Fourth of July!!!

I'm going to start sounding like a broken record, but I try to make myself go to bed at midnight every night, but it just comes so quickly!!!!! We are so crazy busy right now. Brandon is taking FIVE summer classes, working full time, playing softball, and learning to play the guitar. The girls and I have a myriad of church activities, I am taking lots of pictures,  and they are growing, growing, growing. We have play dates and are enjoying exploring our city!! There is laundry to do and meals to fix, etc. etc. etc. :) Life is busy, but it is great! :)
This year, our 4th of July was so fun!!! We played around the house that morning...

 ...and Felicity took a nap on our bed while I did some laundry and got dressed!

 This happens at least twenty times per day. They love each other so much, and Avaree LOVES to give Felicity hugs and kisses!!! :) I love their facial expressions!

 And then Daddy got home! :) 

 He ran to the church for a couple of hours, and we had a sister photo shoot in Licy's room! :) 

 That evening, we headed to an elementary school in Hurst to watch some AMAZING fireworks with our Sunday School class. It was soooo much fun! We got there around 6:45, and we had a picnic together, then the kids played and we visited until the fireworks began about 9:30 pm. Sno cones were also involved. ;) This is Avaree with her friend, Eli! :)

 ...and sweet Amelia

 Cari and Grace! :)

 Josie and Felicity!!! Licy was such a champ. She fell alseep around 7:30 and slept through the fireworks! :) She's awesome. Ave sat on my lap as we watched the fireworks, and she kept trying to touch them. It was the cutest thing! The fireworks show was truly amazing, and we had a wonderful cool breeze all night. We also used those bug repellant clip ons, and none of us got bit the whole night! yay! 

 Two different views of our class just visiting! Can you spot B and Ave in the second picture?? :)

We hope you had a wonderful 4th celebrating our nation's freedoms with your families!!! :) 

Felicity: THREE MONTHS!

First of all, I can't even believe that our little one is already three months old. Truly. I cannot explain to you how fast the time goes. I wake up, and then all of a sudden it's 3pm, and then I blink, and it's midnight. I love every single second, but it goes by SO FAST. Brandon and I both think that Felicity is growing and changing even faster than Avaree did. Today, I cleaned out most of her newborn stuff, and I just cried over those little bitty outfits that were big on her for quite some time. 
Look at this well-fed little pumpkin!!!! :) 

 Sissies!

Eating: Felicity is eating every three hours now--yay!!!! She can even go three and a half every now and then if I need her to. I try not to though, as every thing that we do during the day affects the nighttime! :) Since we got rid of the shield, she has been nursing like a champ, and it's just been pretty easy! She goes everywhere I go, and I do love feeding her just as much as I did Avaree. I wondered how the second go-round would be, but once we got past week 7 or 8, it's been easy breezy and special! :) She hasn't had to be supplemented in over a month, and that makes us all very happy too. :)
Sleeping: Felicity is a great sleeper. One thing that I appreciate so much about her is that she can sleep anywhere! :) I made Avaree such a structured baby that she could (mostly) only sleep in her crib and the car, but Felicity just needs her paci and blanket, and she is good to go. Avaree's cues were attached to me (she had to eat to fall asleep--mostly), but Licy can sleep anywhere! She is such a good baby, and she (mostly) goes to sleep very easily! She has put herself on a nice little schedule. She is ready to go to sleep between 9 and 10 pm every night, so I try to give her a bath around 9, put her jammies on and cuddle her until she goes night night, and then I lay her down in the cradle (yes, she is still in her cradle in our room, but that is changing THIS week!). Then, when I get ready to go to bed (usually between 11:30 and midnight), I give her a little dream feed, but she doesn't always cooperate. Sometimes she is so sound asleep, that I can't wake her to eat. If she takes a good dream feeding, then she can sleep until 5-5:30 AM, and then I'll feed her before she goes back to sleep until 9:30 or so, and SOMETIMES (like today), she will even go back to sleep until about 11. That gives me special time with Ave (and my coffee cup) in the mornings! :) However, if she doesn't take a dream feed, then she's up at 3, 6, and 9, and will usually stay up after her 9 o'clock feeding! :) Either way, she's a wonderful baby, and I still get tired in the late afternoons, but I pretty much feel normal again, even if I do get up a couple of times during the night! :) PTL! She even put herself on a wonderful eat, wake, sleep cycle. Perhaps since time was on our side this time, I didn't feel so much pressure to get her on a schedule by 6-8 weeks.
Play: This sweet baby smiles ALL THE TIME. All you have to do is look at her, and she smiles. :) She is a happy, happy, easy-going baby, but she loves her Mama, and sometimes she just wants me--especially when she is sleepy. Felicity LOVES to play on her activity mat. She kicks the little toys, and she belly laughs at the light show that plays along with the music on the center bear. She is so cute to watch. She gets so excited when they come on. Of course (like her sissy), she loves fans and lights of all kinds! :) She also likes to be in her swing, though not near as much as her sissy did! If I am making lunch or supper in the kitchen, she likes to sit in her bouncer on the kitchen table and watch every move I make. She also loves to sit in her bouncer and watch Avaree take a bath. She is fascinated by her big sister, and loves to watch her all the time! :) Licy can roll from back to front, but she prefers to not do that. haha. She enjoys tummy time for small spurts, and she is very strong. She pretty much holds her head up by herself, but we have to be ready for the occasional head butt when she gets tired. :)  She mostly just loves to cuddle and interact with us. Her Daddy holds her like a football, and she just grins. She loves to be talked to, and like everyone else in this house, she has to get loud to be heard over everyone else, and she can do that! ;) 


Clothing: Felicity has outgrown her newborn clothes. (TEAR!) At her two month checkup she weighed 11 lbs, 6 oz, and she was 21 inches long, but I feel certain that she is at least 12 to 13 lbs now. She is an excellent eater! :) Her 0-3 month clothes fit perfectly, and she can also wear most of her 3 month clothes, but they are still a little big! She is still wearing size one diapers, but it won't be long until she is in the 2s. Speaking of diapers, she is an excellent pooper! Last Sunday, she had two and a half (you really don't want me to explain!) blowouts--all on me. One was during Sunday School as Mr. David was teaching on Revelation. I heard it before I saw it, but she was sitting on my lap happy as a clam, and then I felt it. I gave her to B, and I saw that not only was it all over her, but it was all over my dress too. She and I ended up having to go home and change. She had an extra outfit, but I didn't. She even managed to get it all over Daddy's tie and vest too. Then, we were at baby Carson's birthday party talking to Mrs. Donna and Mr. Bob (LOVED seeing them), and she did it again, and again we had to leave. haha, at least we know that her systems are all working well. Again, she has just grown so very quickly it is unbelievable. 

We are looking forward to more interaction, as every day with her gets more and more fun!!! We are also looking forward to you meeting your first cousin on Monday! Y'all will be three months four days apart, and I know you will be sweet friends. Happy three months, baby girl! Your actual three month birthday was on Thursday, but it has been a crazy week, and Mommy is a little behind! :) We love you higher than the sky, deeper than the ocean, wider than the horizons and back again! 
You are so precious and so loved!!!!!

Felicity's 1st Trip to College Station

We went to College Station on the last day of VBS and swim lessons. We left late (after swim), and I packed us peanut butter sandwiches. We stopped to eat and feed Licy after swim, and then we didn't stop again until we got there. That was really nice! Both girls did well and were sound asleep when we got there! Once we got there, we packed a lot of activity into a couple of short days, but it was fun!
G-Pops talking to Felicity!

:)

Daddy practicing his songs for that Sunday! I'm so proud of him! He had only taken lessons for four weeks when he led from the guitar for the first time! He is so talented, and I love to hear him play and sing! :)

Uncle D and Avaree fun :)

Little sissy talking to Uncle Darrin! She was telling him a big story!

So cute! :)

Uncle D and Licy time!

Avaree and G-Pops being silly!

Aunt Jamie and Felicity!!!

We went swimming at Damon and Tara's, and Avaree practiced all of the skills that she had learned the past two weeks in swim lessons! She did great!!!! :) 

Coach Daddy going over the skills with her again!

Getting ready to put her face under the water!

Swimming while holding on to Daddy for her first swim in this pool!

She did it! :)

Now, she is ready to swim on her own!!!

After diving down to get her toy!!!

Swimming to G-Pops!

Mema meeting Felicity for the first time!

Practicing more with Daddy!

Felicity talking to G-Pops and Gigi!

...and her Daddy's favorite: Felicity's first trip to Wings 'N More!  (Uncle Spencer, are you proud?)

We also had a little sip and see with College Station family and friends. Felicity did great, and it was so good to see everyone!!

Beautiful Aunt Jamie and silly Uncle D! :) (Daddy had the camera, so I'm sure they were making faces at each other!)

 Mema and her two littlest great-grandchildren!

 Mema and her three great-grandchildren (and Mommy)! 

 My beauty!

 Ave opening her big sister gift from sweet Uncle Buddy and Aunt Linda! She was beside herself!

 My sweet girl wearing a scripture headband made my someone that we don't even know who was praying for her while she was in the NICU! (Thank you for bringing it to us, Marianne!)

 Brandon and Greyson

 Brice, Lindsey and Greyson, and Emmi (Aunt Susie)! So glad we got to meet this sweet boy! :) He was the most alert three-week old I've ever met!!

That afternoon, we packed up our stuff and headed back to Arlington without our big girl. She has gotten to stay with her grandparents the past couple of summers while we went on mission trips, so we wanted her to get to do that again. But, this time was much harder for Mommy for some reason. I guess because I wasn't busy, and Daddy was gone too (he went to youth camp for a few days), my heart just ached for her. I enjoyed my special time with Felicity, but I missed Ave badly, and I had to try to hide my tears every time I talked to her. I know I didn't do a good job hiding my tears when we left, but it didn't seem to bother her (thankfully). She stayed in College Station for a few days, and then on Wednesday, Gigi and G-Pops met Papa and Niecey in Houston for the transfer! :) She ended up coming home early (on Friday) because her little rash had gotten worse, but she had a great time with her grandparents and is still talking about it. :) She had stayed with Mom Mom a couple of days earlier in the summer. She loves grandparent camp, and we are blessed to have parents that love our children so much.