Splash!

My dad and step-mom were in town this weekend. Sunday morning, we took Ryann to the splash pad at Goodyear Community Park. She's a little timid with the water but she had a great time. She even made a little friend. After a while, she was ready to head to the play structure so I changed her and she was off. That didn't last long. Her face started getting red, as it does when she's hot, so we packed up & headed out.

Scott recently got a promotion (yippee!) so his schedule has changed. He's home on Sundays now. Avery got to stay home with her daddy while we battled the heat. It was a fun battle, though.

A Trip to the Park

We are very fortunate to have a park on the other side of our backyard fence. There's a play structure, volleyball pits, a basketball court, sidewalks and lots of grass. I used to take Ryann there frequently but since Avery was born, we haven't been there. Today, I decided we needed to get out of the house so I took both girls to the park. It was in the low 90s and overcast so it wasn't too terribly hot. We only went for a half an hour so Avery didn't get overheated. Ryann had fun. Here are a few pictures.

A New Me

After gaining 61 pounds with Avery, I haven't been feeling like I look my best lately. Actually, my self-esteem hasn't been very high. So... I decided to make some changes. I started Weight Watchers last weekend. It worked really well for me last year so I'm hoping it can help me lose it again this year. At the end of week 1, I had lost 4 pounds. I'm working at it but have a long way to go. Scott's being very supportive so that helps. Weight loss always makes me feel more energized. I could use some more energy for chasing Ryann!

I also decided I needed a hairstyle change. Here are the before and after pictures. I'm not sure it was a great choice but it'll grow if I hate it.

In addition to the hair change, I bought my first of many new pairs of shoes. All my old ones are nasty & beat up so I'm throwing them out and getting new ones. Once I lose weight, the clothes are next.

Hopefully, in several months, it'll be a whole new me!:0)

Twins?

It's amazing to us how much our girls look alike. I guess it's really no mystery why but we're amazed just the same. Here are 2 pictures of our little ones sleeping. Can you tell which one's which? They're making it more challenging by hiding a bit of their faces. :0)

How about these car seat photos! Whose chubby cheeks are whose?

Smiles :0)

We're very excited that Avery has begun smiling at us. We've been waiting for the little toothless grins to arrive for weeks. Ryann smiled very early but Avery seems to be in the normal range in that department. I wonder if part of it is the fact that she gets significantly less attention than Ryann did. When Ryann was her age, she was the main attraction. I spent all day fussing over her and Scott did the same when he got home at night. Unfortunately, Avery has to share her time with her big sister. Ryann is quite demanding of our attention these days. Actually, it's been this way since she was about 18 months old. We can't leave her alone for a minute without trouble. She also needs something from us every few minutes it seems. Ryann does like to be affectionate to her sister but she tends to be too rough, still. The other day, Ryann put her head on Avery and Avery moved her hand in Ryann's hair. Ryann kept telling me that Sissy pulled her hair. Oh boy. I have a feeling this is just a taste of what's yet to come. In the mean time, I'll just enjoy the good times, like first smiles.

Keeping the Healthcare Industry Alive

Last week, Avery had to go back to the doctor because she had a gooey eye. Apparently she has a blocked tear duct with a secondary infection. She had to have antibiotic ointment put in her eyes 3 times per day for several days. That's fun when she's squinting her eyes tightly and swiping her arms at me. We got through that and she seems fine now.

Ryann and I have been battling runny noses and coughs for about a week. I finally decided I'd had enough and we went to our doctors. Apparently we have sinus infections so we both got antibiotics for 10 days.

Just when I thought I had everything taken care of, Ryann came up with another illness. Early Sunday morning, she threw up all over her bed. She didn't cry for me for a while becasue by the time I went to her at 6am, it was spread all over the bed and mostly dry. She immediately asked for milk and told me she was hungry. I'm apparently an idiot because I gave her milk. She promptly taught me a lesson by throwing up the milk all over the floor. I also apparently don't learn. She asked for more milk 20 minutes later. I decided to be smart and gave her water with a little juice instead, which she immediately threw up all over the floor. The third time's a charm, I guess, because I finally figured out she was really sick. I called for advice. The nurse told me not to give her anything for 2 hours then slowly give her clear fluids as she could tolerate them. I set her in the living room chair and turned the TV on to distract her from begging for food and drinks. She sat in a blanket, watching TV and threw up again. Ugh! After that, she took a 4 hour nap, got up for 2 hours and went back to bed.

I ended up doing 3 loads of vomit-infested laundry and cleaned the floor and furniture several times. Keep in mind that amidst all this fun, I had my beautiful 5 week old, Avery, pooping her pants constantly and crying for food every 2-3 hours. Being a mother of 2 is quite exciting.

Life went back to fairly normal today. Ryann is feeling better, Avery slept a lot today, and I went to work. Ahhhh....

Another School Year Finished

I've been on maternity leave since May 1 but the school year officially ended yesterday. I went in to do the end of the year wrap up. I ended up having a lot more to do than I thought I would. Not much was already finished as far as the end of the year paperwork to go to the next teachers or to be filed. The best part is, we don't get paid until it's all done. Ryann had to go to daycare so Avery and I could spend a day and 1/2 at school finishing it all. I did what had to be done but I'll be going in several times over the summer to do stuff for next year.
I get so excited for the new school year. We have a new teammate again this year. I'll greatly miss the one that's leaving but we got a good teacher to take her place. I look forward to a good team again this year. We're meeting on Monday. I can't wait. I guess I'm a sicko, excited for the first meeting when school just got out. Oh well, what can I say? I love my job.