Life Lately: May Edition

And just like that, May is coming to an end! What a BUSY and fun month (albeit several not so fun moments included) it has been!!

We've had some excellent weather this month (except for this past weekend)...the days and afternoons have been the best times to just hang outside with our girls. 

My aunt has served our community for many years as a nurse, an educator and in for the last MANY years as our hospital's Chief Clinical Officer. Earlier this month, we celebrated her retirement. If anyone deserves to enjoy retirement, it's her! I miss running into her in the halls or seeing her name pop up on my office caller ID, but I know she's loving this special time with her grandkids. 

Our tradition is continuing for snapping Sunday morning photos. They are so happy in the mornings!

Our oldest nephew Riley finished up elementary school this month! He's officially a mid-schooler now. sniff. We made sure to attend his last Chorus Concert and his graduation ceremony. 

The girls were all too interested in all the sights and sounds going on!

And then, it was mother's day. The day before Mother's Day Stephen brought home my favorite tulips, a card from himself and one from the girls..and I had to laugh...he also included the deodorant I asked him to get when he went to the store. #truelove

Stephen's mom got crafty with the girls and made these sweet footprint artwork. I just love them so much! 

 Cards are my love language and I loved receiving so many from friends and family on my first mother's day. I have to say, I felt so special being remembered by others. 

The girls each got me a necklace which was inside my favorite gift wrap..Kate Spade bags! I've not taken a picture, but one necklace is mama bear theme and the other is a giraffe and baby giraffe connected to make a heart. Sounds odd...it's ok I know...but they are very pretty. Just take my word on it. 

Traditionally, we celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day at my sister's house with lunch after church. I love spending these days with my favorite people...

Our grandparents usually join us which is always a treat! 

The two that made me a Mom!

The girls will be 8 months old at the end of the week, which means I've got 4 months to get my party planning act together. Do I go big for the 1st birthday or small? Who am I kidding, our families are huge..there is no "small" about it. 

Our youngest nephew Colin finished up baseball season a couple weeks ago and the game was early enough for us to attend. 7:30 ballgames are just too late for our little ladies. They are READY for bed at 8 o'clock, but an earlier game time meant it was the perfect opportunity to watch him play! 

We've made a couple visits over to my grandparents house this month. Both my grandma and grandpa have had their share of injuries and illnesses lately. It's good to the see them on the mend! We love them SO much!! 

More afternoons spent outside! 

Unfortunately, this afternoon outside wasn't for play. It was just to calm a fussy, sick baby. Amelia had a touch of a stomach bug for about a week. Rough stuff. 

And MP is in the throws of full blown teething and all the gloriousness that entails. She's got to have something in her mouth to chew on all the time. And yes, she's sitting in a laundry basket in the middle of the kitchen floor. Hey, you do what you gotta do! 

Stephen's mom ordered a little ball pit for them to play with. She sent us this picture one day, and I absolutely loved it..made my day! The girls had been feeling so rotten, it warmed my heart to see them so happy! 

Over the course of a few days, I managed to pull out all the remaining 3 month clothes and most of the 6 month clothes from the girls room to.....

...make way for the 9 month clothes! How are we already at the bigger sizes?! Where's all my Newborn size pieces!?! (Excuse the mess...at this point, I was just proud to get it all in the closet. Organizing and tidying up would come later on!)

We wrapped up the month with a Nashville date night! Back in September I was quick to buy tickets for Eric Church's last concert on his current tour. He played in Nashville on Friday and Saturday night. We had tickets to Saturday's show. As always, it was incredible and he's just THE BEST. It's amazing to see the growth in his fan base. To know I was at his shows way back when they were in holes in the wall kind of places and there couldn't have been more than 100 of us. From that, to breaking the attendance record two nights in a row at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena with 20,000+ fans...every show is the best one yet! 

He had no opening acts...just him. For over FOUR hours. It was intense. We left EXHAUSTED and made it back home right at 2am. 

We celebrated Memorial Day by buying a new car! While we were in Nashville Saturday, we went ahead and picked up the girls next carseats. When we put them in my car the next day, we quickly realized how we had officially grown out of it. I was hesitant at first, because I LOVED my car. Once we got the new seats in, we had to move our front seats forward to get the carseats to fit. We could drive, but Stephen's knees were hitting the dash, and mine weren't far from it. We drove around looking at a few options, and on Monday I said a bittersweet goodbye. 

Yes I cried in the Nissan lot that day. This car meant SO much to me...SO SO many memories. 

But, it's time to make new memories and have room for our FAMILY! I still honestly can't believe I have a "big" vehicle. I feel like I'm not old enough. I'll be 34 in a few months, and I still feel like I'm a kid!! When do you start feeling old?

Maybe it's when you wear jeans, a tshirt and tennis shoes to an Eric Church concert because I definitely did that Saturday night. When Stephen asked me why I was wearing those shoes, my reply... "because my feet will hurt in anything else for that long!" AND NOW, I feel old.