The Alford Family: What's up with the Big Sisters??? Warning: Picture Overload

Oh these girls! Full of life, spunk, personality. Also full of temper tantrums, stubbornness, and lots of noise! I look at Ava and no longer see my baby. I look at Sally and still see a baby who no longer wants to be treated as one. 😥

How I hope that when the Evelyn reaches this point in her little life that I am totally at peace with being done with 3 children. I have been going back and forth since I had little Evie. I already have forgotten the woes of pregnancy and have been totally spoiled by this little one's laid back personality. But then there is the other part of me that vaguely remembers the pregnancy and why rock the boat? We have three healthy little girls. What more could I want or ask for? However, I know for certain that if I were younger and had not had 3 c sections a fourth child would not be a question at all. Anyway, back to the girls.

Ava is such a big girl now and she reminds me of that every day. Not all of her actions emulate a big girl, though. I remind her of that every day. She is fully potty trained. She is learning new things all the time. Her language and vocabulary are amazing to me. She has memorized books and she "reads" them with such expression (making this teacher mommy of hers very proud!) This month was the first time she said she didn't like me and for a split second I think she believed herself. She surprises me with how well she shares with other children except for Sally. She is actually very caring about other kids. She loves Evie. She calms her down by singing to her. I think Evie has a fondness for her, too. She looks at her differently than she does other people. She is certainly familiar with Ava's face. Ava has to have her face in Evelyn's face pretty much constantly. Ava has a vivid imagination. I love watching her come up with things on her own. The other day she was outside pretending she was a stingray. At her grandparent's house, she found a stick with little twigs hanging off and it kind of looked like a broom. She came "flying" inside the house with it and said she was a witch. She calls BT's Burgers "tv boogers", a fountain is called "fire mountain" and loves to use the word interesting whenever she can throw that in a conversation. She is also quite sassy. We had friends over last week and we were talking. She came up to me (for the millionth time) and asked for a snack. I told her I wanted her to go play. She retorted, "Well, I want you to get me a snack."

Ava LOVES Evie

Easter Sunday

Ava really enjoys tot school. She asks every day if she is going to get to do school.

This month we worked on the Numbers 1 and 2 and Letter A and E, the circle and triangle, and colors green and red.

Ava found a stick that looked like a brook to her ad pretended to be flying on a broomstick.

Super clingy to her littlest sis.

Ava reading to Evelyn

Waiting on Sally to be seen by the doctor for her 2 year check up.

Got a new swimsuit for swimming lessons!!!

This is love.

Ava at her first swim lesson.

These two!

Ava's 2nd swim lesson!

Outside catching bubbles!

Sally marches to the beat of her own drum and what a different drum it is! She really is funny, but when we are out in public I feel my insides curling up because I never know how she is going to behave. I know that is probably not a good thing and that it isn't how it is suppose to be, but man...she is unpredictable and moody and SO irrational. I dread her teenage years and all the fabulous hormonal changes that come along with it with this child. Sally really is talking up a storm. Some is understandable and some is not. I can understand pretty much everything she says, but I am with her 24/7. She talks in phrases most of the time which is really good. Sally loves to hug and give kisses. She also likes to make this pouty face when she is really trying to work it. The absolute WORST time of day with Sally is after her nap. She is even moodier, more irrational, and clingy on top of it all. Phew...it tires me out just thinking about it. She is enjoying reading more books and has her favorites that we read all the time and she has memorized. She is only using her pacy at nap time and at night (this is a big deal), she has been asking to sit on the potty often and has actually gone a couple of times when she realized she needed to go. I haven't started full on potty training with her yet, because I am still trying to adjust to baby #3 and getting us on back on schedule. No easy feat! Sally is my musical one. She loves to sing, "play" instruments, and dance. Some of her favorite songs are: Shepherd, any Little Mermaid song, You're Here,Thinking out Loud, and Pentatonic.