8 Years!

Eight years ago today Jeff and I had our first date!  Every year we have celebrated our July 18th anniversary.  So today we celebrate eight years of togetherness like any couple with an almost 3 year old would.....We are off to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie :)


Life was definitely simpler eight years ago today in Denton, Texas. We played volleyball with a great group of friends and went swimming till it is was dark out.  Somewhere between the sand volleyball court, the pool and our neighborhood Applebee's we moved from "just friends" to more than just friends.  The rest, as they say, is history. 

 While life was much simpler, I can't say that it was more fun.  From sand volleyball and swimming to changing poopy diapers and a matinee disney movie, I'm still loving every minute with you.  So happy 8 years, Jeff!  I'm looking forward to many, many more!

July 2003 - Our 1st picture together

 July 2011 - Just a little older looking! Ha!

4 Months

Keegan is 4 months old today!  Such a fun age!  We have noticed big changes in him over the last month.  Jeff will come home from work often saying "he looks bigger today!"  He weighs 12.5 pounds and he now has those chunky thighs I love so much.  He is still in a size 2 diaper and mostly 3 month clothes.  But some outfits are becoming quite snug so I'm guessing he will be in 3-6 month in the next couple of weeks.  He still absolutely hates riding in the car!  I think we have become used to the screaming but if we take more than a ten minute drive it can really take a toll on us.  Most of the time when I look back, Ava has her ears plugged with her fingers.  Other than the car he is a really happy boy. 

He still has the same big blue eyes that his big sister has. But check out how blonde his hair has become!  His redish copper hair is falling out and blonde is growing in. 

These rings are his favorite toy right now.

As well as his little Eric Carle elephant.  Thank you again Aunt Lori!  When Ava lets him play with it he really enjoys all the fun toys on it :)

He loves to bounce in his jumper.  Most of the time he gets fussy after 20 or 30 minutes but the other night he played for 45 minutes in the kitchen with me while I cooked dinner.  That was a treat!  He is much more hyper-active than Ava was.  Ava would just sit in it and sway but I'm quickly seeing the differences in them.  He can go crazy in this thing!  We were so surprised that his feet touch the ground already.  We bought this for Ava when she was 4 months old but she was much to small for it.  I don't remember her really enjoying it until 6 months.  I hope he continues to like it!

We have worked a few times on sitting up. 

But he usually ends up like this after a few minutes. 

Ava sat up on her own pretty early and all I did was use the boppy (along with blankets at first) to help support the back.  I remember one day I just moved the boppy out from around her and she continued sitting all by herself.  I'm really not rushing anything with this little guy though.  I'm hanging on to every stage since he will most likely be our baby forever.

Yes, he still naps in his swing.  I know I have to stop this but he refuses to take naps in his bed and so far I have let him win.  The few times I have tried to fight him on it he gets so worked up after 45 minutes of me forcing it that he ends up not taking a nap at all.   

He refuses to take any pacifier but his soothie.  I have tried them all!  He either spits them across the room or gags himself and throws up.  Ava loved the playtex orthos but he is not having it.  I will keep trying though. 

He sleeps pretty well at night but he still gets up every night between 4:00 & 4:30am.  He falls asleep right after her eats but it would be so nice if he dropped that feeding soon.  He is still on prevacid for his reflux but we think it is getting much better.  We are so thankful for our happy boy!

He is really falling in love with Ava.  He watches every move she makes.  They love to listen to their kid praise songs that Nana gave us.  Ava sings along while Keegan does the hand motions (with Ava's help of course.)  She loves that he can laugh now so she tries to make him laugh by talking to him, making funny faces or tickling him.

We love you so much sweet little man!

New Stuff the last 2 weeks

The last two weeks have been so much fun.  I've always been a winter person.  I love the cold, the snow, cocoa, holidays, etc. Summer has just sort of been a hot season to put up with to get to all the fun stuff to me. But I have really, really enjoyed summer this year!  Most of our time is spent in a pool somewhere but there has been a lot of other fun stuff going on too.  Ava successfully completed her first dance class last week.  The girls formed a line and walked into the studio room as the door was quickly closed on a hall full of mommys with cameras in hand.  I managed to snap some very poor quality photos through the 3ft x 2ft tinted window that I shared with lots of other moms.  It was so fun to watch!  She was so great!  All the girls did great.  I couldn't believe that they were actually following instruction and dancing around the room.  
 

Ava & sweet friend Abigail getting warmed up

I love this one.  I know it's so, so blurry.  But look at her go!

Ava has highjacked my iPhone this past month.  Several of you already know this because you've had the pleasure of receiving one of her fun text messages.  She loves to take pictures, look at pictures, watch mickey videos, play games and most recently call Daddy at work.  She uses the 1 touch call application and decides to call him at random times.  I thought I heard her talking to someone when I was in the shower the other day and when I got out I found that she had called him 7 times!  "Daddy's not answering anymore" she told me.  It was a really funny moment.  I couldn't feel sorry for him because he's the one that set it up for her.

Jeff tried his first Starbucks coffee over the weekend!  Shocking, I know.  He's never been a coffee drinker but he must have enjoyed it because he's had a cup of joe every day since Saturday.  The plan is to get away from sodas and find a better source of caffiene without so much sugar.  I'm pretty excited about it.  It's fun to grab coffee out with him or enjoy a cup at home after eight years of drinking solo! 

And this little guy....always along for the ride!  I just took this picture while blogging.  I look down and he's smiling at me all the time.  Several family members have commented that he has a special smile just for Mommy.  I think this may be it.  He loves his daddy and his Ava but he really loves his mommy.  I'm pretty fond of him too :)

We finally found a swimsuit small enough for him a couple of weeks ago.  He loves to hang out in the pool with us.  He also started playing with a few toys this weekend.  He likes a couple of different rattles and rings that of course always make it to his mouth.

A transformer blew at our neighborhood beach pool on Saturday not long after we arrived.  The pool was evacuated due to no electricity so we bought a blow up pool for the backyard.  It provided hours of entertainment this weekend!

Watermelon has definitely been a summer favorite for Ava.  I cut a large one up every Friday and most weeks it's gone by Wednesday.  She can't get enough of the stuff.

I caught a couple of photos with my phone while these two were playing on the floor the other night.  I didn't notice until I just posted them that they are making the same expression in both pictures!  Love, love, love these sweet babies!

Ballet Shoes

They are so cute and so fun.  So why am I so sad?  Because she is going to wear them.

My sweet, tiny baby girl who is soon to be three is taking her first dance class this summer but I feel like we just brought her home from the hospital.  Some nights lateley while I'm rocking Keegan, I look down and see baby Ava.  He favors her so much when he sleeps.  I'm so excited about everything her future will bring and I know she has to grow up but sometimes I just wish I could rock baby Ava one more time.

Her class starts tomorrow morning.  It's a combination of ballet & tap.  Her good friend Abigail is in the same class so even if there's not a lot of dancing at least there will be lots of fun!  She seems to be excited about it.  She and Daddy love to tap dance in the kitchen together, so hopefully she'll give it her best shot in the studio tomorrow.  Stay tuned to see how she does :)

3 Months

Keegan is 3 months old today. He weighs 11.5 pounds and is now in a size 2 diaper. He is still wearing 0-3 month clothing and it looks like he will for at least another month...maybe two. This works out well since he has so many outfits in his closet that he still hasn't worn.

Last week he chuckled for the first time when I tickled him under his chin. Such a sweet sound... It went on for about 10 minutes because I just couldn't get enough. He has such a personality now!  He doesn't really play too much with any of his toys yet but he absolutley loves playing with his burp cloths.  He grasps them, waves them around, rubs and covers his face with them.....it can go on for about 30 minutes which is great because it frees up time for a shower or chore.

Last weekend we bought him a float and put him in the pool for the first time. We went so late in the evening that the water was really warm and he loved it. He floated all around the pool with us.  It's so nice that all four of us can all be in the pool now instead of taking turns.

He has really hated tummy time until last week.  Ava gets on the floor and coaches him on and he seems to enjoy it now for about 10 or 15 minutes at a time.

He is a great napper during the day but his night time sleep is so unpredictable!  He is now waking up two, sometimes three times at night.  Most of the time I can just rock him and give him his pacifier and he goes right back to sleep but sometimes he demands a bottle.  Mommy and Daddy drink a lot of caffeine during the day!

We love this little guy and can't imagine life without him.  He is such a joy and I'm taking in every moment.....even trying to enjoy the ones between 1am & 5am : )

Ava is Potty Trained!

I have been hesitant to post this, fearing regression and partially because we still can't believe it! But I realized while cleaning out my diaper bag last night that the same pair of "just in case" panties and shorts have been in there for over 3 weeks and Ava hasn't worn a diaper during the day in almost 4 weeks!  This week she has started going all by herself, only asking me for help if she needs help with a certain outfit.  She still wears a diaper at night but it's almost always dry in the morning. I just can't chance having to change sheets in the middle of the night right now since night time sleep is already interrupted most nights by little man :)


We've now been to the potty at almost every large chain grocery store, several restaurants, and both of our neighborhood pools. It's not as bad as I thought it was going to be but outings do take a bit longer now. It's so worth it though! We are so proud of our little girl! We've taken her out for yogurt several times to reward and celebrate.

We are addicted to this little self serve yogurt shop down the road.  It's always a fun outing.....Sometimes a fun late evening outing in our pajamas :)

Memorial Day Weekend

This Memorial Day Weekend we spent a total of ten hours at the pool; five on Saturday and five on Monday!  We bought Ava a puddle jumper life jacket Saturday morning and she loved it.  Jeff showed her how to use her arms and legs and she swam all over the pool on her own!  We tried this last year but she was too small for anything like this to fit and she hated it so we really didn't think we were going to have an easy time with it.  It's a little big on her but it works great and she loves to be able to swim in the "big pool."  Both kids had so much fun but they were so worn out at the end of the day!  They slept really well this weekend and we did too!

Daddy & Ava building a sand castle

having an afternoon snack :)

Presley & Ava dancing to the music

my two boys snoozing away in the shade