Catching Up

Finding time to blog has been really difficult lately.  Our weeks are really busy and exhausting because Keegan is still up so much at night.  We try to catch up on sleep on Saturdays and after church on Sundays and then it seems like Monday comes back again so quickly! So here's what we've been up to the last few weeks......

On Mondays and Fridays sweet cousin Presley spends the day with us.  She is pretty much the best baby ever.  She eats well, sleeps well and plays well in between.  I was a little nervous about having three kiddos in my care two days a week but it has turned out to be so great!  If my two were this easy I would really have it made!  She has been a blessing and Ava LOVES her time with Presley.  It's so fun to watch the three of them play together.

Doesn't Keegan look so enthused in this picture?

Ava has dance on Tuesdays and this her fourth week of her new class.  We absouletly love this place.  She loves Mrs. Crystal and I love the giant window and comfy chairs outside her studio so that Keegan & I can watch her learn and talk with other moms and little brothers. 

There are ten sweet girls in her class of 3 & 4 year olds. Can you spot our tiny dancer among her friends? Everytime I look at this picture I laugh out loud.  What she lacks in size she makes up for in spirit!

I passed by this dance studio every week day when I worked in Richardson years ago and I remember thinking if I had a little girl I would love for her to dance there one day.  And four years later look what's happening!

 

Her favorite thing about this new class is the 20 minutes of tumbling.  She's making progress with her forward roll and she made it all the way across the floor balance beam last week.  We knew she had an interest in gymnastics so it's nice that she's getting a little exposure without taking a seperate class.

Keegan continues to LOVE food!  Sweet peas were definitely a hit.  The only food he makes a not-so-happy face to is sqash so it cracks me up that he still opens his mouth wide for more.  Sweet peas have been a favorite the last couple of weeks.

I picked up a box of baby mum mum rice cakes this weekend and he finished his first one in less than five minutes while I cooked dinner.  When it was gone he looked all around and threw a fit when he couldn't find it.  It was quite funny.

He still lacks the balance to sit up for very long but he loves to move!  He rolls around and reaches for anything in his path.  I know we are in trouble once this guy becomes mobile.  He's going to keep me on my toes.

In our limited spare time we've been reading.  Jeff reads a lot more than I do but I started Heaven is for Real one afternoon and finished it the next day.  It's a tough book to put down once you've started and it will totally change the way you think about Heaven and our eternity.  Jeff is almost done with Radical and I'm still working on it.  It's a great read as well.  It will totally change the way you think about worldly and material things and your walk with Christ.  Both books have us fired up spiritually!

On a not-so-happy note, Keegan is still so uncomfortable at night even on all of the reflux medication he is taking.  Some nights he is up every 45 minutes and on a good night he is up every 2 hours.  Our Mommy & Daddy instincts are telling us that something is wrong and our doctor agrees.  Keegan is scheduled for an upper GI test early Wednesday morning.  We are so glad that it's not an invasive test although it's a test for a 6 month old just the same.  We would certainly appreciate your prayers on Wednesday morning.  And we are thankful to all of you who have consistantly lifted us up the last few months.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Goodbye Summer- Random Photos

Summer seems to have come to an end so abruptly.  I tried to take the kids to the pool last week only to find that it's only open from 4:30pm-8pm except on the weekends.  Ava started her Fall dance class and Jeff started Fall softball with our church league last Monday.  We are slowly becoming much more scheduled than we were this summer-- when Ava napped on the couch when she just couldn't hold her head up anymore and trips to get yogurt at 9pm weren't out of the norm.   These are just some fun random photos taken over the last month and a half.  Goodbye summer.....you were so fun! 

Ava's first boat ride last month

 Filling up our backyard blow-up pool

 Loving the water

Loving on brother

 A little "cooking"

A little dress up

Enjoying Daddy's grilled corn on the cob

Lounging in pjs before bedtime....which was rather late most nights this summer!

These pajamas from Grammy read "Ruff Night."  I love it!  How perfectly descriptive of our nights right now!  But you would never know it by looking at that smile :-)

5 Months

Keegan is 5 months old today!  He weighs 14 pounds and is mostly wearing 3-6 month clothes.  He is still in a size 2 diaper probably for another month or two.  He is getting stronger and becoming more vocal every day.  He is always trying to pull forward and sit up.  Just like in this picture, he lifts those legs up and works those abs :)  He can sit up by himself for about 5 seconds but he has no balance yet so he still falls to the side. 

Solids are going really, really well.  He loves oatmeal and fruit and so far he has eaten sweet potatoes and carrots without a struggle.  The hardest part is trying to keep the spoon out of his hands!  He is constantly grabbing at it and I have to pry his fingers off.  I gave in for this photo :-) 

 

We can tell that the solid food helps so much with his reflux so we are thrilled that he is such a great eater.  He is on currently on three medications and we are managing it the best we can but the poor little guy is so uncomfortable at night. We are slowly seeing improvement but most nights he still wakes up every 3 hours or so. 

His hands stay in his mouth all the time. His two bottom teeth are very visible under the gum and swollen most days so maybe they will cut through soon?  Ava did not get her first tooth until 13 months so that would very different! 

I have to say that it's been just as much fun dressing him up as it is dressing his big sister.  The hunt for clothes is a little more challenging but it's so fun when we do find cute outfits for our little guy.

Happy 5 months sweet Keegan!  You are such a joy!

Ava's Birthday Week

Jeff took vacation this week so we celebrated Ava's birthday all week long! Unfortunately, the boys came down with head colds midway through the week.  But we had a lot of fun relaxing and hanging out as a family.  We started Monday morning with cinnamon rolls and birthday presents. 

 She opened doll house accessories from Keegan and a car seat for her baby doll from us.  Her baby has come everywhere with us this week.  You can imagine the looks she gets in Target walking around like this!

Monday afternoon we went to the new indoor safari park in Plano.  Ava really enjoyed it.  She mostly jumped and climbed around but there were a few moments for a train ride and some putt putt golf.

 

Ava loves to help me cook dinner every evening.  She sits up on the counter and adds salt and pepper and stirs what needs to be stirred.   We cook a lot; we just never bake.  So just for fun I pulled our kitchen aid mixer out and we gave chocolate chip cookies our best shot.  I used to make homemade mashed potatoes before Keegan was born but potatoes are all my mixer has ever seen!  I thought cookies would be a good place to start.  I measured ingredients and Ava dumped.  It was messy but fun :)   Jeff took some pics of us in the kitchen.

She didn't mind tasting the cookie dough but she wasn't crazy about getting her hands so messy while rolling the dough into balls.

I can't say that the cookies turned out great.  They were definitely edible just very cake-like.  I think we put in a little too much sugar?  Not really sure.  But it was a good time and Ava thought they were perfect :)

One last thing that was really fun this week was watching the movie Cinderella with Ava.  It hasn't been out of the Disney vault to purchase since she's been born and local movie rental stores don't have it either.  But good friends Amy & Abigail shared with us that we could check it out from our library.  We've enjoyed it a few times this week so thank you girls!

I can't believe this week is almost over!  It's kind of sad.....like summer is coming to an end.  But I guess that means the holidays are not too far away!  Ava is already talking about pumpkin patches :)

Ava is Three!

Today our baby Ava is 3 years old!  Even as I type it I can't believe it.  This 6 pound 13 ounce gift changed our lives three years ago today.  She became our world.  And now even as our 27 pound 3 year old she still is our world.

I remember so much about Ava's birthday and I hope to always remember it with such clarity.  I remember both Jeff and I crying when we heard her cry and saw her seconds later. 

I remember nurses from all departments of the hospital coming by to see the "baby that looks just like her daddy."  Some said they had never seen such likeness in all their years of work! 

I remember how tiny but how strong she was.  The evening of her birthday she finally woke up for a while and lifted her head and looked around the room!  Everyone in the room gasped and commented that dynamite comes in small packages.  And wow, were they right!  She is still strong willed and bursting with energy. 

I remember the three of us laying in my hospital bed that night while we watched a movie.  It was amazing; a new happiness we had never felt before. 

I remember the days following her birthday, like Jeff driving us home from the hospital with hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel, traveling at an average speed of 40 mph the whole way home. That didn't last for long.  Ha!

I remember us checking on her almost every hour as she slept in her basinet next to us.  We would use the light of our cell phones to shine over her and make sure she was still breathing.  I don't think we slept for days! Life would never be the same for us. We still check on our baby in the middle of the night.  And we love her even more than we did back then.

Look at how our Ava has grown!

Newborn

1 Year

2 years

3 years old!

A look at birthdays passed........

Happy 1st

Happy 2nd

And Happy 3rd sweet Ava!  You are still our sweet baby only now you talk and run and sing and dance.  You are three! And every day with you the last three years has been a gift.  We love you so much!