Grace and Hope

Grace and Hope
Wait for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always! Pslam 131:3

Thursday, September 12, 2013

23 Months and Counting!

As I reflect on the past two years, several words come to mind--love, life, blessed, joy, happiness, perfection, and thankfulness. The years preceding were filled with such hope, and sometimes sorrow, but it was replaced with God's grace. Only God could transform the struggles of infertility with such beauty...and for that I am grateful.

I remember thinking to myself just a few weeks ago that the girls weren't saying too many different words. They proved me wrong...now they are saying new words left and right. I love hearing them form new words many times over each day. They also are much better at understanding alternatives/choices when given the option. It is neat seeing them really be able to process so much more and be able to verbalize so much more too.

We had a rather relaxing month, which is a nice change of pace every now and again! Daddy went away on his first week long business trip. The girls and I had a blast having lunch out, ice cream, several shopping trips, a fun day with Aunt Aimee, dinner with Grandpa who visited while on business, and some extra sweet mommy and daughter time. The girls got plenty of spoiling and love, no worries about that!

We visited our very dear friends Kenny and Morgan and their two sweet boys, Daniel and Mark in Dallas for the Labor Day weekend. It was so wonderful spending time with our good friends and having the girls play with Daniel, who is about 6 months older. It opened our eyes to all the new developments that they will accomplish over the next few months. Kenny and Morgan have been wonderful friends and it is a gift to see them as a family, as they were meant to be.

I intend on waiting to potty train, but Avery definitely shows a bit of interest. When offered, Avery usually pees on the potty. Aubrey hangs out right next to us and watches the whole thing and is very interested in trying to play in the potty (good times!). While Aubrey isn't a huge fan of sitting on the potty, she takes pride in showing Avery how to wipe and even helps out Avery too. I almost died the other day when Avery  wiped herself and then proceeded to use the same piece of toilet paper to wipe her mouth. Never a dull moment!

Outside of our Dallas trip, we also went to an aquarium. While they girls were entertained by all the fish they certainly were not enthralled! You will see a picture where there is a beautiful lion at the aquarium (a special exhibit) and they weren't even paying attention to its bigness, its beauty, or the fact that it could fit their heads in its mouth!!! Nonetheless, it was fun to do something different. We also went to the infamous Children's Museum which is always a hit. Our hospital has a NICU reunion for all the NICU graduates (at the Children's Museum) and not only is it special for us to bring back our girls, but as an employee of the hospital, it is a great opportunity to see the awesome outcomes of some of our smallest of miracles. The science of neonatology never ceases to amaze me on how far it has come.


**Funny things these days about the girls:

Aubrey:
-Aubrey has two volumes--loud and VERY loud! This girl loves to squeal, shout, and laugh out loud.
-I can count on it that every nap I will find this girl stark naked in her crib. This girl can get herself out of any amount of packaging tape...she is Houdini!
-While she is the younger and smaller sister , she is definitely the bully of the two. This girl can defend her ground, no problem!
-Aubrey just cracks herself up. She can be running, pushing a car, or climbing on a couch--it doesn't matter, but she bursts into joyous laughter. This girl loves life!

Avery:
-Avery loves to carry things around. Typically they are 10-15 bracelets stacked on her arm, but sometimes it two very specific books and another toy. This girl definitely has some hoarding issues!
-Avery loves to be on her belly swimming around in the bath tub. I can't help but laugh when she is bottom's up...literally. This girl makes me laugh!
-Both girls love to scream/squeal wildly. In response, we used to say "shhhh." Now when we sing the "Wheels on the Bus" song and we say that the daddy's go "shhh, shhh, shhh", Avery pauses and starts to scream/squeal in response! This girl is just too much!
-Avery likes to play hide and seek now. Her version of hide and seek is covering her face. That might mean that her hands are over her face or her face is buried in pillows, but as long as she can't see you, she knows she is hiding. This girl is just too funny!


Well, it is that time of year, let's start planning for a birthday party!!! What an exciting time. It is just another reminder of how good God is; how good His plan is; and how much God loves us. See you next month with birthday pictures.


Yep, I go down slides all by myself, even the big one in our back yard.
She has a lot on her mind apparently!
We don't crawl down the stairs anymore, we take big girl steps and use the railing (when did this happen?!)
Avery loves to stomp her feet and dance. My oh My, why does she look so old here?!
My movie stars at the food store! Yep, we get decked out in beaded necklaces to go shopping-that's how we roll!
These kids crack me up. Avery thought this was hilarious when Aubrey was pinching her nose!
Good thing Avery is such a good sport!
Lunch date with momma.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream! Check out that happy face!
Thank you Aunt Donna for our twin babies. They LOVE these babies. I tell them to be a good momma and they rock and kiss their babies and pat them while holding them. I wonder where they learned that from!?
Avery in her princess costume because she loves dress up-Thanks Aunt Donna for spoiling us.

Checking out the turtles at the aquarium.

At least someone is paying attention!
 
Aubrey and her daddy!

Loving on my Avery.
Having fun at the Costigan's pool
Momma Morgan and her sweet boy Mark.
Daddies (Kenny and Jason) with their kiddos!
 

A picture with all three girls. One out of three looking--not bad! Haha!
Daddy and his Aubrey.
Aubrey wants to buy a canned good.
Shopping at the Children's Museum.
 
 
Daddy shopping with the girls.
 
And that's a wrap!