May

Okay, okay...enough with the monthly updates. Not only do these big updates get completely overwhelming for me (which is why it takes me so long to get them up)...but I've decided I want the purpose of this blog to change. Of course, the number one priority will remain the same. My goal has always been to keep everyone up to date on our lives.

What I want is a place where the girls can come back years from now and see not just the big trips we took, or important events like birthdays, but the smaller moments too. How we live our day-to-day lives, the girls' smaller, everyday victories that lead to big cheers from Ryan and me. (Full disclosure? This will also be a great resource for when memory seems to escape me!)

So that's it. Two more big, bulky, 'one-month-scrunched-into-17-photos' posts for May and June...and then expect to be overwhelmed annoyed overjoyed with more frequent updates!

We've spent quite a bit of time

getting to know this little guy...

We now know he must be part-puppy. Captain Hook loves to sprawl out in front of the fireplace in the evenings before bed. When we let him out of his cage in the morning, he runs to the back door and scratches at it until someone comes to let him out. If he's in the mood for a cuddle, he'll follow so close to your feet that he often gets kicked and nearly stepped on (poor guy is almost the exact same color as our carpet.)

Being chased around the backyard.

Great exercise for both parties.

The word 'bunny' no longer exists in Reese's vocabulary. Every rabbit she sees at the pet store and bunny picture she sees in her books is now called 'Hook'!

Who could resist the bright green grass on a sunny day?

Ryan and I get grief from time to time about the suburb we live in. Milson is a mostly residential area, but also has train tracks running directly through it and is home to the Palmerston North Airport. Sounds loud and busy, but we got used to it rather quickly.

Our house also backs up to a large plot of land with about 30 grazing cattle. What could be better for two kids under 4 years old? We get to see planes and helicopters fly by, watch the huge crates being loaded and unloaded from the trains, and marvel at the 'moos' eating and sleeping every single day.

It also takes a whopping 7 minutes (!) to get to town by car...which apparently is a huge turn-off for many Palmy residents. I guess it's all about your perspective. (Remind me sometime to tell you about 'all the traffic' in the city...makes us laugh everytime.)

This is our evening view from the backyard...

...we're pretty happy 'way out' in Milson.

One beautifully sunny day the girls pulled out their Tinker Bell skates. Up to this point, the only experience they'd had was skating walking in their skates on the carpet. So the concrete in front of the house was a whole new world.

We started with smiles (and upright).

Which quickly turned into this...

...and this...

...and this.

The girls gave it their best shot.

Finally, Daly gave up in favor of

playing in the flower bed.

And Reese just crawled.

We moved on to a helmet and bike seat.

A smoother ride with fewer bruises...

...and loads more smiles.