Happy 3rd Birthday Allie-Ann

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2 month checkup

Belle had her checkup today and here are her stats:

weight: 11 lbs. 1 oz  (51%)
Height: 22 3/4 in.  (61%)
Head: 15 1/4 in (50%)

So she's pretty darn normal if you ask me. I thought she would weigh more but 11 pounds is exactly what Allie-Ann weighed at 2 months. In fact Allie-Ann was much longer at 2 months than Belle. All went well and we won't be back until her 4 month checkup.

Grammy came to add some support...she had to have 3 shots today...ouch!

Belle is 2 months old today. She is such a sweetheart, honestly this little girl is a dream. She is really starting to coo and "talk" and it just melts my heart when she stares at me and says her little cooing sounds as if she is carrying on a conversation. Belle absolutely loves Allie-Ann. Each morning when Allie-Ann comes down to greet her, her little face just lights up, it's just the sweetest thing. Development wise she is holding her head up better each day. She loves to be held facing forward so she can see the world. She really likes tummy time and has started to see her hands and feet. Her little hands are starting to open up and she just loves for you to talk to her. We are taking her to her 2 month checkup this week and I will post her stats. I'm curious to see how much this little butterball weighs and her percentages. Honestly, I could be the Duggar family if I could have all my babies turn out like this one. Ha.

I just think this picture is hilarious...so I made it her 2 month shot.

Allie-Ann and Belle at 2 months. I can't really see a lot of similar features...maybe the eyes?

Birthday at the Beach

We made it back and I must say that it was a very successful trip. I think the key to traveling these days is going late at the girls bedtime. They both slept in the car going down and coming back. I told Kyle that it was like we were having a date night in the car. It was just soooooo nice to have time to talk for 2 hours without the interrupts of baby and toddler. Belle was an angel the whole trip and I think she is going to be a beach bum like her momma. She just layed out in her in stroller and didn't have a care in the world. Allie-Ann however was a daredevil on the beach. We didn't get any shots of her surfing because we were afraid to take our new camera on the beach but I wish I had some shots of her holding on to the boogie board while daddy and kampa ran with her on the skim water, she was flying and loved every second of it. She even took some tumbles but got right back up wanting to do it again. Allie-Ann is going to give me a heart attach I just know it. We also celebrated her bday at the beach which was a lot of fun. She loved her Backyardigans cake topper...thanks Grammy! We are back home to enjoy the rest of this rainy Labor Day and now it's on to getting things ready for bday #2 this weekend.

Belle just relaxing at the beach

This was Allie-Ann before asking if we could go to the beach

This is Allie-Ann after being told she had to wait to go to the beach...oh the joys of toddlerhood.

Grammyma holding butterball Belle!

I love these shots of Belle, but she was very sleepy. I will be posting her 2 month photos soon.

Whoops..

Touching the water for the first time!

Opening birthday presents

What a sweet birthday girl...I can't believe she is 3 already.

She was so tired that night that she just used her fingers to eat the ice cream. This was taken at about 9:00pm after a full busy day at the beach.

Sweet Girls

So we are packing up for another long weekend, we are heading to the beach. I said last time that I was NEVER taking another trip until Belle was older, but here we are again, traveling again. But really, you have to do it and I'm looking forward to some time away from the house. I took these pictures the other day of Allie-Ann and Belle loving on each other...well, Allie-Ann loving on Belle.

I may not look good but my kids do...

I have serious bags under my eyes, my hair is pulled back in a pony tail barely brushed, if I can manage to put on lip gloss I'm having a good day, my clothes are wrinkled and I find myself never having clean clothes in the dryer because I'm wearing the same clothes everyday....but my kids are going to look their best when they step out the door. This is what we do as moms, we take care of our little ones even if it means we don't look so good. Now, I do take time for myself because quite frankly you would lose it if you didn't but I find myself a mess these days. I know some of you that have 3 or more kids are laughing saying I don't know anything but just managing two seems like a marathon each day especially since Allie-Ann has started back to preschool. So here's the mornings I've had the last few days...

*Belle gets up at 5:30am, feed her and try to put her back to bed. It takes a good solid 30 minutes to feed her so it's 6:00am...do I go back to bed...nope, Belle makes these loud grunt sounds and I decide I need to get things ready for Allie-Ann.
*Put Belle in her bouncy seat...she's not going back to sleep
*Try to put lip gloss on, pull hair back in a pony tail and find wrinkled clothes to put on.
*Allie-Ann has to be at preschool at 8:30am, so I have to get her "cranky" self out of bed to come down to eat breakfast.....30 minutes later...Allie-Ann comes down the stairs.
*Feed Allie-Ann, then Belle is ready to be fed again. Leave Allie-Ann at the breakfast table so I can feed Belle. Both girls have a poop diaper. Change Allie-Ann, then Belle. Put Allie-Ann's clothes on that I ironed the night before....crazy right? But my girls have to look good remember. Put Belle's clothes on...Belle has another blowout...change her diaper again.
*Put Belle in her car seat, make sure Allie-Ann is still put together since she rolls around on the floor doing gymnastics each morning. Put Allie-Ann's socks and shoes on....no sandals at preschool. Brush her hair one last time....whew....we are ready.

So you see, I don't really have time to look good myself when trying to manage making my kids look good, but I really do believe that's how a mom should be. I'm always amazed at some of the moms who look fabulous each day...what is their secret? I'm just not there yet and I don't think I will get there anytime soon.

On a side note...here are some pictures of Belle having tummy time.

First Day of Preschool

Allie-Ann's first day of preschool went well. She was real excited about going back to school and meeting her new teacher and friends (we will see how tomorrow goes). There are 11 students in the class, 8 girls and 3 boys, those poor boys. I really like Allie-Ann's teacher, I think she is going to be wonderful. I mean what 2 year old class has a structured schedule with circle time, read alouds , bible stories and centers? This is what she does for her students. I was quite impressed.

So here is Allie-Ann's back to school look. I can't believe I didn't put a big bow in her hair but for some reason I just don't think it fits her personality right now. She is getting to be a big girl and I don't think she is going to be a bow wearing child...to my dismay. Allie-Ann is way to interested in getting dirty and playing with dinosaurs. She a cutie though, don't you think?

I bought this skort at Target, I just thought it was adorable.

All giddy for school!

Of course a picture with mommy. I can't imagine how I will be when our little critter actually starts BIG school.

Of course she HAD to have a real backpack this year.

Playing with Grammy before going!

In her classroom they have a play kitchen area and Allie-Ann's eyes lit up when she saw it!

Checking out the books in the reading center.

Her teacher this year!!