Two Great Videos of Our Little Singer

"ABC's"

"Wheels on the Bus"

I Love October!!

 I have to say, October is one of my favorite months. I love that the weather is getting cooler, but it's not too cold yet. I love that I can buy a ton of candy, and say it's for Halloween, but eat half of it. (Mini Kit Kats and Heath bars are a weakness, especially on tough days.)  Not to mention, all the holidays there are to look forward to. I am notorious for getting out Christmas music way too early, but I have been good so far. The first day we get really cold weather, it will be a challenge not to pull out my Home Alone Soundtrack. It's my favorite!
  Although I still love October, this year has been completely different for me. With October comes RSV season. We have already started our shots, which does give me a little peace of mind. I have been taking advantage of the great weather, and we have been doing a lot of things outside. I miss going to church as a family. We are making the best of our situation though, and we have had some great times together.
  To start with Ryleigh is now 8 months old, and weighs 12 pounds 13 oz! She is an active little thing. As soon as I put her down for a nap, she rolls right over and wakes up. That has been one of our challenges here lately. She will fight going to sleep like you wouldn't believe. She has been much more engaged with toys, and sits in the exersaucer with pillow support. She is very social, and likes being talked to. She is now wearing 3-6 month clothing. We still pray for poop too! She is not quite regular yet, and her tummy can really bother her at times.
  Aubrey is at a very fun age. Two year olds are challenging, but I love seeing her make connections to things, and how verbal she is. One of my favorite things Aubrey does right now is help me vacuum. Or in her words, "vacune." She takes her little vacuum and pushes it around as I vacuum. She knows the order we are supposed to go in too. When she accidentally does something, she will say, "Sorry Mommy." She also is polite and will say "Bless You" if I sneeze or "Are you okay?" if I am coughing. I think it's the sweetest thing ever. Aubrey wakes up on her own, and will come in our room when she wakes up. After Rod leaves of a morning, she will come up to me and and say, "Mommy brefust" aka breakfast. We have gotten back into potty training again. Fun times! I am using a stamp chart to reward her with. She is doing pretty well so far.  Another one of my favorite things is listening to Aubrey sing her ABCs, or the Wheels on the Bus. Those are her two favorite songs. She sings it to Ryleigh as loud as she possibly can. She counts to 10 now too. Go Aubrey!
  Here are many pics of what we have been up to lately. Enjoy! Oh, and this video makes me smile. I walked in after nursing Ryleigh to see that Aubrey was reading to her baby.

I was really bummed to miss my 10 year reunion at ACU this year. Ken and Shanta made my day by stopping by on their way to Abilene.

 Go Wildcats!

I love these Halloween shirts on the girls

 One of Ryleigh's favorite toys

 This was me trying to get creative on a stir crazy day!

 This is Aubrey singing the "Wheels on the Bus" to Ryleigh

Two of my favorite recent pics of Aubrey. She has gotten into wearing my jewelry now too!

Ryleigh in the exersaucer!

Aubrey saw me taking a picture of Ryleigh, and in no time she was getting her camera and taking a pic of her baby.

Aubrey is thrilled to be sitting on the potty!

The Fall for Rod means hunting season!

This was at my Aunt Sandra's Birthday. (My Dad's sister) Please be praying for her as she battles cancer.

Here she is with many of the kiddos!

Sister pic, we missed you Tam!

A sweet 8 Month Pic

This Preemie Prayed for this Preemie

Last week Aubrey, Ryleigh and I got to meet up with our friends Emily, Grace and Caleb. Emily delivered Grace at almost exactly the same gestational age that I delivered Ryleigh. Emily has been such a supportive friend to me from the time that Ryleigh was born. Emily was and still is able to understand and sympathize with our situation on a deeper level, given that she has been through so much of it herself. Her daughter Grace is now 3, and prayed for Ryleigh while she was in the NICU. It was so neat to be able to see the two of them together. Grace is so bright, and full of energy. You would never know she had such a rough start into this world. Thank you Emily and Grace for your prayers. We love you guys!

Baby Dedication/Outside Fun

 For starters, I wanted to share that Ryleigh is doing much better! We appreciate all of you who have been praying for her. We have taken out one of the daily breathing treatments now. We don't hear the wheezing anymore! Most of you know we are sticking to walks to the parks, and other outside events. I may be calling you for a play date at the park soon! Luckily, both of my girls love to be outside! We start each morning with a walk!

Aubrey found a puddle to play in with her partner in crime

Sweet Girl!

 This past weekend we had Ryleigh's Baby Dedication at church. Ryleigh and I came for the dedication part, and then left right after. I felt so blessed to be there with Ryleigh. As I stood there in church, and we prayed, and then were prayed for, I felt a little emotional thinking about how far Ryleigh has come. She is such a gift to our family. She has come so far in the last 7 months. She is such a miracle! It was neat to be able to stand there with another NICU baby, as well as my good friend Liz and her baby Darby.

Weekend Pics

Aubrey had fun playing with her Mimi and Papi at the park

Ryleigh had fun too

Baby Dedication

 Tam and I and our girls

 Keari, Tam and I and the girls

 My parents and I

Liz and I and our girls

Mimi, Papi, Aubrey and Ryleigh

Rod and his parents

Silly Aubrey and Ryleigh

Oh, and I finally moved Ryleigh's bassinet out! She has definitely out grown it!