Wet Fun

I have to share this video of the girls. I took it last week at the pool. During break time, the Ava and Molly love to play in the fountains. It cracks me up. Ava's laugh is so genuine. Enjoy!!

Our Little Angel

As many of you know this has been a tough summer for us. I can finally sit down and write about it. Writing this is like opening a wound and pouring a bit of salt in it. It stings. My heart aches. The tears are flowing. I struggled with even posting this but he is a part of our lives we will never forgot. I feel like I owe "him" a post on our blog. Especially since "he" is on my mind everyday.
We have learned so many lessons from this experience. I can honestly say that I am a stronger person because of it. My relationship with God has never been stronger. My relationship with Mike has never been stronger. And I have never felt closer to my friends and family. Prayers, flowers, phone calls and visits are what has gotten me through this. Thanks to everyone for your love and support. A person could not ask for a stronger support network.
This whole healing process has been a roller coaster. Sometimes I am up. Sometimes I am down. Sometimes it feels like a dream-a nightmare that never happened. Sometimes I feel guilt. Guilt wondering what I did. Guilt because I am not grieving more. Sometimes, I calculate exactly how far along I would be, how I would be feeling, would I be showing yet? It is so hard not to think of what could have been. Sometimes I just grab my two healthy beautiful girls and squeeze them. Sometimes, especially during my runs, I take the time notice all the little things-the trees, the green grass, the worms on the sidewalk and I think what a wonderful world we live in. I have to wonder if I would have taken the time before to take it all in. And sometimes, I wonder what could have been and why it is not.
We are healing. Healing more and more everyday. Thanks for listening. As hard and painful as this was, I needed to do it. I guess it's cheap therapy right? The picture below really helps me feel peace. Peace knowing that our baby is protected and cared for. So, please continue to keep us in your prayers. And know that you also have a little guardian angel up in heaven!

Back to School

Today was Ava's first "full" day of school. We went on Tuesday for an orientation for a couple of hours and I got to go with her. Her new school is great. She goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:45-11:45. If I want her to, she can stay after that for lunch. Today she is staying for lunch. I think that they are having chicken spaghetti. There are only 14 kids in her class. 7 boys and 7 girls. Thank God it's balanced. She is going through a not liking boys stage right now. In the hallway she gets a hook to hang her backpack and inside the classroom her very own cubby. Our school last year did not have hooks or cubbies. She was very excited. Her teacher is Mrs. Urdea and the assistant is Miss Shultz. They both seem great so far. It was a lot easier leaving her this year than last year. No tears this time. I should say no tears from me. Molly did not want to leave the classroom. When we drive by Ava's school and point it out, Molly always asks "Where's my school?". So, it won't be long until she is there too! I think that she will enjoy some mommy time.

A Perfect Day at the Pool

The weather was perfect, the behavior was perfect and the pool wasn't crowded. We had so much fun at the pool today. And best of all, I finally remembered my camera. With Ava's first full day tomorrow, I figure that this is probably the last day for the pool for the year. Maybe forever if our house will sell! The girls had the best time. They actually played in the water by themselves. Molly loves kicking her feet and floating on her back. Ava had a great time giving her princesses a bath.




But, most surprisingly, they actually went down the whale slide. You would have thought that they just put it in, not that it has been there all summer long. I have begged and begged the girls all summer to go down it but no. Today was the day. Molly even went down on her stomach. I will miss the pool!!

Back to Reality

We have had such a busy summer. Traveling a lot. It feels great to be back to normal. Normal with a few big changes. It seems like the girls grew up so much this summer!! Ava has become a very private person. She has to go to the bathroom by herself. Nobody is allowed in the room to help. She now dresses herself in her room with the door closed. It's great! Molly is really growing up to. She no longer says Aya for Ava. She can pronounce it the correct way. Makes me kind of sad since she has been saying this since she was 7 months old! She is talking in sentences now and can name a few colors. Pink, Purple, Orange, and Green. The biggest and most exciting change for me is no more "little girl" cups! Molly is able to drink out of a "big girl" cup now. On our last trip, I forgot to bring any of her cups so we gave her paper cup to drink out of. She did great. We are still working on not putting food into the cup or dipping our toast! Needless to say, we have only had a couple of spills! We are very close to being potty trained too. She tells me when she is going and runs to her potty. I haven't been brave enough to go without a diaper yet. She has her eyes on getting Ariel big girl pants once she goes into the potty. Check out her first ponytail. Her hair is now long enough to pull pack. I love the little nub on top of her head. She looks so grown up. :(

Family Reunion

Last week, we had an wonderful time reconnecting with my grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. There were some people that the girls met for the first time. Aunt Kay and Uncle Bill were the best hosts ever!! It was so much fun playing on the lake, fishing and hanging out. The best part had to be the nightly campfires. The smores were so yummy! We made some great memories and I hope everyone had as much fun as we did!!

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