Doggone it!

Some things, you wish your kiddos would never discover... Not sure what we're going to do about this one.

Daddy Days!!

Avery and Collin have really been doing some fun things this week. Collin has made a point to get out every day with Avery so that I can have some quiet time with Jules and so that Avery gets to do something fun. He's been a real "Mr. Mom" too-- He's been dressing Avery and doing her hair each day... it's precious.

So far, they've hit the toddler "hot spots" of Dallas! They've been to the spray park (which unfortunately doesn't start "spraying" for a few more days) to Sonic for strawberry slushies, to the library, the arboretum, and ZuZu's for a Daddy/Daughter dinner date... just to name a few. They've been running errands too, but mainly just having fun.

Avery's doing a GREAT job adjusting to her new life as a big sister. I am so thankful for my sweet Avery and for my wonderful husband who also happens to be a TERRIFIC Daddy. Here are some of my favorite pictures they came home with. Looks like they've been having a blast!

Day 1:
Getting ready for the Spray Park!...


Bummer... not "spraying" season just yet...


So they played on the playground instead!


LOVE this video! I call it the, "Weeeee!" clip of the week.


Day 2:
Library fun! The Audelia Library (closest to us) was closed for the day... So they had to improvise and find another library. Looks like they still found some books to browse.



That evening we ALL went together down the street to our neighborhood park to swing. It was our first family outing and it was fun. :) (Howie came too!)



Day 3:
Dallas Arboretum :)

Some more pictures...

Lazy days around the house...



Remember this?... Avery gives Jules a few lessons in "blanket pictures" :) (If you're new to our blog, this is a monthly tradition throughout the first year of the lives of our kiddos. It's a good way to watch them grow!)




"Sunbathing" to try and help with the jaundice...


Hanging out with the girls... (Look how different Jules' skin-tone is than Collin & Avery!)

Julia in her "going home" outfit

Just a few snapshots I made of Julia right before we headed home from the hospital. :)

(These pictures are somewhere drowning in the millions of photos in the slide show below too, but I thought they were cute enough that they needed their own post.) :)

One Week! :)

Time FLIES!! I can't believe Julia is already a week old. (I sang "Happy Birthday" to her today at 3:51pm. Ha!) :)

We are having a good week! I could write about all that's going on, but I think everyone would just rather see pictures. (At least, that's what I would be checking the blog for...) So here's our week in review! There are HUNDREDS of pictures here, but if you click the slide show it'll take you to a page where you can skim through the images instead of having to wait and watch through all of the images.

Can't wait to introduce everyone to our sweet Julia! :)
**By the way... I wrote the body of this post before forming the slide show and realized that trying to squeeze our whole week's worth of pictures into one slide show was ridiculous. So... this slide show ended up only being hospital pictures. I'll try doing individual posts of anything else that might be interesting.**

Our family "Jules" :)

Wow. I had forgotten SO MUCH of what life is like with a newborn, and it's only been a year-and-a-half since I did this! I forgot how teeny-tiny they are and what all their little noises sound like... how warm, soft and snuggly they are... and how intense/incredible it can be simply to make eye contact with such a brand new little person.

Yes... we are officially in the "honeymoon" phase with our precious Julia. We are having an absolute blast just getting to know her and trying to find ANYTHING about her features that looks like either one of us, or Avery. We are shocked at how different the girls look! We just assumed they'd be identical, I guess, but we are loving how different their little features are from each other... They definitely have their own identities!

So far- so good! Julia is VERY mellow. She's working hard at learning how to nurse and she's quickly becoming a pro! She seems to be a sweet and patient baby girl. Avery is proudly wearing her "big sister" shirts, but we're pretty sure she has NO idea what's going on. Ha! :) She's been up to the hospital both days to visit us, and today (Friday) was a little easier than yesterday, so we're making progress! Avery gently touched Julia's hair, and proudly pointed out her eyes and nose saying out loud, "Eye... Noh..." respectively.

I can tell it's going to be a rough couple of months (or more) before we're all adjusted to life with two under the age of 2, but we are so blessed and in love with both of our baby girls and can't wait to settle into our new life.

Here are some more pictures! :) (I have a TON that I'd love to post, but I really should be sleeping rather than blogging and so I'm going to choose a handful for now and then post the rest later.) Hugs to everyone and THANK YOU for caring for us/praying over us the past few days! We love you all and can't wait to introduce you to our Jules!



Avery opening her gift "from Julia"... A baby of her own! (Thanks, Gram!!) ;)



A gift my sweet Husband surprised me with!... (sorry, but I had to brag!)


Julia did this on her own and CRACKED ME UP!... look how her hands are folded... I loved it.



Friday night Poage Girls' party! Snacks in bed with Mom...