Lately...

Well we have continued to be busy (and sleep deprived) as we work to get fully settled into our new house, keep up with two little ones, prepare for an upcoming 2 year old's birthday party, etc.  The weeks are flying by and it's so hard to believe that Kens is going to be 2 next week!  This past year has gone so fast.  I feel like all we did was blink and here we are with two kids in a new house.

Nana and Papa are finally back from their world travels so they came to spend last weekend with us.  They played with the girls, helped paint, made food and babysat so could get a lot done around the house and run some much needed errands.  We were finally able to finish Kensley's room (see previous post).  We also went to Zoo Boo at the zoo on Saturday afternoon.  We dressed the girls up in their ladybug costumes.  Despite the crazy crowds, we had a good time and great weather.

Walking with Papa and looking so old.

Sweet baby girl



Such a happy girl!

Cheese!

Train ride with my littlest bug!

Getting the hang of trick or treating...immediately going for the candy!

 In an effort to try to get Aves to sleep through the night, we introduced rice cereal.  We had fully intended to wait at least another month or two before trying it (as it seemed to be one more thing to add to our already busy evenings), but we are desperate for more sleep and are determined to try anything.  So in hopes of keeping Avery's tummy nice and full, we turned to rice cereal.  We started it last Friday and surprisingly Avery was very interested.  We've given it to her a few times since and she is slowly getting the hang of the spoon and swallowing.  We've decided to try every other night as we aren't sure if it's upsetting her tummy (we've had a couple of really rough nights here lately).

Kens wanted in on the photo action.

How sweet is she?!

First bite!

Trying to figure it out.

And lastly just a few sweet pictures from today.

Sweet sisters

Such a sweet girl...we just wish we could figure out how to get her to sleep at night!

Kensley's Room...

Kensley's room is finally finished!  We finished painting this weekend and while we were at it, decided to move all her furniture around.  I've struggled with what to do with her room as it's so big and she doesn't have a ton of furniture. 

Here are some pictures of her room.

A Fall Weekend...

We had a fun filled fall weekend.  It's hard to believe we're almost halfway into October and it's been in the 80's last week and weekend!

Saturday morning after Avery's nap, we took the girls to a local pumpkin patch.  We picked out pumpkins, mums and took a hayride.  We had a good time and both girls did great.  I have to say, it felt kind of strange to go to the pumpkin patch in shorts!

I'm loving this picture...she couldn't get much cuter.

"I see an airplane."

My favorite girls

Saturday evening, we went to our friend, Nolan's, 2nd birthday party at Recreation Unlimited.  Kens had a great time playing on all the play sets, swinging, sliding and jumping on the trampoline.  Aves took a cat nap and hung out in my arms for the majority of the party.

Sunday we spent a low key morning and afternoon at home as Kensley is battling a runny nose and cough.  Friday night was actually a rough night as she woke every few hours crying and was even running a low grade fever.  She's had the runny nose for several days and we're wondering if the fever was a side effect of her recent flu shot.  Fortunately she seemed much better as the day went on.  Last night, we headed to the Children's Museum to the "Lights on" Haunted House.  My company hosted a private event Halloween for the employees and families at the museum.  We had a good time and I, of course, was excited for the girls to wear their costumes.  Are they not the cutest ladybugs you've ever seen?! 

Looking an awful lot like sisters here.

When Mickey is on, both girls are distracted.

Adorable wings.  With some bribery and lots of convincing, we finally got Kens into her costume.

Please ignore the chocolate and shell shocked look on her face.  It was past her bedtime and she was on a sugar high.

We're looking forward to many more fun fall weekends.

Avery's Room...

Avery's room is finally done!  It took us longer than we expected, but I guess that happens when we're working on decorating the whole house as well!

The pictures are self explanatory.  I never know how to photograph an entire room to get the full effect.  Hope these will do!

Had to include this one too because of my little helper.

Next up...Kensley's room!  Unfortunately, her room needs a third coat of paint and our painter is out of the country.  Hurry home, Papa!  :)

Avery: 4 Months Old

Little, baby Avery is growing up so fast!  This month she's gone from being a newborn to an interactive baby.  She is SO smiley!  Honestly, she just has to hear something talking "near" her and she breaks into a smile.  It's the sweetest thing.  I often have trouble getting her to eat at night as she just wants to chat (ie: stare at me and smile).  I'm not sure that I've ever seen a more smiley baby.

Just as it doesn't take much to get her to smile, it also seems that she can get upset that easily as well.  If you switch her into a new position and she doesn't like it, she'll let you know.  If she wants to keep eating and doesn't want to stop and burp, she'll let you know.  The other day I was talking to her and she was alternating between laughing one second and fussing the next...she didn't know if she was having fun or wanted to nap!

This past month, Avery rolled tummy to back.  She's done this several times and even impressed the doctor with her skills while she was getting examined.  Like Kensley, Avery's first roll in her crib was a little shocking for her.  I heard her making noise and went to get her up from her nap and saw little feet kicking in the air as I went into her room.  Her eyes were wide as she stared up at me trying to figure out what happened.

I wish we could say that at 4 months Avery is sleeping through the night, but unfortunately she's not.  We have been trying different things and of course I have lots of theories...because there HAS to be a reason for it, right?!  Last weekend Aves slept until 6:15 a.m. one morning and 5:30 a.m. the next.  I had high hopes we were at the sleeping through the night stage, but Monday morning she was back to getting up again around 3:00 a.m.  So, we're still hoping that any day she surprises us and sleeps all night!

Size wise, Avery seems to be growing out of her 3 month sleepers as she is getting too long. She is still wearing size 1 and 1-2 diapers, but as soon as we're through that stash she will move onto size 2.  She is still wearing a few 0-3 month clothes, but mostly in 3 month and 3-6 month outfits.  We are still going through LOTS of laundry as she is our spitter.  She is going through tons of burp cloths and bibs on a daily basis.  It's amazing how much more laundry I do by just adding one little person to our family.

Sweet Aves also started laughing out loud this month as well.  It's so sweet to hear her little giggle.  She is already ticklish and mostly grunts when I tickle her tummy.

Avery is loving her big sis.  She looks around for her in the room whenever she hears her voice.  She loves to watch her and lights up when she's talked to or kissed by her.  It's sweet to see how taken she is by Kens.

We went to the doctor on Thursday and Aves did great despite being a little hungry.  Lots of smiles and just a quick, short cry after her shots. The doctor said she looks great and of course we agree. Our little peanut is still living up to her nickname.  Here are her stats.

Height: 23 3/4 inches long (38%)

Weight: 13 lbs (33%)

Head: 15.75 inches (25%)

Sweet Avery Leigh, we love you!  Happy 4 months old!

Kensley: 23 Months Old...

Wow...I can't believe our "baby" is 1 month away from being 2.  It doesn't seem possible that Kens has been a part of our lives for almost 2 full years.

Kensley seems to get funnier and more entertaining every day.  She continues to talk up a storm and amazes us with her vocabulary.  The way she talks and the sentences she uses make her seem so much older than she is.

Kensley seems to finally be adjusted to school.  She no longer cries when she leaves the house or goes into her room.  She talks about school often and she is always really happy the afternoons that she goes.  She'll say to us, "I go to school.  I play with my friends."  When we ask her what her friends' names are, she always says "Miss Betsy"...who is her teacher.

Kensley seems to be quickly entering the "terrible twos".  She is quick to throw tantrums and her mood can instantly change at the word "no".  It's so crazy to us how emotional she can get.  She can go from happy to tantrum in a matter of seconds...I'm sure this is only the beginning.

Kens is still doing well with little sis.  She doesn't seem to have jealousy issues; however she does get upset sometimes if we can't play with her due to feeding Avery.  She still loves to give Avery kisses and hugs.  It's sweet to see her stop playing to come over and give her sis a little love.  She likes to try to pick her up, so we have to watch her closely as I've found she can get her pretty far off the ground.  Kensley is also Avery's biggest cheerleader.  She cheers for her when she rolls over, holds a toy/her bottle, etc.  The other day she wouldn't even let me hold Avery's bottle for her because Avery kept trying to hold it too.  She kept saying, "No, Mama.  Avery do it." and would push my hand away and cheer when Aves would hold it.

We can't believe our big girl is going to be 2 in a month!  We love you Kensley Elise!