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

First Day at the Pool

Yesterday was our first day at the pool this summer and my first time to take two.  I was only brave enough for the fenced in kiddie pool.  It was such a fun time!  It has always amazed me that Ava has never been afraid of the water.  Even at nine months old she would crawl around the fountain area without any coaxing.  We were the first to arrive yesterday and she wasted no time.  Sunscreen went on and off she went!

The weather was perfect, however the water was still quite cold even in the shallow pool.  That didn't stop Ava and good friend Mason though!  These two played hard for two and half hours.

They had just as much fun playing with the chairs as they did in the water.

Keegan seemed to have a nice time too :)

Napping poolside with sweet friend Connor

2 Months

Keegan is two months old today!  He has changed so much in one month.  Weeks five through seven were really tough on the three of us.  After three trips to his pediatrician it was determined that he had severe gas pains due to lactose intolerance as well as reflux.  He is lactose free now and on medication for the reflux and as of Monday, we've had very happy baby boy! 

 

This week has been amazing.  I can't stop taking pictures of him because he smiles all the time now.  He loves to take warm baths now and he actually loves to have his diaper changed.  He is happiest while laying on his changing table naked from the waist down :)  He's also pretty happy in Mommy's arms.  He tried out his bumbo this week and really enjoyed it.  He still gets up for a feeding between 3am & 4am but both he and Ava are sleeping until 7 or 7:30 now so I can't complain.  I also can't complain because most of the time Jeff takes the night feeding if I get up early or vice versa.  I have been so spoiled the last nine weeks!  But Jeff goes back to work on Monday so I'll have some adjusting to do.  He is such an amazing dad.  I am grateful to him for so much.  Not just for taking care of the kids but for taking care of me too. 

Ava still gives Keegan lots of love.  She wants him to play with her so badly.   Although he can't do much, she's figured out that he has to listen to her if she reads books to him.  So that's what she does....every day.  But as you can tell by the photo below he doesn't really stay too focused.