As usual, I have turned into the slackest blogger ever! When I was a stay at home mom, while Caroline was a baby, I had all the time in the world to do all sorts of things; like blogging... Now, working full time and being a mama of two has made me put a few things on hold or at least on delay...
So, I will catch you all up on the past few months! Caroline and Ainsley are doing GREAT! Caroline is in preschool at a new facility closer to our home and Ainsley is in daycare at the same place. They both seem to love it and Caroline has made new friends; although, she still talks about her friends from her old daycare A LOT and as a result, we have continued to stay in touch with her old friends and their families.
This summer, Caroline turned three and had two fantastic birthday parties. One included just family, and was held at her favorite park near our house, which she now refers to as her "Birthday Park." The other party was a gymnastics themed party for her and all of her friends. It was held at this amazing gym, Kid's First, which provides classes/teams for every sport and is only for children. I was a gymnast for a good portion of my life, so I am eagerly hoping Caroline loves the sport as much as I did. From the looks of it, I think she could definitely be an amazing gymnast. She's one big muscle! Caroline knows her entire alphabet, can spell her name and can count to 40 (if not higher). She has such an enthusiasm for life. Matt and I have often thought about getting her into acting, singing and/or dance, as she is truly obsessed with all three! She walks into a room and literally says (or screams), "Everyone, I'M HERE!" She's definitely not timid and is more than social! I suspect she will have lots of friends in her future, as she truly has an infectious personality that would attract many! She does have a sassy side, especially with her mama! She and I are so incredibly similar (and stubborn) that there are times we butt heads. I envision a very similar relationship with her as I had with my mother. Best friends forever, but we will undoubtebly have our moments! I'm sure we will learn a lot along the way! Lately, our little Caroline has been somewhat of a pistol when it's time to go to bed. She gets up 3-4 times before actually going to bed. If anyone has any advice, I'm all ears! :) Of course, we love our little firecracker more than anything and are so blessed to have the opportunity to have her in our family!
As for our newest addition, Ainsley, her belly started to get a bit better after turning 12 weeks. She is still allergic to milk/soy and has acid reflux, but it hasn't been bothering her as much as it did the first few months of her life. She is such a joy to have in our family! She is starting to develop a little personality and seems to be a bit more laid back than her incredibly enthusiastic sister, Caroline. She smiles ALL THE TIME, laughs OFTEN and rolls all over the place! She is a full-fledged belly sleeper and sleeps for 13-14 hours a night. She LOVES her pacifier! She can already roll her "r's;" maybe she'll speak Spanish fluently? She ABSOLUTELY HATES the car! I think it might have to do with her reflux, but she typically cries for a good 15 minutes of almost every car trip! So much for the car being soothing to a baby...NOT ours! :) As of today, her two bottom teeth just popped through! They bothered her a lot more than Caroline's teeth ever did. She drooled and fussed quite a bit, but now she's all smiles again with two tiny teeth! Ainsley came out looking EXACTLY like Caroline. In fact, their hospital pictures are identical; however, she is now starting to look a lot like Matt! (Caroline is still my mini-me!)
Our family went on a few trips this summer, as a family of FOUR! We went to my parents place on the Isle of Palms, an island outside of Charleston, SC. We had a blast, but quickly remembered that infants cannot do the beach very long. We spent a lot of time inside and walking around. Vacations sure are a different compared to those I took in college!
As for me, I went back to work when Ainsley was 12 weeks. It was bittersweet. I miss seeing my kiddos all day, but greatly enjoy what I do. I am still learning the balancing act of being a full-time employee and mommy to two! It's tough, that's for sure!
Matt is also doing great! He got a great promotion with his career, which requires him to travel a bit more. The travel is just another part of our constant balancing act, which we are learning to adjust to. He is an amazing daddy and certainly has his little girls wrapped around his finger! Caroline is definitely a daddy's girl! They are totally head over heals for each other! It's too cute to watch! He definitely enjoys being a daddy to two girls! :)
Last weekend was a tough weekend for our family. My grandmother passed away rather suddenly. She was 85 and died in the hospital. We are all saddened by her death and are going to miss her deeply. She was my mom's mother and was slowly going down hill the past few years. This has been a stressor on my mom, as she is an only child and had to be the sole caretaker and decision maker for my grandma. This was a challenge for her as they have always had a strained relationship. My mom was an amazing daughter and did the best she could with my grandma. My grandma was a wonderful woman, who had a challenging upbringing, which certainly impacted her relationship with my mother. These next few months are going to be rough on my mom, as she has a deep amount of sadness and (unwarranted) guilt with the loss of her mother. We can only try to reassure her that she was an amazing daughter and her mother loved her very much, although she did not always illustrate it. My grandmother was a strong lover of God and had a passion for her Catholic faith. She passed this strong faith and passion on to our family, which is why I wasn't surprised when she sent me a message only hours after her death. I learned of her death, while eating lunch with my brother and sister-in-law and the girls. I was deeply distraught by this unexpected news. We walked out to our cars, where I proceeded to take note of the car parked next to mine. They had a personalized license plate that read, "Psalm 23." This is a psalm that is often spoke of during funerals and has great meaning. I called my mom to tell her this coincidence and she proceeded to tell me that my grandma was to be buried next to my grandfather in section "Psalm 23" at Arlington Cemetery in Cincinnati. This was undoubtedly a sign from God (and my Grandma) that she is certainly in a better place and all would be okay! This week has certainly been challenging for our entire family. We held her funeral on Friday and have proceeded to get all of her things moved out of her apartment in her retirement village, so we don't get charged for October. Packing up someones life is by far the most difficult thing in the world! It's sad to think that possessions from a person's life end up being sorted, donated, thrown out and boxed up... Luckily, we are not remembered based on our possessions, but on our character. My grandmother was loving and stubborn. I know she loved all of us greatly, but I know she is now in a better place! One last note, this has been an interesting journey to go through with Caroline. She doesn't fully grasp what death is, but we have tried to be honest in explaining it to her. For now, this is what she says, "Grandma Mimi is in heaven with God and Great Papa. She is with the clouds and in our hearts." We will miss you Grandma, but are blessed to know that we will see you again!
I would love to include pictures, but in the interest of time, I will just direct you all to our picture website: http://mlcblair.shutterfly.com/.
Have a great week!
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