Catching Up

I've been such a blog slacker! I have no reasons or excuses...life is good, the girls are great and I feel blessed and content.

Abigail is 21 months old. She seems so much older, though. She wakes up completely happy and plays and laughs and babbles all day. Chris says it's hard to keep her entertained when he's home alone with her, but I never have that problem. Even if she's not playing with Audrey, she's content to play with various toys and books. She's even starting to show more of an interest in TV (she loves Mickey and Doc.) She is the best sleeper at night. I love to rock with her before putting her to bed. She lays her head down and will hum along with me. She's starting to sit still through short books. I definitely dropped the ball on reading to her nightly because she has always been too antsy-pantsy. Now she requests 'I Love You, Goodnight.' I put her down wide awake and she's out for the night, even if she doesn't fall asleep right away. Bedtime is nice and early, about 7-ish. She has been fighting naps lately and I'm praying that it's just a phase!

She's crazy messy with her meals. We need to bathe her almost every night because at some point during the day she has poured or smeared food throughout her hair, lol. And bath time is a whole new mess because she scoops up water and throws it out of the tub (or splashes like mad!) Messes aside, I love her wild ways! She loves jumping on beds and couches and tables. We come home in the evenings and I turn the TV on to the music stations and she just dances around until it's dinnertime. She's become a great singer! I first noticed it when we were in the car and 'Locked Out of Heaven' was on...all of a sudden I hear Abby say, "Uh!" And right.on.cue. I almost died! And Audrey thought it was hilarious. Another song she loves is 'Ho Hey' and she signs right along with all the "hos" and "heys." More and more she's catching the tail end of lyrics and singing them and I think it's the cutest thing ever. I know Audrey is musically inclined and I think these girls have something in common, lol.

She's talking so much now. She has a word for just about everything, and if she doesn't she knows to point to it. She's putting words together like, "Help me" and "Juice/cup/bite please." She'll say, "I try!" or "hold it!" if she wants something. She has the sweetest little voice. Goodness, I could eat her up!



Audrey Cate continues to be amazing in every way. She is loving school and I am thankful everyday that things have worked out so she can be with me. She's learning so much, but more importantly she's flourishing socially. I love hearing her talk to adults, older kids, and the kids in her class. She is a total and complete sweetheart.



Four hasn't been without its challenges, though. She is a little bit harder to bargain and rationalize with. She has the arms-crossed, full-on pout, eyes-narrowed look down pat, lol. I'm finding that if she doesn't want to do something, I have to draw more patience with her and then everything is fine. If she ever threw a tantrum I seriously don't know what I'd do- we've been lucky so far! She's almost always agreeable and go-with-the-flow.She's become mater of delaying her bedtime. First, she needs water. Then she has to go pee. We usually don't hear from her after that, but every once in awhile it'll be something random that possess her to come out. She tries to have a serious look on her face, but she cracks every time because she knows she's not fooling anyone, lol. The past few night I've awoken to her standing beside our bed and asking to "snuggle" with us. I have her lay down on her little Dora couch (that pulls out) and she stays until it's time to wake up. If it's the weekend, she usually goes back to her own bed for the last hour of sleep.

The way she interacts with Abby is pretty awesome. More and more she's including her during playtime (not always!) In fact, she will be the first to invite Abby into her room, or give up some toys so that Abby can play, too. When I give Audrey a snack, she almost always gives Abby the first bite, or some part of it. She hugs on her and tries to teach her words. It took awhile, but I'm finally seeing them build that sweet sister bond.