McFarland Family Fun!: Birthdays, Anniversaries, and a whole lotta fun!

So this month was quite the whirlwind of fun! We have been so busy every single weekend and it's not stopping anytime soon. I am looking forward to May when we don't have something every single weekend. I guess the best thing to do is start from the beginning.

At the beginning of March we had a great time with Scott's family and a couple of our friends at a Spring Training game in Surprise. The Budweiser Clydesdale's made a pit stop and it was the first time I've seen them up close (minus seeing them cross an intersection in downtown Phoenix a year ago). We were able to get some pictures and what's neat is that Scott has a picture with the Clydesdale's when he was young too.

While sitting in our VIP tent (yeah, that's how we roll) we also saw the entire ASU baseball team that was there for a collegiate tournament after the MLB game. So of course we asked head coach Tim Esmay if Keira could have a picture with him. Of course Scott had to jump in too since Keira likely wouldn't let Coach Esmay hold her so he's throwing a good pitchfork in there. I really think Keira was Scott's excuse to get a photo with the coach, but it's cool. It was fun! Next on the list...Todd Graham (ASU football coach).

Leila is growing like a weed! She had her 4 month doctor appointment and had gained two pounds in two months. Official stats are: weight 13.6 lbs (30%), height 25.5" (86%), and head 16" (48%). She is two pounds heavier than Keira was at this age and 1 inch taller. A week after her appointment we took a trip back to the doctor's office and got her ears pierced. She was a champ and of course now she looks even more adorable than before! She's officially rolling over both ways since she now rolls from back to stomach right before her 4 month birthday (tummy to back was at 9 weeks). She's also discovered her feet which she LOVES! She holds onto them every moment she gets and sometimes when she's bored or hungry she'll snack on them. Keira is loving it since she's a little more interactive and she still enjoys teaching her things like the alphabet or what a dinosaur is or even reading to her. She goes to bed about 6:30P and is still waking me up once a night (anywhere between 3A & 5A) to eat but I'll take it. I'm sure there are those worse off than me but I cannot wait for that night of uninterrupted sleep. I even dream about it. Another first this month are her first solids. She's now had rice cereal and avocado, both of which she loves. Girl likes to eat, just like her sister. Of course she still hates her car seat with a passion (even though we've upgraded to a more comfortable convertible seat) as well which is definitely a good time. All in all, it's been a good month for Leila.

Scott and I also celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary this month. Scott celebrated by going snowboarding in Flagstaff with a friend while I stayed at home and worked. Okay that sounds pretty bad, but I did say it was okay and we celebrated with a fabulous dinner two nights before. We ate at Amaro Pizzeria & Vino Lounge and it was DELICIOUS! We also learned they have live music Wednesday thru Sunday nights so we are excited to go there again sometime in the near future.

We've had several birthday parties, in addition to Keira's to attend this month as well. Keira had a blast visiting with her friends while Leila just took it all in and was being carried around, which is her favorite! We love our neighborhood and friends here and love celebrating these milestones with them. It's so fun to see everyone grow over the years.

Speaking of birthdays...someone turned 2!!!

We had her part at The Little Gym which was absolutely fabulous. The theme was Team USA/Olympics (yes, I know the Olympics were last summer but whatever). She's been very into gymnastics since I started taking her this past January and I figured it'd be fun for all the kids. Plus I didn't have to clean my house, buy decorations, set up, clean up again, think of activities, and so on! It was so stress free and all I had to do was pay for it, buy a cake, order some pizza to be delivered, and provide goody bags for the kids to take home. It was awesome! We couldn't really get Keira off the rings though. Every single time there was free time, I'd turn around and she'd be hanging from those bars. Too bad they are part of the boys apparatus' and not the girls.

On Keira's actual birthday both Scott and I took off work to take her to the Phoenix Zoo. We had such a blast and my longtime friend (who kindly pointed out that it's been 20 years and made me feel super old) and her kids met us there. She loved the Komodo Dragon but the biggest attraction and most fun at the zoo was the Photo Booth. You heard right, the photo booth. Keira wanted to 'hide' in there so my friend's girls joined her and we spent a good 10 minutes playing.

Easter was eventful and fun at our house. The weekend prior we had our community Easter egg hunt, which was fun and Keira thoroughly enjoyed picking up the eggs. It also marked her first face painting - a unicorn - which she sat super still for. It was impressive and she loved pointing at it and talking about it.

Easter weekend our friends came over with their daughter for dinner and egg dying. It was a blast and the girls chose to use their hands instead of the tool provided to drop in and pull the egg out (which truly is difficult even for an adult to use). It was definitely more efficient but it was a bear to get it all off afterwards. Keira's eggs turned out beautiful and she topped them off with some Sesame Street stickers.

On Easter we drove down to Casa Grande to have brunch with Scott's parents, his grandparents, and his sister's family. It was a fabulous time as always and they even set up an egg hunt which was really fun. Keira loved finding all the eggs around the yard and Leila was hanging out with her Nani (Nancy) watching all the fun. It's always great to have family time and it's always a blast for the cousins to hang out. I will say this...Keira is definitely the loudest of them all. We do not have a volume problem in this household!

Keira gets more fun by the day. Of course she has her random tantrums and meltdowns but those are a rarity and not the norm. Since she turned 2 she moved up a room at "school" (*sniff, *sniff) and is such a big girl. She's becoming so independent and is always saying "Keira do it" or "I do it." She also had her two year doctor visit and she passed with flying colors. Official stats are: weight 23 lbs (20%), height 33" (28%), and head 18.75" (54%). Of course there are many funny scenarios that played out and statements made by Keira and I can't share them all but some are below.

Sayings:

"Oh goodness"
"Here honey" - when handing us something or chatting to her 'baby'
"No table" - telling herself to not climb on the coffee table
"Yeah baby" - totally don't know where this came from but it's hilarious

Scenarios:

She will sit in her chair and 'breastfeed' her baby while I feed Leila. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, but what's even funnier about it is that she feeds her baby out of her belly button. She also has to use a blanket to cover her baby while feeding her. She's such a good mommy.
After a bath she was sitting on the bathroom counter while Scott was brushing her teeth and she started to pinch her nipples yelling "milk." We aren't sure if she was milking herself or asking for more milk since hers was just poured in the sink. We were laughing pretty hard.
She makes a mean coffee with her play kitchen. We are wired on a daily basis due to multiple cups of coffee. We also drink out of her salt and pepper shakers but usually we get a real cup while she takes either the salt or pepper. She's a gracious host.
While sitting on the potty before getting in her bath she looked over at the tub and saw Barbie floating in the water. She said "Oh Barbie, I help you." She promptly had to wipe and get off to help Barbie.
When we got to gymnastics early one day we walked into the waiting area and she saw some little boys playing in the play room. She was so focused on them that she kept walking and ran into the glass door. No joke that I almost fell off my chair laughing. I still laugh when I think about it. Of course I made sure she was okay first and she had a good chuckle too, but it was awesome!!
Scott usually gets Keira out of bed and dressed in the morning as I am usually downstairs with Leila and lately some mornings she's been wanting me. The first time this happened he had her reading for a few minutes and said he'd get me when he was done emptying out both girls humidifiers. He assumed she'd forget about wanting me, but the minute he came back in the room she pointed to the door and said "get her."
She's still a bit bossy and is constantly telling her dogs what to do, as well as us, but for the most part she's pretty polite about it and says "please." A prime example is the video below which makes me laugh every time I see it because not only is she bossing Koa around, but she has to blow bubbles in between yelling at him.