July

Life here in sunny Florida has been busy to say the least. Besides taking care of two 16 month olds, and working it seems there is hardly time for anything other than pure survival. Oh, and in my free time, cleaning out our spare (junk) room and getting ready for baby. And organizing our garage. And bedroom. But I keep my head up knowing that things work out, somehow someway. They always do.

Uncle Nolan came for a surprise visit last month which was really nice. Looks like we won't get another visit until maybe December, pre-deployment! So much will change by then :) Not to mention, we get another visit from Tia in a few short days! Yay!

Audrey is my little helper. She is very good at following directions, loves to clean up and always seems to be supervising Madison's shenanigans. She is signing (and saying) new words everyday it seems. Her newest is "Cookie" from Sesame Street. Elmo is still her one true love but he still has the name "doggie!" She learned the tricks well and will sign "please" at the back door, wanting to go outside, or in front of the entertainment system, in hopes of watching Sesame Street. I guess it could be worse! Most recently, she hopped up on her rocking horse and started rocking! How fast they grow! :')

Madison, still our little tomboy, also loves her outside time. We get our diaper free time outside most mornings and/or evenings. On any given day you can count on a nudist running around our backyard. She likes to walk around the entire backyard checking things out. Eating acorns, throwing rocks, and trying to reach the pooper scooper! It's never dull. She has always been shy around strangers but it is especially pronounced now. Suddenly, it's all mommy, all the time. She goes from practically ignoring me to giving me random hugs throughout the day, only wanting ME to hold her and being grumpy with daddy. (Poor daddy) but he's used to a woman's mood swings ;) She even signed mommy for the first time today. Guess she does love me after all!

Baby Jones is 28+ weeks along! I think it is not a question of he or she but human or ninja! This kid is much more active than my girls but there is probably more available space too! I'm still feeling really pretty good but have my days of sheer exhaustion. Some days I get to lay down during nap time for a nap myself. Guess I better enjoy that now. I think the more kids you have, the less sleep you get. Is that about right? We have made some headway in the nursery, getting the painting done (yay!) and starting to put the little details together. I've got all the neutral newborn clothes washed and put in the drawer, along with the newborn diapers ready to go! Hard to believe this baby will be here in less than 3 months!

Let's not forget about my wonderful hubs. He works hard 5 days a week and I have plenty of tasks for him in the mornings before work and on his days off. Really couldn't fathom life without him! We are lucky enough to have parents stepping in to allow us a much needed weekend away. We'll be staying at the beach for 2 nights. We might actually have a few meals in quiet and sleep in after 8am! SO looking forward to this!!!

As always, pics from the month are in our web album.

June

On the first of June Rusty celebrated his 29th birthday! Getting close to the big 3-0!!! We celebrated by staying at one of Universal's hotels (our first night away from babies!!!) It was very relaxing but too short :)

Not too much else happened this month. I spent it in recovery mode, trying to organize my photos, work on the nursery and clean out the garage (AKA: nesting). It made for a few late nights after the girls went down for bed!!

At least once a week I take the girls over to see my mom and have dinner there. They love to run around her house and make a mess :) Other evenings you can find us reading books with toys sprawled across the living room or watching Audrey's favorite show, Elmo. We also go outside when the weather is nice and play with the water table they got for their birthday.

Audrey is quite a little ham. She is always giving a big smile with her eyes scrunched closed...she knows it's cute too. There are still just a few words she is saying but instead of her favorite "doggie" she also says ducky, doll, and ball frequently. She likes to make animal noises too...you can pretty much count on the monkey, duck and cats in her books to make some sort of noise while you are reading! She loves to pet Layla and it seems like Layla is more tolerant of her than she is of Madison.

Madison still isn't talking yet but she still wants to know what everything is! She points and makes this hissing noise when she wants to hear the name of an item. When she wants to, she follows pretty complex instructions and points to specific items in her books. She loves story time and will bring you book after book if you are willing to read them! She remains a brute but is very sweet and likes to cuddle at bedtime. Her blankie is still #1!

They both learned that if they "ask nicely" (by signing please) they get what they are asking for. Trying to teach manners to two 15 month olds is proving challenging! They also have a few minutes of potty time each evening where they get to sit on the potty like a big girl, I tell them. I'm hoping to have them potty trained by the time they go to college ;) Their new thing is giving each other a kiss goodnight before bedtime and naptime. It is absolutely precious in case you were wondering!

Baby Jones is growing well. I had my 24 week check up a couple of days ago and they are still seeing me only every month! Quite a change from my last pregnancy and thank goodness for that! Everything is going well, my blood pressure and urine screens have been normal. Baby has a strong heartbeat and is measuring about 23 weeks via tape measure! I seem to be feeling more kicks and jabs this time but that might just be because there isn't another baby to kick in there, only me! We are still playing the name game too, in case you were wondering. We have agreed on one girl name and one boy name but I'm not 100% sold on either one. For some reason #3 is much more difficult to name than the first two!

We don't really have plans for July other than to survive the Florida heat and hopefully spend sometime in the pool!!!

May

May is always a busy month for us. This year I turned 27, Rusty and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary, I got to enjoy my second Mother's day and we enjoyed our first family vacation. Tired yet? I am!

This month the girls have been busier than ever! Madison remains a tomboy. She is our explorer and troublemaker! She knows what she isn't allowed to do and checks over her shoulder to make sure no one is watching. If she notices someone watching her, she quickly continues doing the forbidden behavior! She is full of confidence at home but remains shy around strangers. As tough as she sometimes seems, there is a gentle side to her. In the evenings (or even mornings!) she loves to cuddle up with her blankie. My favorite times with her right now are right before bed when we read our stories. She always climbs up on my lap for a quick cuddle before bed.

Audrey is still a mama's girl and loves to ride in my backpack when we go to the grocery store or walking around some place. She has become quite the little chatter box as well. She walks around the house saying something that clearly, you should understand!!!! When she really gets going, she'll even stick out her pointer finger as if trying to make a real impression. She is starting to try to say more words, although "doggie" remains her favorite. Every animal is a doggie to her and every animal also makes a monkey sound "e, e, e!!" Very entertaining. A few other words she has tried to say are ball, daddy and ducky. She is also a little mother. Audrey loves her "babies" and is always toting around one stuffed animal or another. She is very sensitive to Madison's feelings and gets very upset if she is crying.

Both girls are becoming entertainers. They like to kiss their stuffed animals, blow kisses, kiss the animals in story books and wave hello and goodbye. When one does something, the other is usually quick to follow.

As for little baby Jones, he or she is growing well. I feel movement everyday and I realize how special a time this is. We have our final ultrasound this week. It's so weird to me since I had so many with the girls but I'm so satisfied to feel the little bumps of tiny limbs inside of me! We have decided to make the sex of the baby a surprise and can't wait to meet this little person. I'm already 21 weeks!

I wish I could freeze this stage in our lives for a little while. I love growing new life inside of me and I love watching the girls discover the world. (It doesn't hurt that sleeping through the night is consistent!) Rusty and I have seemed to settle into a routine and I am enjoying seeing him as a father more than I thought I would. He is also a great husband :)

More next month (or sooner if I'm feeling really ambitious!)

First family vacation: Complete!

Our long awaited Disney cruise has come and gone. And it was amazing! Not every second was perfect but overall really great and really relaxing.

It wasn't like any vacation we've taken before but there were no dishes, no cleaning and no laundry. We napped every day with the girls and went to bed not long after their 7:30 bedtime. It was just what we needed!!! My favorite part was watching the girls explore new things and smile with pure delight. This was certainly a trip to remember!

Check out the rest of the pictures in the photo album to the right :)

Audrey and Madison Turn ONE!!!!

April started out busy and never slowed down!!! The first day of April, we celebrated the girls' first birthday with family and friends. Then on the 3rd we celebrated their actual birthday with brunch at Keke's buffet with mom, an afternoon walk in their wagon and some cupcakes for after dinner desserts!

This month we also announced that we are expecting our third child on October 17th! This also happens to be Dannis' birthday so it will be a very special time!

Most of this last week has been spent getting ready for our cruise which leaves on Friday! It is a long awaited, much needed vacation!

In baby news: the girls' continue to grow up (how do you keep that from happening anyway?!) They are now both walking and are getting better and better each day. Soon they'll be running! They are both starting to become more vocal, babbling all day.

Audrey: She said her first word! Doggie! She is very particular at mealtime, sorting out her food in a way that is very methodical! She also loves shredding paper and putting the pieces into piles...oh my looks like she inherited my OCD! They are starting to learn more sign language too. Audrey knows "more," "clean-up" and "bye-bye." She also helps (sometimes) with cleaning up by putting toys into the toy basket. Her hair now requires brushing and she loves to do that too. And don't even think about trying to take her brush away until she's finished...lol!

Madison: She was our first real walker! There is no fear in her and I think that's helped her be successful first. She knows she is going to fall, and it doesn't keep her from plowing on ahead! Madison is a much more rough and tumble sort of chick. She excels in gross motor skills but some of the more finer things like sign language are only for times that she's in the mood to do them! She currently (occasionally) signs "more," "all done," "bye-bye" and "daddy." Forget about mommy...haha!

More after the cruise! :)

March

It goes without saying that March was an unusually difficult month. I am still trying to grieve the loss of Dannis while being extremely grateful that mom's life was spared. I know it will be hard, but we will prevail.

I have blogged enough for my liking on mom's CaringBridge website so this will be short and sweet. Check out the girls' photos in the album. I'm going to leave the big first birthday party for the next blog ;)

RIP Dannis. I miss you :(

February

Ok, ok! I'm finally updating! Geez....I'm glad people actually still check this thing :) So, life has been very full lately. The girls are everywhere and into everything! Let's talk about them first:

Audrey: Our once fussy child is now very happy (most of the time!) Every day we get lots of smiles and even a chuckle here and there! She is independent and social, always making eye contact and smiling at strangers while we are out and about. They always tell her how cute and beautiful she is and she just eats. it. up! Still a mama's girl, however, and gets very angry when I am around the house but not near! We often find her trailing after Madison on their little adventures. Monkey see. Monkey do. She is truly a joy! Audrey LOVES her fruit and carbs but has also come to love the meatballs, meatloaf and hamburgers her mom so lovingly prepares from scratch! She also happily picks through her tray with her very accurate pincer grasp to choose exactly which item she wants to eat (peas, corn and Cheerios are some favorites too!)

Madison: As we like to say, Brutis! As much as Audrey is a mama's girl, Madison is a daddy's girl!!!!! She finds comfort in Rusty in a way that I can't give her. Funny how they have chosen us in such a way! Madison is much more reserved and takes a long time to warm up to people. Even people she sees regularly! But for those of us who know her well, she is quick to laugh, squeal and smile, showing off her new toothy grin! She has also discovered that a little fake cough will get people looking at her pretty quickly. I shot quite a few photos of her this month mid-cough! She has graduated from the military crawl to her hands and knees, getting places quickly. As soon as she sees the back door open or our bedroom door she is sprinting towards the opening! The back door leads to the outdoors (where she loves to be!) and there's that funny green stuff out there with lots of dead leaves to munch on! Our bedroom, she has discovered, is where the shoes are. Another obsession! As always, she remains fascinated with Layla and will sometimes just start laughing at the dog out of no where! Unfortunately, she also likes to grab her soft fur. There have been a few occasions where she's ended up with a handful of it! Good thing Layla is so good with them!!

On Fridays the girls and I go to our Baby Bunch group and meet with other moms and babies. There is a different speaker each week and we really enjoy the outing. Rusty and I have also been working at teaching the girls a few basic signs. So far they have really picked up the sign for "more." Occasionally Audrey will sign for milk but it's mainly just more, more, more! We have "more" work to do, teaching them to use other signs to communicate their needs :)

It's hard to believe that their first birthday is quickly approaching. I'm in denial about it actually. I wish it wasn't happening. I have so enjoyed this first year and this time especially. Their personalities are blossoming, they are smiling and laughing, they join us for family meals, they are easy to take out and about, they sleep through the night. How could it get better? Part of me dreads them growing up because I love who they are right now so much. They want to be with us, they love us and they are so innocent. Each stage has its challenges and joys but this is my favorite time so far. Maybe I will like the next stage even better but who knows.

As for us: Rusty is still awaiting a promotion to lead position back on second shift. We are hoping he gets and interview (and the position) within the next week or two. As for my job, we are entering the slower season at work and I am nervous about getting canceled too much. I am considering taking a part-time position instead of per-diem but it also means taking a LARGE pay cut. We remain optimistic and realize that things will fall into place, just like they always do. It just causes a little stress in the meantime.

Until next time...