It's Been A While

Four months, to be exact. I have good intentions about updating this blog but never seem to follow through. Shame on me. I am going to do better. I loved chronicling Avery's monthly activities when she was a baby, and I have been so horrible doing that with Hailey. I guess that happens with the second one, but I still feel bad so here is my attempt to start letting the world know all about my girls.

I will start with Hailey since she gets the shaft most of the time. She is still the sweetest thing in the world. She is always so happy and joyful and makes my heart smile everyday. It is hard to remember our life without her. Avery still loves her and wants to take care of her all the time. Sometimes her hugs and kisses get a bit overwhelming for Hailey, but for the most part Hailey loves all the attention from her big sister.



Hailey has starting eating people food but does not get too excited about it. I have been making her food and try not to take offense that she doesn't like it, but I am starting to wonder if she doesn't like my steaming and blending. She will seriously eat three or four bites, then turn away. I try not to worry about her since she gets everything she needs from her bottle, but I hope she comes around soon or she is going to be one hungry girl when she stops getting 5 bottles everyday! She likes Cheerios and puffs, so maybe it is the consistency of the baby food that is the problem. I guess time will tell. She still doesn't have any teeth, so I am a little apprehensive to give her much table food. I have a fear of her choking even though I am sure she could handle more.





She is STILL not sleeping through the night and wakes up twice a night sometimes. I know that is probably our fault but I hate just letting her cry. Avery was always such a good sleeper that I don't really know what to do to make Hailey sleep better. This might be her way of keeping us from having another child... I tell Josh that this reminds us that she is not a perfect child because other than this, I might think she was.



She is not crawling but can get up on all fours and doesn't know what to do from there. I think crawling is in our not-too-distant future. She can pull herself up with a little help and is getting pretty good at standing while holding on to something.



She can say dada and mama but doesn't really say it to either one of us - just yells it out sometimes. She is getting more and more chatty to compete with her chatty older sister.

Those are the basics for Hailey. She is such a sweetie; I just can't get enough of her.



Avery is growing up so fast and is truly keeping us on our toes these days. Her vocabulary is ridiculous and she is very smart. She knows all her colors, shapes, can count to 20 and recognize numbers 1-10. She can sing the ABC song but we haven't really started working on letters too hard at this point. She has used the potty a few times in the past few days, so I think full-fledged potty training is right around the corner for us. She has been going to Mother's Day Out on Fridays and loves her "school." We will probably start going 2 days a week before too long, but I am enjoying being with my girls everyday so it is hard to give up another day with her. She is almost 2 1/2, so she spends her fair share of time in time out. I know it comes with the territory, but this is the part of parenting that I could do without. She is still hilarious and makes me laugh all the time. I don't know where she comes up with some of the things she says, and I will have to start writing them down because she is one funny girl. She is becoming such a little kid these days which makes me excited and sad. My baby girl is growing up, and I can't make the time go any slower.





As you can see, our life is always exciting and a little crazy too. I still LOVE being with the girls everyday and am so thankful to get to do that now. I can't imagine having two sweeter girls than we do, and they are truly wonderful blessings.

Life Lately

Well, we are finally settled in Garland and getting the hang of our new routine. I am having so much fun staying home with the girls and so thankful for a hubby who has worked so hard to make this happen. I know I am way behind on blogging; however I will give some highlights of the past two months.

Hailey started rolling over about a week before she turned 4 months.



Avery, Josh and I did a Partnership Walk for Josh's work. It was a little chilly that morning, so Avery had to bundle up.



We've hung out with CC & Pop Pop a lot! (Sorry no pics of Pop Pop!!)



We celebrated Halloween at FBCG's Fall Festival with CC & Aunt Jenn.







We celebrated Avery's 2nd birthday.









Aunt Carolyn came in for the party!!



We enjoyed playing with our toys when the party was over.







We celebrated Mommy's birthday - the last one in her 20's.



We've spent the rest of our time just being cute!





The girls are growing so fast - I can't believe we have a 2 year old in the house! They are both such sweet girls; we are truly blessed.

Avery is talking so well these days. She is starting to speak in short sentences and says the funniest things sometimes. I know I will have to start writing them down soon. She is a funny girl. She is beginning to learn her colors and can spot yellow, blue, and brown most of the time. She still loves Hailey and is quite the little mom. She loves to wipe her face (sometimes a bit too roughly) after she spits up and ALWAYS lets me know if Hailey is crying (as if I can't hear her). While she is a sweetie most of the time, I would be lying if I said we didn't spend some time in time-out from time to time, but what 2 year old doesn't!?!? She is such a joy and fills my day with laughter and sweet hugs!!

Hailey is growing much too quickly for my liking. She is still a very easy baby. She rarely cries and is pretty content most of the time. It is difficult for me not to forget about her sometimes when Avery & I are playing because she just sits in her swing or chair perfectly happy to watch us play. She is a very happy baby and will smile at anyone who gives her some attention. Josh & I joke that she is going to be our little missionary because she just exudes sweetness & joy when you are around her. It is so funny to see how different her personality is from Avery, even at this young age. She is still not the best sleeper, but we are working on it!!

We are humbled by God's blessings always, but it seems they have been poured on abundantly lately.

We're Moving

The Tidwells are on the move! We got word last Friday afternoon that Josh is being transferred in two weeks. Yes, two weeks. We are thrilled and excited to be moving to the Dallas area and are doing everything in our power to make the transition as soon as possible. We are headed up next weekend to look at houses. We are just renting, so it makes the search less stressful because we don't have to consider school districts just yet, and it will give us a year or two to really figure out where we want to be. It is a big promotion for Josh, and I am so proud of him. He has worked really hard and has moved up the company so quickly. When he originally got this job when he graduated, I was honestly a little sad because it seemed like we were going to be in Houston to stay. Not that I hate it here or anything; it is just hard to be so far from my family, especially with the girls growing as fast as they are. Well, God does have plans that we don't always see and 18 short months later, we are being transferred! As if moving wasn't good enough, I am going to be able to stay home with the girls!! I am oh so happy about this and SO thankful that it is going to work out. There are still some things we need to figure out, but God is faithful and we trust that things will fall into place as they should. The girls are very happy to be moving so close to CC and Pop Pop.

This was Hailey's reaction when we told her:



Well, not really but how cute is she!! She is such a smiley girl - I will load some more pics soon. She is growing entirely too quickly for my liking.

We told Avery last night we were going to live close to CC and Pop Pop and be able to go to their house more often, and she went to go find her shoes because she was ready to go see them right then!

I know there are many plans to be made in the next few weeks, but we are ready to make the transition.

Two is our favorite number

Well, this month at least. Hailey is 2 months old today, and Avery will be 22 months on Friday. Both girls are growing so fast and keeping us on our toes. Sometimes it feels like we have 10 kids, not just 2; but thankfully they are both sweeties which makes it easier.

Hailey is still a very easy baby. She doesn't cry much at all. Sometimes in the evenings she gets a little cranky but who doesn't. She is starting to smile at us a lot, and we LOVE it. I wish I could tell you she was getting to be a better sleeper, but I would be lying. She still gets up every 3-4 hours. I know this won't last forever, but some nights it seems like it will. She will thankfully go right back to sleep but it is still getting tiring waking up as much as we are. I am hoping for a few longer stretches since she is about 10 pounds now.

Avery is still our crazy child. She never stops and keeps us laughing all the time. She is starting to use two and three word phrases and continues to amaze us with her intelligence. I know every parent thinks this, but we have a smart one on our hands - sometimes too smart for her own good! She is still doing great with Hailey but does not like for Josh to hold her. We keep thinking she will get over it, but she is not ready to share her daddy yet. She is quickly approaching the terrible twos and we have seen some glimpses of it lately. She is very strong willed, so we may have some battles on our hands in the next few months. Even with a few tantrums here and there, she is still our little sweetie and we wouldn't trade her for anything!

Here are some recent pics of the girls. I know, they are adorable.

Hailey is here!

We are so happy to announce that Hailey Ann Tidwell joined our family on July 7. She is such a sweet baby, and we are adjusting to being a family of four. She was 6 pounds 8 ounces and 20 inches when she was born. She looked a lot like Avery when she was born except she has very blonde hair! My mom is very excited at the prospect of having a blonde grandchild, so I hope the hair will stay. She is looking less and less like Avery everyday but is still so pretty. Josh and I were concerned, as I am sure every parent awaiting the birth of their second child is, that there would be no way we could love another child, much less a girl, near as much as we love Avery. Of course, God just expanded our hearts the second she was born and we are so in love.

So far she is a wonderful baby. She only cries when she is hungry and is pretty content the rest of the day. She is a good sport when Avery wants to hold her and tries to give her hugs. She adjusted pretty quickly to getting her nights and days straight, so our nights haven't been too rough. She still eats every 2-3 hours but generally goes right back to sleep. If the first 18 days of her life are any indication of her personality, I think she is going to be a pretty laid back baby and have a sweet disposition. She is truly another blessing.

Avery is handling the transition amazingly well. The first week she did not want Josh holding Hailey at all, but she is starting to realize that it is ok if he pays Hailey some attention too. She loves to hug and kiss Hailey; she just doesn't know exactly how to be gentle yet. We aren't ready to leave them unattended in the same room yet! She is a great big sister, and I know know it won't be long before Hailey is following her around the house trying to do everything she does.

Josh and I couldn't feel more blessed by our two girls and are trying to enjoy both of them just as they are right now because we know how quickly they grow and change.

Here are a few pics from the hospital and our first few days home.

Things we like to do...

Lately, Josh, Avery and I have been having lots of fun exploring and discovering new activities. Avery is at such a fun age where everything is new and exciting, and she is old enough to actually take part in a wider variety of things. Below are some things we have enjoyed lately.

Coloring

Eating our veggies

Learning how to use tools (not really but she was good at handing them to Daddy)

Running at the park

Feeding the ducks


Riding the train

Going to church (this isn't a new activity, but we took some cute pictures last week since I was sick at Easter)

Please notice she wore a bow and kept it in all morning! We are making progress. Now I just have to learn what to do with all those curls...

That has been our life lately. I love it and can't believe that it is going to change in just over 7 weeks. Oh, and if I haven't posted it on here yet, baby is coming 7/7/11. We scheduled the C-Section last week. Excitement is building around our house!!!

18 Months Already!?!?

I can’t believe Avery is 18 months old today. Where did the last year and a half go?!?! For some reason, when you say “18 months” it sounds really old to me – like my baby is not really a baby anymore. As fun as she is these days, I hate to see her “babyness” disappearing as quickly as it is. She really is becoming this little person with her own thoughts, (strong) opinions, and ideas. She is so fun and crazy.

Since I am a horrible picture taker these days, I don’t have any new pictures to share; however I have many updates about Avery that I want to share and be able to look back on and remember exactly how she is now since I know she will keep changing faster than I want her to!

- Her vocabulary is EXPLODING. Her word count is up to 51 (I made a list), and she has even started putting two words together, which just started Saturday and amazed Josh and I. This morning when I gave her a banana for breakfast, she said, “Thank you, mama.” It was so sweet. Some of her most recent words are: cheese, snack, go, down, and chair. She also says a lot of things that we can’t understand, but she sure knows what she is saying! I think we may have a little chatterbox on our hands.

- She can almost count to 3. By almost, I mean, she does not say “1” but will say “2, 3” if you get her going. She can name and identify all the parts of her face (eyes, nose, etc.) and is starting to get hands, knees, feet, etc.

- She can entertain herself for a few minutes at a time these days. This is quite an accomplishment because I really thought it would never happen. Don’t get me wrong, it is our fault that she couldn’t because Josh and I are always in her face playing with her and have been since she was born, but it has been nice that we can leave her for a few minutes to play and get something done (usually something fun like washing dishes or vacuuming).

- She is quite a climber and can get up on top of something as soon as we turn our heads. She does know there are things she can’t climb on (i.e., the coffee table) and she really does a pretty good job of staying off those things.

- The girl knows what she wants. She has a pair of pink Crocs we got from one of my cousins, and she wants to wear them everyday. I tried to put her tennis shoes on last week for school, and she threw a fit. She kept pointing at her Crocs saying, “shoes, shoes.” This is not a battle I am going to fight, so I let her wear her Crocs even though they didn’t match. Some things aren’t that important.

- She is beginning to throw little tantrums here and there, but they really aren’t that bad. Usually if we let her get it out, she will calm down pretty quickly. She is pretty easy going, so we don’t have too many battles yet. We haven’t really started punishing yet and don’t really feel like we need to. We definitely tell her no and don’t let her do whatever she wants, but she hasn’t reached the point of intentional defiance yet; however, I am sure those days are quickly approaching and we will have to find an approach to discipline that works for us.

- She goes to bed about 7:30 every night and sleeps until 6. On the weekends, we sure wish that 6 would turn into a 7, but it doesn’t ever seem to. Don’t kids know what Saturdays are for?!? It is funny how irritated Josh and I can be when we are getting up and how quickly it goes away when we walk into her room and she is smiling, ready to play. I wish I felt like that at 6 every morning! We do take turns (usually, although Josh sometimes takes both days!) getting up with her, so we can each sleep until 7 or so once a week.

- She is becoming a better eater all the time. She will try new things now and is actually eating. There were a few weeks where we were getting worried because she was eating so little. She was never hungry. Thankfully, I guess that was just a phase or she wasn’t feeling good or something because now she eats pretty well most days. She does NOT want anyone to feed her, so things get pretty messy. If you try to feed her, she will say “Mine” and insist that she hold the spoon or fork and do it herself. This usually means she gets as much on her face, clothes and chair as she does in her mouth, but I know it is important for her to do things on her own. She has been doing this for about a month now, so she is getting more accurate.

- Her teachers at school love her and continue to tell me what a sweet girl she is. I am so thankful for that. They call her the “little mama” of the class because she is always taking the other kids toys and making sure they are always happy and taken care of. I hope Josh and I can do whatever we can to develop her sense of compassion and helpfulness since it seems to come naturally to her. This gives me assurance that she is ready to be a big sister!

- The last thing I will write about that I never want to forget is how she knows where the baby is and will come point to my stomach and give it kisses when anyone talks about the baby. It is so sweet. I know she has not made the connection that there is an actual baby in there, and she probably won’t until we bring the baby home, but it is still so cute and melts my heart every time.

I could seriously write so much more about her because she is so fun, but I will refrain. I say this every month and know that I will always remember it, but she is such a sweet and happy girl. We really are so blessed to have her in our lives. She has brought more joy than Josh or I ever imagined. When I start to get scared about what we will do with another child, I just remember how wonderful things have been with Avery (not to say there aren’t trying times, but those seem to disappear in the memory quickly) and can only imagine that with two, our joy will be doubled.