It's a Boy...cousin that is!!! - 21 weeks old

Aunt Ashley's Little Bump

My darling little ladies,
We found out last week that you two are going to have a little baby boy cousin named Van Dexter Sears! Aunt Ashley and Uncle Dawson went for their appointment last Thursday and got the "definitive" news that they were having a boy! I'm so excited for your Aunt and Uncle and I'm excited that you girls will have a cousin so close in age to you. Mommy and Uncle Dawson's sister, Desiree will be starting to plan the baby shower in the next few weeks.

Grandpa & Mary

Things with you girls have been rapidly progressing. It seems everyday brings on some new challenges and new revelations. This week we re-introduced your swaddles to you, but are not swaddling your arms in. I don't know if that is doing it or not, but you two have slept soundly all through the night this whole week. Daddy and I have been putting you to bed at about 7pm. You've been getting your nighttime bottle at 6:45 and then you've been sleeping till between 6:15 and 6:45 in the morning! We've also started with the Johnny Jumper this past week. You both love to stand so much and really enjoy bouncing up and down. Mommy also bought the Baby Einstein Activity Jumper but you girls are still to small for it at this time. It looks like a lot of fun, so hopefully we get to use it soon!
Mommy also finally bought your stroller for you. We've been using the Baby Trend double stroller frame for the past few months, but now we have the Baby Jogger City Select double stroller. It is amazing and has so many configurations. You are still too small to use it right now cause you can't sit up unassisted, but when you can we can have the seats both facing mommy or out or they can face each other! Mommy really loves the strolled and can't wait for us to start using it!
So Janer and Meme went to Albany yesterday for the day so you girls got to spend the day with Gigi. It sounds like you all did well and had fun! When mommy came home, Gigi looked so happy. I think it felt really good to her that she got to spend the whole day just her and you girls! She hasn't spent all that much time with you girls lately so i'm happy she could help out.

Mommy & Aunt Ashley

This weekend is Halloween and I feel like it has crept up on us so fast. We didn't even get pumpkins this year and I didn't do a great job at getting Halloween costumes for you either. I did find some cute jumpers...one is a cow and the other is a cheetah, so that's what you're being this year. You also got invited to a Halloween party thrown by Alyssa, Brooklyn, Spencer and Jacob...so we're going to try and attend that on Sunday. I'm sure Janer will be taking you up to the Halloween parade on Monday too if it's not too cold. I guess we'll wait and see!
Mommy will be posting Halloween pictures in a few days so we've got them in our album.


More to come! I love you!!
Love,
Mommy

Growing Like Weeds...19 Weeks 6 Days

19 Weeks Old

My posts have been few and far between over the last 3 months as things have been crazier than I had expected and it is harder than I ever thought it would be to steal a few quiet moments to share with you through this blog on a weekly basis. With that said, I'm sure I'll be "back-posting" some entries from July to October...so, if the last few posts that you've read seem short or just full of pictures, it's because I don't really know exactly what happened during that time frame! Why are things going to be changing? I finally thought, "hey, blogger is a pretty big site...they must have an app." So I went to the app market and sure enough there was an app for that. I downloaded it to my phone, so now I really have no excuse. My phone is with me all the time. The most peace and quiet I get during the day is when I'm breastfeeding you girls, so I plan on blogging during that time now so I can keep up with it. Well, now that the big, long winded explanation is out of they way, let's get to the actual entry!

My beautiful Sophie & Stella,
Wow! That's all I can really say. You girls have grown so much in the past few weeks. My beautiful ladies are developing so fast. You are both smiling all the time and starting to giggle quite a bit. You are definitely recognizing me when I come to pick you up at Janer's, and you are both holding your heads well and talking up a storm. Stella started rolling over a few weeks ago and is still trying to figure out how to get her arm out from under her. Yesterday when I picked you up at Janer's, I found out Sophie rolled over from her belly to her back. I almost broke down crying because I missed it. Then I put Sophie on her belly and she immediately rolled over! I was so excited to see you both hit such big milestones!

Daddy & Stella "just hangin' out"

This morning I was changing Sophie and it hit me how much you girls have grown. When we first brought you home, I could fit both of you on the changing table at the same time. This morning, as I changed Sophie into her cute little outfit, I realized that she is taking up a huge portion of the table now all by herself!
You both are really loving bath time too, but are not fans of "after-bath" time. You tend to scream at the top of your lungs from the moment we start dressing you until you get your evening bottles. Hopefully that changes soon!
You girls are starting to play a lot more, too. You are more in touch with your surroundings and have both made "best friends" with your Lambies that Grandpa and Mary gave you and your little plastic links that seem to go with us everywhere!
It's amazing to hear you girls talk. I try and talk with you a lot and tell you stories or explain what I'm doing so you start to learn. A couple of weeks ago the garden was in desperate need of weeding. You both were due for your naps so I brought you into the garden and started weeding. While I did it, I told you what I was doing and how someday the three of us will be kneeling down in the dirt picking weeds together.
So in big news...if I haven't already mentioned it, your Aunt Ashley is pregnant and due on March 13. Mommy is SO excited to meet your new cousin. Aunt Ashley and Uncle Dawson have an important appointment tomorrow morning where they will hopefully find out if they are having a boy or girl. In my heart I think they are having a boy, but a huge part of me wants her to have a girl. When mommy was a little girl, I had a cousin, McKenzie who was the same age as me. Growing up we did everything and were as close, if not closer than sisters. I hope that you girls have that relationship with not only each other, but your cousins.
I'll keep you posted on Aunt Ashley.  I can't wait to continue building this beautiful record of you girls over the next year and hopefully beyond that. Your daddy and I love you both so much and cherish every moment we have with you.

Love always,
Mommy