Wow, where has the month gone? I have yet again gotten a little behind in blogging so I am going to try to sum up the month of May in one post!
May 3, 2013: Kailyn got her first "big girl" jewelry and loooves it! Mommy went to the new Carter's store and found this cute necklace which came with a matching bracelet. She loves getting into Mommy's jewelry so we decided it was time she played with her own.
May 8, 2013: The kids have really been enjoying the warmer weather, especially playing outside. They both also love playing with water, so this particular day, Caleb decided to wash Daddy's car, which consisted of getting one spot on the car really, really clean! Caleb can now turn the water spout on and off himself to get water outside to play with. He loves playing water guns and squirting "not people." Kailyn tries her best to keep up, bless her, and loves it too!
May 9, 2013: Did I mention the kiddos love playing outside? It was our week to hos small group, so we blew up the jumper thingy and the kids were so excited. Unfortunately, it had a hole that was patched from last year and now a new hold in the bottom, so it may have reached the end of it's use!
May 12, 2013: Mother's Day in Guntersville. We spent Mother's Day weekend in Guntersville with Gran Gran. We had a great time and enjoyed visiting with her. We played lots of toys, ate great food, and ran around town. Then on Sunday we met up with Grandmama and Grandad at Church then we all went out to eat Mexican for lunch. Afterwards, we were heading back to Huntsville when Mommy realized how dissapointed she was that we hadn't gotten any good pictures for Mother's Day because the rain was in and out all weekend. So we swung by Grandmama and Grandad's to take a few pictures before heading home. So glad we did! Daddy was extra sweet to Mommy all day and made sure she knew how loved she was!!!
May 14, 2013: Caleb's class had an end of the year sing a long, it was so stinkin' cute! I wish I could figure out how to put video clips on the blog, Caleb did such a great job. He did a lot of the hand motions, paid attention, and sang loudly. I was a proud Momma!
May 21, 2013- The following week was Caleb's last day of school. They had a big field day where they played outside games and even had a picnic. His teacher emailed me a few pictures of their fun morning. He has enjoyed the past year in the 3 year old room with Miss Cindy and Miss Carol sooo much. It is so hard to believe that he will be in the 4 year old class when he goes back in August!! Wow. He has grown so much since the beginning of this school year and learned so much. He can count, say his ABCs, write letters, recognize a few words, and much more! So proud of my little guy.
Just to compare, here is Caleb on his first day of school on August 2012
And of course, Kailyn had to get in on the last day of school photo shoot...she just can't wait to start going to school in the fall!!
May 22, 2013: Our sweet friends invited us to go to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate the beginning of my friend's sucessful restart of her own business. We always enjoy hanging out with them!
May 24-27, 2013: Memorial Weekend at the River. We enjoyed a long, relaxing weekend at the River. It was actually pretty cool at night, so the water was cold too. We did very little swimming and since it was a holiday weekend, the river was busy so we did not ride in the boat much either. Like I said, lots of relaxing. And of course, eating, playing, and riding the golf cart! Another thing we did not do much of was take pictures...the only fall back of having my nice camera is that I don't like it sitting out, especially at places like the River, so I don't take as many pictures. Oh well...
May 29, 2013: Playing in the pop jets at Bridgestreet. Before meeting some friends for dinner, we took the kids to play in the water. We talked about doing this several times last summer, but never did. Both kids were a little shy at first, but quickly warmed up to them and had a lot of fun. It officially feels like summertime now!!!
So when did Caleb turn out to be such a horrible sleeper? As I am typing this, we put Caleb to bed 30 minutes ago and he has already come out of his room 2 times! I would say most nights he comes out at least once within the first 10 minutes of putting him down. He wants absolutely nothing...just to make me walk up the stairs again! For a while, he was getting up in the middle of the night a lot, but recently he has gotten better. Although, last night we had some pretty big storms come through about 2:30am and he ended up waking up on the 2nd thunder, which landed him on our bed (for the first time ever) for the rest of the night. Hopefully he doesn't expect that everytime...
I am so mesmerized and more in love with Kailyn everyday. But when I stop to watch her, I get all sentimental because I feel like she did not stay a baby long enough. Seriously, once she started sitting up on her own, she was not an "infant" anymore. And since then, she has followed in her big brother's footsteps without looking back a bit. They are playing together so well now, it is adorable! Kailyn is doing more and more everyday...she can now open all the doors in the house by herself if they are unlocked. She goes upstairs all by herself, and is so so smart! She knows when we are getting ready to go and will wait by the garage door to leave. She loves to have shoes on and will say, "Shos, shooos." and sit in the floor for you to put them on. And since spring has arrived, she gets mad if the back door is locked and she can't go outside, it is kind of adorable. And those big blue eyes and that smile that will melt your heart in .2 seconds...
I am finally getting back on the coupon train!!! I completely fell off after having Kailyn last year, just having a baby and adjusting to life with 2 kids and all. I had dabbled in it here and there some but never did great. Well I stuck to it and got back on a roll. I have had an amazing week! Just today I spent $43 at Publix and saved $53. And yesterday at Target I got FOUR Digorno pizzas and a box of Nestle ice cream cones for $10 with sales and coupons...such a great deal. And you know what? I have been pinching those pennies when eating out this week too. Last night we had a buy one get one free entree at TGIFridays and our bill was only like $15! And tonight we were running errands late so we ran through BK for only $8 for all four of us with coupons- Love! It does take some effort, but it is SO worth it.
Spring cleaning has arrived at the Gilmore's! I have been getting a little ocd about cleaning in the past week or two. Orgainizing cabinets and closets, throwing junk away, cleaning baseboards and blinds. I still have a TON that needs to be done...like organize the garage and sell the stuff we got back from consignment. I have seriously learned that the only way to keep up with laundry around here is to do (at least) one load of laundry per day no matter what. And if there is ever a day where there is not a "normal" load to go in, I was bathroom rugs, decorative towels hanging up, etc. And this past week I started doing something that I really hope I can keep doing. Every afternoon after the kids go down for nap, I spend a little time wiping down the kitchen, picking up toys and random clutter, etc. I attempt to make it seem like someone is coming over. And then do the same type things after the kids go to bed at night. There is nothing like waking up to a clean house and coming downstairs in the mornings to a clean kitchen. Don't get me wrong, I have always kept it pretty clean, but just letting the random clutter accumulate here and there on a counter or desk...I am trying hard to get really organized and keep it that way. It just makes me feel better.
Caleb is still loving school and I am a little sad that he only has a few short weeks left before he is out for the summer. I am a little overwhelmed thinking about not having any "breaks" in the summer weeks, but somehow we always seem to stay pretty busy anyways. I am just sad that he will miss his friends and just getting out of the house twice a week. It just offers him a good break from me and vice versa. He has learned SO much this year and is really growing up way too fast. He can count, ABC's, cut with sicsors, color, stamp, write his name, and sometimes remembers his Spanish words...and much more, I'm sure. But I am definitely looking forward to more playdates with friends this summer and just getting a lot of fun, quality time with the kids. Caleb will be in Kindergarden before we know it, and I know I will miss these days with him so much. I love that he comes in my room every morning and wakes me up with snuggles. He has A LOT of energy and is 100% boy, but he has a heart of gold. Ha! Just recently he started saying, "Mommy I love you...Can I..." Hmm, already starting to play mind games!
It has been a few days since I have tortured the kiddos with a photo shoot!! So no cute pictures in a post, seriously? Wow...sorry!
