Celia at 17 months and Audrey at 17 months

The above picture is Audrey and the below pictures are Celia.  I still do not think they look alike, but I thought I would compare.  Audrey I think is slimmer then Celia.  I think that at this point Audrey is a tiny bit taller then Celia was but a pound lighter.  We will see what time brings!  It is nice being able to look at baby pictures and know whose they are because to me they look nothing alike, except for the blonde hair!!  Celia's hair as you see was not quite that curly yet, it had just started curling up in the back.  Since Audrey has always had less hair then Celia, the jury is still out on her potential for curls!!

Cool

If there was ever a question that Ms. Audrey was too cool for us all, there is no more....

Easter Pictures

I never posted pictures of the girls in their Easter Dresses.  I was able to get Celia's cute little gingham dress from a consignment sale.  I bought a matching coat and the dress for $5 total.  They are GAP!  My mother in law gave Audrey her dress as part of her Easter basket.  We went to their house on Saturday and I had been debating on what to put her in.  This seemed perfect for the day!  Celia's cute sandals were free from her friend Zoe.

Again

This little one threw up all over me on Saturday morning, this was the third time in 6 months.  I think I enjoyed this time the least.  Lucky for me Pete is so paranoid about spreading the bug that he was most concerned with me getting a shower.  So shortly after it happened I was able to get cleaned up and have a nice shower.  In any case she felt puny the whole day and did have some long naps.  Towards the end of the day she was feeling much better and even ate a little.  Today she had an appetite but diarrhea.  Lucky for us Audrey uses the potty for that sort of business so we did not have to deal with the lovely baby tummy bug diapers.  The poor thing was wiped out though and she did not fight me at all with going to bed this evening.  She is spending the day tomorrow with Daddy in the morning and Mommy in the afternoon, no school for her!

So we are wondering who is going to be the next target.  I think that I may have started it.  I have had a cold and felt crummy Friday but had a bit of an upset stomach.  I am hoping that means that I had it!  I took Audrey to the GI doctor on Friday for a check up and the feeling is that she is not going to grow out of her reflux any time soon.  In fact this could be a life long issue for her.  Once you get closer to 18 months, the likely hood of growing out of the condition drops drastically.  She may be able to get off the medicine at certain times but it will likely be something we will always have to watch out for and manage symptoms.  At least this is the opinion of her GI doctor.  I guess at some point it would be worth getting a second opinion.  In any case the GI doctor is questioning whether we have it completely controlled as she still wakes up at night and has this off and on croup like cough which could all be explained by the reflux.  If it is not controlled then she is at risk for some serious complications.  So we have to do an endoscopy.  If it is not controlled then we need to move onto some other forms of treatment.

I feel bad at this point for not taking her to the GI doctor when she was an infant and for not taking it very seriously.  In her case she was a true silent refluxer because she did not spit up anymore then your typical baby.  My nephew spit up and arched his back and did all of the typical behaviors of a baby with reflux.  Audrey screamed but Audrey did not scream around feeding times, she just screamed.  As severe as her reflux is, I am sure this explained many of her symptoms.  We likely did not treat it as aggressively as we could but I did what our pediatrician prescribed.  Seeing her personality now though makes me feel a little bit at ease that even if we had treated it more, she would likely have still been a difficulty baby.  My family knows what I mean!!

Celia

I actually think that I am enjoying Celia's age right now.  At this point in the post Pete is cursing and muttering because he is not loving the age as much.  But honestly in the last few months, I think that she has been easier (not that Celia has ever been a very hard kid, but she has of course gone through those lovely stages).  She entertains herself more and loves to play with Audrey.  There are moments of course but in general she is getting to be a very neat little companion.

Some funny things she has said or done

"Daddy, Audrey can not be a genius, she still stands up on the couch"

"Mommy, I think that I am getting to like Ms. Anna just as much as Ms. Donna (current and former teacher)"

"Great Celia, what do you like about her"

"Well I like that she has curly hair"

"Okay, well anything else?"

"Oh well I love it when she says, everyone look at Celia, look who great Celia is sitting.  I like when she recognizes how good I am"

I had to sleep with Celia on our recent trip to Virginia.  One night I laid down with her and she started talking about all sorts of things and one of the questions she had was what is a word for when someone does not want to play with you because they do not like how you imagine things.  I said that I did not really know but I would think about it.  The next night, I tucked her in and she said, so what is the word.  I did not remember what she was talking about but she reminded me and it was as if we picked up from the night before.  Honestly, we continued the conversation right where we left it!

Dear Aunt Susie

Dear Aunt Susie,

I really enjoyed the ride on and push toy that you gave Celia when she was a baby.  Currently though, Mom thinks that I should still be riding it however she has failed to see that I am not a baby.  She thinks I am still a baby/ toddler or whatever however I really think that I need to move onto bigger and better things.  The following snapshots are proof of that.

So if you could fill my Mom in on the fact that the green ride on  is just for babies, that would be great.  I am hoping to secure some sort of motor bike in the next year.

Love always,
Audrey

Can you tell she is Ms. Trouble?

My Family

Growing up I spent a good amount of time with my Dad's family.  I have so many amazing memories with my time spent with my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins.  I enjoyed my time tremendously with my Mom Mom and Pop Pop but my Aunts and Uncles are the ones that left me on the floor laughing.   I knew that my Aunt Arsie was perhaps the funniest person I have ever met when I watched Rescue 911 on tv with her and we were watching a man who was on the brink of death being lifted by a helicopter and I was crying from laughing so hard at her fake narration.   I sometimes ached from laughing after spending time with her.  My Uncle Bump and Uncle Norman have been gone for quite some time and honestly as a family we really do not get together anymore.   I was excited when my Aunt Eleanor, Aunt Arsie, and cousin Tracy left a message that she wanted to visit.  I wanted them to meet Audrey and see how much Celia has grown.  The visit was fun.  Both girls enjoyed them and Audrey warmed up fairly quickly, which is not always typical of my shy little girl.  Celia took a total of 30 seconds to warm up to them and share basically every thing she ever had to say with them.  
Oh and Aunt Arsie I meant to thank you for the Toys R Us gift cards you send.  They are spent in the summer as a treat.  Celia actually was over the top excited that she could put a face to those cards as she has me show them to her from time to time.  She now knows exactly what they are for and as I am the queen of thrifty it is not common for her to get things from the store so she is excited for our special summer trip.