A little side by side

These are two of my favorite photos.  I think the girls look so cute.  I think they look like sisters, but definitely have their own features that make them unique.

Anna Claire is 8 months in this photo and Amelia is 9 months in this photo.  

Happy Memorial Day!

Our to do list never seems to end, but we are slowly getting there!  We spent the weekend getting the house completely ready.  Drew decided the yard needed water, so he ran the irrigation system several times.  Well, he and Amelia decided to make their own water park.  She was hesitant at first, but once she had a few runs through the water, she didn't want to stop!  They had a really good time.  Anna Claire and I enjoyed watching them!

 

 

Daddy let Anna Claire have a little fun in the water.

 

New Beginnings

Last week was a crazy busy week.  We went to Memphis for me to have a job interview, take Anna Claire to the doctor, and look for houses.  It was exhausting!  But, very much worth it.  The interview went well as far as being a good learning experience.  It doesn't seem like the right job for me, but I actually enjoyed the experience.  I guess interviews are really not that bad when you have the experience to back yourself up. 
Anna Claire's doctors appointment went well.  We get to keep the antibiotics going at least until she is 1!  This is such a relief.  I can only take so much stress.  We got her lab results on Monday, and her liver enzymes are still elevated, but much improved.  Hopefully next check they will be normal.  She is such an active happy little girl, so I really expected them to be good.  But, it is always scary waiting to find out. 
House hunting was exhausting, fun, and confusing.  It was so hard to decide where we wanted to live.  Each area has such different things to offer.  It is really hard to top Collierville, but we decided to go with the first house we looked at, which is in Arlington.  It is absolutely perfect for us.  We can move in and not change a thing.  Drew gets the yard he really wanted and we are so much closer to family.  And, with the opening of 385, Collierville is just a quick drive.  Things are really starting to happen fast.
The girls were well cared for while we were busy doing our grown up things.  Each of our family did a lot to help us out.  The girls loved spending time with everyone.  And, it is always nice staying at my parents in the middle of nowhere.  Especially when life is so busy.  It is very relaxing and quiet.

Amelia picking strawberries at grandmomma and granddaddy's house

 

She really enjoyed eating them more than putting them in the basket.  They sure did make for a nice treat for the rest of the weekend.  We had strawberry pancakes and strawberry shortcake.  Yum!

 

The big art show

The preschool put on an art show to display our girls fine talent.  Amelia didn't understand it, but she loved being there with all of her friends.

Anna Claire has quite the talent.  I thought it was really cute.  It's amazing what you can do with a foot and a hand.

This was a first photo of Amelia with her art work.  It was really awkward when another Amelia showed up with her parents and they were praising her for her artwork.  I'm sure they were wondering why our daughter was taking a picture with their daughter's art. 

This was her actual masterpiece. 

 

I like that their daycare feels like so much more than a daycare.  Amelia learns so much, and has so much fun at the same time.  We are going to miss it.  

 



Girl, slow down!

Today, I had the most shocking experience as a mother.  I went to get Amelia from daycare, and as she was telling her friends bye, this little boy came running to her, leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the lips!  I couldn't believe it, I had a million thoughts at 1 time.  I was glad I was there rather than her dad.  He would have died.  But, I was also wondering, was this the first time that this has happened.  She is only 2 and has already had her first kiss, and it was right in front of me.  I'm sure the real first kiss will not be so public.  But, the little boy turned and ran, she went running after him trying to get more.  She needs to learn that boys have cooties!

Another beautiful week!

Sunday, Anna Claire turned 8 months.  I think we have finally reached our turning point.  I am scared to say it out loud.  But, life is really good right.  She is happy almost all of the time!  It is great!  She loves our walks, her sister, cheerios/puffs, and her independence!  She is slowly starting to get more adventurous with the crawling.  We have to keep our eyes on her all the time.  She is definitely going to be my child that keeps me on my toes!  She has started putting anything and everything in her mouth, and she pulls up on everything. 

She is such a happy girl.  She looks so small in this picture, but she is really a chunky monkey!

We took ACs clothes off for some reason, and Amelia couldn't be left out.

This is AC's favorite thing to do.  Move Amelia's chair around.  She is either practicing for a future career in interior design, or we really need to get her a walker!  Amelia can not stand her touching her chair.  She can be across the room and see AC at her chair, and she flies to that chair in some kind of supper speed.  It is really quite entertaining to watch.

Amelia showing AC how to drive the Jeep.

AC likes to swing!

 

We officially have the house listed!  Yay!  We have had 2 showings so far.  Houses are selling really well in our neighborhood right now, so we are really hopeful.  I have a job interview next week that is very promising, and I will be able to work 3 days/week.  I am so excited.  I can't wait to do all kinds of fun things with the girls!  We are going to have so much fun!

Today, we took a trip down to the wildlife safari park for 1 more time.  It will be our last trip.  It wasn't as exciting as in the past.  Amelia was a lot more hesitant about touching the animals.  AC loved the petting zoo, but was over it by the time we were able to drive around the park.  We had a good time though.

What a difference a week can make!

Last week, my sweet Anna Claire start crawling.  She had been trying so long, and we were so excited it finally happened.  We just knew that little girl would love her independence.  Well, we forgot how she is slow to warm up to new things.  Even when she is the causing the new thing.  There was a lot of screaming with the crawling last week.  She would only crawl to get to me.  It really took the excitement away.  But, 1 week later, she is finally loving her new found independence.  It is fantastic.  She still has a crazy crawl, and I really think she would rather be walking, but she is finally just going with it.  She is in to everything though!  She is definitely going to keep me on my toes far more than Amelia ever did! 

Amelia does not love Anna Claire's new found independence.  She does not love her being able to get "her stuff."  It is really quite comical to watch her try to keep Anna Claire from everything.  Luckily AC doesn't get upset by Amelia's actions right now.  It is exhausting!  Amelia does love making Anna Claire laugh though.  She loves anything that brings the attention to her.  It is so cute watching them in the car and listening to them giggle at each other.  I love to see them starting to form a little relationship. 

We are still crazy busy with the moving process.  We finally got the ok from the relocation company to list the house.  So, as of tomorrow, we will be on the market.  We are constantly looking at houses, looking for me jobs, and now trying to find the girls child care.  I have a potential job interview in 2 weeks.  We will see how it goes.  They are looking for someone to start right now.  I told them I would work it out if they felt I would fit well with the company.  It seems like everything is starting to move at turbo speed now.  It is a good stress though.  We are so excited to be back in Tennessee, and just looking forward to starting our new life.

As a side note, I discovered nutella last year on our trip to Puerto Rico.  It was in the snack pack I ordered.  Well, I had mentioned it to my friend, but forgot about it until recently.  She had brought up how good nutella is with strawberries.  So, I had to go by some.  It is wonderful with strawberries, but even better with graham crackers.  Drew tried it for the first time today, and he is now hooked.  I don't know if I can keep allowing myself to buy it.  I am finally getting back in the gym and working out an hour a day.  It is wonderful, so I should be eating better.  But, I have been really wanting to let Amelia try some, so I let her have it as a snack today.  She wasn't too excited about a cracker at first, but once she tried it, she was in heaven.  Little girl is now hooked.

She loves some chocolate!