Storytime

Storytime with Sofia and Juliet reading If You Give a Pig a Pancake.
I will never get tired of capturing these two girls together.

The End   :)

1 and 2

First of all, I am so so sad I didn't do the every month picture with Sofia during her first year. I know I took pictures everyday (numerous pictures) but not specified with the fun specific decals that you see everywhere....therefore, I was not going to miss it with Juliet.

With that being said, here are the first and second month pics of Juliet.  It still amazes me how they change so much.

Sweet happy face!  ;)

There is someone in our home that LOVES Jesse from Toy Story 2 .....

I love this little girl!

Sweet Pea Juliet had her 2 month check up.....2 months!  As of October 10, she is 11ish pounds and 23 inches long and 75% all the way around.  Steven and I thought she would weigh in a little more (Sofia averaged in the 95-97% her first year!)

We were anxious for this appointment because of the sleeping habits that had been occuring in our household since the day we brought Juliet home and couldn't wait for the doctor's report and recommendations.  Juliet had not slept in her bassinet/crib since day one.  She had to sleep in an upright position or she had to be held on her stomach on whoever was holding her in an upright position....AND she would wake up and stay awake with so many wiggles for 2-3 hours in the middle of the night.  We were averaging 3 1/2 - 4 hours of sleep and we were exhausted.  Then in the middle of the night, Sofia would join our party and see that one of us was sitting up so she would make herself comfortable in our bed and start her chats.  Goodness!  I kept telling myself that Juliet was a different baby and we would get it together soon - but there was no relief.

Result:  Reflux

We have since started meds and a sensitive formula for her little tummy.  The wiggles don't occur half as long in the middle of the night and she burps a lot easier than before.  She even falls asleep while drinking a bottle - this never happened before.  So far so good, but sleep is still coveted.  Overall, Juliet is improving and hopefully our bed will not continue to look like this much longer   ;) 

Poor little legs :( (shots)



This made me hold her all day  :(



Sisters and Friends

Sofia and Juliet are on the road to a beautiful friendship. 

Since before Juliet was born I prayed this would be and so far so good.  I know there will be times where it won't be this way all the time but until then, I will enjoy seeing the two of them loving on eachother and sharing smiles.  A sweet friend gave me great advice to always tell them they are best friends and they will believe me (Thanks Crissy! :)  ) Since then I have done just that and Sofia's smile lights up with pride and excitement.  I look forward to many more of these precious moments of our girls. 

Whereever Juliet is.....there is Sofia  :)....and the pictures that are of Juliet by herself I promise Sofia is not far away ;)

Sofia is sharing her puzzle pieces so Juliet can help put a puzzle together...

reading to Juliet....

and this picture melts my heart ;)

Roomies

Since our family lives out-of-town I still wanted a spare bedroom for them and I really wanted the girls to share a room for a little while until they told me otherwise (hopefully later rather than sooner).

However, Juliet has been a very different baby.  She has yet to sleep in her bassinet or crib for the entire night (we would settle for at least half the night) but we are working on it and in her defense we may be dealing with silent reflux  :(  And because of this she is quite the noise maker with grunts and squeaks while she sleeps. 

So to keep Sofia from having a restless night (when she stays in her bed) I thought it would be best to move Juliet's crib to the other room until we got things in order.  Well, heartbroken Sofia cried after she saw Steven remove the crib and we started getting her ready for bedtime.  She said "Juliet's bed goes right there".  In the middle of the night, Sofia ended up in our bed and Juliet and I end up on the couch (we have more activity during the night than the circus!).  Steven said she would even wake up would say "Daddy, Juliet's bed". 

Sooo the next night Steven had to dissasemble the crib to return it to Sofia's room - he's getting really good at it!  :) 

This was response from Sofia once it was returned to her/their room....

Pure happiness!

They are (hopefully) going to make the best roommates! :)

Cushy Tushy

When Juliet was about two weeks old, she had the saddest rash on her little bottom.  She cried when she wet her diaper and cried louder when she was changed  :( 

After a visit with her pediatrician (and better lighting in the doctor's office) the conclusion was a possible allergic reaction to the gel in the diapers.  In addition, her body where the diaper covered was also irritated.  With a precription in hand and advice to look for "brown diapers" we left.  My sister, Anna, who was with me mentioned cloth diapers.  Before I could respond "No thanks" she started telling me about these cutie patootie cloth diapers she sees everywhere with bum covers that come in a variety of colors.  "Variety of colors?!?!"  (OOO la-la! Those were the magic words!!).....and they help the planet...

And she was right..  gdiapers are a type of diaper that come with cloth inserts AND disposable inserts.  The disposable inserts are biodegradable that can be tossed, flushed (YES - can you believe it!) or used as compost (I'm not there yet).  Not to mention that the bum covers DO come in a variety of colors AND are super duper cute!

After trying them for a couple of days her rash was gone (I'm sure the ointment helped) but has yet to have another rash episode.  I didn't go overboard and purchase as many colors as I would have liked for the first round because we tried regular pampers again just to make sure, but lo and behold she had another rash (DARN! wink-wink :) ) 

Overall, I have been happy with them.  Steven said I shocked him when I decided to go this route (I am a little shocked myself - we use both cloth and disposable) but it beats Juliet being miserable and heading to the doctor each time with the sensitive skin she may have. 

Here are a few extra facts:

• gDiapers are plastic-free, elemental chlorine free, latex free, and perfume free.
• 50 million diapers get tossed each day and each one takes up to 500 years to biodegrade.
• gDiapers break down in 50-150 days.
• Super cute!  (That's my part)  ;)

To get you to their website for more exciting news, click here

I LOVE gdiapers!

Sincerely,

A happy customer  :)

Sisters

Over Labor Day weekend, my sisters came to visit and love on the newest little sisters. It was a wonderful weekend and I enjoy our time when we are all together.

Sofia decided it would be great to polish her fingernails....with a yellow highlighter.

Big Sister

Sofia LOVES Juliet. She cannot get enough of her.....this makes me VERY happy.

Here is a clip of Sofia helping Juliet calm down with one of her blankets. I love to see how proud she is of her own accomplishment.

I pray they are like this for years to come....

Juliet Grace

(**Warning!  This is a super long post**)

Finally!  She is here (almost two months ago!!).  August 10, 2011 was so crazy that weeks after I would tear up thinking about it and how God was in total control.

Here is my story....

Halfway through my pregnancy I knew Juliet would come early (Sofia was 10 days late on the day she was born).  Due to the insane summer heat, I experienced frequent Braxton Hicks contractions at night but they were never consistent and would eventually fade.... until a week and a half before my due date.  It all started Sunday, August 7, 2011...the night before was the most uncomfortable yet and it seemed to progress. 

As we were getting ready for my appointment that Wednesday morning (a week before my due date), Sofia said "Juliet's gonna pop!"  I just stood there "What?!?!"  and she said it again! 

At the doctor's office I had prepared myself for the usual "All looks good and I will see you next week"  but the response was different.  He looked at me and said "We will make an appointment for next week but I don't think you will make it... it should be any day". The nurse that was in the room gasped and she recalled Sofia's prophetic remark regarding Juliet earlier that morning.

So with eager anticipation we practically skipped out the door knowing our sweet baby would soon come.   

At home I started to wonder "What am I supposed to wait for?"  Sofia was induced and once I was juiced up my epidural was given and 16 hours later all was over without feeling major discomfort so I was a little anxious to know what to expect.  I called the hospital and spoke to a labor and delivery nurse and after a gadzillion questions later....the final answer was "about 5 minutes apart within an hour".

4:30pm.... Steven calls and says he wasn't going to Wednesday night church service (I was relieved because I was not feeling too well....discomfort was happening every 6-9 minutes).

5:30pm....Trying to eat dinner....but feeling a little worse.

6:30pm....Okay...God may be telling me something so everyone needs to take a shower (yes..looking back this was crazy).

Today, I realize leaving Sofia was what kept me from going to the hospital sooner.  We had wonderful friends who were ready and willing to take care of her when the time came but how would she feel staying with different people and spend the night in someone else's house..I had not prepared her...

7ish (things started to become blurry because it was every 5-7  minutes)
Me:  "Sofia, would you like to go to Maddie's house?"
Sofia: "Yes!" (happily getting off the couch)
Me:  "Would you like to spend the night?"
Sofia:  "Okay!" :)  while putting her shoes on and grabbing her nap mat....

This was definitely God saying "Its time to go" 

Once we got Sofia settled, off to the hospital we went.  We parked the car in the parking lot and walked into the hospital (YES...I WAS NUTS!!!) and left EVERYTHING (cell phones included) because Steven would head back to the car after I got settled.

I had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath and endure a few contractions but up the elevator (AGAIN..CRAZY!!) we went to labor and delivery.  Nurse Amy(who became my superhero!) lead us into our room.  In the most discomfort I had ever known, ordered my epidural her response completely shocked me with "You're a 10!"  The look of horror on my face made her wait for a contraction and said "You are an 8/9 and we may get to you in time"  then proceeded to get on the speaker and said "I need everyone and everything" and soon my door opened with people walking in with carts, lights, heat warmer things etc.... ready..set..go!

The staff was amazing (especially the anesthesiologist), Steven kept me calm and God was in total control.  I walked in at 8:45pm and we were blessed at 10:17pm with a beautiful and healthy 7lb, 3oz and 20 inches long sweet baby girl!

We were blessed many times that night...here are a few:
(1) Sofia had fun at Maddie's, went to bed AND slept through the night
(2) Easy (but fast) labor and delivery with no complications
(3) Juliet was healthy
(4) Juliet was NOT born in the car!

Juliet Grace Ainsworth

....let the games begin!  :)

Big-girl Bed

As we were preparing to make room for Juliet's arrival, I was determined not to buy another crib....so that meant Sofia was to get a big-girl toddler bed so she could "pass the torch" to the baby.  Oh she was excited!  She loved being able to crawl in and out with her books and her babydolls.  The first week was pure honeymoon!  She did wonderful by staying in her bed for her nap and throughout the night.  Then reality soon came and everyone ended up in the same bed every morning.  Since then Sofia invites herself to slumber party with us every now and again unless Nani is here and catches her to climb in bed with her to give us a little extra restful shut-eye.  Although the nights can be sleepless at times having two has made me realize how fast my sweet girls are growing and I know I will one day wish they would crawl into bed with us.  Until then - Starbucks with a shot of espresso runs through my veins.  ;)

These are the pictures of Sofia waking up from her very first night in her big-girl bed.

Good Morning Sunshine!!

Hair by Hillary

It was way past the time for Sofia to get her first haircut trim....  and so we took a trip to our good friend Hillary....

In the end....there wasn't much change but I may get a little braver the next round :)

Sofia's Nail Salon

For an accurate trimming of Sofia's nails, I use nail scissors....and this is what I walked into the other day...

Swimming!

This summer Sofia participated in swim lessons.  The two best perks about the swim lessons were (1) They took place at our house and (2) I didn't have to get in the pool  ;) . 

Ms. Angie, the swim instructor, was absolutely wonderful and so patient with the everyday crying from the beginning to the end (30 - 40 minutes!).  She would occasionally bring her daughters to swim along which were a great distraction motivation for Sofia and her friend Tori.  Angie taught them great survival skills of getting out of the pool (not using the steps), turning around toward the wall after jumping in, using kickers to move around and going under water (the least favorite).  She used songs to calm them and they would eventually sing along ..... at night we would even hear Sofia repeat all the instructions in the same kind voice to her babydolls along with an "I'm proud of you!"  and "Here's a Skittle" (the reward).

Before, Sofia never would dart for the pool but didn't want to dive right in it either to enjoy the water.  By the end of the week she was a fearless Micheal Phelps (with floaties)   ;) 

We loved Ms. Angie and we will definitely see her again next year!

"Swimming"

Create a free slideshow with Picnik!

ELC - Mother's Day Out

Since Sofia had been used to being around friends, arts and crafts and structured time, I thought it would be fun for her to attend a Mother's Day Out program for a few days over the summer.  She has a few friends who already attended and their parents loved it so we gave it a whirl.

Here are pictures from her first day...

Loving her packpack!

I wasn't sure how it would be for her.  "School" is a term we use to describe Mrs. Nikki's and since that wasn't where we were headed I was a little apprehensive of her reaction once we drove up to her the new place.  It was harder on me (as always) than it was on her to leave her in a new surrounding with new people.  Overall, it was a great summer of new fun and new friends for Sofia.  I was happy (and shocked!) that she napped everyday and was still sleeping when I arrived to pick her up and didn't fuss when it was time to head out the door for another day.  It was a fast few weeks before it was over and we look forward for next summer!  :)