Punkin Patch

Last night we took the girls to the pumpkin patch. We took them to the same one that we have taken Emma to the past couple of years because they still had a bunch of pumpkins left. Emma loved going around and picking up different pumpkins. She tried to hug and kiss on the scarecrow and even tried to eat the pumpkin. We let her pick out a small pumpkin that we are going to paint today and also a tiny pumpkin for Ryleigh.

Sick Little Girls

Tuesday night both of the girls were very congested when they went to bed. They both slept horrible. Emma got up a few times and Ryleigh about 7 times. Wednesday morning when they woke up they were about the same. Emma threw up twice and also had some diarrhea. Ryleigh screamed most of the morning and was spitting up a lot more than usual. So I called the doctor and made them both an appointment. My sweet hubby came home from work and helped me with both girls. I haven't had more than few hours of sleep the past few nights and it was really starting to wear on me. So yesterday afternoon we took them to the doctor. They both have colds. Emma checked out fine just a little cough and congestion [not sure why she was throwing up though]. But he gave us some medicine for her and she slept good last night. She got up this morning still congested but acting like she feels better. Ryleigh has the start of an ear infection. He said it wasn't a full ear infection but just in the early stages where all the pressure has built up in her ear. So he gave us antibiotics for her. She still got up about 6 times last night and she's been screaming/fussing most this morning. She has also developed a horrible cough too. I'm hoping that this doesn't last long and they both are better soon. Please pray for them....it's horrible seeing your babies feel bad.

Pulling Up

Last night Ryleigh pulled up into a standing position for the first time! It was so exciting. I was sitting on the floor playing with her and Emma and she all of a sudden she grabbed onto her toy and starting pulling up. I yelled at Josh to look and she made it all the way up and stood for a few seconds. She has been able to pull up by holding my hands but this was the first time she grabbed something and did it all by herself. She is growing up too fast. Ryleigh does not like to sit still. She is trying so hard to crawl but just doesn't have the arm strength yet. She will be crawling before too long though.

Ryleigh has also been sick the past day and a half so keep her (and me) in your prayers. She is doing a lot of screaming and it's wearing on me, along with the few hours of sleep a night I've been getting. Hopefully she'll start feeling better soon.

1st Zoo Trip

This morning we went to the NC Zoo. It was both Emma and Ryleigh's first time and I was so excited to take them. We've had this planned for a while now and we were able to go as a big family. We went with The Hollifields, mom and dad, Katie, and her boyfriend Bradley. I am so glad that we all got to go together. I think it worked out well, because me and Autumn had helpers. It would have been extremely difficult to go by ourselves. We got there right when the park opened at 9:00. Emma decided to get up at 6:00 this morning and woke Ryleigh up too, so I was afraid that it was going to be a disaster. Emma did wonderful the whole time. Ryleigh fussed at the beginning but only because she was tired. My mom carried her and got her to sleep and she got a short nap. Then once she woke up she was fine. We walked through the Africa part first. We were able to go out of the new Giraffe deck. You can get really close to the giraffes and even feed them. I think Cheyenne was the only one who got to feed one though. Once the giraffes got close enough, all of a sudden there were a ton more people around. After lunch we walked through the North America side then walked all the way back through the zoo to where we parked. We walked A LOT...and all the kids did wonderful. I can't wait to take them all back when they are older.

The video at the bottom is sooooo cute. Emma and Cheyenne were hugging and kissing on each other.

The girls slept most of the way from North America to the park lot....probably about 45 min or so. They were exhausted.

Polar BearDo you see Cheyenne's little hands trying to feed the giraffe?

Aunt Katie and Emma

Elephants!

Emma loved walking around like a big girl

Cheyenne says.."Hold my hand Emma" Too cute!

Emma and Nana looking at the monkeys!

Swingin' and Slidin'

Yesterday we took Emma and Ryleigh to the playground for a little bit to play. Emma had fun climbing on everything and going down the slide. We also let Ryleigh swing for the first time and she really enjoyed it. But of course, after we put Ryleigh in the baby swing, Emma had to get in it too.

In other news....Ryleigh said mama for the first time today....and also she got up on her hands and knees and started rocking. Won't be long before she is crawling!

Playing

7 Months Old

Where is the time going? It makes me so sad to think my little Ryleigh is not so little anymore. She is not far away from being 1 and she won't be my baby anymore. She is constantly changing and doing new things.

Here's what Ryleigh is up to:

-She usually eats 3 meals a day. Yogurt for breakfast, fruit and veggie for lunch and dinner. She is taking 6 oz bottles too. She has mastered drinking out of a sippy cup and can even hold it herself for a few seconds before dropping it. She loves to snack on Yogurt Melts and she also had her first cracker.

-She loves to bounce. She jumps in her exersaucer all the time and even when I hold her hands and she is standing, she is trying to bounce.

-She is sitting up unassisted all the time now. She rarely topples over anymore.

-Every toy that she picks up, immediately goes to her mouth.

-She has developed a love for Nick Jr. Anytime I turn it on for Emma, Ryleigh stops and watches it too.

-A few weeks ago I stopped giving her her Zantac for her reflux. I thought that she had gotten to the point where she didn't really need it. But then she started waking up 5 times a night which was very unlike her. At the time I didn't think of it being the reason she was waking up, but a few nights ago we started giving it to her again before bed and she is sleeping much better. She will usually sleep from 8:00-5:00, get up and eat, and then go back to sleep until 7 or 8.

-This month she started sitting in high chairs at restaurants and also in shopping carts. She loves being able to sit up and look around. It has really made her a happier baby.

-She also stayed with Nana and Papa for the first time. (technically, her first babysitters) She did wonderful!

-She is still wearing her cloth diapers at home and also some when we go out. We decided to buy her fall clothes based on her wearing disposables because to get her pants to go over a cloth diaper, we would have to get 18-24 month pants and then they would be 6 inches too long. But she is wearing her cloth diapers most of the time so that's ok with me.

-She is in a size 3 diaper and she can wear anything from 9-18 month clothes.

-She went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and weighs about 20 1/2 lbs. She is definitely a big baby. I was updating both of their baby books yesterday and discovered that Emma weighed the same thing Ryleigh does now when she was a year old!

-She does wonderful going to sleep. I can usually lay her down in her crib and pat her back for a minute or two and then she falls asleep.

-She is still a mama's girl. There are a few people that she will go to for a little bit, but most everyone else, her bottom lip comes out within a few seconds.

-On Sunday, she will be going to the zoo for the first time with my whole family. I can't wait. I know she will have no idea what's going on, but I'm glad that she and Emma are experiencing it together for their first time.

-She loves when Emma plays with her. Her face lights up everytime.

She is such a sweet and wonderful little girl. We are so blessed to have her in our lives!

Hello My Love!

Ok, I'm officially IN LOVE with....our new BOB!

Saturday morning, I sold our double stroller on craigslist! When I first started looking into double strollers I loved the idea of what the stroller could do, but after months of using it, it was more of a pain than I thought it would be. So I sold it and decided to get a double jogging stroller. Jogging strollers range in price from pretty cheap to REALLY expensive. Well, since this was going to be our last stroller we wanted something that would last and be comfortable. The Bob's are the best stroller on the market. Every parent would love to have one. This little double stroller is about $600! brand new. Ridiculous..I know. But we got lucky enough to find one on Craigslist and we picked it up Sunday morning! I love it so much already. It practically pushes itself. I can't wait to use it some more. We basically just traded one stroller for another as the bob was priced about the same that we got for our old stroller. I am so excited I can't stand it.

saturday.sunday.monday

SATURDAY

Saturday we went to my mom and dads house for dinner to celebrate my mom's birthday, which was Friday! Autumn had a great idea of doing a Mexican dinner. So we made tacos and enchiladas and had chips and dips. It was so good and it was nice to do something different. After dinner we had cake from Delicious Bakery! Yumm!! Before Dinner Emma got to play outside and ride her tricycle that The Hollifields got her for her birthday!

SUNDAY

Sunday was a busy day for us. It was FAIR day! I was so excited. I had waited forever to be able to take Emma. I just knew that she was going to have so much fun because she was finally big enough to ride some things. My mom and dad were so sweet to keep Ryleigh for us. I was nervous because it was the first time I have left her with anyone other than Josh for more than an hour or so. But she did wonderful! She played and took a great nap. She was all smiles when we picked her up. :-] That makes for a very happy mama. I wish I could say that our other daughter was just as happy that day. When we got to the fair we walked around for a little bit and then I took Emma on the ferris wheel. It was her first time every riding something like that so I was curious to see if she liked it. She absolutely LOVED it though. She kept looking over the side saying Hi to everyone. I was kind of surprised that she wasn't scared or anything but she really did great. After the ferris wheel we were going to do a few more rides but it was so crowded. There was no way Emma was going to wait in those long lines. So we did the next best thing.....ATE! After the ferris wheel, Emma did not want to go back into the stroller. So I thought by maybe getting her some popcorn she would want to sit in the stroller and eat it. But no, she wanted to be a big girl and sit on the bench. From then on, she threw a fit anytime we tried to put her in the stroller. She got to the point where she didn't want to walk, be held, or ride. So we just ended up leaving. I know it's because she was tired because we had to skip her nap. Normally she does ok without a nap but I think she was overwhelmed with all the people and loud noises. Not to mention she fell asleep about 15 minutes before we got to the fair and I had to wake her up. But I guess that's what happens when you have kids. Hopefully next year will be better. Do you see Josh way down there??

MONDAY

This morning we went to the Natural Science Center. We were there about an hour and then it seemed like every child in Guilford County was there on a field trip and I could barely even walk without running into a kid, so we left. I took the girls in the stroller because I had planned on going outside to see the animals but it was cold this morning and I didn't realize it before I left so neither of them had a jacket. But we'll see them next time. After we left the science center we went to the grocery store to get the ingredients for homemade soup. My mom makes the most amazing homemade soup ever. We always beg for it every winter. I have made a pot myself the past year or two and it has turned out pretty good. But you have to start some of the meat the night before and then it cooks all day. Well this was kind of a last minute thing, so I improvised and cooked everything and then put it all the crockpot to cook for about 6 hours. I hope it turns out well. Anyway, this is Ryleigh getting ready to go into the grocery store. She has been riding in a cart for a few weeks now. I am so glad that she is big enough. It makes it so much easier for going into a store for a few mintues instead of getting out a stroller. Emma loves riding in the big part of the cart so it works out great.

A few Pictures

Here are a few pictures from this past week.

Emma loves to stand on the side of the crib and look at Ryleigh. First thing in the morning when she gets up she goes over to Ryleigh and makes sure she is up to. Ryleigh was playing in her crib while I did a couple of things in the girls' room and Emma kept standing on the side and so I decided to let Emma just sit in there with her. They are really starting to like playing together.Emma naps some days but not every day. She is getting to the age where if we don't do alot that day, she doesn't need one. This particular day I didn't put her down for her nap and around 4:30 she was out like a light. Guess she needed that nap after all. She laid down beside daddy to watch Dora and fell asleep. (and yes, she still sleeps with her paci....and no I don't want any comments. I have too many other battles to fight besides a paci)