Our Girls

I just realized I haven't really posted any good photos of Avery or of Addy and Avery together. So, the following are some recent photos of the girls from the last month or so. Enjoy!

Hikes at Hemlock

For four years we've been going to this amazing N. Virginia Regional Park which we absolutely love! Monty and Addy have enjoyed it since birth and we're continuing this tradition with Avery. It is a place where, as a family, we can reconnect with nature, have quality conversations, and escape the hectic DC Metro area. Now that Doug and I have kids we get to see the enjoyment in experiencing the beautiful outdoors through their eyes.

Bye Bye Binky

Pacifier, paci, nuk, binky; whatever you call it it means the same thing. It's amazing how something that seemed so innocent and so necessary when Addy was an infant could become so addictive to our 2-year old. For the past 2 years and 4 months Addy has indeed been so attached to her binky. She doesn't use it at daycare, which was a major accomplishment in itself, but automatically grabs it when she walks in the door, for nap time, for bedtime, and for all other times in between. She often has one binky in her mouth while holding at least one other in her hand. Its safe to say she really feels she "needs" her binky to feel secure and safe. It definitely helps her calm down.

This all changed over a week ago. We only had two binky's left in the house as they were often getting dropped and thrown leading to an emminent disappearance. One binky had been lost for a day and we were down to only one. It was nighttime and the lonely last binky was nowhere to be found so Addy had to go to bed without it. It actually went over OK but we awoke in the middle of the night to her screams for her binky.

It was terribly hard but we decided to hold our ground. Doug had been saying all along to Addy that if she lost her binky she wouldn't get another one. This was the true test. I think at some times its been harder on Doug and I then on Addy. It's hard to hear her cry for her binky. You can tell from her face she questions why the baby gets a binky and she doesn't. If she mentions her binky I just say to her matter of factly that "unfortunately your binky is lost and so you can't use your binky". She seems to understand.

Despite our little girl being so obsessed with her binky, she has done AMAZINGLY well with not having one. Most days she doesn't even mention her binky. I often tell her how proud I am of her. The first couple of nights and nap times were hard but she is such a trooper, so determined, that she has really hung in there and shown us she can do it. We're proud of you Addy!

Without her binky, Addy has occassionaly found solace in her blankets, pictures, or dolls. Here is a sweet picture I took of her during a nap one day holding her Dora doll..

One other MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENT... Addy now falls asleep on her own without Mommy or Daddy in the room! Yes, since her infancy, Doug and I have stayed with Addy in her room until she has fallen asleep during nap time or bedtime. You may be thinking, "What?! Are you guys crazy?!" Why, yes we are :-) We now realize how liberating it is for us to not be spending so much time in her room...and how important it is for Addy to be able to fall asleep on her own. She gets her color choice of a sticker star on her hand each time she is able to do this, without screaming. I'll tell you, she's done it almost every time since we started :-)

Best Buds

Whether you're working on our home, the mailman, a door-to-door salesman, a coworker visiting for the first time, or a recognizable face stopping by for a visit, you'd think we have the most ferocious large dog defending our home. But, if you're a 2 year old who's grown up with a slightly quirky Boarder Collie since your birth, you and he are inseparable. That's exactly how Addy and Monty are. They chase each other around the coffee table; he lets her scold him for dropping his toy on her leg or chasing her toy shopping carts and vacuum around; she will occassionally pull his ears and jump on his back bouncing up and down but he doesn't really seem to mind; he cries when she cries; he sleeps behind the rocking chair in her room when the baby's crying; he protects her during bath time (don't EVER say the word "bath" or even start to say a word starting with the "ba" sound around 7pm because Monty will run straight into the bathroom barking the whole way and stand by the bath in anticipation. Umm, yeah, did I say he was quirky??

We love him just the same and are happy he's Addy's bud and been part of our family now for 4 years.

First Baths

We gave Avery her first bath over a week ago. I was looking at the pictures and was amazed at the similarities between Addy and Avery at this age. Can you tell who is who in these first bath photos of the girls?

Baby #1



Baby #2

Fingerpainting Fun!

It's important to Doug and I to spend some quality one-on-one time with Addysen since the arrival of baby Avery. She definitely enjoys this time whether it's going to the grocery store with Daddy or playing on the swings with Mommy. Addy's Gran'mama Fitz is occassionally around on week days and has visited a couple of times. The other week she volunteered to watch Avery while Addy and I had some fun outside with some fingerpaints that she recently received as a gift from her friend. She started with handprints of each color, being careful to not mix any of the colors.
The creativity soon increased into a mixture of colors and design.

Look at my hands! (Addy does not like being messy)

Ta-dah! Multiple pictures and empty paintcans later we have some beautiful artwork!

Avery's First Day at the Park

I have been terrible at posting as I've been getting aclimated to entertaining two kids at home. This post is about 2 weeks old since Avery is now 3 weeks and her first day at the park was when she was 1 week old. We have a relatively fun park within walking distance from our home and we thought we'd introduce Avery to it. For her first visit we decided to drive instead of walk in case we needed to return home quickly. Avery loves the outdoors and fresh air, just like her big sister. She was awake the entire time which is saying alot since she sleeps the majority of the day.

Addysen and Avery together (I just realized I only took one picture of Avery on her first day at the park...whoops!):

Addysen showing Avery the cool things she can do on the playground:



AMAZING, isn't she?!

Who's having more fun here? :)

Monty also LOVES going to the park:


A Daddy who does it all! (yes, he's carrying 2 kids, a diaper bag, and holding the dog's leash...)

We just returned home from Avery's 2nd trip to the park and this time we walked. It turned out great and we were able to stay out for close to 2 hours! (forgot the camera though....)