This week.

-- As I have posted recently, I have been battling a nasty bug. It's going on a month now and last week I went in and was told I had double ear infections and bronchitis. I was put on a z-pac only to not feel any better 5 days later. I went back in today and after they ordered an x-ray it was discovered that I now have pneumonia along with an ear infection still. Yep. Lovely. So, we are spending the night in and plan to watch movies. I am completely out of energy and this gives me the perfect excuse to be lazy.

-- Kaylee had her orientation for middle school and received her class schedule. She is thrilled that she has five classes with her BFF - lord, help us.

-- Layton lost 2 teeth and is looking rather hillbilly-ish.

-- Speaking of Layton - his new favorite thing to do is to practice football related drills in the house. Yes, he is excited. I get that. But, I can only take so much of him smacking the pads as hard as he can and knocking pictures off my walls until I lose it.

-- I had my most challenging photo shoot to date. A sweet little family of 5 with a very busy 1 year old. Even though it got a little stressful for the mom, I just tried my best to reassure her and am thrilled with some of the shots I captured. It's not always sunshine and roses in this profession but it's good for me to have to face new challenges. It only makes me better.

-- Becca and I met my brother and Gregory for dinner to catch up. It's always a good time with those two.  I just love them.

-- I got pulled over this morning. Yep, that was awesome. Luckily, I got out of it with just a warning. That will teach me to not browse my play list while driving down the road anymore. I'm thankful he was a sweet police officer.

-- There is a boy on Laytons football team this season that has a Grandma who makes adorable baby headbands and hats. She is the nicest person and is busy making Ava some for the fall. Right now, she is working on a super cute owl design that I absolutely love. (I'm already planning that one to be on her head in her 4 month pictures.) Excited.

-- It's official. Ava and I are flying to Texas in October. We are going with my mom and brother to surprise my wonderful Grandma. I am very excited about the visit, but not so excited about the 'being gone from the family and bestie' or the 'flying' part. (I am sorta a big baby when it comes to flying.) I fear heights, and the fact that we will be thousands of feet in the air tends to freak me out just a bit.

Grow hair, GROW!

Ava was born with a head full of hair. Throughout the months though, she has lost most of it. She has it long on top now, and she is almost bald everywhere else. It's pretty awful.

I have tried to put barrettes in it - but they don't really stay in. I have tried to hide it somewhat with headbands - but she isn't a fan. Soon, it will be fall and winter and I will try to cover it with cute knit hats (that of which I am already collecting) but I'm guessing she will hate those too. 

Becca has suggested that we should just do a faux hawk (because let's face it - it's perfect for that) but, she isn't a boy. Half of me wishes I could just shave it off and start fresh. Ha!

Oh, well... I guess I will deal with it and just hope it grows FAST because it is by far, the worst baby hair I have ever seen. Poor kiddo.

[BIRTH] photo-bomb.

I put Stephanie in charge to take pictures during the birth of Ava.
As crazy as this sounds, I actually forgot she did it until last week when Karen gave me the memory card.
I finally got to view them while baby napped and have these to share.
My favorites:

Daddy time.

Lee has always said that the can't stand the 'baby' stage. 

I must admit though - after looking at these? I'm not convinced. 

Here.

I'm at an interesting stage in my life right now.
I knew that having kids so far apart would be different, but I guess I didn't realize how different and it's almost like I felt it change overnight.

I am struggling with the fact that Kaylee is growing up. Yeah, I joke about it and make light of it but seriously - I am struggling here. I'm watching her in her daily life and can't believe how much she resembles a young adult. The clothes, the make-up, the constant 'wanting to hang' with her friends. The attitude, the fact that I get the feeling that she truly thinks that I am out to ruin her life and control everything she does. All of it. Not. Ready. My mom always said "you are going to have one just like you someday, then you will understand where I am coming from." Boy, was she right or what?

And then, on top of pre-teen hormones - I have the baby stage. The diapers, the nursing, the crying, the cooing, the giggles, the looks that come from Ava like she is almost saying to me 'you are my most favorite person in the whole world, lady.' It's crazy having one who needs me for everything, and another one that is pretty sure she doesn't anymore. These are just two totally opposite stages in life that I am dealing with at the same time and it's a super overwhelming feeling.

I know that Kay is just going through what all girls around her age go through. I know it's normal. I know deep down that she doesn't hate me. I know this. It just sucks people. Sucks. I am thankful that we still have our fun times, and our mother/daughter conversations. She still comes to me for advice and has no problem asking me any question (no matter how embarrassing it might be.) I am thankful that our arguments are only about 25% of the time. I am thankful that she is a good girl who respects me. I am so thankful that she is my daughter. I just wish that she would slow down a bit. She has all the time in the world to grow up. Why does she have to start now?

The mama in me - just isn't ready.

Our life as of lately.

-- Today, is day 16 of having this nasty cold. I can't tell you the last time that I remember being this sick. It had me totally down for over a week and I found out the hard way that when you are nursing - you can't take cold medicine. So, I suffered. I'm better now, but still have to have a tissue in my hand 24/7, and have a cough that sounds like I have smoked a pack of cigarettes every day for all of my life. Yeah, being sick in summer shouldn't be possible. It sucks.

-- Speaking of summer. It has been HOT. We had a heat wave last week. Temperatures were in the 100's. I love warm weather but that? That's a little too warm for me. We ended most of those days with a night swim at the pool after dark.

-- Football practice is in full swing. Those poor kids even had to practice in the suffocating hotness. They were little troopers though, and we are super excited for the season.

-- Kaylee has been training her little butt off for her up and coming competition next month. Between her training and Laytons practices we have something every night of the week except for Sundays. It's crazy, and exhausting. Lee has been working more, so I have been picking up the slack - so he can sleep by taking her. Once school starts, I just may kill myself. It's a lot of running around and being a way from home, and with a baby? That can be rough.

-- Bentlee is now a daddy. We studded him out a few months ago and now have seven puppies. We get pick of the litter and um, NO - we are not keeping one.

-- School shopping is DONE. [Insert, happy dance here!] Clothes, check. Supplies, Check. Just shoes left to get. Whoop! It's a happy feeling.

-- Kaylee starts "Panther Camp" tomorrow. It's a 3 day program at the middle school for 6th graders to get used to the building. She's excited. Me? It just makes me more nervous, because I dread the first day of her being in a non-elementary school. She's growing up too fast.

-- I booked a room for us at the beach for Labor day weekend. Excited. This will be our first trip away as a family of five. Looking so forward to it.

-- I have been doing quite a few family photo sessions in the last few weeks and every time I am editing I tell Lee "Oh, I wish I could just do our family pictures." So, after thinking it over, and trying to figure out if it would even be possible I have decided to give it a shot. I plan to go for it in October once the leaves start to change. I am so hoping I can pull it off.

The sling-thingy.

The best thing ever designed for a baby. I swear.
It sure as hell beats the car seat in the shopping cart at the store, or the stroller at the mall (because technically, it's still her car seat) and let's face it, lately she HATES her car seat.
Instead, I can pack her around in this and she is happy as a clam.
And me? I can cook, clean, eat, shop... yeah, you get the idea. It's genius.

It's that time again.

Football practice started last week.
I missed one because of a cold that I can't seem to shake, but      I refuse to miss more.
It's HOT. Holy, hell it's been hot. Right now? 95 degrees and practice starts in 45 minutes.
All I have to say, is we have a bunch of tough kids on our team. They have to run in it (with helmets and PANTS on) I just have to sit in it, and that's torture enough.

Looking forward to some fall football, as always.    
Go GREY CELTS!

The 3 month old.

This girl of ours is getting so big and becoming more and more fun everyday. Her personality is awesome, and I can't believe how much of a little person she already is.

-- She is stubborn. She fights nap-time already and reminds me so much of another little girl of mine during these times. She has this thing she does when she doesn't want her binky. She will be in the middle of a meltdown and if you try to give her a pacifier - she will close her lips together as tight as she can so you can't get it in her mouth. Yep, she's a stinker.

-- Speaking of meltdowns, she hates her car seat - in the evenings. It's weird. If it's in the morning, or afternoon she does awesome, but if it's after 5? She will scream the entire car ride. The only thing I can figure is that she is more tired and grumpy at that time of day and just has no tolerance for it.

-- Late last month she was diagnosed with acid reflux. She was having these almost seizure like episodes where her entire body would stiffen and convulse. I was freaking out. I took her in and they examined her and said she seemed healthy to them. We started to talk about some of her behaviors such as having the hiccups all the time, drooling, sticking her tongue out constantly and being really colicky at night. They said that these were all symptoms of AR, and the spasms were most likely because of the pain she was in. They put her on medicine for it, and within 2 days - she wasn't having them anymore, plus, her colic is almost a thing of the past. I am so thankful that it wasn't something more serious. I don't think I have ever been so scared.

-- Bath time is her favorite. She actually gets excited now after I put her in and will kick and splash. It's pure cuteness.

-- The other night afterwards, I was giving her the normal baby massage and she started laughing when I got to her hands. It was such a happy moment. Of course, she hasn't done it since for anyone else to see. (So, I'm pretty sure the kids think I'm a liar.) But, I know that she will be laughing it up all the time, soon enough. That moment is one I won't forget.

-- I broke down the other day and went out to buy her barrettes and clips for her hair. Every time I would take her out in her "boy clothes" [aka: beaver attire] at least one person would say how cute my little guy was. I had to put a stop to that.

-- In last few days she has discovered that she loves to sleep with a blanket over her face. Yeah, this mama - no likey. It makes me worry that she will suffocate. I find myself turning the moniter up full blast at night with it to my ear just to make sure I can hear her breathing.


-- And it looks like her bestie, just so happens to be mine. She is in love with her "Auntie Beeca". Those girls have the best conversations and I just love to watch them interact. Ava will 'talk' with her, more than anyone else and it makes my heart so happy.

The jumper.

Fussy time can usually be cured (at least for a little bit) by putting Ava in her jumper. I have been taking full advantage and must admit, the quick break from a screaming baby is awfully nice. She cant reach the floor yet so we just improvise. I can put her in it, shove a step stool underneath, and voila! WIN.

Yesterday.

Family time has been a little hard to do with how busy we have been lately, so we spent Friday with just the five of us.
A little shopping, a little lunch, and the perfect dose of 'us' time.
Crazy how just a few hours of nothing but time with my two favorite boys and my favorite two girls can leave me feeling totally re-charged.