it just a few times.  I hope her eagerness to learn continues!

Her ability to recognize letters and sounds impresses me so much.  She’ll say things like “Aah, aah,  aligator, alligator starts with the letter A;” “Da-da Dog, letter D;”  “Mm-mm- Mommy, letter M.”  This girl also knows just about every song I do! Music has always been a big thing for her and she was born with rhythm.  Some of her favorites are I’m trying to Be Like Jesus, Ba Ba Black Sheep, I love to see the Temple, I am like a Star, Twinkle Little Star, Do Rae Mi… actually, the list goes on and on.  She’ll sing just about every word and sometimes gets the tune right, it probably doesn’t help that I’m the one that usually sings with her though!  When Landon puts her to bed she gets Garth Brooks songs and she’s pretty good at those too!

Recently when I’ve been putting Capri down for bed we just sit and talk in the rocking chair.  I ask her about her day, what her favorite things are, tell her all the people who love her, I tell her about cousins, aunts, and uncles, and we talk about what we are going to do the next day.  It’s so fun having a conversation with her like we are just two good friends (okay, so it’s me asking a lot of questions and getting a few short sentence answers…. but she still she seems so big!)   I think she has really enjoyed our talks lately too. Last week she did not want to go to nursery.  We were standing outside the door and she pointed to the stairs across the hall and said, “let’s sit down and talk about it.”   Well, maybe she hasn’t enjoyed our talks as much as I think she has… she is just using them to postpone bed time and going into nursery ha ha!

Have you ever read the book “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie?”  Well that’s basically a day in the life of Capri. It’s so fun watching her make connections but it keeps us really busy around here!  Just yesterday I started to vacuum and of coarse Capri went and got the small vacuum out of the pantry so she could vacuum with me. She then needed to wear her apron while we cleaned so she ran to get it out of her play kitchen (throwing all the play food out of the cupboards while looking for it).  She brought it to me to tie on and then dragged me to put on my apron.  After a minute of vacuuming in our fancy aprons she asked if she could watch Mary Poppins. (Oh! I was wondering why we needed to put on aprons to clean, I’ve never done that before but Mary Poppins DOES! )

I turned on Mary Poppins hoping to finish cleaning up while she watched.  Before I knew it she was asking me to help her put on her “dancing dress” and hat that tied under her chin “just like Mary Poppins” she said, then headed for the coat closet to get an umbrella.   Once she had the umbrella she remembered she wanted to go outside and dance in the rain with the umbrella like we’ve done before.  We went outside for a few minutes because I thought the fresh air sounded nice too. Once outside she told me it was windy.  Then she asked for a birthday cupcake. (Where did she get that?  OH!  When she blew out her birthday candles on her cake she told us ‘“The wind is blowing!”)

I told Capri to follow me back inside and she started to sing "Follow the prophet, Follow the Prophet" dressed in her dancing dress, hat tied under her chin, and umbrella in hand.   Inside there was play food all over the floor, two vacuums out, and contents from the pantry and coat closet tossed all over the floor from her searches for the umbrella and little vacuum.  All this and Mary Poppins was still in the first scene.  Sigh, I just have to write these funny things down and just smile.

Having Capri randomly take your face in both hands and give you a kiss is about the sweetest thing.  Her back scratches and cuddles are pretty great too. When she wants to get my attention she says "Look at my eyes Mommy" (wonder where she's heard that one). She especially loves cuddling with her Dad while they watch a show together or doing push ups on his back.  Capri is a becoming a darling big sister and I love listening and watching her talk to Kate.  “Give me five Kate!”  “Did you have a Good Sleep Kate?”  “Smile Kate” “Tickle Tickle Kate” the cutest was when she held Kate’s hands the other day and did all of the actions to Wheels on the Bus while she sang it to her. 

Capri you are so loved.  

If you have to grow up, 

please keep learning, loving, and being the confident, charming girl you are! 

Capri's Second Birthday

          Happy 2^nd Birthday to my sweet Capri!  This last year has flown by; it feels like we were just celebrating her 1^st birthday in a hotel lobby with the guests and the hotel staff while we were in the middle of our relocation.

          Capri learned the birthday song a few months ago and we have been sending friends and family a little video of her singing them happy birthday when it’s their special day.  After each video she would tell us “It’s Capri’s birthday!   We would then have to explain that her birthday was coming next and wonder what she understood.

Capri woke up to balloons all over her room on her birthday and loved it. There was no question about it that she knew  and understood that it was her birthday! “It’s Capri’s birthday!” she yelled as she threw balloon after balloon in the air.   I thought I’d never get her out of her room so I gave her a basket and we went on a search for candy filled plastic birthday cupcakes down the stairs and all over the house.  She actually never discovered that the cupcakes had candy in them and that was fine by me.  

Capri’s favorite breakfast is her Daddy’s scrambled eggs; I swear she eats six eggs when he makes them.  Since he was already at work I tried my best for the birthday girl.   Capri’s presents were stacked on the floor by the fireplace and she was so excited to open them that I asked Landon if we could do a couple without him, he was such a good sport.  She loved her lip stuff, stickers, and lacing animals from Lynn Jackson (Guess the prettiest packages get opened first Lynn!).    

We met up with some friends at the park for a picnic lunch and cupcakes.   These are the days when an afternoon at the park feeding ducks is the perfect way to spend a birthday! 

These two matchy outfits are from Aunt Val & Family.  She has spoiled our girls and knows how much I like to match.  I've had a harder time finding matching things in their sizes right now, but I'm sure it will get easier when Kate is in 12month size..... the rate she's growing that won't long!  The afternoon sun killed our picture, but hey, their outfits are cute ;)

After Capri's nap she sat on my lap and we made a video of her second year of life.  Hopefully I can go back and add more later since we just picked a bunch of random pictures, but I could tell she felt pretty darn special just making it.  We played it on our apple TV while we ate her birthday cake that night a few times.  Capri and Kate also helped me make an “Up up up cake,”  that’s what my mom started calling it when she was a little girl and that’s also what I requested every year for my birthday…. a pink up up up cake with coconut sprinkles.  Capri’s was chocolate with whipped cream cheese frosting and Reece’s because that’s what I had ingredients for. 

Opa and Grammy gave Capri this darling easel and Aunt Monica and Blake furnished a bunch of art supplies for her birthday.   Capri loves it!  

When Landon got home from work we went to Chic-fila for her birthday dinner, her favorite (thanks to her Chic-fila loving father).  The staff let her go in the back and make her very own birthday Sunday.  Capri has such a serious face all the time, but I'm telling you she was in dreamland.  We opened presents, had cake, and watched Capri’s movie when we got home. She got a swimsuit, puzzles, and a few little things because her big present was a Strider balance bike. She looked so cute on it we had to take it for a ride right away.   Hopefully we will have some nice days to practice before it gets too hot. 

Kate was partying with us too.  She loves that sling as much as Capri did as a baby.  She was all bundled up so we could go outside and ride Capri's new bike.   Even with a cool afternoon and evening you can see that Capri got a little sunburned at the park.

I think I had just as much fun on her birthday as she did.   It was a wonderful day and I’m pretty sure she was smiling in her sleep that night.

Below is the little video Capri and I made of her second year to watch while we were eating birthday cake.  It's just a bunch of random pictures but Landon and I beamed the whole way through, our Capri is growing up so beautifully (more about that next post).   Now that I'm on a movie making roll I hope to add a little to it later.