Life Lately

   Like most of our pals, we spent last week fighting the sickies in our house. Both kids had colds while Mom randomly had a bad case of pink eye (ugh).  Despite it all, we've still managed to have some fun moments.

Sis went with me to the Dr. for my pink eye- She was well-accessorized but held captive in a stroller so she could not touch anything ;)

   Charlie, Daddy, and Ellie have been hiking at Valley Forge National Park a lot recently. There are two main trails there - Mt. Joy and Mt. Misery- and they love hiking one or sometimes even both. Ellie is loving getting outside of her typical backyard/neighborhood area and everyone comes home happy, hungry, and tired from these hikes.

A sweet boy and his beloved pup enjoying a hike

Charlie is an awesome hiker- they did four miles on Saturday!

The landscape right now is not very pretty- come on Spring!

   The kiddos are playing together more and more lately as they get a bit older and it's just the sweetest. That's not to say they don't have their little tiffs and fights over toys here and there, but in general they are really becoming best buds that play really well together. They both love crafty-type activities so some crayons, markers, and stickers have been making for hours of sibling fun during these chillier "indoor" months.

BFF! (Note: The Elsa dress phase is still going strong)

Sorting pom poms- teamwork for the win!

Being creative and doing crafts- nevermind that there are stickers all over and stuck to the floor

They made beautiful masterpieces; peaceful play like this feels like heaven and allows their parents to drink (hot!) coffee in peace for a few minutes. A whole new world for us!

   The kids have been doing swimming lessons every Saturday morning and they're both loving it. It's so funny to watch them because they spend half the class waving to one another and chatting / cheering one another on. That sibling bond really is special. They're doing well and making progress; we are really hoping to have Charlie swimming this summer (he's so close!) and little sis is not far behind because she is always trying to catch up to the 'big kids.'

Maddie is in pink and Charlie is in green - working hard!

Learning to swim is so so so important

Working on their skills and cheering each other on along the way

   The boys went for haircuts over the weekend; Why does a fresh cut always make Charlie look like a teenager?!

Big kid with a fresh haircut and a cookie

     Sis helped get the groceries - in a full length kitty cat tutu dress, of course!

Miss Independent likes her OWN cart, thankyouverymuch

And, OF COURSE, we are always baking up a storm. This week we baked our usual banana muffins, chocolate chip cookies, and even made some popovers. I used this recipe and they were DELISH!

Nothing better than hot popovers fresh out of the oven

Banana muffins- filling one of the empty cups with water helps to add a little moisture to the oven air as they bake

Sending love and warm, happy, healthy vibes to our friends and fam near and far ♥ XO