Mother's Day 2012

Every day I thank God I get to spend my days with these two little blessings. I'm so thankful He entrusted me with my sweet girl and little man (and their handsome daddy).  We spent mother's day relaxing at home and enjoying being a family of four.

Avery and I took a girl's trip to Home Depot and bought a few flowers to plant in my hanging baskets

She looks SO grown up in this picture.  Where did my baby girl go?

She had a blast splashing in the water and making mud pies out of the dirt from our flowers

She also discovered how to use the hose :)

How cute is he!?!?

I love this little face and pouty lips so much. 

Their daddy is pretty great, too.  He won't be happy that I posted a picture of him wearing my apron but that's okay... he can always make me laugh and him in my apron definitely does the trick.

He's not a bad cook either.  Filet mignon, fried shrimp and roasted asparagus. Perfection.

I'm not sure how I got so lucky but I couldn't ask for a more amazing family.  My heart is so full, these three made my day absolutely perfect.

Look Who's Two

I can't believe my little Avery Lynn turned two on Saturday! We had so much fun celebrating her this weekend. Aunt Stefanie came to visit which made it even more special.

Discovering her birthday presents in Asher's crib.  She was a little excited :)

Being silly

Present time!

I think she loves her baby and stroller

Birthday pancakes! Stef did a good job making it in the shape of a two.

We had a small party Saturday afternoon.

Swimming with friends

Happy second birthday pretty girl!! We love you so much and you bring more joy to our hearts than you will ever know.

One Month

monthly onesie sticker from watch me grow

At one month you:

-Weigh 9lbs 5oz and are 23.5 inches long

-Wear 0-3 or 3 month clothes

-Wear a size 1 diaper

-Eat every three hours (sometimes every two). You are taking a bottle exclusively now because nursing wasn't working for us.  In fact, we had to take you to the hospital because your doctor was so worried that you hadn't gained any weight in two weeks.  After that I started pumping and giving you bottles.

-You sleep pretty well at night and stay on the three hour schedule.  You are usually up around 2 or 3 and again at 5 or 6. 

- You are such a loud baby! You grunt all the time, especially when you are waking up.  You also have a very strong pair or lungs. 

- You love staring at me (or daddy) when you are having your bottle

- Your big sister loves you so much! She loves giving you blankets and pacis and helping burp you!

- You still sleep a lot during the day but are starting to stay awake longer

- You love your paci

- You love sleeping on your side

- You give us lots of cute smiles while you're sleeping.  Love the dimples!

You are such a mellow and easy-going baby! From the moment the nurse set you in my arms you stole my heart.  You have completed our family and I am so incredibly thankful to be your mommy.

A great day

Since Asher was born I wake up every day telling myself to take it one day at a time.  I just never know what to expect... some days are great, some are hard, some go better than expected but each is different. Yesterday was probably the best day I've had since my mom went home.  I feel like we're finally getting into a good routine, Avery was in a wonderful mood and Asher was happy and content. What a blessing! I absolutely love being home with them!

We started the morning with a walk (I think this was a big factor in Avery's mood). She loves taking her baby for walks.

Getting ready

We had to stop every couple minutes so she could check on Asher

More outside time.  This is her "no" face. Even on the best days I still hear "no" constantly often throughout the day. It's just a phase, right!?!?

She's been asking to sit on the potty a lot lately but wants to get up after a minute or two.  I've been trying to come up with ways to keep her sitting longer and a mani/pedi worked perfectly yesterday!

Love this face! (she never wants to smile for pictures)

Asher was sleeping in his crib during potty time. 

When I went to get him she just had to get in his bed and hold him. 

 Also, on Sunday my cousin Rachel and her husband Adam stopped by to meet Asher and say hi to Avery.  They live in Austin but were in Dallas for a wedding! It was great to see them!

Life with Two

Where do I even start.... the last three weeks have been awesome. and hard. and wonderful. and overwhelming. 

Asher is such a content baby.  He loves sitting in his bouncy chair, is sleeping great and tolerating his big sister's kisses and attempts to "share" her toys with him. 

We had a big scare at his two week checkup.  He hadn't gained any weight (had actually lost 1 oz) since we brought him home from the hospital.  His pediatrician was very concerned and sent us to Cook Children's ER for testing.  We spent most of the day there - probably one of the worst days of my life. The doctors drew his blood and tried to take a urine sample for testing.  Thankfully everything came back normal.  I am now pumping and bottle feeding him to make sure he is getting enough to eat. 

Avery is such a great big sister!  I adore her sweet little personality, she is growing up so fast.  I cannot believe my sweet baby girl will be two in a few weeks.  I love spending the days with her, she is constantly making me laugh and makes my heart melt with her kindness and happy spirit.  If I could only get her to stop saying "no" a thousand times a day :) 

Asher had his first real bath on  the 18th!  Don't let this picture fool you, he hated it and screamed the whole time.  Have I mentioned this little guy has an amazing set of lungs?  He can really wail.

 

Happy and clean.  The bath really wore him out.  He is still sleeping great at night, we usually put him to bed after his last bottle at 10:30 and he sleeps until about 3:00.  He's usually good at going back to sleep after his early morning bottle and will sleep again until 6:30 or so.  I am so incredibly grateful for this and I hope he keeps it up!

 Here is Avery after her first bath.  I forgot how much hair she had!! :) I think they resemble each other but also look very different. 

Family and Easter

We've really enjoyed having family here during the past two weeks. Matt's mom, sister-in-law and her kids came up to meet Asher the weekend after he was born. 

Emily did a great job holding him!

My parents were here for Easter. It was great to spend a holiday with them, I don't think we've had Easter with them since Matt and I were in college!

Decorating Easter eggs with little miss. 

Mmm... candy!! 

 

Silly girl

It was hard to get Asher out of my dad's arms.  After seven sisters, two daughters and one granddaughter he is very excited to have a grandson!

Avery's new favorite pastime is taking her baby for walks.  Luckily Grandma and Grandpa were willing to go as often as she wanted.