Yes, I Know. . . .

Yes, I Know. . .

Yes, I know I’m a bit (to say the least) behind on my blog. Yes, I know my littlest is now 6 moths old, Halloween has past, and my Nana’s 90^th birthday party was a blessing and huge success. But I also know that I have a huge deadline, 23 days to be exact, to prepare my dissertation proposal. Over the past month and a half, I’ve made many sacrifices as a teacher, friend, wife, and mom. Andy has been wonderful doing my laundry, keeping up with the house, grading, (yes grading), some papers, and being somewhat of a single dad to our two girls. Many look at my situation and think I’m crazy. Crazy to take on a PhD, crazy to sacrifice my family, and crazy enough to have this drive in the first place; but I hope my girls will one day look back on my journey and in turn, be inspired to pursue their own dreams and adventures with a “can-do” attitude. Andy, thank you for giving me this time and space and constant moral support. We both know this craziness will be short-lived, my hard work will pay off, and life will go back to normal soon enough.

So for now, I am the mom who has my kid’s memories trapped in my camera drive waiting to be shared with friends and family. Audrey is still so stinkin’ cute and cutting her first tooth. Alice is definitely the leader of the “I hate mornings” club, loves feeling independent, and no longer says “Lubboo” but “Love you” which I admit, makes me proud yet sentimental about her growing up.

Life is good, we are blessed, and here’s to hoping the next 23 days go as slowly as possible. . . .

Look Who's 5 Months

Can you believe I'm 5 months old?

I've found my feet and love to suck on my fingers.

My mommy cracks me up!

I'm becoming such a big girl.

Pretty soon I'll be working to keep up with my big sister.

But for now, I'll just work on being incredibly cute :)

Baby "Donald"

Alice insists on calling Audrey, "Baby Donald." None of us (myself, Andy, Carrie, or Andy's Parents) have any idea where or why she came up with this name :) Who knows? Alice's conversations are just too cute. Anyway, "Baby Donald" is loving her exersaucer and is holding her head up so well. She rolled over this weekend from her tummy to her back and loves to tell us lots of amusing baby talk stories. Andy insists on taking the small amount of hair she does have on her head and styling it like a boy in an Abercrombie magazine.


Yep, she is going to be ornery I'm afraid.

Audrey had her first big girl stroller ride on Saturday. I took her for a jog and she loved it (so much she fell asleep)

4 Months and 2 years 8 months . . .

School is back in swing, and time is flying by as always. . . Audrey is now 4 months old and such a delightful little baby. She loves her cereal and just tried apples for the first time today (Let's just say she screamed every time my spoon left her mouth!). She is a wonderful sleeper and is getting close to rolling over. Sometimes, we will wake her up in the morning and she'll be completely turned around in her crib :) She is holding her head up well and is enjoying her little bumbo seat. We head to the doctor this week so we'll give an update on her weight gain (I'm sure she'll be well into the higher percentiles as she loves her bottles!)

Does this baby look anything like this baby . . .

Alice (6 months old)

And for an Alice fix . . .

She is absolutely OBSESSED with princesses and is counting down the days to January when she can have her princess birthday party with princess cake, princess candles, and princess presents. Nana bought her this princess nightgown and she insists on wearing it every night. She somehow knows all the Disney princess (Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Snow White, and Jasmine) without even watching one of the Disney movies. She is the first to point them out when she sees anything princess related at the store (can make for some interesting shopping trips). Today at Target, it was a Jasmine CD she spotted in the baby aisle.

Outside of princesses, Alice loves Playdough and Dance Parties with Mommy.

She also loves babies. . . . especially her sister and baby cousin, Sophie. We spent labor day with Uncle Jay and Auntie Cait. Alice was such the caretaker (when she wasn't playing with Uncle Jay's "computer" (iPad). Sophie is going to be one tech savvy baby!

Crackin' Up!

Finally got Audrey's sweet laugh on video. Too sweet! (Notice Alice in the background trying to steal all the attention!)

Cousins, Cousins

Wow, what a crazy week. All the little girls were together at Nana's and Papa's this week with Marianne, Kristen, Danielle, Tommie, and Brandie. Alice loves spending time with her cousins. Elayna and Alice speak their own toddler language and laugh hysterically together, and Alice tries her best to imitate Emma and Anastasia to be just like the "big girls". The girls were busy with Emma's birthday party, trips to the state fair, trading silly bands, running around with balloons, slumber parties in princess nightgowns, Mama Mia dance parties, zu zu pets, and multiple dips in Nana & Papa's pool. Emma was such a big helper with Audrey giving her bottles and lots of attention.








ice cream break!









even the adults felt like kids again :)

The Portrait Painter

Alice: Mommy! Mommy! Come look my picture.

Me: Ohhh, that's beautiful, Alice, what is it? (I was noticing her talent drawing faces -- seeing the eyes, nose and mouth--do you see it?)

Alice: It Grandpa Bean! It Grandpa Bean Mommy!

Me: Wow, yes I see it now. I love his Micky Mouse ears and 2 strands of hair :) (no offense dad!)

3 Months Old and "Coooo"ute

.
Wow, can't believe it's already been 3 months since Audrey's birth. Can't imagine my life without this sweet little baby. I'm struggling a little bit with going back to work next week and leaving my summer life with my 2 girls, but so appreciative of summer and all the wonderful memories we made.

Audrey is hitting the milestones like a champ! She's lifting her head a little and gaining more and more head control each day. She found her hands and loves to clasp them together and stare at her fingers. She is sleeping about 10 hours at night (yes, I know how LUCKY I am to have great sleepers), and her newest trick is "coooing." I love listening to her sweet voice on the monitor when she wakes up in the morning just talking away :) She is now sleeping in the crib in Alice's room and Alice is just thrilled to share her room with her sister (seriously, she is).

Alice, the big sister, was jealous of Audrey's photo shoot and kept insisting I take her picture saying, "Look at me! Cheese!"

Audrey is Baptized

We are so thankful for all the friends and family who were able to join us for Audrey's baptism. She was such a trooper and only cried a little when her head was blessed with holy water. A special thank you to her two godmothers, Cait and Tiffany. We know you will both play an important role in Audrey's life and help her grow spiritually. Now, it's time to add Audrey's name to the family christening gown. She will follow Alice's name and up next will be Marlene's little one due in August.




Godmothers, Tiffany & Cait

The Mitchell Family

The Kingsley Family

Sophie and Cait

Audrey & Sophie hanging out together at our house after the baptism