Goings on

I've had no time, no energy and absolutely no motivation to blog lately. Winter is a giant annoyance. There is so much to get done every.single.day and I feel like I'm not doing a great job at any of it. One reason I can't stand winter. It's so dark and dreary I just can't get motivated. By the time the girls are in bed I'm exhausted and can't keep my eyes open to get things done. At school it seems like there are always meetings to attend and all I really want to do is spend time with my students and TEACH. I've gotten 2 new students for a total of 26 and it's pretty difficult to manage. I'm so wiped by 4:00. I definitely get a second wind though when I leave to get my girls. One of the highlights of my day is seeing their sweet faces. It's a bit challenging being home with them alone until Chris gets there. He works later and further away so by the time he gets home they are getting ready for bed. I'm very thankful they are so well behaved! They have a great routine and are so happy at night which makes everything run smoothly (99% of the time!)

At the same time, I don't know how I can complain. I have everything I've ever wanted and this is just...life. We're happy & healthy and that's all I can really ask for. As stressful as the past couple months have been with trying to balance work and home, I know that there will be plenty of downtime to come.

The girls are doing great. Audrey is obsessed with singing and dancing. She wants certain songs played in the car ("Love You Like a Love Song" is her new favorite.) She loves when I put the TV on the music channels so we can have a dance party. Abigail has been dancing, too :) She just wiggles back and forth and it's so adorable, lol:



She's alllll over the place and will only play by herself for a few minutes before whining to be picked up. I don't mind that she's lovey, but it does make getting things done very difficult!

I've been looking into preschools for Audrey next year. My hope is that she'll be accepted into the preschool at my school. Since it's a peer model program, she'll be interviewed and they'll want to see how she interacts with children who have disabilities. As much as I want her with me, I totally understand the need for her to be on par with her speech, language, and social skills if she's going to be a peer model. Fingers crossed that it will work out :)

Kelly's wedding is this weekend (yay!) and then I'm soooo looking forward to the 3-day weekend. I just want to get through February and March (Gator Week! Birthday!) and get more daylight in my life :)

Today we played in the little bit of snow we got on Saturday night:







I hope we see a little more before winter is officially over! She loved it :)

Abigail is 9 months old!

She's spent just as much time on the outside world as she did in the inside world. Mind blowing!

She is officially crawling the "correct way" on hands and knees. I've been leaving her pantless and sockless so that she's not slipping on the floors and it works. She is fast and always wants to go where she's not allowed (Audrey's room.) She can get herself into a sitting position (yay!) She's pulling up on her knees and gets one foot up but doesn't quite have the strength and/or coordination to get both. In time!




Her hair continues to get longer and lighter. I would love to hold off until she's one to get her first hair cut, but her bangs are always in her face! Thank goodness for hair clips (although lately she's been pulling them right out.)



She's clapping a lot and was waving for a short period of time. She holds her arms up when she wants to be picked up. Her face completely lights up when she sees someone she loves. But she's completely stone-faced when she sees strangers!




She's doing so well with food! She eats all kinds of great food for lunch at Grandma's house- casseroles especially. While I love that she's great with food it's hard to get people to accept that she cannot have sweets- Christopher is especially guity of this. No, she may not have ice cream or birthday cake. She is a BABY. And honestly, with her being so chubby (yeah, I said it) I don't want her to have any sweets at all (her first b-day and other special occasions will be an exception.) Audrey is so into sweets (like her mom) and I'm just really trying to do things better this time around.

She continues to be on a great schedule; sleeps in pretty late on the weekends. In fact, she might be wide awake and all we have to do is move her back to the middle of her crib, turn on the sea horse, replace the paci, and give her Mickey. She goes to bed wide awake and we rarely hear from her the rest of the night. Love it!

I still only see 3 bottom teeth but she's drooling a lot and loves to blow raspberries, spit, and suck in/purse her lips.



Her wellness checkup is this Friday and I'm anxious to see how much she weighs. I'm thinking she's close to the max height for her infant carrier. So far getting around with 2 has been a breeze with her in the seat. I have no idea how I'm going to cart around 2 free-moving children! Now that Chris is working every weekend I'm a little nervous :) Time is just flying by!

Happy 9 months, Abby-gator!

I'm raising Lady Gaga Jr.

One of her favorite things to do is sing & dance her little heart out. It's like she gets into the zone and she just loses herself, lol. This time she wanted Abigail as an audience (and the snowman, too, I guess!) I love how a) she only knows the chorus and just flubs her way through the rest and b) the arm motions and finger pointing are out of control! I think she's watching MTV when we're not looking.



I would just love to know what Abigail was thinking :)

Things I Don't Want to Forget

Abigail is 8 1/2 months old and she's reached a few milestones in the past couple of weeks: army crawling (she's super fast and makes room transitions!) In fact, if she sees you coming after her (or if she wants you!) she'll try to go faster, lol. It's really hard keeping her out of Audrey's room (aka Land of Lalaloopsy and all things chokable.) She's clapping and waving and gets into a sitting position all by herself :)



Audrey is super excited to be the flower girl in Aunt Kelly's wedding next month. She tells everyone. She wants to watch youTube videos of other flower girls. She really, really wants to wear the flower girl dress that hasn't even arrived yet. Kelly gave her some rose petals to practice with and she does a great job.

Yesterday Audrey and I were at Macy's paying for our things. She told the sales girl, "I have a baby. Her name is Abby- but sometimes I call her Abigator."

Audrey seems to want every toy she sees. But luckily instead of asking us to get them for her, she just says, "Maybe Santa will bring them." I'm thinking the Easter bunny will be a little more generous ;)

I love, love, love how Abigail sings. Right before I lay her down I rock her over my shoulder for a few minutes. She just sings so softly I never want to put her down! And now she'll sing in the car right before she falls asleep (she's always falling asleep in the car, even if she's just woken up from a good nap!)

Audrey is definitely experiencing the ups and downs of sisterhood. She can be totally enjoying Abigail one minute, then fending her off the next. She does not want Abigail around her creations. We're trying to teach her to give Abigail a toy to play with to distract her. But more often than not all we hear is, "Abby, no! Mom, come get Abby, she's getting my stuff!" A couple of times we've caught her dragging Abby away by the pant legs (sooo funny!)

Sitting up!

I had just put Audrey to bed when I went in to peek at Abigail. It was totally quiet so I expected her to be asleep. Instead I found her on her hands and knees, kind of rocking back and forth. I went to get Chris and when we came back she was sitting up!



She looks just as surprised as we were :)

She's been so close to getting into the sitting position for a while now, but our wood floors make it a bit hard because she's always slipping (which is probably why she will only army crawl!)

Bath time

Finally! Saving time and water :)











I had Abigail in the bath and Audrey stripped and stepped right in! She wanted to splash her and Abby didn't seem to mind :) Abby does very well by herself in the bath. She loves to look around for toys and chomp on the foam letters. She doesn't care at all that Audrey is all over the place (I guess she's used to it!)

Happy New Year! 2011 in Review...

2011 was incredible!


January- I was about halfway through my pregnancy with Abigail and felt great. Audrey was saying a lot of 2-3 word sentences. She always carried around her Mickey and Minnie figurines. I stalked the weather forecast in hopes of snow. We did end up getting a couple of days.


February- We loved watching Audrey grow and thrive. She learned all of her shapes and colors and even a few hand signs. I started having severe rib pain with Abigail. We both got a stomach bug at the same time. Audrey took her first trip to the ER which turned out to be for no reason (live and learn, right?!) She started demanding songs in the car and got really good and saying “please” and “thank you.”

Looking back, January and February were pretty blah. They usually are for me…I’m almost positive I have SAD!


March- I was diagnosed with GD (about 4 weeks late because I kept putting it off.) I woke frequently in the middle of the night and started sleeping on the couch. Audrey started taking toys into bed with her (figurines.) She wouldn’t play with them, just wanted them in bed with her! I turned 30. I started full-on nesting in preparation for Abigail. So excited to meet our new baby but so anxious about all the new changes about to happen. I started tracking my blood sugar levels and sadly realized I needed a diet change. Our first nephew was born and despite some health issues he’s a healthy, beautiful boy! I felt super awesome going into my last month of pregnancy. I started insulin shots (ouch!)


April- We took Audrey to the zoo…one special trip as a family of 3. I had an amazing massage. We got a ton of things ready for Baby Burns. I started stressing big time about all the things I needed to get done for my long-term sub on top of having to do report cards and parent conferences. More doctor appointments, including an appointment with the perinatologist. I packed my hospital bag but prayed we wouldn’t need it until May (there was lots of talk about being induced.) I was so looking forward to Spring Break. A full week of getting last minute things done, relaxing, and enjoying Audrey. Easter came and went and I was loving Spring Break. For the first 3 days we had blast, just hanging out. We went to CMoR and towards the end of that trip I knew something wasn’t right. Sure enough, my water broke late that night and the next morning we had a sweet baby girl!


May- We adjusted to life as a family of 4. Abigail was a sweet, easy going, lovely baby. Audrey kept on like nothing had really changed. I was relieved to see that this was not as hard as I’d imagined! The worst part was early morning. I’d be so tired from nighttime feedings and of course Audrey is an early riser. That was rough! I had my first solo outing with both girls. I was definitely enjoying the newborn phase this time around. Before we knew it, Abigail was one month old.


June- I went back to work for the last week and a half of school. It was crazy busy! But so great knowing that summer was finally here. Audrey turned 2 ½ and seemingly wanted nothing to do with potty training... then literally the next day she was practically trained, lol. I discovered Pinterest. Abigail started smiling and cooing and growing (I was mass producing milk for a reason!)


July- Really loved this full month of summer! Abigail continued to be an easy baby (with crazy ass hair.) Audrey spend most of the time bottomless ☺. We got to meet my nephew for the first time and Audrey got to spend time with both of her girl cousins. We pretty much enjoyed staying home and bonding!


August- Abigail started sleeping through the night. Her hair started falling out, to be replaced by a lighter shade of brown. She became very vocal. I decided that we’d be waiting on solids and try BLW (one of my best parenting decisions ever!) Audrey became really into princesses (and started paying more attention to her little sister, especially when she realized she could make her laugh!) I started the Photo 366 Blog. We had lots of tea parties. I took Audrey to see her first play. We had an earthquake! And then a hurricane! I met my new (LARGE) class. I cherished every last moment of sweet summer.


September- Back to School! Back to cherishing weekends. Dance class started again. Took a (real) sick day. Started to get overwhelmed with school. Audrey started calling Abigail, “My Abby,” and started to be more affectionate. Abby started rolling over. We went to see Disney Princesses on Ice. Fall was in full swing and it was crazy busy chaos.


October- We stopped swaddling Abigail and it was a smooth transition. She got some kind of freaky rash that cleared up quickly. We took a trip to Belvedere where Audrey got her face painted for the first time and got over her fear of moon bounces. Abby got her first tooth. Audrey finally gave up the paci and started using the regular toilet. Abby started sitting up better and started eating solids. Every weekend was jam-packed with activities. The girls dressed up for Halloween. Chris got a new job and absolutely loves it!


November- The girls got their flu shots at Abby’s 6 month appointment. We started sleep training (but hardly needed it!) I broke a rib. We had a wonderful photo shoot with my dear friend Stacy. Lots of days off for holidays. Audrey got sick for a few days and I felt really, really lousy about being a working mom. We put up our Christmas tree before Thanksgiving (new tradition, Christopher;)) First Thanksgiving as a family of 4.


December- Abigail is having a blast eating all sorts of food. Audrey had a lovely tea party for her birthday. I continued to stress about a zillion things I don’t have time to get done. Chris turned 30. Audrey and Abby got a visit from Santa & Mrs. Claus. Audrey turned 3. Abby’s first Christmas was wonderful. We enjoyed winter break so much (Chris was off for most of it, too!)

It was one of our best years ever. Everyone is happy and healthy and we are very blessed. Here’s to another amazing year…Happy 2012!

Abigail is 8 months old!

Ok, this month flew by! Between preparing for Audrey's birthday parties and Christmas, Abigail turning 8 months was here before we knew it.

Abigail did great with food this month. Actually, I started giving her more and more of whatever we were having...green beans, corn, carrots, spaghetti. I'm upping her to 3 solid meals a day and keeping her at 3 bottles. She wakes and has her morning bottle and then an hour later she has cereal. I started mixing fruit into it for a little more flavor and variety. When she wakes from her morning nap she has lunch (usually any leftovers from dinner. Today she had macaroni and cheese!) She has a bottle before her afternoon nap. She eats dinner with us (whatever we're having [plus cereal with a veggie sometimes mixed in), then has her bottle before bed.

She's still on a great eating/napping/playing schedule. She can be clingy sometimes. She definitely lets us know when she wants us. If I'm playing with her on the floor she will turn and basically throw herself on me and whine until I pick her up. She is thisfreakingclose to crawling. She can get on her hands and knees, but doesn't stay up very long. She army crawls and scoots herself forward though and she's pretty quick! Think inch worm :) She wants to pull up but I think that's a ways away. She can't get herself to a sitting position just yet. She LOVES her stuffed Mickey Mouse and he sleeps with her in the crib.

She's still teething but I still only see 3 bottom teeth. She sleeps beautifully...usually we put her down wide awake and she puts herself to sleep no problems (she's had her moments though!) She absolutely loves her baths. She really loves her big sister! Any time Audrey pays her any attention, she soaks it up!

She has the biggest, brightest smile and you can't help but smile back when you see her face light up! We adore her so very much.









I was getting out her monthly onesie sticker and I noticed that there is only 1 sheet left for months 9-12. Ugh- this is going by way too fast! I'm already thinking about her 1st birthday party! I'm so excited to see her next milestones...sitting herself up, crawling, pulling up. She's going to be doing all of those things before we know it!