Giving Thanks for our Blessings: 22 Months and 1 Week Updates!

Yesterday, Avery turned 22 months old! I guess we should start thinking about planning her 2nd birthday party, since it will be here before we know it! She has soooo turned into a toddler over the past few weeks. And now that her little sister is here, she really seems like a GIANT!
She still weighs around 26 lbs, but is definitely much taller and leaner.
She still wears size 4 diapers and 24 month clothes. She now wears size 6 1/2 shoes. She LOVES shoes!
She talks and sings like crazy! She has such a huge vocabulary now, and talks in small sentences most of the time. She is a little sponge, and will say anything we tell her to. She loves doing flash cards and naming objects in her books. She has gotten so smart! She loves singing all her little songs, like Jesus Loves Me, the ABC's, Old McDonald had a Farm, The Wheels on the Bus, and many more!
She has learned the dreaded word "MINE".... we have a typical Toddler!
She loves blowing bubbles, playing outside in the water, going to the park, doing art work with stickers and crayons, jumping, and reading her books at night.
She continues to love "school." She learns so much there and has a good time with all her little friends. They have water day every Tuesday during the summer, she loved it yesterday!
We started introducing potty training to her about a week or two ago, and she has really caught on! She has pee-peed in the potty several times now, and is so proud of herself when she does it! When she moves up to her new class at school in the next few weeks, they will really start doing consistent potty training, so hopefully she will be trained sometime around age 2! YAH!
Avery LOVES her baby sister! She is really starting to get used to having her here. The first thing she says when she wakes up or comes home from school is "Hi Baby" and wants to see her and kiss or hug her. When she doesn't see her, she asks "Where's the baby?" She knows her name and says it so sweetly.

Cooling off in this 100 degree heat (in June!).

Nothing like drinking water from the hose!

Our other little girl turned 1 week old on Monday! Natalie is such a sweet, laid-back baby. The only time we have really heard her cry is during her couple of sponge baths that I have given her. Otherwise, she just makes the cutest little noises when she is hungry or needs to have her diaper changed. During her first week, she sort of had her days and nights mixed up, but over the past 3 days it has gotten so much better! She is staying awake more during the day nursing about every 3 hours, and is going 4-5 hour stretches between feedings at night. YAH! We are all adjusting to life with a toddler and a newborn. Having a baby is definitely a lot easier the second time around... we know what to expect and feel more comfortable with her. It's the added excitement of a toddler in the house that makes it a little crazy sometimes. Avery is very sweet to her little sister, but we still have to watch her closely since "her sweetness" is sometimes a little rough. Having 2 kids definitely takes a lot of team-work! Thankfully, Ted and I make a great team!