Afternoon Naps

One of the beauties of having children so close together like Brie and Ava is that Brie is still taking really long, wonderful afternoon naps. This means that even if I have to get up in the night with Ava, I can always count on a lovely nap in the afternoon. It's great. We all woke up a little while ago and are feeling good.

I never brought Brie into my bed with me when she was a baby. I was just too nervous. Ava seems to REALLY like sleeping cuddled up to me. I love it too. So, for our naps she gets to sleep next to me in bed. This is the cute face I see snuggled right by me. It's the best!

Piggies, Pony or Bam Bam?

So remember how Ava had a cute little pink bow in her hair for all of the pictures of the first two weeks of her life? It came off! That little pink bow was placed/glued there by the nurse that bathed her right after she was delivered. I have now idea what they used, but I'd like to know because it REALLY stuck! I was afraid to take it off for fear I'd take her scalp with it. So, now she has no cute little bow, but she's still lookin like one cute little baby girl.Brie, on the other hand, is looking quite scroungy! She has curly hair, so after sleeping her hair is it a total rat's nest. You should see her right now. She has what looks like a mohawk on top and a rat's nest in the back of her mullet. Sad. Sad. I'm not very good with doing hair. I think because mine has just always been curly and there is not much to do to it other than applying gel and walking away.

So, we've been making an attempt to "do" Brie's hair each day. She REALLY likes this process. She is such a girl. I ask her if she wants a pony tail, piggies or bam bam (on top of her head). She makes her choice, we do it and then she spends some time admiring how cute she looks in the mirror. Here are our first attempts to control Brie's hair. They really have gotten better from here.

Home Improvement

We got our new shutters! Yahoo! Finally! We have walked around for a couple months (since moving into this house) with no window coverings on one whole side of our house. That is the kitchen window, french doors and family room window. The neighbors might have gotten more of a show than they bargained for during those months because it was stinkin hot and I was very pregnant! Well, now the windows are all covered up and we have some privacy.

We opted for plantation shutters and they look so nice. I didn't want to have a cord hanging from the french doors for the girls to play necklace with. They were pricey, but I am very happy with this choice. We did the shutters on the doors, over the kitchen sink and in the family room. We already had them in the living room. So, now the whole downstairs is matching. We've done a number of other things as well. I had a list of things to get done before the baby came and Scott completed all of his tasks. Little does he know, but I now have a new list! This was one of the big ones though. We got a new front door (the previous owner paid for it :), molding and we painted it. I wish I had a before picture, but the old one was pretty ugly. Scott also took down the 70s looking chandelier and installed this new one. Pretty impressive huh? He didn't even get electrocuted and the chandelier is still in the ceiling! Good job Scott.
Now on to the next project - the family room!

Ava's First Bath

Ava FINALLY got a bath! They told us in the hospital to wait until her cord fell off to bathe her. Well, that took two weeks. I just rubbed her down with a wet wash cloth until finally we were able to put her into some warm soapy water. She's so clean and smells so good.

Cousins

Ava and Brielle had a visit from their cousins, Annabelle, Clara and Henry. It was so fun. Brian and the kids brought us Crown Burger for dinner. They have awesome fries and fry sauce! Brielle absolutely adores Annabelle and Clara. You can tell they are her older girl cousins. She follows them around and copies everything they do. And Ava got a lot of hugs and kisses and adoring smiles from her cousins that are so excited about their new little cousin. Brielle, Annabelle and Clara eating at the little table.
Annabelle holding little Ava. Ava looks much bigger in Annabelle's arms.
This is Henry, who is 5 months old. It looks like Ava is smiling at him. So cute.

2 Week Doctor Visit

Today was Ava's 2 week visit to our pediatrician (and uncle), Dr. Buchanan. It was also the first time that I have gone out with the two girls by myself. The appointment was at 9:45am. We made it there a little early and everyone was bathed, dressed, fed and all went well. I think I can try going out again.

Ava got blood drawn for her PKU test and was weighed, measured and checked out by Dr. Buchanan. She has gained a pound in the 2 weeks since birth and now weighs 7 lbs. 13 oz. Yeah! The nursing is working! (She left the hospital at 6 lbs. 15 oz.) Dr. Buchanan said everything looks and sounds perfect! I love hearing that. She certainly looks perfect to me.

Here is Ava recovering from her first visit to the doctor.Brielle made out the best with our visit to the doctor. She didn't have to get shots or anything this time! And she still came away with a pony band aid, a strawberry shortcake sticker and two new turtles. Brielle loves the turtles she gets at the doctor's office. She has held on to her pink and purple turtle since our last visits. She carries them around in her honey pot (that came with her bee costume last halloween) everywhere she goes. She always wants the turtles with her. They sleep with her in bed. They go to church with us. They get to hide in her new potty. Today was an extra exciting day because she got two new turtles!!! Boy, was she thrilled. She got a orange one and a yellow one. She was VERY happy!

Here is Brielle watching Sesame Street while I made lunch when we got home. Notice the new orange and yellow turtles on either side of her.

This is what I found when I went in to get Ava because she was crying. Brielle has found a very effective way to deal with a hungry crying baby.

Brielle and the turtles go down for a nap. The drama came when we couldn't find purple turtle.

Four 10s

Surprise! Surprise! Scott's work schedule changed again! We like that it changes so often. It's always something new and different. We've had mornings together, evenings together, and now we are going to try having all day Wednesdays together! Yeah! Scott now works four 10 hour days, so he has Wednesdays off. Today is his first free Wednesday. We are excited for this schedule. He only comes home 1 1/2 hours later (6:30pm), but we get a whole day right in the middle of the week that he doesn't have to go to work. He likes that he is always coming from or going into a day off. Nice huh? This should work out great for the overtime season that is fast approaching.

So, if anyone else is free on Wednesdays - give us a call.

Due Date

Today is finally September 17! This was my due date. I've been telling people this date, looking forward to this date, planning for this date for a long time. It's kind of weird that it is here and nothing really is going to happen today. Ava came 12 days early. So, here are some pictures from our extra added bonus days with Ava.

(Only two people from my family and a few people from Scott's family have met her, so I thought I would share lots of pictures of her first days with us.)


This is Ava today. Brie found the bunny slippers and insisted she wear them.
She got tired of the photo shoot, so got wrapped up for sleeping.
Sooooooo tired.

This is a funny picture of her. I wanted to show all those rolls in her arms. For her sake, we'll hope that doesn't last.
Big sneeze. Aaaahhhh choooo!
Sooooo tired - again.
I thought this picture looked so funny. Brie was not screaming in Ava's ear, but it sure looks that way with the look on Ava's face.

Paternity Leave

There are few things that are as important to me as having a loving, kind, caring and fun father for my children. I certainly have that in Scott. We are lucky enough to have two weeks paid paternity leave for him when we have a baby. With Ava we took one week now and we'll take another one later. Paternity leave ended yesterday and today is my first day home alone with a newborn and a toddler. So far, so good.

During Scott's week of paternity leave he took good care of me, Ava and Brielle. He and Brie had so much fun! I know they are both missing each other today. I'm missing Scott being here today too. I wanted to share some pictures of their paternity leave week of fun together. Thank you to Scott for being such a great daddy!

Scott and Brie built a "castle house" out of the stereo box. Brie was so excited to hide in it and open the door and look out the windows.

Scott even made Brie a pretend phone for her house. Here she is talking to grandma, as usual.

Scott read books to Brie every night before bed. She loved having so many books read instead of just the usual bed time one.

We got these cool soda bottle holders free (can you believe it?) with the pizza we ordered. Scott put them on Brie's ankles like leg warmers and she did some jazzercise. Doesn't she look like she belongs in Flashdance or Fame?

Warming up. This is the first time I've attempted a pony tail in her hair.

Stretch!

Yesterday morning Scott took Brie to the state fair. She had the best time of her life. I wish I could have been there so bad. This is the daddy and daughter as they were headed out the door to see the animals.

Brie petting the goats.

An Allred Hog Farm! Who knew? Maybe that is where we can have our next Allred family reunion.Brie was fascinated by the mommy pig and all of her baby "piggies".

Bunnies!!!Brie came home talking all about how she saw a cow get a bath.

Cows!!!

Brie and daddy rode on a BIG yellow slide and then they got to go play at "Little Hands on The Farm". This is the cutest thing. Brie got to collect eggs from the hens, pick apples from the tree, plant seeds, etc. At the end they get paid a dollar for their work on the farm and they get to choose a treat.

She also got to go on a pony ride. I think that was her absolute favorite.

Brie has been having her own fun with baby Ava. Here is the snack that she gave her last night. I'm sure Ava will love cherry tomatoes just like Brie does.