I have a couple of halves in the title of this post! Sadie turned six and a half years old, so we decided to celebrate with a little treat and a candle.

This time, I didn’t say “Happy birthday Dakota” like I did to my poor mom for her birthday 😂

Can Sadie just stop growing up so fast?! She is a little girl now and it’s just crazy to me. I think having Dakota and seeing her wear the clothes Sadie wore as a newborn is making me extra aware of the passage of time lately.

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So, half of a hot tub? Actually half of me went in our hot tub this week and it was glorious! It has been so long since I’ve been in our hot tub… ten months to be exact! Since I’m not cleared for normal activities like hot tubbing until I’m six weeks postpartum (currently four weeks postpartum!), I figured dipping my toes (and legs) in the water wouldn’t hurt 😉

Plus, Dakota had her first hot tub experience! It must have bored her because she slept through the whole thing. I can’t wait to be swimming around with the kids again soon 😍

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Malcolm (our cat) likes to do this adorable thing where he lays on the ground, usually in front of a warm vent, and has his belly against the wall. When he does this, Jimmy and I call him “Wall Cat.”

I caught him doing it the other day and snapped a picture and texted Jimmy WALL CAT while he was at work. Super important text to get at work, I know 😆

Love that the robot vacuum made it in the picture! We are still loving it. Mordecai is no longer afraid of it (!!!) and even puts his toys on top of it while it runs. We typically use it 2x a day! Our kids make a lot of crumbs and our dog sheds a lot of fur 😬

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How about a few other random pictures?

My sleep-deprived brain has me doing silly things like shutting my coat in our car door.

Still very much cherishing my Bible + coffee time in bed each morning before the day starts. Jimmy next to me, Dakota making cute snuffling newborn noises on the bed, a warm mug of Sunsera blend, and God’s word. Doesn’t get much better than that! Today I was studying patience and I read this:

Impatience is sinful–not only because it causes us to react sinfully but also because it is rooted in pride. When we grow impatient, it is often because we are not receiving what we want on our specific timetable.

That hit me hard! I’m learning that I can be patient with whatever life throws my way with the help of the Holy Spirit. Instead of feeling impatient or trying to control things, I can go to God in prayer and ask for patience instead of simply asking for things on my timeline 😉

Hanging with my girls! Sadie was doing school on our bed and Dakota joined us. Love these moments 🫶

I try to take time every day to just notice the kids and soak them in. I love to watch them while they do things like read or play. I snapped this picture of Sadie reading and I just love it. I’m so proud of how she is learning to read this year!

Speaking of noticing, I came across this (above) and saved it. Some of these, I am great about. We never do body bashing/diet talk/criticizing eating choices in our house. I apologize to my children daily, I allow myself to feel emotions like sadness and let my children see that. I could be way better at paying attention when they say “watch this” and putting down my phone more, though!

A friend of mine is having a baby in April, so I made her a freezer meal to have on hand for postpartum. Enchiladas! This was my first time putting them together. Next time I would use flour tortillas instead of corn because I feel like flour tortillas are a bit sturdier.

Sadie said she wanted to do a photoshoot with Dakota and this was her idea. She is too sweet!

Another of Sadie’s photoshoot ideas. Dakota was a bit skeptical 😉

We did a little outing to the library to do school and story time. Mordecai especially loved story time. He liked the songs and hand motions and Sadie loved the reading.

Jimmy had to work a night shift (after working all day 😱) so we both had a long day/night haha. I decided to make it fun/special for me and the kids, so we got McDonald’s and ate it at the park. We played and then got ice cream to cap it all off. The verdict? It went great! But it’s much better with Jimmy there 🥰

My big helper girl, Sader Tot! We had a semi-warm day this week, so I pushed Dakota in her stroller and she pushed Mordecai in his stroller.

Sadie, Dakota, and I played spa while Mordecai was napping and Sadie was sooo into it. It was adorable! We pretended she came to my spa and I gave her a manicure, pedicure, facial, and did her hair and makeup. She instantly wanted to recreate the whole experience with Jimmy when he got home from work, so he got a spa treatment, too 😂 He deserved it after working Thursday, Thursday night, and then Friday. I don’t know how he stayed awake! He *did* conk out while Sadie “did his nails” haha.

My spa assistant fell asleep while doing tummy time!! She’s fired 😜

Sadie did a National Geographic gemstone dig kit and whoa did she love that! If you have a child or niece/nephew who is anywhere from 4-10 years old, this would be such a good gift idea.

It’s so cute seeing the girls in matching pajamas! I bought Dakota’s pajamas before she was born and had that weird feeling of “what if I buy these and something happens” so to see her in them is an answered prayer!

I feel like the weather in Pittsburgh is slowly changing to spring. It’s trying! We had a warm evening so we packed the kids up and went for a walk on a local walking path! Felt so great to get outside 😊

Okay, this post is super long and picture-filled! I have just a few more thoughts to share:

• I took Dakota to her one month checkup and I dropped my phone in the garage can in the waiting room 🤢 that was like my inner germaphobe’s worst nightmare. I was horrified hahah.
• Niva and her best husky friend (Runah!) had a play date this week. They caught and killed a squirrel 🤦🏼‍♀️
• Speaking of Niva and her bestie, we’re meeting Runah’s owner at a Pirates (Pittsburgh’s baseball team) game this summer with the dogs. That’s going to be an interesting night!
• Sadie has a stuffed alligator that she named Allie the Alligator. Whenever I am sad or crying (postpartum hormones get me every time haha) she brings me the alligator to snuggle. Like how did she think of that? How is she so aware of me and my emotions? I love her so much 🤍
• I found a tick crawling on my leg after walking on the above-mentioned walking path. Eek!
• Jimmy has to work at least one more night shift this coming week. I’m glad we got through the first one. Now I know we can all survive it!

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Aaaaand that’s a wrap!

Have you ever done something that made you cringe (like dropping your phone in a garbage 🫠)?