Avaree Grace

My beautiful big girl just gets more fun every day! 

 She has personality for miles and a heart of gold!!!

 Sometimes I look at her and can't even believe that she is mine.

 She is my sunshine, and I am so challenged by her every day!

...and she is the best big sister EVER! :) 

This morning, I asked her to hand me a tissue, and she put one hand on my back and used her other hand to wipe my nose with the tissue. I needed another tissue for my tears after that.
I am so blessed to be her Mommy!

Felicity is Growing: 7 Months

Our littlest is growing up so fast! She is finally feeling better, and she is back to her happy, squealing self again! In the last week, she has started scooting, and she is already on the move!!!

Eating: Felicity is a still breastfeeding, though she is eating less often. She also eats three meals a day also. I have tried everything, but she honestly only likes oatmeal with breast milk (but she likes it a little thicker). She doesn't like any kind of pureed food. She does like table food though, so I think we are just going to skip baby food altogether! :) She has had little tiny bites of plain sweet potatoes, little bites of bananas, puffs, yogurt melts, and little bites of green beans. She gnaws on food pretty well, and she really, really wants to eat everything that we eat, but I'm very cautious giving her anything! Avaree loved her pureed food, so this is new to me! :) 

Playing: Felicity scoots backward everywhere! :) She starts on one end of the rug and scoots back until her legs are stuck under the couch, ha! :) She also loves to get up on all fours and rock back and forth! It will be all too soon when she takes off crawling! She rolls everywhere, and she loves to sit up! She also likes to stand and hold on to things, but I still have to be nearby to support her! :) This girl puts EVERYTHING in her mouth! I have to watch her like a hawk! She loves to be outside, and she loves to be anywhere that her sister is! We have lots of fun all day, every day! :) F laughs all day long, and she loves peek-a-boo, singing songs, pat-a-cake, and making silly faces! :) She still likes to jump in her bouncy seat, and she can have fun with the strangest of things! :) 

Size: Felicity is still in size three diapers, and she is wearing 6 month (though they are getting snug) and 6-9 month clothes! At the doctor last week, she weighed 17 lbs, 1 oz. 

Disposition: Our normally extremely happy baby was not happy AT ALL while she was sick. The only thing that would keep her calm was standing while singing and bouncing. You better believe that is what I did! :) She is still a Mama's girl to the core, but she is starting to enjoy being with her Daddy more, which is fun to watch! :) She has always loved her sissy, and that hasn't changed! 

Sleeping: Since she has been sick for the last three weeks, she has not been sleeping well, but I'm hoping we are on the way back to normal (though normal changes every month with babies)!! :) She does best when she takes two naps per day. When she was sick there was not any kind of pattern, but now I'm trying to keep her awake through her mid-morning desire to go to sleep and keep her up until around 10:30-11 am. Then she takes another nap around 2:30! Her bedtime is still around 7:30, and we start bedtime around 7pm! I don't remember the last time she slept through the night, but I know it won't last forever. All too soon, she'll be sleeping soundly in her big girl bed and walking to my room to say good morning. :) That perspective certainly helps with my exhaustion. 

Sisters: Do I really need to say how much they love each other? :) I feel so blessed to spend my days with them! :) I love not having to say, "Hurry, hurry, hurry all morning!" 

Looking forward to: EVERYTHING that is to come! I can't wait for Felicity to experience the holidays with us!!!!! :) I love my babies so much!

Halloween and the Beginning of November!

Back to Halloween! The girls didn't actually "trick-or-treat" since they were both running fever, but we dressed them up, and I let them sit outside for about thirty minutes while it was still daylight. Avaree enjoyed seeing all of the little ones that came down our cul-de-sac, and B got to sit in our court with our neighbors and hand out our LABC boxes filled with good candy! It was a great time for him to get to visit with them! Our next door neighbor set up a big table in the court, and everyone brought their bowls of candy over. It was a really neat way to visit and hand out candy! The girls and I were only out there for about thirty minutes, but B was out there for a few hours! We are praying that we can develop those relationships! They are all so sweet.
Love our front porch! I look forward to putting rocking chairs there one day! :)

 Avaree dressed up as Tinkerbell, and I thought she just looked absolutely beautiful! There is something about the prospect of a costume and candy that makes a little girl suddenly feel all better! :) 

 She did not want her cardigan on under her dress, so I finagled it over the dress and around the wings! 

 I had them ready when Daddy got home from work, so Avaree couldn't wait to show Daddy her costume! :) We borrowed the little lady bug costume from our friend Kendall! :) It was perfect and adorable. Felicity was a few days into antibiotic, and she just looked dazed through most of it! She enjoyed being outside for a bit though! :)

I'm a little late on this because the last few weeks have been absolutely crazy. Felicity got sick for the first time with a double ear infection, and she was miserable. Then, I got sick. Then, Avaree got sick. For two days in a row, both girls had 102, and I didn't have a voice. It was rough. Then, just when I thought we were on the mend, the girls got worse. Felicity ended up with the croup, and Avaree wound up with bronchitis! Neither of the girls could sleep for several days (and F is still not sleeping since her cough is worse at night), and I was just exhausted. Avaree was coughing so hard that she was vomiting. It was crazy. Daddy is in his busy season at work, and he is in his last semester of school, so I was trying to make it on my own, but Daddy ended up staying home with us one day when we were all three super sick. On top of that, I was having major stomach issues, and I had a colonoscopy on Friday! I am so ready for a season of health, and I am so thankful for our "village." :) We have amazing friends!
Here's a picture from our Mommy and Daddy date to the hospital! :) Gotta love a man that will carry your IV pole and hold the back of your gown closed as you walk to the bathroom! :) I've had several colonoscopies before, but this time I had to do 48 hours of bowel prep (including three prep drinks--YUCK), and I think it was just overall worse because I was still nursing Felicity and taking care of sick kids while I was dehydrated and starving! Needless to say, I am so glad that is over! I had to pump and dump for 24 hours after the anesthesia, and Felicity is not a fan of the bottle, so I'm even happier that we are past that, and hopefully everyone is on the mend now! 

Meanwhile, it's November, and my photography business is busy, busy! I have 17 photo shoots this month! Here is one preview photo that I know you will love. :) I loved getting to see them.

In other news, Avaree has made huge progress on her lowercase letters and the spacing/sizing of her handwriting, and Felicity will be seven months old in two days. I can't even believe it. She's scooting around already. I'll post her full update on Monday! 

Happy November! 

Almost the End of October!

This year is FLYING by! We had a lot of fun in October, and our littlest turned 6 months old! Here is a quick glimpse of the end of our October! It was full of fun memories!!!!!
Avaree is still LOVING dance class! She practices ALL THE TIME, and it's obvious that she enjoys every second of it! :) We are so proud of her! 

 She is pretty much always dressed and ready to go at least an hour before it's time to leave for class! :)

 Felicity continues to be absolutely precious. :) She is in a Mama stage right now, and if I walk out of her eyesight, she is not a happy camper! :) I will remind her of this when she is a teenager! Though the dishes may not get done immediately, I don't mind a bit... 

 I think my big girl gets more beautiful every day. Literally, she goes to sleep every night and wakes up the next morning looking older and more beautiful! It's CRAZY!!! I just love this little dress on her!

 This is one of my favorites. Just another day in paradise... ;)

 A beauty, right? :)

 Felicity knows nothing but love... ;)

 I'm trying to be more intentional about making sure I take pictures WITH my girls too. I want them to know what I looked like when they were little! I think this may be a framer--just a Sunday afternoon before naps! Felicity is already in her nap zone! :)

 I treasure this girl right here...

Love her.

I think Felicity could have fallen over asleep at any minute!!!!

 She is still not liking any kind of pureed foods. The only thing she really likes is mama milk mixed with oatmeal! So, the other day, I gave her tiny pieces of a banana, and she loved them! Her hand/eye coordination is stellar! I remember putting puffs in Avaree's mouth for a long time, and F isn't even eating puffs yet! Crazy!!!

 Look at that grin!

 Silly goose!

 Kendall came over to play the other day, and she and Avaree just had the best time! :) 

 They LOVE to pretend to go night night in Avaree's bed!!!

 ...and Felicity just watches them!

 We've been reading LOTS Of books lately! :)

 Avaree requested to get in bed with sissy after she awoke from her nap the other day, so I obliged! :) Love these shots.

 I am so thankful that my girls love each other so very much!!! Love this priceless picture! This is obviously BEFORE the sickness began! :)

We ended October with a bang of sickness, but hopefully everyone will be well soon! :) Have I mentioned how thankful I am that I don't have to leave my babies when they are sick???? I can't tell you the number of times that I have reached for my phone to call in!!! I'm sure Mr. Manley is relieved to not have my phone calls all the time! :)
Blessed.
Coming up next: Halloween 2013!