Audrey's 1st Day of Preschool

Today was a very special day in our family. It was Audrey's first day of preschool. For weeks now, we have been talking about going to school. Discussing what would go on, how things work and we even went to visit the school.

Audrey has been talking about it for a while and was so excited. And as you can tell by the smile on her face, she was thrilled to be going this morning.

I had to take a few pictures before leaving for preschool.



My sweet school girl!

Being silly!

Mommy, on the other hand, was excited...but a bit sad/worried/ and all those other emotions that go along with a milestone of this magnitude. My baby is growing up...will she be okay? Will she know what to do? Will the students/teachers be nice to her?...on and on.

Audrey and Mommy before going to preschool.

Corey, of course, was scheduled to be on shift at the fire station this morning. I told him he just couldn't miss her first day, so he got one kind fellow to work for him a little while so he could take her to school. She was so glad her daddy was there.

Daddy and Audrey before going to preschool.

When we got there we were greeted with several friendly faces. We went to Audrey's room to fill out paperwork and get her settled in. She jumped right in and started playing with the activities the teacher had put out for the kids. I was so happy that she felt comfortable.

Audrey with her teacher, Ms. Cheri.

Audrey never cried, but as you can tell in the photo above, she was apprehensive. Just before I left she said "Mommy, I'm REALLY going to miss you". I hadn't cried up to that point, but I began to tear up at that. After reminding myself that I couldn't cry and to stay strong so Audrey wouldn't cry, I got myself together. She gave me and Addison hugs and kisses then went on her merry way to play with something else.

As I walked away and looked back at my little-big girl, I did have to wipe a tear.

After picking her up from school, I was so excited to hear about her day, but she didn't seem too talkative about it. Finally, after asking several questions, she started talking and it sounded like she had a blast! Her report was that they played in the gym and she liked kicking the soccer ball and pink ball. Plus they read an animal book and sang 'The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round'. She had to show me the smiley face she made and the coloring page she colored red. And she was thrilled that she got to drink apple juice out of a striped "big girl" cup.

That was the scoop that I got from Day #1. She can't wait to go back on Thursday!

The Cats in the Hats

Grammy and Granddaddy bought the girls these adorable camo hats. They looked so cute in them, I couldn't resist taking a picture!

Eat Your Veggies

This is what Addison thinks of her veggies...Peas to be exact...



She's not liking them very much.




And I laugh so hard I cry every time she makes this face.

Happy Birthday, Dora!

This week has been a big celebration for Dora. Apparently it is the 10th birthday of the Dora show and Nickelodeon has been having all this fun stuff on television about it along with a new Dora Birthday Celebration movie. And since Dora is HUGE at our house, we had to get in on the celebrating.

So the other day when Audrey saw the demonstration for these cute Dora cupcakes on Nick channel, she asked me if we could do it. I thought it was a great idea and a fun way to spend time with her. They looked cute and fairly easy. That night I printed out the instructions and templates from their website. The next day we went to the grocery store to purchase the necessary ingredients. So far, so good!

Then came time to make them. Audrey had a hard time understanding why we couldn't just open the box and pull out ready made Dora cupcakes. So it took some explaining on my part so she would understand that the activity is for us to make them.

I set up her little station so she could help stir and mix and decorate. I read the directions to her and saw that it indicated this project would take 70 minutes...a little long...but not a biggie.

Well, two and a half (that's right 2 1/2) hours later I finally finished up the batch of those stinkin' Dora cupcakes. Needless to say, my little assistant had lost interest LONG ago and Addison wasn't happy that she was left out of all the fun.

Audrey did decorate the faces. She had fun doing it. Plus, she REALLY enjoyed licking the icing off the spoons. But next time, I think we will stick to something a little easier.

Six-Month-Old, Sitting, Sweetheart

This little sitting sweetie turned 6 months old today. I can't believe it has been that long already! Addison's new trick is sitting up by herself. She just started really doing that this week. She can only sit unassisted for a minute or two at a time before she falls over...usually due to the fact that she is trying to grab something (typically whatever big sister has). Or she crashes backwards because she gets a little too excited.

Can you tell how excited she is over this new skill?




I have trained her well. As soon as she sees my camera, she starts smiling! A girl after my own heart (oh wait- she already has it :) ).

Don't you just love all those rolls on those thighs!

Who's Who?

For kicks and giggles I decided to dress Addison up in the same outfit and take photos of her in the same place as I did Audrey at the same age. I thought it would be interesting to see how much alike/different they looked.

I constantly have people that are telling me they "look exactly alike" or "they look totally different". I have my personal opinion about it...but see for yourself and make your own judgement.

Here is a side by side layout of the 2 photos. Can you tell who is who?? And do you think they look just alike, similar, or very different? (If you know Audrey really well, you will be able to pick this out quickly) :)

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Were you correct??? (Secret: Audrey has the "angel kiss"/"stork bite" on her forehead just like her mommy. Addison doesn't have one)

Isn't it funny how they are posed almost the exact same way. I didn't do that, it was totally on their own. I didn't even realize it until I was uploading the photos and going back through the ones of Audrey. I thought that was pretty neat!

You can tell a big difference between the sisters in this photo. It was always so difficult (still is) to get Audrey to smile for photos. All I have to do is say something to Addison and she just grins. It still amazes me how similar, yet different they are.

Addison's 1st Night in Her Big Crib

Addison has been sleeping in our room since she was born. It made those "middle of the night" nursing sessions and lost paci retrieval so easy!

But when I began to see this during the night and naptime...


...I figured that Addison had gotten a little too big for her bassinet (tear*, sniff, sniff) and it was time to move her into her own room in her big crib.

Sunday night, August 8, we made the big move.




So now she looks like this!



What a sweet sight!


That first night, neither of us (Addison or myself) got much sleep :( Now those nursing sessions and paci retrievals are a little more difficult for me because I have to get my tired self out of bed and walk (um=- stumble) to the other side of the house to feed or comfort her. I miss having her right beside my bed so I can lay my hand on her 100 times a night to make sure she is breathing (all mommies out there know what I mean). But she does look much more comfortable! And I am certain, that each night will get a little easier on us both.

I'm Gonna Miss These Days...

...I'm gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast...

First Trip to the Library

I took Audrey (and Addison, of course) on their first trip to the library. Audrey is now old enough to have her own library card and pick out her own books. She was thrilled! Claiming that she is a 'big girl now', Audrey insisted that she pick her own books. Only once did she seek my help when she couldn't locate the Clifford books.

One book that she selected was The Jellybeans and the Big Dance by Laura Numeroff and Nate Evans. Of the hundreds and hundreds of books that I have read, I'd never seen this one. It is precious! And I can safely say that it is Audrey's new favorite book right now, since we read it 3-4 times per day (at least). She can almost quote the book verbatim. Unbelievable!

I just hope that she isn't too upset when we have to return these books to the library. Hopefully the disappointment of returning them will be overshadowed by the joy of getting to select new books.

I'm so glad that my girl loves to read!