Brynn's 1st Halloween

Ava really wanted to be a scary witch so she was the wicked witch of the west and Brynn was Glenda the good witch.  My sweet babies :)

Even Mommy got into the fun

Ava and her Besties Minnie and Mickey

Brynn lasted for about 45 minutes and she was ready for her beauty sleep

Ava never ceases to amaze me.  She says the funniest things and every day it's something new!

Last week as we walked to Brynn's classroom to pick her up for the afternoon she said "mommy are you thinkin what I'm thinkin?"  after chuckling that she actually just said that and wondering if she knew what it meant I said "I don't know what are you thinkin?"  She said "I'm thinkin I can't wait to see my baby sister!!!" 

One night while putting her to bed she said "mommy cover me up OTHERWISE I'll get cold"  Yes she actually used the word otherwise in the right context.

Yesterday Steve went to the football game with some buddies and when he returned she said "Daddy, I didn't REALIZE you were going to be gone so long"  Again she used the word realize in the correct context.

Mosquito's have been obsessed with Brynn and Ava said "mommy when that mosquito gets on my baby sister I'm going to tell him hey mosquito you don't bite my child!"

She's THREE years old, is this normal??  LOL

Brynn at 28-29 Weeks

My little twiddlebug is 100% sleeping in her own crib all night long!  7pm-7am, this morning until 8 a.m!  It was a much easier transition than with Ava, but I'm still very sad.  I do enjoy getting a good solid nights sleep though and I sure have missed sleeping on my stomach!  I love going in to get her in the morning and watching her smile really big when she see's me.

She is doing great at school and they say that she is happy all day long and has been doing much better with her bottles.  She doesn't even fuss when I leave, just sits down and plays.  She even has a little boyfriend in the class named Jackson.  He's an older man at 8 months old.  Ava just loves him and loves to go visit him every afternoon.  The teachers say that Brynn tries really hard to move to get to him and since she can't quite crawl after him she just rolls to him. It's too cute.

She also has a habit of pulling the other babies hair when they get near her and holding on with a death grip.  Steve says you can tell who Brynn's friends are because they all have huge bald spots. 

mommy's little baby doll

She is talking a lot now saying "gaga gaga" and I've noticed she loves cartoons.  She is very interested in toys now and gets giddy when Ava plays with her.  She still gets very happy and vocal when Ava is around.  You can sit her down on the floor with some toys and she'll entertain herself for quite a while.

My baby is all growns up

She is sleeping in her own bed now. While I'm so proud of her, I'm also very sad. Why does it feel like I'm banishing my baby to Iceland by merely putting her in her crib? She rolls over on her tummy right away and I check to make sure she's still breathing about every 2 1/2 minutes.

Dewberry Farms

Took our lil punkins to Dewberry to pick out our pumpkins. 

Ava "playing"

Not sure why but when Ava plays it consists of placing every loose item within reach in the same small space. I don't get it. When I asked her what she was doing she said "getting ready for work" or that she's "makin a party". The good news is she puts it all back when she's done.  She's very literal about it too because she will put it back EXACTLY where she found it, even it's not really where it belongs. 

Scarecrow Festival

Took the girls with me to the scarecrow festival. Sara and Wyatt went too and we met Meme, Brenda and Renee out there with all the cousins.   Ava calls it the vegetable.

Lauren and Ava on the train ride-Ava can't contain her excitement

The ride home was apparently getting old-both babies meltdown

Before my sister got there we were pretty stressed and frazzled
So Sara and I really needed these giant beers!

And the train is off

Playing with our cousin Kennedee

taking a break in the grass at the festival

Brynn is 6 months old!!!

I can't believe she's already been here for 6 months....time flies faster with the 2nd one!

6 month appointment stats:

 Height: 27.25 "  92%

Weight: 17lbs 14.5 oz    82%

Head Circ: 17.52"   93%

She is fully sitting up on her own, can roll over in both directions and is still trying to army crawl.

She now absolutely refuses to drink formula which is posing a challenge for us at school when she runs out of breastmilk.  I only have time to pump twice at work which doesn't get her through a full day with the way she eats.  We are slowly trying to mix formula into her bottles to get her to take it.  There were a couple of days at school where she refused to eat anything at all.  That scared me to death.  Each day gets a little better for her.  She's napping in her crib at school and cries less each day.  They say that she likes to be held a lot or she gets fussy.  She really likes Miss Rosa and smiles really big in the morning when she sees her.  Her naps at school are not very good which worries me.  At home she sleeps about 2 hours twice a day.  At school she takes 4 30 minute naps which means she's not getting good naps in. They say it's because they have to keep all the lights on as part of SIDS prevention, and they aren't used to all of the noise of the other babies.  At home they nap in dark quiet rooms.  Ava's teacher actually took Ava's class by Brynn's classroom so that Ava could show off her baby sister.  Ava was so proud! 

One plus of having her in school instead of at home with a nanny is that when she is napping in her crib the teachers are literally right there and can keep a close eye on her in case anything happens.  That is such a comfort for me!

The good news is she's easier to get down at night!  I've been able to lay her down in her bed and let her fuss a little.  She'll roll over on her tummy and I just pat her a little and she's asleep.  So proud of her! 

I'm 6 months old already!

Look at my two new teeth everybody

If this isn't a reason for living, I don't know what is!

I love these pajamas!  Ruff Night :)





Where's the equality ladies?

Life of a working mom:

• Wake up tired as hell and wondering what 8 hours of sleep feels like
• Change a diaper
• dress the baby
• put baby on the floor with some toys while you get dressed
• Pick up baby who just toppled over and comfort her until she's done crying
• sit baby back down and straighten/curl your hair
• Do make up
• Give eldest child who just woke up lots of praise, love and kisses and so happy to see you hugs
• put baby in walker in the kitchen and start breakfast
• get coffee pot going
• pack final lunch essentials
• double check bottles and milk for the baby
• make sure all lunch boxes and breast pump bottle storage are fully equipped with ice packs
• double check breast pump for all the pieces
• feed eldest child and nurse the baby
• dress eldest child and fix her hair (pig tails or pony tails what shall it be?)
• Throw on shoes while eldest child puts her shoes on
• simmer down eldest child who is now melting down because she has her shoes on the wrong feet
• calm down baby who is now crying because sister is crying
• put dog #1 outside to potty
• get dog #2 (AKA tazmanian devil) and put her outside to potty
• nurse chewed up fingers from stupid dog who needs to find a new home
• Go get dogs to put them back inside
• chase disobedient dog down the street (AGAIN) yelling, cussing and threatening to murder him, or drop him off at the pound if a car doesn't hit him first
• put baby in her infant seat and get all 27 bags, lunchboxes, backpacks, laptop and breastpump and get out the door
• get both girls loaded in the car and set house alarm
• drive girls to school and drop them off, chat with the teachers
• drive like a bat outta hell to get to work on time
• work, work, work, nibble on some lunch, work, work
• Drive like a bat outta hell to get to the daycare on time to get the girls
• chat with teachers and director of daycare
• Drive girls home and chat about the day
• Get home, feed the baby and get dinner started
• Let the dogs out again
• Throw in a load of laundry
• Put last load away
• eat dinner while feeding the baby and begging eldest child to eat a bite of food
• clear dishes
• bathe baby and eldest child
• dress baby for bed and soothe her down while hubs get eldest child ready for bed
• put baby to bed
• do dishes
• Wash bottles and pack baby's bag for school the next day
• pack eldest child's lunch and put it in the fridge
• Get pump ready to go for the next morning and pack storage bottles
• Pick up toys in the living room
• squeeze in a shower somewhere in here
• get clothes ready for work the next day
• Log on and work for 1-2 hours
• Baby is awake, feed her and put her back down
• stay up late to watch a few of my TV shows that are tivo'd or hang out with hubs
• Go to sleep with baby in the bed with me, wake up everytime her breathing pattern changes :)
• sprinkle in a few diaper changes, and nursing/pumping sessions throughout the day as well

Dad's day:

• Wake up
• get self dressed
• go to work
• go to the gym
• get home
• eat dinner and leave it on the table
• play with eldest child
• take out the trash (or leave it for spouse to cuss about in the morning when the trash is overflowing, we get a good laugh out of this)
• turn on the sprinklers
• Get eldest child dressed and ready for bed (leave lots of messes along the way)
• feed/play with the dogs
• Have some "me" time to unwind from such a long and stressful day
• go to bed and get a good solid 8 hours of sleep

WTF?????

Surely this is not at all one sided :)  I MUST include that sweet hubs does let me sleep in every weekend.  Get's up with the girls, makes breakfas and coffee and gets them fed, dressed and ready to go.  No complaints there! 

24-25 weeks- tooth #2 has arrived

Amazing how Brynn got her two bottom teeth at the EXACT same time that Ava did. She didn't even act like a teething baby for either one. Such a big girl. Tomorrow I start back to work after a blissful 6 months off with my babies. I'm glad I started the girls a few days early at school so that we would all have a much smoother first day back. Ava keeps telling us that she doesn't wanna get bigger, she wants to stay little so she can stay home with her mommy and her baby sister.

Here are a few pics of our last week at home together, my 6 months went by fast!

Look how good I'm sitting up!

Coloring time with mom

Making Halloween cupcakes!

Lunch time at the Hendrickson House

I'm so excited about my gorgeous shoes!

My little Michelin baby and her sissy at bath time

Morning cuddles