The Itsy Bitsy Spider

The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout.

Down came the rain...

and washed the spider out!

Our weekend

We didn't do very much this weekend and I have to admit I really like those kind of weekends sometimes! We are really enjoying this spring-like weather in January!! 

 On Saturday morning, Ava Kate got her first taste of solid food.  I decided to try oatmeal rather than rice cereal this time and she really liked it. 

Anna Riley spent most of the day outside with her Daddy.  Since it was windy and AK is getting over her cold, she and I stayed inside most of the day.

Saturday night, my parents decided to come for a visit.  My Dad will not be able to come to Anna Riley's party next weekend so they brought her a present.  Her big present is a Barbie Jeep to keep at their house to play on when she is there but she hasn't seen it yet.  She loved the Dora dress up set she got though!  She even took a bath with the necklace and wand!



I guess playing all day tuckered these two out!  Anna Riley wanted her Daddy to "rock rock" her and usually he rocks her for a few minutes and lays her down.  I was in the back feeding Ava Kate and fifteen or twenty mintues had passed and they were still in the den so I went to see what was going on and both were passed out!!  I went to get the camera and Riley woke up (because his mouth was wide open! haha) 

No, I do not make my child wear a bow to bed, she begs to wear one all the time and she wanted one in before bed. :)

Sunday morning, Ava Kate went to the nursery for the first time.  She did great but I knew she was sleepy when we dropped her off, but she didn't sleep at all.  So when we got home, sweet girl took a 3 hour nap and I had to wake her because she had already slept through a feeding.  

This is what happens when I say
"Take a sweet picture!"

I love this picture because this is how
Ava Kate watches her Big Sister
all the time!!

And yet another "sweet" picture! :)

Hope you had a great and relaxing weekend!!



My little bundle of cuteness!

sweet cousins

My sweet nephew, Duncan, got to come play with Ava Kate on Monday morning while Anna Riley was at school.  I had not seen him since Christmas since we had rounds of the stomach bug and colds we didn't want to give him our germs! So I was so excited to get my hands on him again!  He had gotten so big since I had seen him last!!  When we put him and Ava Kate on the quilt together, AK immediately grabbed his hand...they are going to be such sweet cousins!  I can't wait to see these two grow up together!

Ava Kate 3 months 2 weeks
Duncan 6 weeks

So sweet!

Duncan just stared at AK the whole time!  haha

AR's heart update

We went back to UAB yesterday for Anna Riley's one year check on her heart with Dr. Carlo.  We didn't get the news we really wanted but it wasn't necessarily bad either. We were hoping that she had outgrown the premature heart rhythms that she was having last year.  Dr. Carlo said he is still hearing the same thing he did last year but that she really might not ever outgrow it. The good news is, it doesn't really affect her.  He said she might notice a difference and eventually be able to tell me her heart feels funny at times (kind of like people with heart murmurs). He still wanted her to wear the holter for 24 hours again to monitor her heart to make sure there weren't any other irregularities.  I was a little worried about her wearing it this time but she did great...she kept calling the actual monitor part her phone! haha.  The nurses all bragged on her yesterday too because she would just lay back and let them do what they needed to do.  She was such a big girl.  She also wore her monitor to school today and did great with it.  She was very excited to take it off after her nap though!  We get the results back in a few days. 

What a difference a year makes!

Miscellany Monday

Weekend:
We had a very low key weekend and it was quite nice!  We celebrated Talon's 1st birthday on Saturday afternoon (forgot my camera!).  Courtney did such a great job with his party!! It was a winter ONEderland theme and it was just adorable!
Sunday was the first time in a long time that Anna Riley went to her class at church without any tears!! YAY! Ava Kate also did great in the sanctuary with us.  So we celebrated with lunch at Fig...she picked a big piece of chocolate cake for dessert of course! We spent the rest of the day outside playing since it was such a beautiful day!

Party Planning:
I knew what I was going to do for Anna Riley's birthday this year probably the day after her party last year! :)  There were lots of different themes I really wanted to do but she loves Mickey and Minnie so that is what it will be! The preparations are taking place but I am really trying to do things simple this year.

Sickness: With the weather constantly changing...we all have colds again! Uugh!  Poor Ava Kate always seems the worst but I think its just because she is so stuffed up and can't breathe...poor thing! And its not going to get any better since it will be rainy tomorrow, really cold Wednesday and then in the mid 70s this weekend!! Oh my!!

School:
Anna Riley started school last week and she went on Monday and Wednesday mornings.  I really think she is going to love it!  On Wednesday, I just went through the carpool line and did not walk her in.  I had been telling her all morning what would happen and that I would drop her off and one of her teachers would come to the car to get her and then I would be back at lunch to get her.  She just kept saying "okay, Mommy!"  When we got there and she saw Ms. Ashton come to the door she started waving her hands and saying "no,no,no!" but when she got her out she was fine and she never had any tears.  They said she is doing great but still gets a little upset during transitions.  She didn't have school today because of the holiday.

Sewing:
I got an embroidery/ sewing machine combo for Christmas and it is finally out of the box!  I have been a little intimidated to get it out!! I am now trying to get all the supplies I need to get started.  I wanted it mainly to monogram and applique some of the girls clothes but I really want to learn to sew a few basic things. I feel like a lot of the clothes I buy, especially for Anna Riley right now, are clothes that would be pretty simple to make.  I have been talking to Jennifer Clark (Livi Stitches) since she makes beautiful clothes for her girls and she taught herself how to do it!  I know a little bit about sewing but not enough to make anything.  I purchased three basic patterns from Jennifer.  She has been great to help with all of my questions.  My first goal, however, is to figure out the monogram/applique stuff. 

And just a few pictures just because:

Zero Doubt

National Champions!!!

ROLLLLLL TIDE!!!

Anna Riley's first day of Day School

Today was Anna Riley's first day of Day School.  She will be going to Noah's Ark at St. Mark on Monday and Wednesday mornings.  I knew without a doubt that she was going to cry when we dropped her off but she actually did much better than I anticipated!  We had been talking to her about "school" for a few days now and telling her all the fun things she would get to do.  Riley met me at school this so he could come meet her teachers.  She cried for just a few minutes but by the time we were out the door, she wasn't crying anymore.  We stood in the hall and talked to the director for a few minutes and didn't hear any crying or screaming so I felt really good about it!

I was so anxious to pick her up and see how her day went!! They said she had a pretty good day and only got a little upset when they would change activies. Everytime I ask her if she had fun and did she like school, she just starts laughing! On Wednesday, I won't take her in but they will come get her in the carpool lane so we will see how that goes!

All dressed in our houndstooth for the
Big Championship Game Day!

First Day of Dayschool

I tried getting a picture of the girls before we left...
Can you tell something is on TV and Ava Kate is
so amazed with the dots on her pants!  :)

Her Daily Report for her first day!

Ava Kate--3 months

Ava Kate turned 3 months old on January 6th.  She is changing so much everyday and becoming much more interactive now!

(This post has lots of pictures but she has the cutest expressions...I can't pick just a few!)

At 3 months old, Ava Kate is wearing size 2 diaper and wearing 3-6 and even some 6 month clothes.

I am not sure how much she weighs, but I am positive she has gained what she needs to...we call her our little "Chunky Monkey!"  I just love it!!

She is really starting to get on more of a schedule. 

 She eats 6 oz. every 4 hours.  and her last feeding is usually around 8pm.  She has slept through the night several times and sometimes she still wakes up once. 

She takes roughly 3 naps a day if she can get a good nap in...sometimes her big sister wakes her or she just gets woken up somehow and doesn't get to finish resulting in a few cat naps.  But on our good days, she takes a morning, afternoon (when AR sleeps) and a short evening nap (usually when we are eating dinner).

She rolled over for the first time on January 5th from tummy to back and has did it several times since. 

She is getting so strong and can hold her head up really well now.

She loves playing with her toys and on her floor mat and recently in the exersauser.  She is not as interested in the swing anymore.

I brought out one of Anna Riley's "Baby Einstein" videos for her to watch while I got ready and she loved it.  She kicked and cooed the whole time. 

She still has brown hair and her eyes are a green/hazel color (more like mine).  She has her Daddy's skin tone and the cutest, chunkiest cheeks!  I get mixed emotions on whether she looks like Anna Riley now or not...I think they have similarities but she is looking less like her and more like well...herself! :) 

She "talks" all the time. She makes the sweetest cooing sounds.

She gets so excited when you are talking to her.  She smiles so big and has even started laughing some. 

It seems that she maybe has outgrown the colic she had.  She is so much better and only has those fussy gas pains occasionally now.  She seems to be a much happier baby now, too! 

She loves watching her big sister!  Anna Riley loves her so much! If Ava Kate isn't in the room, she has to know where she is.  I can't wait until the two can really play together...they will have so much fun together!!

She makes to funniest facial expressions!  Her eyes get SO big sometimes!  She really looks like her Daddy's baby pictures especially when she makes her "big" eyes!



Just to compare: Ava Kate on the left and Anna Riley on the right.