This and That

We have been under the weather the last couple of weeks with yet another cold.  This has been the sickest winter for us and it hasn't even been that cold out!  We've spent a lot of time in our pajamas and I'm so thankful that we are back to normal this week.  I always get the 'January blues' after all the fun of the holidays and having sick babies didn't help! 

We did take advantage of the beautiful Sunday afternoon weather and worked in our front flower bed.  The kids always love a fun trip to Lowes.  They could 'drive' that cart all day long.  I'm so thankful for the little things that make outings easier for parents!

Ava and Keegan have been so sweet with each other lately.  Yesterday, while I was buckling Keegan into the car to go get groceries, Ava came running to the car with two stuffed animals.  I started to protest that she only bring one because my car looks like a toy box these days but I just let it go.  In the rear view mirror I saw her hand one to Keegan and I wanted to cry.  She even carried his toy into the store for him, proclaiming "he needs something to play with while we shop." 

And nothing brings them together quite like Bubble Guppies.  Jeff and I can't figure it out but something about this show captivates them!  I love to see them cuddle even if it's for only 20 minutes.

I had the Today Show on while I was making breakfast this morning and I heard a news package about London preparing for the summer Olympics in 6 months.  I thought there must have been a mistake because the Olympics only take place every 4 years and I clearly remember just watching the China opening ceremonies the night Ava was born.  And then it hit me-- Ava will be 4 this summer.  FOUR!  Not a baby or a toddler but a kid.  It was a sad 'ah ha' moment.

In other news, this little munchkin is turning 1 in four days!  Oh how the first year flies by...

We are so excited to celebrate this weekend!  We love our Mondays and Fridays with sweet Presley!

I love this picture of the 3 of them last Friday but it makes me laugh because it looks like they are trying desperately to bust out of here.  The babies love to bang on the front glass door.  The Windex bottle and I have given up :-)

And lastly, Keegan started clapping a couple of Saturdays ago on his 10 month birthday.  He had just finished a banana in his high chair when I looked over at him and he let out a squeal and just started clapping like he had been doing for months.  I guess it was a really good banana.  He clapped on and off the rest of the day and I captured a video of it that evening.  Now if he hears the word 'clap' or sees someone doing it he claps on demand.  Sweet boy....growing up every day!

 

Ten Months!

Keegan is TEN months old today!  I can't believe how much our baby has grown!

He is 19 pounds of intense energy.  He crawls, scoots and even cruises around the house with his toys. He even walks around the sofa while holding on.   The only task more challenging than trying to change his diaper these days is trying to get a good picture of him.  Some days I consider both my "work out" for the day.  At the sight of a new diaper or a camera in my hand, he turns into the fastest little ten month old I have ever seen.  Eighty percent of the pictures I take of him look just like this...

He talks all the time although we can still only make out 'Da Da.'  He thinks the word 'no' is hilarious and continues to laugh at us when we use it. 

He still gets up between 2am and 3am every night but after a bottle he goes right back down until 8:00 most mornings.  I don't mind the one night feeding at all-- And if I'm being honest, each night I'm a little scared that it may be the last time he needs me to rock him back to sleep.  Hopefully I won't be the crazy mom trying to rock him to sleep when he's five.

It's so fun to watch his little personality develop.  He is not gentle but he is so sweet.  He gives hugs and wet kisses and he is always concerned for big sister.  If she cries he is always soon to follow.  And as rambunctious as he is, he still loves to be held at certain parts of the day. 

He is strong and determined. His little temper shows up when he is unable to get something to work the way he wants, like removing a toy that's too heavy from his basket or turning his push-along around after hitting a wall.  And he continues his fit even after we help him, angry that he couldn't do it himself.  EXACTLY like his big sister! 

Keegan, you are so precious to us.  You are amazing and every morning that I pick you up out of your crib I give thanks for the gift that you are.  We love you sweet boy! 

Cheer!

Monday night Ava started mini cheer at our church for the first time!  It's a five week program with a halftime performance at one of the Upward basketball games in February to showcase the group's routine. This may or may not be a day that I've dreamed about since I learned I was having a girl four years ago.  I'm volunteering as one of the "coaches" which just consists of teaching basic motions.  I haven't done a toe touch in over ten years and I definitely won't be trying it this month!

Here we are before heading out Monday night.  I'm not sure which one of us was more excited :-)

She did so great and she cried when it was time to leave!  Here she is with good friend Morgan after getting her first pom poms. 

We practiced our cheer at home all night long.

I went to bed with 'Let's go...let's fight...let's win...tonight' playing over and over in my head.

And just for fun here are a couple more pics of our girl from this week. 

 Here she is with her Woody doll.  Nana & Gramps actually gave him to Keegan for Christmas but Ava has 'adopted' him as her own.  He goes most places with us and makes a great movie-watching partner.

And she's quite the little 'helper' with laundry lately.  I caught her running around the house with her panties on her head a couple of weeks ago and I couldn't stop laughing.  So now she will rummage through the laundry basket while I'm folding and put on as many garments as she can get on for a laugh.  And she usually gets it!  I can't help but hear Joey from 'FRIENDS'....."Could I be wearing any more clothes?"

(And even if no one else gets the reference, I know Aunt Kara is laughing right now :-)

Cruisin' Keegan

Keegan loves his new leapfrog table.  He will stand and play for ten or fifteen minutes at a time.  I thought I would take advantage of this and place it directly in front of the television console where he likes to push every button on the stereo and DVD player.  Unfortunately, he is smarter and stronger than I suspected and he began pushing the leap frog table across the living room and crawling back to his favorite electronics!  So I remembered Ava's v-tech push-a-long and pulled it out of his closet last week realizing he was probably ready to do some walking.  It was love at first sight.  I captured a video of his second attempt last week and this week he is pretty much all over the house, only stopping at walls and sofas.  Our sweet boy is growing up!

Christmas Week 2011

We had a very busy Christmas week full of family and fun.  I think Keegan enjoyed his first Christmas although it was difficult to fit naps into our busy schedule so he had to sleep on the go or not at all.  Ava was amazed by all the lights and food and presents.  I think this will be the first Christmas she will remember.  It was so exciting watching her amazement weather we were looking at Christmas lights or opening gifts.  There were so many memories made! 

We started Christmas off Saturday at Nana & Gramps' house with the best ham we have ever had and lots of fun by the tree!

Jeff took off work for my birthday on Tuesday and we headed to Northpark to see the trains.  Keegan was all smiles!

He wanted in there so badly and he kept banging on the glass when a train would come by.  This was a Christmas outing that he really enjoyed and it was so fun to watch him.

Ava really enjoyed them too this year.....

Ava enjoying lunch at Corner Bakery........

That night we decided to make our cookies for Santa.  I'm pretty sure Ava ate as many toppings as she decorated with.

And on Wednesday sweet friend Mason came over to make a few more!  These two have so much fun together.

And on Saturday we were ready for Christmas Eve.  These two were a little excited about it!

There is no child care at our Christmas Eve service so we didn't know how it was going to work out but they all did great.  Ava was so excited about going to "big church" with us but she fell asleep after we sang and the babies just hung out in our laps and took it all in.  Next year may be a little more challenging!

The four of us

All of us

Our little elf passing out gifts at Poppy & Grammy's house

Ava & Keegan exchanging gifts and a little love

 We came home and left out our cookies for Santa and carrots for Rudolph

Christmas Morning!

Ava has wanted this barbie house for months!  Her expression was priceless.  I hope she loves it as much as her mommy & Aunt Kara loved theirs.  Hoping it's worth a good seven years of fun!

Ava helped Keegan find his toys from Santa.  She seemed relieved that she was asleep when he showed up.  She would confirm with me a couple of times a week 'I'll be asleep when Santa comes, right?'  Ha!  But she was disappointed that she didn't get to see Rudolph.

 We headed out to spend Christmas Day with family in East Texas and drove home late that night.  We stopped at a Denny's on the way home for a late dinner and a break from all the screaming in the car.  (Keegan is not a big fan of the road trip)  It was the perfect break that we all needed from the car!  We had pancakes and laughs and made it home about an hour later.  And Monday we stayed in our pajamas all day long.  Another Christmas come and gone.  It truly is the MOST wonderful time of the year.

The Nutcracker

Last Tuesday in ballet Ava read about and "performed" part of the Nutcracker during class.  It was such a treat because her teacher let all the moms (and little brothers) in the room to sit against the wall and watch.  They practiced their curtsies and various other moves to the music.  So fun! 

I took a couple of videos with my phone and thought I would post part of the 'sugar plum fairy' dance where they all just danced their favorite moves.  Ava likes to twirl a lot if you couldn't tell by watching the video :-)   After Christmas break they will begin working on their first dance recital for June.  We are so proud of our little ballerina!