Easter 2011

This is a very picture heavy post...

My beautiful family

Going on an egg hunt

I got it!

Lily and Bubba

She found one!

Lily and her daddy after the hunt

We had a great time with the girls this Easter. Lily celebrated her third Easter and Avery celebrated her very first. We got the girls "The Story of Easter" book and we read it to them before Easter in hopes of them catching on a little that Easter is not about the Easter Bunny, but about Jesus. Lily tells us that Jesus is in her heart and that he died on the cross for us. This couldn't make her parents any prouder of her. She is a smart little girl, but of course she loves the idea of the Easter Bunny too!

On Saturday night we had an Easter egg hunt for Lily and my nephew at my parent's house. Lily loved running around finding eggs and candy! On Sunday we went to church and then had Easter lunch at my parent's house. The girls got to play with their cousins and open even more candy and gifts from their GaGa and PaPa. They are just a little bit spoiled...:). The Easter Bunny brought them a wagon to share and he left Lily and overflowing basket of goodies. The Easter Bunny left Avery's bag of goodies at the checkout stand at ToysRUs, so the poor baby didn't have anything in her basket on Easter morning. This made her mommy very sad. We will have to call ToysRUs today to see if they still have her stuff. The Easter Bunny left behind some half eaten carrots and I had Lily check the house for jellybeans AKA Easter Bunny droppings...she says she didn't find any :) We hope everyone had a very Happy and Blessed Easter!

 Lily's overflowing basket

 Easter baskets from GaGa

 Look what the Easter Bunny left us!

 Big Girl!

 Lily and her loot!

 Avery and her empty basket :(

 Eating her Easter Grass

 Daddy and his girls before church

 Twinkle Toes

 Maddie, Lily and Mommy

 The Paces/d'Allemand's

 Me and my girls

 Lily and her Great Grandma B

 Kylie and her girls

 Easter Lunch...Lily and her 2nd cousins

 Avery Grace

 Presley Jane

 Little Angel...in her sleep!

 ORNERY!

 Going for their first wagon ride with daddy

 My sleeping beauty with her PaPa

 She doesn't even like her own sister most days :)

Kylie and Presley

Lil Slugger

Lily is quite the little baseball player.  Her Uncle Gary and Aunt Becky bought her this little tee set for her birthday and she plays with it almost everyday with her daddy.  I can't believe how well she actually hits the ball!  She can even hit it when Jason throws them to her.  She  hits line drives clear across the basement and out in the backyard.  This makes her momma very proud!  I played softball throughout college and I would be so happy if one of my girls enjoyed it as much as I did.  Her friends Talan and Cy Draft bought her her very first ball glove when she was born and she got another one from the Easter Bunny.  Our next step will be to teach her how to catch and throw the ball!  She also loves to "shoot hoops" with her daddy in the basement on her little basketball hoop.  This of course makes her daddy very happy!

6 Months Old!

Dear Avery,

Once again, mommy is late with your 6 month letter.  Can you believe mommy hasn't written in your blog for a whole month?!  You and your sister have changed so much and done so many things in the past month and I didn't even keep track of it.  Bad mommy.  Please know that everything you and your sister do will forever be remembered in my heart.  You turned half a year old on Sunday April 17th...holy cow!  You will be turning one before I know it!  Six months is one of my very favorite ages.  You are so smiley all of the time and it is so fun to watch you interact with your big sister even more.  You had your 6 month check up yesterday and you did great!  You got 3 shots and you only cried for a second.  Once you popped your little thumb into your mouth you were all better.  Such a sweet baby girl.  Dr. Russell says that you are healthy as can be.  She says that your head is still a little asymmetrical in the back, but that once you start sitting up and crawling it should still even out.  Mommy says that once you get some hair nobody will be able to tell!  You hardly have any hair at all!  Nobody even notices your little head...you are perfect and beautiful in my eyes!

What Avery is doing at 6 Months:

~sleeping between 10-12 hours at night (bedtime between 8-8:30pm)

~taking a longer nap during the day (1-1.5 hours)

~nursing 5-6 times a day

~eating cereal in the morning and sometimes a fruit or veggie later in the day/evening

~your very first food was carrots...you don't really like "food" yet, but you do like oatmeal

~you roll from front to back and scoot your knees up to your chest sometimes...you do not like when you get stuck on your tummy!

~you still LOVE to suck your thumb

~ you started daycare this month with your big sister...Lily loves having you there with her! Mommy cried when daddy and I dropped you off on your first day.

~If you have a bottle you are drinking 6 ounces at a time and sometimes more

~you wear 6-9 month clothes

~you still wear a size 2 diaper, but could probably wear a 3

~ you love to rock at night time before bed

~ you are a mommy's girl and you whine when mommy leaves the room

~ you have tried carrots, sweet potatoes, peas, bananas, apples and pears

~ you like to jump in your jumper

Avery's 6 Month Stats:

Weight: 15 pounds 15 ounces (48th percentile)

Height: 26 1/2 inches (77th percentile)

Head: 17 inches (72nd percentile)

You are still just a little peanut, but you are growing and that is all that matters.  Dr. Russell called you a little peanut yesterday and Lily must have heard her because when we were getting ready for bed last night Lily called said, "Avery is a little nut mommy."  You are as precious as ever and I will always love you higher than the sky and deeper than the sea.

Love,

Mommy

Palm Sunday

This past Sunday was Palm Sunday.  Lily got to parade through the church service waving her palm branch.  She was one of the first kids in line and she did great.  She made it up and down all of the aisles and then I lost track of her.  My dad was laughing because just when I couldn't see her anymore, he spotted her...up on stage next to the pianist!  Funny little girl. 

Lily really enjoys her Sunday school class.  She says her prayers everynight, and she knows who Jesus is.  I showed her a picture in a book last week and I asked her who it was, and she said "That's Jesus!"  The other day a friend of mine and I took her to see the movie Hop.  There was a man who had long, dark hair in the movie and Lily yelled out, "That's Jesus!"  It was not Jesus, but still very cute and pretty funny in the middle of the movie.

First Trip to the Park

We had to get outside and take advantage of the "warmer" weather this past weekend.  Jason and I took the girls to the park on Sunday evening.  This was Avery's very first trip to the park and actually her first walk outside.  It is always nice for Lily to get outside and burn some of her energy.  Jason pushed Lily in the running stroller and I carried Avery in my sling.  I am not a fan of our double stroller because it is so big and bulky...good thing we got a good deal on it off of Craigslist!  It was nice for all of us to get out of the house and I am looking forward to when the weather actually stays warm for a longer period of time...can you believe they are calling for snow this weekend?!  What the heck!

5 Months Old

Dear Avery,

I had to apologize to your big sister for being late with her letter and now I have to apologize to you too.  I'm so sorry this is a few days late.  You celebrated turning 5 months old on March 17th...St. Patrick's Day!  Happy 5 months baby girl!  Mommy was at work all day so you spent the day with Lily and daddy.  You met mommy after work for dinner at Buffalo Wings and Rings.  Probably not YOUR choice, but the rest of us had a yummy dinner...and mommy and daddy celebrated for you with a green beer! 

I think you are getting chubbier by the day (but still a little thing).  You are eating like crazy, and I wonder if I am going to be able to keep up with you!  I left 24 ounces of milk with daddy while I was at work the other day and he said you had it gone in no time!  Yesterday, while mommy was gone, daddy said you ate 8 ounces at one time and you still wanted MORE!  This is why I STILL get up every morning at 3:00am to pump you some extra milk for the day!  You are worth it little one. 

We had you weighed just for fun last week at Lily's appointment and you finally hit the 15 pound mark...YAY!  I think your cheeks are deceiving...they make you look chubbier than you really are.  I love those cheekies!  I could kiss on them all day long.  Your big sister has been pretty nice to you lately.  She loves you so much and she is always saying, "Avery Grace is my best friend."  Awe!  She always wants to hold you and cuddle you.  I can't wait to watch the both of you as you continue to grow up together.  I love you both so much. 

What you are doing at 5 months:

~ bedtime is at 8:30pm

~ wake up between 6:00-8:00am

~ still a cat napper

~ eats/nurses about 6 times/day

~ started eating rice cereal by spoon before bed

~ likes to jump in her jumper

~ can roll over from tummy to back and back to tummy

~ is a major THUMB SUCKER...it is ALWAYS in your mouth...the minute you are done eating your thumb pops right back into your little mouth

~ is mommy's little cuddle bug

~ wearing size 2 diapers

~ wears size 6 month clothing

~ was baptized this month

~ drooling like crazy...no teeth yet

~ had an ear infection this month and took a course of Amoxicillin

~ can hold your rattles and sometimes even your bottles by yourself

~ sit in your highchair like a big girl

Little Avery Grace you are still as sweet as ever.  You are such a good, good, little baby.  You make your daddy and I so very happy.  We are so proud of you and we are having such a wonderful time watching you grow.  Since the day you were born, you have just seem to fit into our family so perfectly.  I love you higher than the sky and deeper than the sea.  Thank you for being my little girl.

Love,

Mommy

Potty Success!

Lily has been doing fantastic on the potty!  She has not had an accident since Friday.  I don't know what FINALLY clicked, but it has.  She has been wearing undies at home and I put her in pull-ups today for daycare.  I texted daycare to see how she was doing and they said she has been dry all day and been using the potty!  I wasn't sure how she would do because she has only gone on our potty and at my parent's house.  She was in the bathtub yesterday and told me she had to pee.  She got out of the tub, went pee, and got back in...YAY!  I know we still have a ways to go, but we are off to a great start.  I'm not sure at what point to trust her if we go out??  I guess I will just put her in pull-ups at first and see how it goes.  She has even been staying dry during her naps and going when she gets up.  She was pretty dry this morning after waking up and she did go first thing this morning.  I do still put her in a diaper at night.  I am so happy and so proud of her!  I'm really starting to have faith that she will be out of diapers before kindergarten!  The wait has been worth it!

Lily Rose...2 1/2 Years Old

Dear Lily,

First of all mommy wants to apologize for being a few days late with your letter.  Time seems to get away from me these days!  My little girl is 2 1/2...I can't believe it!  Most people think you are older than you really are just because you are so tall like your daddy.  To me, you will always be my little girl..no matter how old or how tall you are. 

You waited all week to go see Dr. Russell.  I have never heard of a toddler being so excited to go to the doctor, but you couldn't wait.  You were such a good little girl while we were there and you have surpassed all of your developmental milestones.  You are seriously growing up WAY to fast for this momma!  You weigh just over 30 pounds and you are 37 1/4 inches tall.  Dr. Russell and mommy don't believe this height.  You were 37 1/2 inches tall 6 months ago and in the 99th percentile.  We find it hard to believe that you shrunk and are only in the 85th percentile.  Dr. Russell said you really may be off the chart with your height.  You are a string bean like your dad.  Lucky little girl...I think your baby sister might be short and tubby like your mommy.  Poor thing.  :)

I ask your daddy everyday how did we get so lucky to have such a beautiful little girl?  You have the prettiest auburn, red hair and the biggest brown eyes I have ever seen.  Those eyes often get you out of trouble.  All you have to do is look at mommy with them and shed just the slightest tear, and then it is all over for mommy.  You make mommy and daddy laugh everyday.  You light up the room when you walk in.  You have the funniest little personality I have ever seen.  You are sweet, ornery, smart, hilarious and so much more all wrapped up together.  I couldn't ask for a more perfect daughter than you (and your sister of course!) 

Your vocabulary continues to amaze me day after day.  You talk like you are so grown up and I can't believe most of what comes out of your little mouth.  You are too smart for your little self.  You continue to go to school two days a week and you love it!  You have made so many little friends...one by the name of Ella in particular.  Most of the time you are nice to your sister, but you have done some pretty mean things to her this past month...you bit her before church one morning and it really hurt her feelings.  You did say you were sorry and you cried too because you knew it wasn't right.  You are a pretty good eater, but still very picky.  You like to eat, but only certain things.  Your favorites are chicken nuggets, fries, pizza, tacos, nachos, any kind of fruit (Beee-nanas), ravioli, mac and cheese, PB toast, cereal and milk, hot dogs, chocolate pudding, chips, peppers, black olives, cucumbers, and grilled cheese.  What kid doesn't like these things.  I wish you would eat more of what mommy and daddy eat, but I know I am at fault for this.  You still LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your milk and you drink 3-4 glasses a day.  You are still my great little sleeper.  You sleep around 11-12 hours at night and you take at least a 3 hour nap during the day.  Mommy LOVES this too! 

Your most recent biggest accomplishment is that you are becoming potty trained!  I think all it took was turning 2 1/2...really.  You haven't had an accident since Friday and it is now Tuesday.  You have been wearing undies at home and pull-ups to school.  Mommy is ssooooooo super proud of you Lily Rose!  You got to pick out a toy for doing so well and you picked out a My Little Pony.  Yay for you!

Most days I cannot believe you are my daughter...how did I get so lucky and so blessed?  I thank God everyday and every night for you, Lily Rose.  You have brought more happiness to my life than you will ever know.  I hope that one day when you are older you can read back through these books and really know how deeply your mommy loves you.  You are the light of my life and the center of my world.  I love you higher than the sky and deeper than the sea. 

Love,

Mommy

May God Bless this Child

Our baby girl was baptized today.  It was such a special day for her and our family, and we are so thankful that we got to spend the day with so much of our family.  Avery was her usual laid back, happy little self and didn't make a peep.  We didn't get any pictures of the actual baptism, but that's okay.  She wore the same special gown that Lily wore when she was baptized as well as so many other family members on the Kneifl side.  The gown has been in the family for over 90 years!  Such a special, special thing to have.  We were blessed with Jason's mom, step-dad, brothers, sister in laws, and nieces and nephews and with my mom, dad, brother, sister, niece, grandma and aunt and uncle.  We had a nice service and then we were able to all come back to our house to celebrate with lunch and cake.  Avery's cake was so pretty except for the fact that Lily got into it yesterday before everyone else got a chance to see it!  Lily dug right into it with her own little fork...I guess she wanted the first taste!

Sick Babies

As luck would have it, BOTH girls have been sick this past week.  Lily was actually much better this week and her "sickness" was mainly last week.  She started with a nasty cough.  She didn't have a fever, but she was up all night long coughing and she couldn't sleep.  I went in her room to check on her and she was just sitting in the dark, wide awake, in her chair.  She didn't call out for us or anything.  Poor baby.  I kept her home from daycare that next day, but then I sent her the next day.  She was still coughing and she even said to me, "Mommy, I'm sick.  I need to go to Dr. Russell's."  I should have listened to her.  By the next evening she had a 102 temp.  Bad mom...I know.  I never did take her in because I'm sure it was something viral and nothing to do about it.  Avery started in with the cough on Saturday.  She had icky drainage from her nose and a rattling nasty sounding cough.  She wasn't running a temp, she was eating, peeing, and pooping fine and she was still her smiling happy little self.  I knew she had to have picked something up from her big sister who can't ever stay out of her face.  On Tuesday, her cough continued and she was running a very low grade temp...no higher than 99ish.  I waited it out.  I got home from work on Wednesday morning and the poor little thing was so miserable.  She was extra whiny and making a funny sound as if "something" was hurting her.  I called the pediatrician's office and we got her in right away.  Turns out she has an ear infection.  Once again...bad mommy for not taking her in sooner.  She is now on Amoxicillin twice a day for ten days, but already feeling much better!  I hate it when my kiddos are not feeling well!  And just for the record...Avery weighed 14 pounds 5 ounces at this visit (with jammies on)...still my little peanut.