I have a two year old…...

Oh hi, my daughter turned two a couple weeks ago…and I haven't shared yet:) 

My Zakiyah Nova is 2 years old (as of 8.20) What in the world?! Where has the time gone? Oh, I know, chasing after this crazy second born!!!! 

Mamahood is a ride that I love being apart of! 

Especially, with my two little ladies, in tow. They truly make my life beautiful.

Zakiyah means Purity and Nova means Bright and New. That she is….

My Beauty.

Ever since, this stubborn little girl entered the world, (birth story) I knew my life was about to change!

Zakiyah is a burst of energy. 

She loves life to the fullest! She still likes to take 2 naps a day, if I let her…..

She loves her babies and lovies. The girls wants to tote around 2 small lovies, 2 big blankets and a croqueted blankie, baby, mermaid, stuffed animal.. you name it… she is handing it to me to carry.

Zakiyah only says a few words at this point, but is the loudest 2 year old I know.

Her favorite songs are Boom (River Valley Church- Go Kids), Full of Stars (Coldplay), Jump (River Valley Church- Go Kids), and of course, Let It Go (Frozen). We have dance parties daily in the car and living room.

She is fearless, adventurous, and risk taking. She barrels down hills. tricycles, and runs so fast! She loves the water and swimming with her family. 

She loves FOOD! She wants chocolate every day, if I let her! She loves dried fruit, watermelon, mashed potatoes and can slam 4 slices of pizza if I give it to her! 

Kiyah LOVES her sister! She adores Zion. I love having them share a room for many reasons! I love walking by their room and seeing them play and share…occasionally. ;)

Every night, when Andy puts them to bed he goes through 3 songs and sings to them, while holding their hands as they are in their crib/bed. He is way better at bedtime than me. I am over it after 8pm…. Literally, over the day. done. don't want to procrastinate the routines………

Zakiyah is her sister's shadow with a lot of things. I feel like we are skipping a lot of things that Zion liked at 2 and jumping ahead, because Kiyah wants to do what her sister wants to do.

Zakiyah is the most affectionate girl I know! She hugs, holds hands, cuddles, kisses, giggles all the time. Ever since she was a baby, she would place her hand on my forearm…. when I hold her. MY FAVORITE.

Zakiyah teaches me patience, grace, humility, and how to respond creatively to certain scenarios. 

She makes our life better. 

More full.

More joy-filled. 

More over flowing.

More happy.

Happy 2nd Birthday Sweet girl!  

We had a simple BBQ with family for her birthday! Our neighbors came by too to help celebrate our Zakiyah! I went with fun and happy decor! 

Menu:

Hickory and Rodeo Lime Chicken and Pork on the grill

Mexican Sweet Corn 

Pioneer Woman's Baked Beans

Cantaloupe and Pineapple

Roasted potatoes

Garden fresh salad with veggies

Fresh Salsa and Blue Corn Chips

Nutella Chocolate frosting // Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes! HEAVEN!!!!

Ice Cream

Lots of fun bevys 

In the morning, we had our Nanny- Noelle "Coelle" over for breakfast (cass cakes) to send her off to college. She helped make the watermelon and pineapple garland! 

Zakiyah loves sweet corn. 

Fact: First born- prefers me to cut the corn off the cob. Second born- wants to eat it by herself.

CUTIES!

Cousins!!!!!!

Spoiled.

Zion loves taking pictures. Fact:  my parents never me touch their camera….now, they willingly give it to their 4 year old grandchild. ;) 

Mike helping put together Zakiyah's rockin' grocery cart!

 Zakiyah loving on her art from Bird + Goose! 

Crazy

Going through 2 bottles of bubbles in … oh you know 5 minutes…..

Love celebrating my girls.

Blessed, are we.

Thankful.

Love reminiscing her first birthday ;) HERE.

Love this little video, that I put together HERE. 

Taking time to be thankful.

I found this image on Pinterest and love what it says.

Truth.

Simple.

Yet, profound. 

Man, we are blessed.
Overwhelmed lately with gratitude.
Thankful for my husband.
Thankful for my z pies.
Seriously, this season…… raising littles is pretty awesome.
Somedays are harder than others. Somedays just play rock.

Lately, I have been soaking in the moments. Cuddling with Kiyah. She is our little monster! Zakiyah invented the word, "explore." She learned how to open the oven this weekend! She stands on her rocking horse, or any table for that matter. She follows her sister in everything! She loves dried cranberries and anything sweet! She gives the best hugs and her giggle is contagious. She is going to out run us anyday now. Zakiyah Nova- our blessing.

Zion is growing up before our eyes. I can not believe that she will be 4 in a couple of weeks here! I took her on a date over the weekend, to celebrate her helpful heart and giving spirit. I figured it was time to celebrate and show her I appreicate her! She is my little helper everyday! From cleaning the studio with me, to emptying the dishwasher, to making her bed, she rocks at helping her mama. She says "yuv you" fifty times a day. She loves painting nails and using her imagination. Everything is magic in this house. She is so excited to have a Tinkerbell party. I love that we are turning the four year old corner in life….. more grown up…..less tantrums….. amen and amen

The Hus and I have been together for 12 crazy years- what the? Where did the time go? I am still lucky to call him my BFF and my partner in this life. He continues to challenge me and make me a better woman. We couldn't be any more opposite but it somehow works for us. Thankful for his sense of humor, his consistency in EVERYTHING, his opproach at life, his leadership in our family. Love you hus…...

The girls love watching daddy sing and play. It is one of my favorite casslife things we do.

              

Cass girls sandwich. The best. I love how Z/Z are buddies. IN IT FOR LIFE is what I always tell them.

a year in recap.

Reflecting on the birth of this lovie.

Check out my birth story here, and my hus' version here.

I can't get over how full my heart is, since I have become a mommy.

Can't even put it into words.

the ups 

the downs

the emotions

the guilt

the excitement

the lessons

the learning how to balance

the hugs

the giggles

the teachable moments

the morning cuddles

the sound of hearing, "mom mom mama mama" come out of your baby's mouth

the smell of sunscreen and post bath

the feeling of your baby's head on your shoulder, legs wrapped around your hips, and hands holding mine.

priceless

overwhelming......

burst of sunshine.....

joy.....

my Zakiyah (pure one)

my Nova (burst of light, bright. new)

My buddy.

My daughter.

My second born.

My lil lady.

I thought I would share some random photos of the past year. 

Random order.

Enjoy.

Zakiyah is in the mischief stage. Exploring. crawling. and following her sister's suit.

We had a fun filled summer with a lot of grad parties.

Zion and Zakiyah in the crib being sisters.

Toesies and flip flops...need I say more.

Camp life. 5 weeks of camp for my hus. 2.5 wks for me. Our kids love it.

First Christmas!

First wedding!!

Pinterest FAIL

First Disney and Family VACATION

Outside fun.

One of my fav sister pix. the bond. the cuddles. the love. the built in friendship.

Obsessed with how she eats. 

She loves avocados, chicken, rice, fruit and sweets.

the moment she was born. sigh.

baby toes.

meeting great grandma and great grandpa

Four generations

my girls love going to cass fam house in WI

Meeting daddy and mommy

meeting big sister!

my special necklace. feather represents GROWTH. growing family. growing heart. growing spiritually.

best daddy ever.

being dedicated!

learning to crawl.

What a year. I missed a lot of moments. But so thankful for this year.  It was the year we became a family of four. It was the year we met and fell in love with our Zakiyah. It was the year, my heart grew larger, than I thought ever possible. Happy First Birthday precious one.