Irey and Reese- 3 1/2 yrs & 6 Months

AH, can time slow down!? PLEASE!?! My girls are growing up too fast and it makes my heart hurt. In my quest to savor every moment I have become one of "those moms" that takes pictures of everything! Well at least now it will be hard to forget what has happened through the years;)

Reese:
My little butterball turned 6 months on October 4th and since that time I have been meaning to post about her... but November 4th is almost around the corner so this will be a 6/7 month update.

We went for the regular check ups at Dr. Wynn's office and I got a good laugh from Reese's Stats:

Weight: 16lbs (46%)

Length: 27 1/2 in (90%)

She is three inches longer then my niece who is 4 months older; we get a good laugh putting the two next to each other.

Reese is still as sweet as ever, maybe even sweeter! I just noticed a few days ago that she had cut two of her bottom teeth. HER FIRST TEETH! I didn't even notice. The only thing out of ordinary was she seemed more somber and when she was tired or hungry she was fussier then usual. Ah, I couldn't have been more blessed with a good baby. Great eater, loves to eat and I get SO much satisfaction from stuffing those chubby sweet cheeks full of food! 

Reese is still a really good sleeper and goes to bed every night between 7 or 7:30 even if I am not ready to put her down yet, she is ready to go to sleep and will just crash. She normally wakes up between 8-8:30 and will coo and jabber in her crib until it's too cute and I can't stand it and have to go get her. She suckers Brandon and I at bedtime ALL the time by getting all giggly and playful. It's painful to pull away from her sometimes. Her naps are not as consistent but if I were to sit home every day at nap time she probably would be, but with a busy three year old, that's impossible! 

Reese is easy going and so content to just sit and hang out. She has the most contagious smile that melts my heart and top it off with her adorable giggle, she is just irresistible! She is such a daddy's girl; which is a good thing because he is kinda obsessed with her! When Brandon walks into Reese's view she gives a big gummy grin and WONT take her eyes off him. I adore it!

Being sick, I am always worried that I am not enough of a mom for my girls, but Reese makes life easy and is just happy to be here. It was no mistake that she was sent to me at this time with these trials because I could not have been given a easier baby to care for. Not to mention that her smile brightens my day and makes me happy! 

Irelyn:

Irey is 3 1/2 and far from the toddler stage and I swear she is closer to being a teenager then a child. Three has been our hardest stage so far, for both of us, but it's getting better. Obviously there are all the typical reasons why three is hard for the parents but on Irey's side of things the past six months have been A LOT of adjusting. She got a new baby sister which demanded a lot of mom and dad attention, mom has been working A LOT so that makes for something else that takes away mom's attention, and to top it all off mom has been super sick and doesn't play like she use to. I honestly feel bad for her. Three is hard and I am just crossing my fingers that she will remember the good about it.

Irey started Preschool and is loving it! She is always excited to go and wants to tell me all about it when she gets home. They send home a little homework page where we work on tracing numbers or letters; I can already see how much she is learning and progressing from when she started to now. At first I had to really help her with her little homework page but now she does it all on her own. It makes me so proud to see her learning and to be excited about it. She is one smart girl. I hope her excitement about learning can follow her all her life.

At home it's been a challenge to find things for Irey do to entertain her with out having to exert energy I don't have, something other then another movie. The other day we got the bright idea to make a necklace. It had to be something we could do while I was sitting down and a easy clean up. We ended up making a necklace out of fruity cheerios and floss. It turned out super cute and Irey was SO proud of herself! She wanted to make one for ALL her cousins, aunts, uncles, Gma & Gpas. 

Another fun thing Irey and I like to do as of late (another sit down type activity) is read books. Irey has always loved books but she didn't want you to read them to her, she wanted to look at the pictures and make up her own story. NOW she actually wants to to read her the story and tell her about every picture in detail. I do enjoy being able to take a slow down and just sit and giggle with her. 2 or 3 books is about all I can take haha.

Thank goodness for when daddy comes home! He is THE BEST at wrestling and getting out some built up energy.  Dads are always so much fun and very dependable to play hide-and-go-seek with, or find some activity that involves lots of giggles.

I am feeling SO blessed to live where we do because there are a LOT of kids Irey age on our street so there is lots of friends to play with all the time. She also LOVES her cousins and asked to play with them EVERY HOUR OF THE DAY. I love when I can sit outside Irey's room and listen to the little girls play and giggle! On the flip side, girls are such DRAMA!!! Haha, I am learning to deal with the drama... but it's a work in progress!

Even though three has been a tough age, I adore my Irey Jane MORE then ever. I can be 5 second from pulling my hair out and then she can say or do something that gets me busting up laughing. She is just full of personality and sass and there isn't a thing I would change about who she is! She is my little side kick and loves to help mom cook and get things for me. She is strong and independent already. There was a day that I was feeling sicker then normal and I ended up passing out while Brandon was on his way home from work. Irey was there with me and when I came to, my first thought was panic for poor Irey who must be so scared and confused. But NOPE not this girl, she had a pillow and a blanket for me and was laying down next to me, stroking my arm, and telling me It's ok mama, it's ok! Irey is such a nurturer and is always taking care of me in her little way. I can tell that she was meant to be the oldest because she has that strong leader but loving personality that I love OH so much!

Having two girls has been more fun then I could have imagined. Brandon and I were talking the other day and saying if we had 2 or 3 more girls we would be thrilled... until they are teenagers... then we will ship them off to a all girls school! jk. Sometimes having two kids is a little overwhelming when I am not up to par but for the most part I can't believe how lucky I got to get such darling and good girls. They make it easy to want more kiddos to add the bunch, I just anticipate #3 being a little stinker since I have been so spoiled with the first two;) 

 I am starting to see more interaction between Irey and Reese. It's exciting to think of them playing together and being friends. And I am also filled with dread when I think of them fight and being sisters in that way too!

I am just thrilled that these two are turning out alright even though they have me for a mama;)