Enjoying the Park with Ash and Maddie

We had a great time with my nieces, Ash and Maddie, at Squirrel Lake Park.  They played on the play ground, they went on a walk on the greenway, they also swung, and "skipped" rocks.  I know they enjoyed this time with their cousins.  It is so nice to have older nieces who can come over and play and help out with my girls.  I hope their friendship will continue to grow and I will make lots opportunities for that to happen.

Sally is such a tease!

Oh Sally Girl,

You are such tease.  You actually had me going when thought that a little under 2 1/2 years old you were going to be potty-trained.

You have done both kinds of businesses in the toilet.  We were so proud. So astonished.  So shocked at your willingness and desire to go on the Big Potty.

Unbeknownst to me, it was just a tiny, minuscule speck of victory at potty training you.  Within another hour, you were done with it and even just the suggestion of you using the potty was a drop down, drag out temper tantrum.

Oh Sally, why do you tease me so???

Mommy Daughter Date with Ava

Ava and I got to take a evening out, just the two of us.  It was so nice to get to spend that time with her and I look forward to being able to do it again.  She and I had such a fun time being together, taking pictures of each other, eating yummy frozen yogurt (although mine was too rich in chocolate and ditched mine and went for some mango and raspberry) and Ava telling me stories.

I finally realized that when people who have older children have told me not to blink, I totally understand what they mean.

This evening, with my biggest little girl, she seemed so grown up.  It was such an eye opener.  She didn't seem like my little baby any more.  She didn't even seem like a three year old.  I was saddened, yet happy.  I was sad that my years of having little babies is getting shorter.  I was sad that one day she will grow up and those days where we have time together may not be as exciting to her as they are now.  But, then there was a wave of happiness.  Happiness of how she is growing into this healthy, beautiful little lady.  Happy over her huge imagination and great story telling!  I was happy that I was blessed enough to even have these short 3 years with this precious little one.

Oh, I just love her so much.  It is incomprehensible.  I have learned so much about her over the course of these three years.

I have learned that she loves the color purple and pink, that she loves to think about God and is always wanting to know where He is and wondering when she can meet Him.  I am learning that she is very concerned with other people's happiness and that she loves to see people smile-that other peoples happiness brings her happiness.  I  have learned that she is very hard on herself, a pleaser and very black and white.  I have learned that she loves to learn, she is intuitive and curious.  I have learned that we share the same love for books and for God's Word.  I have learned that she wants to be so many things when she grows up from an astronaut to a ballet dancer. I have learned that she welcomes challenges and loves to learn from them.  I have learned that she loves water and isn't scared of it.  I have learned that she would rather eat junk food than healthy food, especially after reading The Berenstein Bears and Too Much Junk Food.  And I have learned she is a loving, sweet big sister.

I can't wait to see what else I learn about her throughout the years.

Evelyn Olivia 4 months old...already

Oh Evie, you are getting so big.  4 precious months have come and gone with you.  BUT, I am SO thankful for those months I have had with you.

You are a sweet, sweet baby.  You are so calm and chill.  You don't get too upset when you are being smothered my sisterly love, woken up because they just can't help but see you, talk to you, touch your sweet face, etc.  You are so loved in this house.  Ava just can't get enough of you.  They both ask where you are first thing in the morning and go looking for you.  It is super sweet.  I hope they still feel this way about you when you are taking their toys from them, knocking over their towers they spent a bunch of time on building, and all the other countless things you will inevitably do.

This month you started sitting in a bouncy seat, pulling your head up like a champ, continued
to sleep 9-10 hours a night, began drooling uncontrollably, suck on everything (especially your thumb), like to take short naps in your swing, and LOVE music.

You are not a fan of being strapped in your carseat, being hungry and having to wait for your bottle, and that is about it.  You hardly cry over much besides the typical hungry, dirty diaper, or want to be cuddled needs you have.  You can be hard to console if you have worked yourself up over not being fed at the exact time you felt you needed to be fed.  Also, when you are a little gassy and uncomfortable it can be hard to get you calmed down from that.

You have to be lathered in Aquaphor every day times per day.  Otherwise, your eczema comes full steam and then, not only do you need Aquaphor, you also need your prescription Hydrocortisone.

You drink about 28-30 ounces of formula per day.  You take a morning nap around 10-10:30 and then again around 2 or 3.  You go through about 3 bibs,  4 burp cloths, and 2 outfits (not including your jammies) per day.

This month you got to go to the zoo, Mint Hill Madness, daddy's softball games, several parks, Mimi and Poppops house, and many other places.

Alford Family -April

April 2016

The month of April is over and we have done some fun things this month.  

First things first, Sally got some glasses.  She likes them sometimes and other times she does not want a thing to do with them.  We do not think they are helping her eyes from crossing.  We think we will still need to have surgery.  We also still patch every other eye each day for 1-2 hours.

Ava and Sally have taken a huge interest in feeding and changing their babies diapers.  Sally likes to sit on the couch with me when I am feeding Evie and feed her baby.  It is pretty cute.  

These girls love spending time outside.  They can't get enough of it.  They love to ride their bikes and cars, blow bubbles, swing, slide, race and pick flowers weeds.  

 The girls love to pretend to make dinner in their play kitchen.  Taco Soup is one of their favorite dishes.  :)

Ava has been learning lots and lots.  She knows her letters and sounds, shapes and colors and numbers 1-5.  We have been focusing on one letter at a time for a whole week.  We have done A, E, I, and O.  We work on writing the letter, thinking about other things that start with that sound.  We also use dot markers to make the shape, play dough.  We play games involving that letter and make a craft with that letter.  We also learn a verse for each letter.  We also learn a shape and number that week.  She loves "school".

Another huge development this month is Evelyn is sleeping 9 hours per night and she soothes herself to sleep.  She is such an easy baby!  

I love the month of April because it is the beginning of new beginnings.  Flowers start to bloom, the sun is warm and inviting, we spend lots of time outside while the weather isn't too hot or too cold.  I have always loved this month, but with little ones, it is even better!