3 Year and 2 Month Check Ups

The girls had their pediatrician appointments today for their 2 month and 3 year checkups. 

Stats:

Audrey:
Weight 9lbs 9oz (50th%)
Length 21.5in (25th%)
Head Circ: 15.5in (90th%)

Emily:
Weight 32.5lbs (60th%)
Height 36.75in (36th%)

Audrey got 3 injections and an oral vaccination and Emily got her flu shot (she had all her other shots at her 2.5y appointment last March).  I had them do Emily's shot first since I knew Audrey would be in hysterics and I didn't want Emily getting freaked out about the shot unnecessarily.  Emily didn't even cry!  Right as the nurse gave her the shot I told it was going to feel like pinching and by the time she understood what I was saying it was over!

Audrey's shots were a whole. other. story.  Oh my goodness!  She cried like I have NEVER seen her cry before- it was terrible!  She was totally inconsolable for about a minute afterward when she finally calmed down.  I laid her back on the exam table and accidentally dropped her outfit on the floor so I stooped down to pick it up.  On my way to standing back up I saw Emily reach over and PINCH Audrey on the arm!  I was stunned and so, so, so saddened that she hurt Audrey.  :(  Audrey started crying all over again and it was miserable. I was so disappointed in Emily but felt like I couldn't really do/ say anything because we were right in the middle of the stinking doctor's office!  It was all I could do to take them out of there and get home before I started crying.  :/

Now Audrey is napping upstairs and I took Emily to school... I know she was late getting there but I was so mad/ hurt about her pinching Audrey that she HAD to go to school.  Plus I asked her in the car and she made it very clear that she wanted to be with her friends.  Hopefully we won't have many situations like this because it honestly hurt me when she hurt Audrey...like made me feel physically ill. :(  Not a fun way to spend our morning, that's for sure!  I won't be making another double visit like this again- I think they can go one at a time from now on!

Bowling Birthday Party!

Emily was invited to a really fun birthday party last weekend at a bowling alley! She had so much fun celebrating her friend Audrey's birthday and experiencing bowling for the first time.  She enjoyed it so much that I think it might be a good family activity for us! :)

Waiting her turn behind Miss Holly and Audrey.

Picking just the right ball!

You guessed it...she had to carry it BY HERSELF.

Rolling down the ramp with Maddie's daddy!

Audrey is 2 Months Old!

Sweet Audrey girl is 2 months old today!  She is growing so quickly and we love her so much.  She is a GREAT baby!

- She tracks us when we are talking to her and will follow with her eyes if we move in front of her.

- She has been "unfolded" for a few weeks now and looks sooooo long!  She doesn't stay curled up like a newborn at all now.

- She has started making little sounds in the past few days.

- She has smiled at Emily, Paul, Grandaddy, and me...but she doesn't smile all the time by any means.

- She is getting 1 formula bottle before bedtime, which buys me about 4-6 hours of sleep before she needs to eat again...this is wonderful!  As much as I would love to get rid of that 2-4am feeding, I am so thankful that she is making it as long as she is and I am getting that sleep...especially with my return to work in under 3 weeks.  I'm proud of her!

- She has times of the day when she absolutely does NOT want to be held and instead wants to lie flat and kick her legs and wave her arms.  It's so cute- like her own exercise routine. :)

- She still likes to be swaddled up tightly to sleep, but she slides down her sleep positioner all the time because she wiggles so much in there!  She cannot sleep without the swaddling though...I mean, could you sleep if your arms were constantly flying around? ;)

- She is still such a good cuddler...oh she's a good cuddler.  She likes nothing more than to be held and snuggle up on your chest.  I love it!  I wish she would stay snuggly like this forever.

And now, time for some brutal honesty: 
 
It's a little difficult and disheartening to compare Audrey's development with regular, full- term baby developmental milestones because due to her prematurity, she is considered "behind" on most things (which doesn't bode well for this hyper-competitive, teacher-mommy...I admit it!) For instance, I looked up when Emily began smiling and by 2 months she was smiling a lot, and consistently...but Audrey's adjusted age is only 1 month today....and if she were truly 1 month old, I wouldn't expect ANYTHING from her. So it's really hard for me to analyze her progress without getting stressed out.  This is tough for me because most of this blog centers around what my girls can DO...and while yes, Audrey's adjusted age is only 1 month, the fact is that she is 2 months old...which means I've have 2 months to sit and wait for a real, honest-to-goodness smile, for her to bat at a toy, for her to do more than eat/play/sleep, repeat.  It takes patience and that is hard impossible for me.  So, bear with me.  Cross your fingers for me.  Pray for me that I can be patient and wait for my sweet girl to progress and develop.  I am very, very proud of all the things she CAN do now, and I hope me being honest here doesn't sound like she's disappointing to me at all...because she definitely isn't!  I am just a mommy who has some adjusting of my own to do...and that takes time and patience...two things that are not easy at all for me. :)

Now...onto a more uplifting note....do you think these girls look ANYTHING alike? Paul and I really don't think so! :) 

Emily- 2 months

Audrey- 2 months

Halloween 2010!

We had such a great Halloween!  Emily and Audrey were a bumblebee and a ladybug (Emily picked the costumes).  We went Trick or Treating at the mall first and then came home to our neighborhood. It was a blast!

Sadly yes, this is the best shot we got...Audrey was NOT feeling the ladybug suit!

The mall was slightly extremely confusing for Emily.  Is this typical Halloween decor? I think not.  They reeeeeally couldn't have waited ONE DAY longer to put up the Christmas stuff?!  Emmy kept yelling, "It's almost Christmas!!  HAPPY HALLOWEEN!" It was hilarious but I felt kind of bad for her and the other kids...how weird is our mall?!

 

Then we came home and T-or-T'ed in our neighborhood:

Emily carved her pumpkin too! 

Emily is 3 Years Old!

Time for a monthly update...but this time it's a birthday month! :)  Emily is doing so well and we are so happy for our sweet girl growing up.

- She has moved to a new classroom at school and is LOVING it!  I love her new room too!  Ms Linda and Ms Brenna are incredible- they work together so nicely and I have already seen growth from Emily.  One thing I really like is the neat projects they do in this room- like this (forgive the misspelling...nobody's perfect:) )

Also in this room she gets to go to a different part of their playground, which I know she is loving!  They had a precious Halloween party last week and the kids performed a story and a song/fingerplay for the parents which was so cute!  Here's Emily in her favorite center (more pictures in the Picasa albums):

- Language-wise, Emily continues to grow.  She now answers us back when we ask her things (like if we say, "Come on, sweet girl" she responds, "I'm coming, I'm coming!").  She says "OK" when I end a sentence with "OK?".  She makes ALL kinds of connections now too- when she's watching a show or reading a story she'll realize something is the same for a character and herself and will point it out.

- She can get herself dressed completely without any assistance...I love this!  She is always SO PROUD when she is finished.

- She is trying to speak using correct grammar and you can really see the wheels turning with this- the other day she was asking me for help carrying her "plateses" instead of plates...so cute but you can tell she's really trying to work it out in her head before she says what she's thinking.

- She throws a ball underhand and overhand and actually does a pretty great job catching too.  She and Paul play catch a lot!

- She is finally starting to expand on what she will watch on TV/DVD....for SO LONG we have been stuck with Barney but she really likes Dora and SuperWhy too.  Thank goodness!

- She went Trick or Treating for the first time this year and LOVED it...she had a blast!  One funny part, though, was that we stopped at our neighbor's house first (Mr Gene and Ms Marie) and they let her come into their house to get her candy.....so then at every other house she was saying, "Trick or Treat" and then trying to edge past the person and walk into their houses!  It was hilarious!

- She continues to be a great big sister to Audrey. Audrey loves for Emily to come close and she focuses on her so well.  Emily is so sweet with her, it really melts our hearts to watch them interact!

That's about all our news for now.  I am so looking forward to the holidays- it is going to be so nice to have our sweet girls and to see Thanksgiving and Christmas through Emily's eyes...something tells me there will never be a dull moment! :)

Wordless Wednesday!

Birthday Party Recap!

Emily had the best birthday weekend anyone, young or old, could ask for!  We have nearly 150 pictures of the occasion(s) so I have added them all here and I'm only going to show some of my favorites in the post...otherwise, I would crash everyone's computers!!

So- it all started on Friday afternoon.  Granny, Grandaddy, and Grandma Frances all drove down during the day and Daddy got off early from work- so we sent the grandparents to pick Emmy up from school.  When she got home we opened present from the family since we figured Saturday would be pretty hectic.  

This box from Uncle Bill is as big as me!

Seeing all the packages in the living room.

Her very own umbrella...a huge hit!

Opening the horse from Uncle Bill.

 

 

 

 

We had a nice dinner at home, played a while, and then went to bed.  On Saturday morning we ALL headed to Dancenastics so Emily could have her own cheering section there!  She did such a great job:

Then it was time to get down to business.  While Paul and I ran around town like crazy people collecting food, balloons, cake, etc., Emily went home and played with her new toys.  SOMEHOW my in-laws got her to take a nap...to say I was amazed would be the biggest understatement!  I was completely stunned when Paul and I arrived at home and it was quiet inside!  We quickly got things ready- the party was getting closer!

         

Only SOME of the food- the kitchen was full too- BBQ, baked beans, pasta salad...you name it, we probably had it!

Right as we finished up the party guests started arriving and Emily woke up from nap.  We quickly put on our farmer shirts (you have to dress the part!) and went out to greet everyone!  Watching Emily greet her friends was SO precious- she ran to every one and gave them a huge hug.  It was so sweet!

Then the entertainment arrived- the horses!  We had a horse named Makayla, a donkey named George, and a miniature horse named Charlie.  The kids went CRAZY riding them and had so much fun.  Even some Mommies rode the horses (DeeDee and I did...the things we do for our kids!)  The horse owners were SO great and even painted the manes and tails for the party.  It was fabulous!

The kids had a great time playing with sidewalk chalk, riding Emily's cars around the circle, and playing in the "Needle in a Haystack" game- we filled her baby pool with hay and put small toys and candy inside.  The kids could dig through the hay and find prizes to keep!

Soon everyone had to leave...but not before getting their great treat bucket:

Emily had so much fun that day and has continued talking about it non-stop.  We had such a great time hosting everyone and I have to say I was a little sad on Sunday when I didn't have her birthday party to be thinking about!  It's been so much fun getting ready for it!  I also MUST thank my in-laws- we truly couldn't have pulled this off without your help and we really appreciate the babysitting, food prep, setup/ cleanup/ etc. that you did.  You're the best! :)

I'll leave you with 2 pictures that melt my heart- Emily with her friends Eva (from preschool) and Derrick (Miss Jamey's son).  She was THRILLED to see them both:

Thank you thank you thank you to everyone who came, who helped, and who gave me ideas for the party.  We had a blast!!  

Make sure you check out the pictures!  Again, click here to see all the pics of Emily's special day!