Savannah is here!

Last Tuesday morning, baby Savannah was born!  We are just so excited for her to be here- especially Stephanie who couldn't have been more ready.  As I was dropping Avery off at school, we were talking about how Aunt Steph was at the hospital about to have baby Savannah and that meant that she would have another cousin.  Excitedly, she exclaimed, "Two cousins for one girl!  How special!"

 

I picked Avery up for school a little early and headed down to the hospital.  We got there right when they were moving her to another room so we had a little time to kill.  Avery and Sophia had a blast playing together while we were waiting.

 

 



Thank goodness my parents were there.  These two got a little excited at times!



 

Sweet girl.  I could have held her forever.  Unfortunately, Chloe had different plans for me :)

These little ones are exactly two months apart!

Savannah is absolutely precious! I love that Sophia and Avery are pretty close in age and Savannah and Chloe will be so close too. Holidays and get togethers are definitely going to be more exciting/ crazy!

2 Months!

 

Chloe is two months old as of about a week ago.  We have been so busy with Halloween activities and events so the time seemed to fly by.  She has gotten so much bigger and has been interacting a lot more lately!

 

 

Here were her stats at her two month appointment-

Weight- 11 lb 4 oz- 62%

Length- 22.8 in- 65%

Head- 39.4 cm- 66%

 

I compared her stats to those of her sis at 2 months, and they are completely different!  Avery started at 6 lb. 8 oz. and was 11 lb. 9 oz. at 2 months.  Chloe started at 7 lb 15 oz and weighed 11 lb. 4 oz.  She is not a tiny little girl either!  What was I feeding Ave???  Chloe is also an inch longer and has a substantially larger head than Ave had.  Ave's head was in the 6th percentile while Chloe's is in the 66th.  They still look similar when I compare the pictures though.  Chloe has lighter eyes but they definitely favor each other.

 

Avery is the ultimate photo bomber.  I have SO many pictures just like this!

 

Chloe has continued to be a great sleeper.  We still don't really have a nap routine down.  She naps when she's tired and is awake when she's not.  I love not being tied down to the house for naps right now.  Usually she will go to bed in the rock and play around 9:30-10:30 pm, sleep until between 5:00-7:00 am, eat, and then sleep until around 8:00am.  I think being rested is one of the reasons that going from 1 to 2 children has been so much easier than expected.  I am so thankful for what we've got going on in this department right now because I know that it can change at any moment!

 

Big girl has also been a great eater.  She eats every 2-3 hours during the day.  In the evenings, she usually gets one extra feed in there which is why I think she goes a good stretch at night.

 

Chloe still smiles up a storm at us.  I love that I can always count on her sweet smiles.  She is so much more alert and has started to be interested in her toys hanging from her playmat.  She doesn't really do much with them but I know that will be coming soon.  Her grunting has thankfully decreased so much this month but she still can get a little noisy on occasion.  I haven't taken her to the nursery at church yet so I notice her little sounds mainly when it is very quiet during the sermon.  We spend some good bonding time in the nursing mothers room :).

 

We have had a few more visitors this month.  I have so appreciated all that friends and family have done for us over the past two months.  It has made our transition so much easier!  The meals, treats, babysitting, and gifts have been so generous.  It has made me realize just how blessed we are with a great support system!

 

 

 

 

On a particularly beautiful day, my mom and I went to Old Town Spring.  Bill stayed home with Avery and I took Chloe so that I could feed her when needed.  Who knew babies were so portable?  I would never have attempted this the first time around.  I wore Chloe in the Moby Wrap, and she literally slept the whole time until we were about to leave.  It was so relaxing and fun.  It was Pet Fest weekend, and there were dogs everywhere!  Not one, not two, but three separate people asked me if I was carrying a dog in the wrap.  What kind of freak do I look like?  Who carries a dog in a wrap?  Hopefully no one!

 

The wrap doesn't quite look right in the picture.  My mom and I pulled up the youtube video in the parking lot to make sure that I put it on right but somehow it looks a little off.  She seemed comfy and it felt secure so I guess it worked well enough!

Smily girl after her first trip to Old Town Spring.

Ave begged me to take this picture.  She thought it was so cool to hold both the horse and Chloe's hand.

 

About a month after Chloe's birth, I started feeling so guilty that I wasn't taking as many pictures with my camera as I would have liked.  Then I realized that I take an excessive amount of pictures, mainly sleeping ones, with my IPhone.  I seriously can't get enough of her sleeping in my lap.  I will cherish those times forever!

 

 

I know I've said this before, but we are just loving and cherishing every minute that Chloe has been here.  She is such a delight and the perfect little addition to our family!

Halloween 2013

Halloween was completely packed with activities all day long.  Avery started the morning with a Halloween breakfast of champions- pumpkin shaped nutella toast, ghost banana, smoothie, and milk.  This cowgirl needed her energy for the day!

 

Ave had a costume parade that morning at school.  It just so happened to be the rainiest, most disgusting morning which made getting into the school extra special.  I almost wish that I had it on camera because it literally took like 20 minutes.  It is pretty much impossible getting an adult, a preschooler, and a baby in a stroller into a building with one umbrella.  Let's just say, I sat trying to mentally figure out what the best plan of action was for about five minutes before I even attempted anything.  I ended up really soaked but got my girls in mostly dry before the parade began. 

 



 

She was thrilled to be in the parade.  I loved every minute watching how proud she was!

 

Ave's BFFs, cowboy Garrett and Fireman Luke, walking with their class.

 I had Mom's Group Bible Study after dropping her off and then had to be back at the school by 12:15 for her Halloween party.  I think I got in and out of the rain with children 4 separate times.  To say that my clothes were soaked, my hair a frizzy mess, and my nerves frazzled is an understatement. It all worked out completely fine but I had to take a few deep breaths to calm myself down throughout the morning!

 

I got smart and wore Chloe in the Moby wrap for the Halloween party.  It worked great and Chloe slept like a champ the whole time. 

Lunch time!



My little pumpkin.  She seriously melts my heart!

 

 After dinner, we changed into costumes and got ready for some trick-or-treating!  Avery decided that she wanted to be snow white for the night so we had two little princesses.  Thankfully, the rain cleared out and we had amazing weather that evening.

 

 

 

There were a lot of baskets out filled with candy, but Avery's favorite houses were the ones where people were home to greet her at the door. 

 



 

She started off a little shy but by the end, she was telling people her whole life story.  Here's an example-

Man- I love your costume.

Ave- Thanks!  It's Snow White.  I found it in my game room today when I was watching the Twelve Dancing Princesses.  It's my favorite movie. 

Man- Oh, I just love that movie.

Ave turns around to us- He loves the Twelve Dancing Princesses too!  Can you believe it?!

 

After getting plenty of candy, we headed back to the house to pass out some.  We had left a bucket on our porch that was empty but expected to have a few more trick or treaters.  Unfortunately, we only had one more group come.  We ended up with way too much candy at our house! 

 

Checking out her loot!

 

"Daddy, I love you THIS much!  Now, can I have another piece of candy?"

It wouldn't be Halloween without a picture of Grace looking so embarrassed in her Halloween PJ's.

 

 

Love these little Snow White leggies

I think she had consumed a few too many pieces of candy by this point!

 I absolutely love nights like these spent with my family.  There is nothing better!

Faithbridge Fall Festival

Faithbridge's Fall Festival was on the Friday before Halloween this year.  Avery decided that she wanted to be a cowgirl for Halloween which shocked me a little because she wants to dress up as a princess or fairy all the time.  I was excited that she was branching out from her usual.  We had a slight wardrobe change minutes before leaving the house due to a minor marker incident on her shirt (the joys of this age!) but made it in plenty of time to take full advantage of all the activities!

 

We ran into Ave's Cow-boy-friend, Garrett, and cowgirl, Reagan, when we first got there.

 

I love that they decided independent of each other to dress alike.  So sweet!

 

Avery got straight to work on all the games in Center Court.  I remember when she was little and could barely do these games.  Now some seemed too little for her.  I could cry!



We also ran into Sophia and my parents while playing the games!



This picture makes me laugh.  She had just knocked the sign over twice and must have been a little upset about it!

 

We got some dinner after working up an appetite on the games. 



I just love the joy in this picture.  They love hanging out together!

 

After dinner, we went outside with Sophia and my parents for some bouncy house fun. 



Absolutely loving life!

 Right before we had to leave, I realized that I hadn't gotten a single picture of Chloe.  She was so sweet and good in the car seat plus it was cold outside so I hadn't taken her out!  Poor girl.  Next year, you will be able to party like the rest of them!

 

Sister pic!



Love her!

 

Both girls crashed about 5 minutes into our drive home which must have meant that they had a great time!

Pumpkin Carving

Bill surprised Avery with a pumpkin in the beginning of October and she'd been dying to carve it all month long.  The Sunday before Halloween, we decided to go ahead and do it.  Kelly came over and we had a really fun time making what ended up as probably the least attractive prettiest jack o lantern ever.  There may or may not have been some Christmas music playing as well. We get really excited about the holidays in this house!

 

Avery has never really been a fan of getting the guts out but decided to participate this year (without touching a single bit on her hands)

A little sister lovin'

 

 I gave Avery a pen and told her to draw a face on the pumpkin.  This is what we ended up with :)

 

 I did my best to carve along her lines with her assistance. 

 

 This was the end result.  I love that proud face!

 

 It wouldn't be a pumpkin carving party without Bill's pumpkin seeds.  This year they actually turned out edible!

 

I'm sure that we are going to wow all the trick-or-treaters with this year's beauty on our front porch!