Sally Jean 9 months old

Oh, Sally!  Goodness, do I love you?!?!?!  You are so sweet and so special.  Even when you wake up at night, I look forward to cuddling with you (most of the time, if you want me to be honest.)  You are a cuddly little thing.  What a gift you have been to us. 

You are housing 5 teeth in your mouth now.  It has caused some discomfort for you and lack of sleep for all of us...even your sister.  Because, even though you are super sweet, you are super loud when you are upset.  I can't imagine where you would get your loud mouth from.  :)  Anyway, you also had a yucky cold which was also waking you because you would get so stuffed up you couldn't breath.  There were several nights this month I ended up on the downstairs couch with you so you wouldn't wake anyone else.  Even though I am tired during those times, they are still precious moments with you. 

You are a big time crawler, now.  You do this really odd thing, though.  You crawl with one fist closed on our carpet and the other hand is open like it should be.  Then, once you get to the wood floor, you open the fist and crawl with both hands looking normal.  I am wondering if you have a sensory issue with the carpet.  With your new found skill, you are enjoying getting into everything you can get your little mitts on.  Even your sister is saying often, "No Saye".  She can't quite say your name with the l's. 

You are back to enjoying your bottles and food.  I gave you some puffs and rice krispies and you didn't seem to enjoy those as much.  Hopefully, that will get better and easier for you. 

Your sleeping habits are fickle.  You have been waking up about 2 times per night.  I have been trying to remember if this was before the time change or after.    You don't seem to be as flexible as your sister, but that's ok.  Each person is uniquely and wonderfully made by God. 

I feel as if your mid section is getting a bit tubbier.  I love it!  Chunky babies are the best!  There is so many chunks I can smooch on!  You are getting longer, as well.  You are quickly outgrowing some of the new clothes we got you.  But, you still look like a little peanut.  I look at you and do not think you look at all like a 9 month old. 

You are awesome at playing with toys in the playroom.  You and your sister play well.  Sometimes, she gets in trouble for stealing toys from you, but she is usually quick to return them if she is told to.  She really does love you so much and loves to make you giggle.  Today she was teaching you how to wave and say hello.  You think your sister is wildly funny...and she is.  You have more of a laid back personality in that you still enjoy being cuddled and loved on.  Ava doesn't have any time for that.  You also really explore your toys and your sister didn't.  She just wanted to use her toys to make as much noise and mess as possible. 

You are wearing 9-12 month clothing now.  Sniff sniff...You do not like things on your head or feet.  You fight me on that way more than Ava did.  I was expecting it to happen, but not this soon.  Oh well. 

Sally, we all love you so much.  You bring us such joy and so many smiles and so many moments where we feel so blessed.  I am one lucky mommy (although, luck really had nothing to do with it)

.  I think you are amazing and I hope you will grow up knowing how much you are loved and cherished. 

Love you Always and Forever,
Mommy

Sally Jean 8 months

4 more months...4 more months, sweet girl and you will have completed your first year.  I can't even believe it...I wish I could keep you little forever.  You have been such a sweet, good baby.  I want to freeze time and keep you like this always...

You are the cuddliest, most content, sweetest thing I know.  I know you are little and it is hard to tell right now, but there is something really special and undeniably sweet about you.  You are such a joy to have around. 

I look at the way your sister looks at you, and there is so much love there.  She just adores you.  I think you adore her, too, but you wish she would let you be, sometimes.  Believe me, I get it.  She is relentless when it comes to you. She comes to me all the time saying, "hold it."  I always correct her saying, "You mean, hold HER?"  She just smothers you with love (literally). 

You are officially sitting up on your own and you are so stinking close to crawling...noooooooo! My baby is disappearing right before my eyes.  You move your knees and then plop and each time you do that you scoot a little further up.  It is your main mode of transportation.  You are also rolling over both ways.  You are not really into the bottles anymore and it's killing me.  I am so scared you aren't getting enough nutrients.  You have taken more of a liking to actual food, though.  You can soothe yourself to sleep (most of the time) and you know how to scout out your pacifier and put it in your mouth if you want it. 

You love to play with toys and really observe the toys you are playing with.  I know you are my child, but you seem very intelligent.  Sometimes I think you are trying to wave, but I am not sure. 

You are wearing mostly 6-9 month clothing.  You aren't a fan of leaving your headbands on...that's ok.  You love to dance with us, bounce in your seats, and be sung to.  Your feet are always moving, which makes me guess that you are going to be all over the place! 

You can now sit and splash with your sister in the bathtub.  You two have a grand 'ol time! 

You have gotten to go to 3 pumpkin patches and play with lots of friends. 

Sally, there are so many things I want to teach you in the few years that you are under my care.  It is quite overwhelming when I think of everything you need to know and understand.  But, honestly, the one thing I want you to know most is that you are so special to God and He loves you and created you to be who He made you to be, not what others think you  need to be.  I want to teach you to love Him with everything you have and to never let go of His hand or stop living within His will.  Never say no to Him, but be obedient to Him.  He loves you so and has great things planned for you...Jeremiah 29:11.  I love you more than you will ever know....

Love,
Mommy

Ava 23 Months

Oh my!  I love, love, love, LOVE this girl.  She is tons of fun, tons of work, and tons of laughs.  She sure does keep me on my toes and give me a run for my money.  I need a LOT of wisdom from God on how to raise this one.  She can be quite challenging.  She is strong willed, hard headed and stubborn, extremely social, and determined.  But, those things are such great qualities to have, as long as, I can direct them in the right direction. 

Ava is talking so much more now.  She picks up on things very quickly and is SUCH a great big sister.  We have moved all of her toys into our front room so she has more room to play and so I don't have to be staring at her toys "thrown up" all over the room.  This has given her a lot of independence and she enjoys it.  She does love for Sally to be in the playroom with her.  She loves to have company around at all times. 

I love her joyful spirit.  She finds such humor in so many different things.  She is a typically happy little girl, but can also be easily annoyed.  She absolutely loves her Pop pop and Daddy.  She has Pop pop wrapped around those little fingers and her Daddy is such a great daddy to her.  I read this and realize that I am so blessed. 

I have come to realize that I don't need the big, decorated home to be happy.  In fact, that will often bring troubles....having to keep up with everything and everyone.  I don't have time for that.   Our time here is short and I want to invest it with my family.  Not having to work has been such a huge blessing.  Have I had to make material sacrifices? Yes, but I don't regret it or want anything different.  Ava has made me realize just how special each moment we have is.  She has helped me to see that lives are more important than stuff.  She has opened my heart to know that home is wherever she and her daddy and sister are. 

Ava has not been much of a great eater for me lately.  She doesn't have the patience to sit still long enough to eat.  She does like peas though, strangely enough.  Oh, and she will make time to eat sweet things.  Unfortunately, I think she has inherited my sweet tooth. 

Some sweet moments this month with Ava:
Singing Jesus Loves Me to Sally when she was crying
Hugging Sally and telling her "it's ok."
E hugs (Big hugs)
Uh you (love you) said in whispers
Helping mommy put dirty dishes in the sink and sweeping the floor

Ava loves to sing and dance.  She loves music and Disney movies.  She loves going to her grandparents house.  I try to get her over there once a week and she never gets bored.  She loves being outside.  She loves sliding down slides.  She loves going to play at church. 

She now tells us when she has a dirty diaper.  She says, "poop poop."  But, she still has no interest in actually going potty in her potty.  She will sit on it, but nothing happens.  She loves to have someone to play with.  Lately, I have come to realize that may be one reason God blessed us with Sally so soon.  So Ava would have a playmate.  She does pretty well with her.  The other day she took a sticky note out of Sally's hands that Sally was putting in her mouth and brought it to me.  This was a huge thing, since before, Ava was the one sticking food in Sally's mouth to have her try.

This child may frustrate me and wear me out...completely.  But, I do not know what I would do without her.  She is such a blessing.  She is so feisty and fun.  I know God will do amazing things with her.  I just hope I please Him as I help to raise her.  I pray He gives me all the wisdom and insight I need to raise her in a way that she will be completely and totally His.