So behind…

I’m so behind on my blogging. So much has happened – Easter, my mom and Richard visited, Dianne visited. All of these big events are passing by so quickly – and with work being super busy, I just haven’t had time to keep up with recording all of these wonderful moments.

We have been enjoying these moments, though. I guess that is what is truly important. The girls are growing, playing and keeping our lives ever so exciting. Audrey has {of course} been sick with ear infections – but I’m thinking she might finally be getting over them. (That is, if I can force her to take her antibiotics and actually get some down her throat…she HATES taking medicines – I literally have to hold her down, squirt it down her throat and then hold her mouth closed – it is absolutely awful – and believe me – I’ve tried hiding it in food, letting her do it, and a host of other methods for getting it in there…)

I’m finding that I don’t take as many pictures as I did with Bella at this age – I think that it is because I am just enjoying the moments with these two so much that I don’t think to grab a camera…it could also be that I am afraid what trouble Audrey or Bella would get into if I turned my attention to a camera instead of what they are doing when I am playing with them. 🙂 But – the other day when Dianne was here I finally took a few funny photos.

These are from playing in the cul de sac.

Bella is getting really good on her scooter. She loves it – and will ride along with the stroller now instead of walking. She does some fancy footwork and all – and takes the hills. I love seeing that huge smile on her face when she goes down the hill. She has taken a few good falls, but she is growing braver and braver, with many physical things – even at the park like the wheel monkey bars and such, and she will take the falls and get up and keep going. Jeremy put training wheels on her bike and she is starting to try that out as well. I’m really proud of how she is trying so hard even when she has a hard time accomplishing these things! I’ve seen so much growth in Bella over the past couple of months – I really can’t even put it into words. I can’t believe she will be 5 soon. But at the same time, I can tell by the way she acts she is entering a new level of childhood that includes so much more cooperation, growth, understanding, discovery – she amazes me daily. She is also growing into a little comedian, and “getting” why some things are funny and making real jokes.

Audrey is in that 12-18 month growth period that I absolutely adore. She is a little mimic – and can mimic most one syllable words that I say. Like Bella, she seems to be pretty verbal at a young age. She is also really tough! She falls and gets up like nothing has even happened most of the time. The other day at the park, she knocked her head, bloodied her lip – got mad, started crying so I went to pick her up – but after less than 5 seconds she said, “DOWN!” – She was like, I’m done with this fussing mom, let me down to play! And off she went. She will wander far away, too – she likes to explore. Audrey loves to climb all over the play structures (and pretty much anything else) and loves the slides. She is not that into the swing – as she would rather explore right now. She LOVES to go outside and check out everything in the yard. She is also a great eater. She likes all vegetables, fruits, pretty much whatever you put in front of her. We still do not give her dairy products, since she seems to have tummy issues with them – may try them again in a few months. She seems to be growing just fine without them…As Jeremy said the other night – I need to write it down/take pictures/videos, because we are going to forget how darn cute she is right now – she is just soooo happy and smiley. This morning, before her nap, she was hanging out in the living room just laying down, kicking her legs (which is really rare, she roams around almost nonstop) and checking out something on the ceiling – so I decided to lay beside her to check it out – she just looked over at me and giggled, then got up and ran around the couch trying to get me to chase her. And when you pick her up…she snuggles, and pats you softly on the back. It is so sweet. Today, at the park, Bella picked her up to give her a hug, and she leaned in for a snuggle and started patting Bella on the back. Seeing the two of them embrace so sweetly melts my heart. I hope and pray as they grow that they will be best of buds like I am with my sister.

Anyhow – finally photos…I’ll try to update sooner next time. (If you click them, you can see the big full version.)