Growing so fast...

When you have your first child you realize what everyone has told you all along is actually true, "it will go by so fast - before you know it she will be driving." But, when you add a 2nd into the mix, I'm learning you have to try even harder to not miss any special moments. Life is so much busier with two kids, instead of just one, so it's much easier to not take out the camera as often or to not spend time just holding each of them. Most of the days are the same: wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, go to school, go home, eat dinner and go to bed. The challenge is to make the days when they aren't in the preschool all day memorable for both them and for us. So we've decided to do some things different - we're going to be more intentional about having at least one day a week where we are just WITH the kids. Not grocery shopping, not running errands, not going to doctors appointments - just being with them. Going the zoo, the park, having a picnic, whatever it is we just want them to remember their time with their parents wasn't always just about going from one place to the next.

Emma is growing up so fast. 3 1/2 months old now, she can almost completely hold her head up on her own. She is smiling more and more every day and is such a happy baby. A far cry from the first 9 weeks of her life when she screamed all day, every day. She's talking (or should I say coo'ing) all the time and loves it when Ava talks to her. She's officially at the 11 pound marker and even though she doesn't sleep all night long yet, she goes to bed at 8 and only wakes up 1 time to eat between then and 7am. Not too bad!

Ava is doing awesome as well. Although - we are starting to see bouts of what I'm considering the "terrible twos." Sometimes, even the smallest things will set her off into a crying fit that will take us 45 minutes to get her calmed down. She's even having some night terrors at night - which are awful. She wakes up in a panic and screaming like she is so scared. It is the saddest thing ever. She loves the Little Gym - even asks for it and knows when we're going there. When Michael or I go to the gym she even thinks we're going to the Little Gym! We've recently enrolled her in swimming lessons - through http://www.infantswim.com/. She will start her lessons on March 16th - they are every day of the week (M-F), 10 minutes a day, for 4-6 weeks. When her lessons are complete she will be able to swim with her head down, roll over and float to take a break, then roll over to keep swimming.

Emma will do the same lessons (however she can't start until she is 6 months old - so in May). When her lessons are complete she will be able to get herself to the top of the pool, roll over and float until she is rescued. We just want to be extra careful with two little ones and a pool in the backyard. We're trying to add layers of protection so that we don't have any water tragedies with our girls.

That's what happening in our world for now...hope everyone else is doing well!