Birthday Week

We are within days of my baby boy's day of birth and I have been giving him lots of extra lovin' in the form of sweets. That's the only excuse I can think of since I don't normally give him tons of sugar but it's been fun for me too since he gets so much pleasure out of eating these special treats.

Case in point...

We made cupcakes WITH FROSTING on Sunday and I let him eat an entire cupcake right there in one sitting. I decided to video him eating it and I'm glad I did because he was too cute!

Summer Update

I am so not ready for this summer to be over. I mean like really, really, REALLY not ready. Just the thought of cool weather makes me feel dizzy and insecure. Part of my unreadiness is that we have had a GREAT summer. Another part is that my maternity leave will be over and let me tell you, it has been a fabulous break. And yet another part is that cool weather, or rather COLD and FREEZING weather as we know it here in the Laramie Plains, is one of my least favorite things, at least at the moment. 

I dread the thought of having to entertain two children inside for months and months. I mean, even if we break up the monotony and do go outside, it's not like going outside in the summer. It takes way more effort. You can't just open the door and say, ok! let's go outside! and head out. No, you have to decide that in 30 minutes we could go outside (given that a last minute blizzard doesn't decide to hit us) and we have to start preparing now. Feed the baby, change the diapers, get on the warm clothes, find the missing mittens, tug on the heavy winter coat that makes moving for a toddler almost impossible, now find the hat that has once again gone missing, and lastly put on the boots that are nearly impossible to get on over the heavy socks. Oh wait, now we have to change diapers again because since I changed them 30 minutes ago, both kids have now decided that it was time for their daily poopy diaper. Restart the process. And all of that for about 15 minutes outside because it is too cold to spend more time than that or you risk exposure. The cost benefit analysis that I tend to apply to situations such as this just doesn't quite add up to making it worth it, ya know?

But for now, I am trying to do my best to forget that any day now, we could wake up to the telltale signs of fall (and once they make their appearance, they won't go away...THAT, I have learned about living at this altitude...there is no warning...cold weather just appears and stays...forever, or what seems like forever anyway...). I am enjoying hours at the park, lazing around in the yard, watching Jayden play in his sandbox, laying on a blanket under the clouds, taking field trips to anywhere we want, making road trips to South Dakota and whatever else we think of. 

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks. We spent another 2 weeks in Rapid City, this time staying at my inlaws. We had another great time and it was hard to leave when we decided to go.

Bonding time with Papa - Jayden fell asleep on the way up to Hill City where one of my favorite restaurants, Alpine Inn, is. It's a short 20 minute drive but we had a pretty big day that day and there was no nap.

Our little thumb sucker - it's a wonderful blessing! I'm just hoping she outgrows it at a decent age!

Ava is getting to be so much fun; she makes lots of funny faces and fun noises!

This was a day out with momma while we were in Rapid. We went downtown to one of my new favorite places and had some lunch. A funny story...another woman with two kids that were similar ages to my kids came over to me and said she was really impressed that I was eating out with my two kids by myself (she looked like she was with her parents) and she didn't think she was ready for that. I just told her thank you and tried not to think too much about it since I knew things could quickly turn...Sure enough, shortly after Jayden had a mini meltdown and Ava started crying and I couldn't get the stroller to work correctly and the woman kindly came back over and held the stroller while I put Jayden in. And we shared a knowing look. We still had a nice time but I realized that I have definitely gotten better at doing things by myself with the kids and for those times where I do need the help, I've also gotten good at relying on strangers for a little assistance!

Jayden loves to play with his Legos and we build a lot of towers and "houses" these days. This was a tower that he built with his grandma - it was taller than Jayden!

We went to a place called Old MacDonald's Farm which Jayden loves. I wish we could have gone more while we were in Rapid. They have all sorts of farm animals which Jayden is familiar with from his books and you get to feed some of them too. His favorite animals (currently) are the pigs. This particular horse was HUGE. His rear end was taller than my head! I took this picture to try to get some perspective relative to the stroller. Jayden refused to get too close and I don't blame him; I was even a little intimidated and I'm about 3 feet taller than Jayden!

I took my first road trip alone with both kids and I took a picture when Jayden finally fell asleep because it was such a relief! He didn't sleep long though and we actually ended up turning around about 2 hours into the trip because of a bad car accident that closed down the road. We waited 2 hours on the road with 2 miles of other people also waiting and then decided to go back to Rapid City and try again the next day. The day was successful though when it comes to the kids and the car ride and it was good practice for the next day when we tried it again (and made it home that time)!

I cut my hair! I am losing so much hair from being pregnant and with it being shorter, it is a lot easier to manage. It's not necessarily easier to do every morning but at least I think I look a little more put together every day, which is a good thing. 

This is one of the first 6 month outfits that I put Ava in. I wasn't sure she would get to wear it since it was a summer outfit so I'm glad we have a little time left to wear it before the cool weather comes!

Jayden is in 24 months clothes now and since I had no clothes in that size, I went to Cheyenne and did a little shopping at Once Upon a Child, the best consignment store for kids ever! This was one of the outfits I got - Jayden looks like such a big boy!

Having a little fun at Daddy's work - that's the face Jayden makes when he's unsure of a situation. He plays with his tongue in his mouth. Ha ha I don't blame him for being unsure about being wrapped up in this tape stuff!

Jayden's new football jersey for the season! I got him a gold one this year since he had a brown one last year. I like it!

Three Months

Ava Grace is...

• Growing! Ava is still wearing some size 1 diapers that we've had left over but fits more comfortably in size 2 diapers. Her hair is getting long and just the other day I was checking to see how much longer it would need to be till I could get it in a little pony tail! She's wearing 3-6 months clothing and the last of her summer clothes in 3 months. We are going to Texas at the end of the month and I bought her a few 6 month outfits since I didn't think she would fit in her 3 months outfits that long. 

• Sleeping! This girl is a dream baby and I just love her so much! She sleeps 9 hours a night going to bed about 8:00 and waking up about 5:00 for her first feeding of the day. She then goes back to sleep till about 8:00. She takes a nap about 10:00 and another nap sometime between 12:30 - 1:30. She also takes another late afternoon nap usually while Jayden and I are playing at the park. Sometimes she'll take several cat naps and sometimes she takes longer naps depending on the day. I have absolutely nothing to complain about when it comes to sleep with this sweet baby! 

• Talking! Or at least vocalizing. I can already tell that our little girl is going to be a talker. She loves to use her voice and I love hearing it. Here's a video to hear some of what we hear every day! It's like music to my ears.

• Laughing! Sometimes I get a little giggle out of Ava and I just love that noise. There's nothing like watching a person learn how to do one of the best things in life! Ava seems to find it especially funny when I am changing her clothes. For some reason when I put her clothes over her head, maybe I am tickling her unintentionally, she will giggle. It's so funny!

• Eating! Right now Ava seems to be eating less or at least there is more time between feedings so I don't know what that's about. She is still growing, as evidenced by the new rolls that we are seeing all the time and the clothes that seem to be steadily shrinking plus she has lots of wet and dirty diapers every day so for now I will just be thankful for a little extra time to do get things done! 

• Working out! This girl is trying so hard to sit up already; I swear it looks like she is doing crunches! I will sit her in the bouncy seat and she lifts her head and strains to sit up. Poor thing, I have to tell her that she is too little and just needs to sit back and relax till she gets a little older! She is also constantly kicking her legs and moving her feet. When I lay her on her back she always rolls to one side like she is getting ready to roll over. She's an active little baby!

• We spend our days right now enjoying each other's company because soon that will be over or at least for me. I start back to work September 4 so while she can still enjoy watching me; I will have to enjoy these last couple of weeks soaking her in. Ava is such a joy and every day I fall more in love with her. She is just the sweetest blessing in my life and we are all thoroughly enjoying her, including Jayden!

Miss Ava is a mover so it's tough to get a decent picture these days! This outfit is what she wore to church on Sunday.

I don't think I have ever seen anything as precious as these little feet in these little shoes! Jayden never really could wear actual shoes till he started walking and slimmed down a little bit. 

 I told Jayden to show me his teeth so I could get somewhat of a smile, lol. He is so hard to get a picture of too these days! He is just going, going, going!

Ava sure is loved by her big brother. Jayden loves to get right in Ava's face and say "Hi Ava!" Every morning when we wake up, one of the first things Jayden does is lean over me and point at the sleeping baby next to me and exclaim "Ava!" and gives me a huge smile like he is shocked that she is still here!!

Bean Seeds

I bet you didn't know that you could have a whole meal with just green bean seeds. Or did you? Maybe it's just me that was unaware of that fact because Jayden certainly thinks so! He pretty much only ate the seeds from his green beans for his entire dinner one night. Oy vay!

Two Months

Ava Grace is...

• Growing! Ava had her two month appointment on Thursday and was 12 pounds, 10 ounces. She has definitely rounded out and is sporting a cute little double chin. She is 23 inches long and is in the 75th percentile for height and weight. Her head, however, is in the 90th percentile although for what it's worth I would have never guessed that she had a "large" head, probably because her hair distracts me from noticing anything else about her head. To say the least, her hair is memorable since there is nothing I can do to keep it laying down. Ava is wearing a few 0-3 months clothes still but is now mostly in 3 months. She is now in size 2 diapers and is no longer wearing the newborn cloth diapers. Ahhh, they don't stay in those tiny little diapers long, at least not my children!

• Sleeping! If I wasn't living it myself, I would never believe what a good sleeper Ava is. She still sleeps a good portion of the day although spends a couple more hours awake each day then she was before. She has also been sleeping through the night for a couple of weeks now. She falls asleep at night about 9:30 usually and doesn't wake up for her next feeding until about 4:30 am! Thankfully she seems to have outgrown that fussy period that she was going through from 6-10 pm each night.

• Smiling! Ava smiled her first real smile while we were visiting our family in Rapid City and has been smiling ever since. She really is such a happy baby. Every time she gives me a smile, I see a little glimpse of a personality and it's so much fun!

• Eating! Ava continues to nurse very well although I realized she is not a comfort nurser like her brother was. That became apparent when Ava got all her shots this week and I tried to nurse her right after the shots to help ease her pain like I always did with Jayden but she wanted absolutely nothing to do with that! So it was just a process of holding her and rocking her until her crying eased up. It was so sad and I miss not being able to use nursing as a comforting tool but maybe that will change. Soon we will start trying to feed Ava with a bottle to see if she will take that. I really hope she takes a bottle so I can have a little flexibility once in awhile if need be and of course, it will be necessary for daycare if we end up sending her to the same daycare that Jayden goes to. Thankfully Ava seems to have kind of outgrown all the spitting up she was doing every night. That was quite the mess and I'm glad it was just a phase!

• Talking! Well, sort of. She is starting to do a lot more cooing and once in awhile lets out a little squeal. I love those little baby noises and I definitely don't remember any squealing from Jayden so it's fun to hear girl noises!

Special Sibling Sentiments

I thought you might enjoy seeing how Jayden interacts with Ava on a daily basis. I captured a few seconds on video the other day and it has a little bit of everything in it. I feel like the way Jayden has been with Ava and accepted her into the family has just been perfect. He's not so aware of her that he's jealous of the time that I spend with her and yet he's not completely oblivious either. For example, when I pick him up from "school" he will point at the car and say "Ava?" as we walk towards the car. (I leave Ava in the car while I go in to get Jayden and before you judge me, remember we live in Laramie where the crime rate is like 1% so I feel like it's very safe to leave her for a few minutes, but I digress...) Another example is when he was holding both pairs of sunglasses  -Jayden's and Ava's -- and he dropped Ava's pair on the ground and exclaims "Oh Ava's!!!" It's so cute because he's come to expect seeing her around and he's usually very sweet with his interactions with her (he does have his moments of possessiveness so it's not all puppies and rainbows all the time but that possessive streak is rare albeit very normal for a toddler). I just pray that they always have a special bond and that I am able to foster that caring spirit in Jayden so he'll always watch out for his little sister!

Swim Lessons

One of the fun things that DJ decided to do with Jayden this summer was enroll in swim lessons. Both DJ and Jayden have loved the swimming experience together and Jayden has gotten so confident in the water. Swim lessons seemed like a good idea to give DJ more ideas on how to help Jayden become even more confident in the water. I went to watch Jayden at the pool the other day and it had been a few months since I had last seen him in the water. I was so surprised to see him dunk under the water, run in the water by himself and go down the slide by himself several times! He would cling to us when I last saw him in the pool and there was no way he would have even come close to doing the things I watched him do this week. My little baby is getting so big!

Enjoy these clips of DJ and Jayden playing together in the pool!