We Have a 9 Month Old

Aiyana is in a big hurry to grow up!  She can walk around furniture and she puts every little crumb she finds in her mouth.  She has eight teeth now -- the better to bite with!  We've had many conversations about whether or not it is OK to chew on socks while people are wearing them...we're not always in agreement on this one.  She has outgrown her sleep sacks, so now she gets to wear big girl pajamas.  She's not really convinced that this is an improvement, and makes it challenging to get her dressed after her nightly bath. 

The First Day of Kindergarten

Today was Ashlyn's first day of Kindergarten.  She was excited to go and had a really great day.  She made some new friends, played outside for TWO recesses (that was very exciting!), ate lunch that she brought from home, and listened when the teacher read stories.  She told me that she is really glad that she gets to go back tomorrow. 

8 Months Old Already!

Today Aiyana is 8 months old.  She's a busy girl these days.  She finally mastered crawling and has now decided that she desperately wants to walk.  She pulls herself up to standing in her crib and at the baby gate on the stairs.  She also has five teeth now and enjoys eating Cookie Crisp cereal and cut up bananas. 

Aiyana is 7 Months Old

Another month has flown by and Aiyana is now seven months old.  She now has three teeth and is addicted to Gerber Graduate puffs.  Her main goal in life is still to learn to crawl.  She is very close to crawling, but can't quite seem to coordinate her efforts to get herself to move forward. 

A Trip to Como

On Tuesday we spent some time at Como Zoo and Como Town thanks to HopeKids.  It was very warm outside, but both Ashlyn and Aiyana seemed to have fun anyway.  Ashlyn liked seeing the animals, but she liked the rides even better.  Aiyana loved watching all of the people and seeing all kinds of new things.  We had a picnic dinner before going home for the evening.

Two Years...

We sat around the table at lunch time.  Ashlyn happily chattered about the butterfly mask that she had made at Aunt Megan's house yesterday, and Aiyana drank water from her favorite sippy cup.  Most days, moments like this make me smile; I look at my two beautiful, healthy little girls and I know that I have a lot to be thankful for.  Most days.  And then there are days like today.  Today watching Aiyana drink from her favorite sippy cup, the small one with a pink top, it reminded me of how much Lynnea loved that cup.  It was Lynnea's cup.  Her favorite cup.  The one that we didn't dare leave the house without.  The one that she picked out herself at the dollar store one day with her favorite homecare nurse. 

I know that I should be happy with the family that I have, and I am, really, but sometimes it is hard not to think about that family that I should have had -- the family that had three amazing little girls that could have been the best of friends.  It still feels like there is a giant hole in the middle of my family, a hole where Lynnea is supposed to be; a hole that can't be filled.  It often makes me very sad that Aiyana will never have the opportunity to get to know her big sister, Lynnea.  It also make me sad to see how much of Lynnea's life Ashlyn has already forgotten; I am grateful that she has found a way to move on and seems to be a pretty well-adjusted five-year-old, but it is sad to watch her forget her little sister -- if this is how much she has forgotten on the second anniversary of Lynnea's death, how much more will she have forgotten by next year? Or five years from now?  Ten years?

Fortunately, even on days like today, there is still a great deal of comfort in knowing that Lynnea has no more owies in heaven.

Another Month...

Another month has flown by already.  Aiyana is six months old as of today.  She is growing up so fast!  She has now discovered that she can get where she wants to go by rolling over and over and over; of course, she hasn't given up on her dream of crawling (actually, deep down, I think she just wants to get up and run around like she sees Ashlyn doing all the time, but I'd like her to stay on the floor for a little bit longer...).  She tries so hard to crawl; she just can't quite figure out how to get her knees up under her and make herself go forward (and, there's nothing more frustrating than trying to move forward only to find yourself moving backwards, away from that toy/sock/something of Ashlyn's/etc. that you were trying so hard to get).  One of these days she'll figure it out.  She continues to love every flavor of baby food we offer her, and she now has two teeth (bottom front) to bite with (she thinks it's funny to bite you if you stick your fingers in her mouth, which, I suppose, is only fair). 

Ashlyn is also getting more and more grown up every day.  Last week she lost her first tooth.  She thought that was great.  She has another one that is wiggling and will probably go soon if she keeps pushing on it. 

Ashlyn's Garden

Last week, Ashlyn planted a garden in the backyard with some help from Grandma and Grandpa.  She planted Lettuce, Marigolds, Carrots, Asparagus Beans, White Beans, and Coleus.  Everyday she goes out and checks her garden to see what's growing.  Yesterday she was very excited that lots of little lettuce was starting to come up and one of her marigolds had come up. 

Ashlyn's garden last week right after planting it.

Ashlyn's garden today, 1 week after planting.

New Experiences for Aiyana

Aiyana has been a busy girl the past couple of weeks.  She has tried a few exciting new things.  She is now old enough for solid foods, so we started feeding her baby food.  Rice cereal wasn't great the first time, but she has decided that it is OK.  She also enjoys pears and carrots.  Next we'll try peas.

One of the nice days that we had recently she went outside to play with Ashlyn.  Aiyana enjoyed swinging in the baby swing.

She also rolls over all the time now.  Of course, she's only mastered going from her back to her tummy, so once she's on her tummy she's stuck.  Hopefully she'll learn how to roll back sometime soon. 

Ashlyn's Belated Birthday Party

Yesterday Ashlyn finally had her birthday party (we had originally planned on having it the weekend after her birthday but had to cancel so that we could go to Benjamin's funeral).  She enjoyed helping make the butterfly snacks and had fun playing with her friends and family at the party.  Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate her birthday!