Guess who's 3 months

and OH SO CUTE





3 months has gone by and brought us a world of joy. Taylor is growing so quickly and really starting to find herself. First comes the hands. She is having a ball with them. She will sit for 10 minutes just putting them in and out of her mouth. One can only hope the thumb comes next.

She also is playing for longer and longer stretches and I have to say proudly, "I am BY FAR her favorite" and I LOVE IT!!! She lights up when she hears my vioce, giving me adorably screeches and full face grins when she finds my face. That in and of itself has made our "not so easy" 3 months worth every second.

I am so excited for what is to come...and trust me- I'll share it all!!!!

So many friends, so much fun

This week we have been jampacked full of friends. Every morning is a new playdate and Ana is just having a ball. I swear she has developed 6 plus months verbally, cognitively and with her motor skills. What a difference peer influence has! Daddy isn't even going to recognize his baby girls!

Ana and all her back home buddies








Taylor's 1st and only love

Having Fun with Papa

"SO BIG"


Riding the Tractor just like Daddy did

Oh how we miss the Friday night WI Fish Fry

Just a Moment

That's all it takes to bring a bubbly, chatty and outrageously happy 1.5 year old to complete fear stricken panic, stiff body and silent screams...especially when a taco shell is invovled. Can I just say a public prayer of thanks for a mom that does not panic under pressure, for tonight she saved my child's life. Thank you mom, I KNOW I would not have handled tonight as quickly and calmly as you did...such carress. Ana is TRULY blessed.

Tonight, I had my first, and hopefully only, true heart break as I watched my little Ana bobana choke silently and stiffly on her taco shell dinner. Never again will I underestimate the doctor's recomendations for what is a choking hazard. I will never forget her body language. Oh constant chills. And thank God because I am happy to report that Ana is sleeping peacefully after a night ending with happy cheers while playing with Nana with what seems to be no memory of her tragic event.

A Whole New Taylor ("Taya")

Taylor has found her smiles. Is it the Mylanta we've added to her drug regimen? Is it is being home with family and friends? Is it a more relaxed mommy? Who knows, but we're happy to have her full of smiles and giggles. Too bad Daddy is missing this all!

Cat Woman

Ana: "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven" + laughter = her way of telling us there are just too many cats in this house!

MEAL TIME: One reason of many why being home is GREAT!

Notice...mommy is not running back and forth between the kids. Both are getting loving attention AND food is not beng used to practice overhand throwing.

Together with the 2nd cousins.

My cousin Lisa moved home and has 2 boys the exact same age and Taylor and Ana. We were sad to not be around for the kids to grow up together. Look how much fun they have together

Nina and Papa at last

Ana was a bit scared of Papa's beard at first, but as you can see she warmed up in no time (especially once he gave her some "money")

All Ana's favorites!

Labor Day

WELCOME HOME!

Well, the girls and I are home now for the long strectch of family and friends in September. The crew and I (dad, Ana, Taylor, Dexter) arrived late Saturday afternoon and have been jampacked full of fun with family and friends already. Dad left today and will be back up in 2 weeks to pick us up.

The girls are adjusting so, so......already made a trip the ER (Ana fell and bit through her bottom lip), haven't slept yet (Taylor has gotten her days and nights confused), and naps are sparatic at best (Ana is too excited to sleep during the day)...and today we'll throw a feverish Ana into the mix!

It's amazing though how much less stressful these things seems when surrounded by the abundant family and friend networks of support that I'm blessed to have here.

ANA is in HEAVEN with all her friends and cousins. She is amazing to watch as she runs from family to family yelling out and chasing all her cousins around. This will be hard to leave behind. With each new encounter you can see her little brain searching for those pictures in her head that we've shown her day after day to teach her the names of all her loved ones. Then she just stares for a minute as she puts 2 and 2 together, realizing that they now are REAL...not just pictures in an album.

Stay tuned for great shots from the trip.........

11 weeks

Who is Who?

There is an on-going debate in our house...do they or don't they look alike. We go back and forth.


WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Hiking the shores of Lake Lanier

Growing up So fast

Taylor sleeping away at 11 weeks old

A first for everything

And today...naptime brought another for Ana. It started out as a normal naptime routine. Ana sucks her thumb and asks for nigh, nigh. We go upstairs give her her beloved "two mimi's" (two blankets), read "Lullabyhullabuloo" (currently her favorite book) together and put her down...She then chirps for 10-50 minutes and eventually talks herself to sleep. Today, the same thing happened with an added twist. Instead of talking herself to sleep she got herself more and more worked up. After an hour and a half I decided enough was enough and went to help her relax only to find the funniest thing I've seen in awhile..

NAKED ANA!

That's right. Ana figured out how to take off her diaper, throw it over her crib and was yelling off, down, off, down. Now I know I probably shouldn't have reinforced this behavior with gut wrenching laughter, but how funny is that!!!!!! I guess we need to pay extra attention to what is covering her daiper upon bedtime...OR....begin potty training, which Ana has shown signs of readiness for quite some time now. 'Tis I whom is not ready!