Good bye paci's, hello bottles!

These past few weeks have been jam-pack full of excitement and fun for all of us. So many things have happened I will try to just highlight a few. The biggest "milestones" these weeks though have been AJ being finished with the paci (finally!) and Abby kind of starting to take a bottle. This all happened while I stayed with the kids at my parents house for a week while Adam went on a fishing trip with his dad and brother. It was wonderful having the week with my family, and I know that everyone enjoyed one another's company. AJ constantly asks to be with his grandparents and Ashley, and I know they miss him terribly.



AJ went bowling for the first time ever! He insisted on carrying his ball all the way to the lane. He had a blast!

Here is Abby screaming during her bath. I wish she enjoyed getting baths, but I know her time will come soon!

Here is Ashley holding Abby at McDonalds so I could play in the playland with AJ. We went several times to McDonalds and played for hours on those dirty tunnels. Let's just say hand sanitizer was frequently applied.

Here is AJ coming out of one of the tunnels.

We spent many mornings and afternoons at one of the local beaches. AJ had so much fun throwing rocks in the water, playing with the sand, and "falling" on his bottom in the water. Ashley was a good sport and went in the water with him :)

Here is Ashley and Abby having a conversation.

Here is AJ eating his cake when we had our going away party for the pacifiers. I had bought a cake and balloons for our celebration. We sang "Good bye paci's" to the tune of happy birthday, then blew out the candles. We then went outside and AJ let two balloons go that had a pacifier tied to it. I videotaped the whole thing, and he still to this day watches the videos several times every night. I think it helps him cope with the fact that they are gone. He has only asked for them a few times, and when I say he can't have them and ask him why, he will say they went up in the air and went to little babies (who need pacifiers, and two year olds don't). He has had a harder time sleeping in general and misses a few naps, but overall handed this super well.

Here he is holding the balloons which we let go a minute later.

Abby sitting in grandma's bouncy chair - she loved this thing!

Ashley read many books to AJ, and he took turns reading them to her as well.

Waiting for a lady-like belch...

AJ telling Ashley how to roast a marshmallow.

At the beach.

Enjoying his first smore. It took him about twenty minutes to eat.

We went to the county fair - this entire county has only 1 stoplight!

Wearing a crown and eating popcorn at the fair.

Good times with grandma and grandpa.

Catching some sun at the waterpark back home.

AJ being silly after spending hours in the water with dad.

So cute!

AJ had fun "falling" down and making big splashes :)

AJ leaned in for a big hug - we all had so much fun!

Professional Pictures

Last month I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a wonderful connection. My friend Jenn has a friend who is a professional photographer. She was building her portfolio of newborns and had a deal where she was willing to drive to your house if you had a brand-new-newborn and would even throw in the rights to two of the files. Alison drove all the way down to Elko the first week in July with her adorable daughter and spent well over an hour very patiently trying to capture AJ and Abby at their best :) Here are four of the pictures from that day. We are still hoping to send out announcements, and I think the first one will be "the one" we were looking for. Enjoy!

If you are interested in checking out more of Alison's photos, her blog site is: http:/www.alisonleaphotography.com/blog/ I highly recommend her!

Where did July go?

I am amazed that July has already come and gone. This summer has been and continues to be just wonderful. Not much new has happened, but we continue to have fun in the sun, playing with friends, and doing our outings. I am looking forward to spending next week with the kids at my parents house. Adam and his dad and brother are going on a fishing trip for the week, so I figured this would be a wonderful opportunity to spend time with my family at the beach and in the country.

I didn't take any pictures at the Mall of America the other day, but I wish I did. AJ went nuts over watching the roller coasters and if you ask him what his favorite part of that day was, it was eating the "happy face cookie".

Both kids just are wonderful, I can't say enough good about them. Abby is growing so fast, I am excited to see what percentile she is at when we go for her two month check up. She is smiling and laughing so much (quiet laughs, but definitely laughs), is cooing tons, recognizes us, is showing good strength in her neck muscles when I pick her up or hold her, and is almost always happy. She is nursing about every 2 hours, give or take, and I STILL can't get her to take a bottle. We have had lots of help from "expert" friends and family members, and are hoping that by the end of next week she will be able to take one since I am bringing the kids up to my parents house for the week.

This was so sweet... AJ saw that her foot was still in her pants leg a little, so he was very gently trying to roll up her pants. She was smiling at him the whole time!

We hosted our "Sweeney Playdate Group" this week. It has been so much fun visiting with friends/ coworkers this summer. It amazes me how many of us have had babies in the past few years, and I feel so fortunate to work with such wonderful people (who have very cute kids!) and to get to know them better.


Here is AJ making a silly face :)

Good ol' floor time :)

Look at that face!

Smiling at the toys in her bouncy seat.

Today AJ, Abby and I were blessed with our Aunt Val's presence. We had such a nice day with her both at the zoo, and in our backyard later that afternoon. AJ enjoyed showing off for her and Abby seemed so comfortable and happy with her. It was a day packed full of fun!

We were hoping to see the snakes today, but little did we know that AJ would get to touch one! This definitely forced me to get out of my comfort zone, just to let my son touch one, but he sure enjoyed it!

SPLASH!

Aunt Val and Abby had many bonding moments. Both ladies seemed to enjoy one another so much, it was difficult to say who had the most fun!

We were hoping to get to feed the giraffes again ( I am still hoping to post pictures from last week, but they are on my parent's computer), but they were full! They are such beautiful and graceful animals!

Oh so cute!

We were able to watch a training session of the dolphins, even though they don't do performances anymore. AJ had a blast watching them, especially when they did great big "splashes"! He loves it when things get wet, so this was right up his alley!

Here we are sitting and watching the dolphins.

This is a video of Abby listening to me talk and trying to make some sounds. As soon as I stopped recording and put the camera away she started cooing again :)

Time FLIES when you are having fun!

Well, it is official, as though there were ever a doubt, that AJ loves airplanes. Adam, AJ, and my sister were able to go up in the air last weekend on a small plane at the Alexandria airport. AJ was so excited, and I am so happy for him that he was able to experience such an exciting event. Adam enjoyed himself as well, and as a former pilot himself, I am sure he would have enjoyed the flight that much more if he were able to be behind the controls. Maybe one day :)

AJ and Abby have continued to get to know one another and are starting to truly enjoy each other. AJ does whatever he can to make her smile and "Make her happy" or "Make her smile" and he informs me. I have been so blessed that he is such a loving and affectionate child, and I definitely take advantage of it!

I haven't been able to get too many pictures of Abby showing her really big smiles because I feel guilty putting a flash in her face when she is bonding and making such good eye contact, and usually it ends up that I can't get the picture to come out good anyway, but I am sure I will have these memories of a lifetime. I just love seeing her smile and gaze into my eyes. I still think in some ways she looks like her brother did at that age, but I also think she continues to take on her own look more every day. Abby is doing very well developmentally. She is able to lift her chest off the floor some during tummy time, is socially smiling often, and continues to be a very happy/ content baby. She does hate her carseat and being out of my arms, but otherwise never cries. I can't seem to get her to take a bottle at all, which is a little concerning, but I am sure that with enough time and practice we will get it. She is really starting to coo, and can make several vowel sounds.

Here is big brother leaning in to give a kiss. I love how gentle he is with her!

We continue to have fun on playdates and outings, making sure to do something fun every day. Here are a few pictures from recent playdates.

This last week I ventured out to the zoo with both children without another adult. It went exceptionally well, and I am sure we will be doing it again regularly!

AJ had fun here "playing" with the prarie dog.

AJ LOVES water in any shape and form (literally, he does like ice cubes and to point out when he sees steam :)). Here was a waterfall that we stopped to look at for several minutes.

The most exciting thing about our trip to the zoo this time was watching the farmer milk the cows. We talk about this MANY times within a day!

AJ remembers some of the names of the cows from the zoo, and will bring up specific "friends" when we talk about the zoo.

AJ LOVES the sea otters!

Abby was carried in my carrier most of the time. I think she enjoyed being held for so long!

AJ loves to play in his little car on the driveway and the sidewalk. We are so fortunate because there is a nice big bike path right in front of our house, so he has a nice level surface to play on. He gets so excited when I spray water with the hose down the driveway. We watch the "waterfall" then he plays in the puddles.

My dad and sister are in New York right now visiting my family. They dropped off their dog, Jellybean, while there since she has diabetes and needs shots daily. While stopping in for a few minutes, my dad made sure to snuggle with both of his grandkids.

I loved this!

Have a wonderful day!