June Cont...

New This Week: Aurelia's pool in our backyard!! She had so much fun down in Texas in the little pool that Wuelo and Grandma Texas bought for her that we figured it was time to get her's out and use it! She, of coursed LOVED it!
Baby #2's hair on its scalp is sprouting and if its anything like Aurelia's was, it's definately sprouting!! Baby's brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Baby now weighs about 8 1/2 ounces, and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a mango!

We started the week off to a lazy start and stayed in our pjs for a bit...

On Tuesday, we decided to head outside and play in the backyard with your bubble bucket...
But we quickly decided it was too hot and absolutely perfect for some pool time!!

On Wednesday, Ari woke up not feeling well again...we're thinking this is a teething pattern...so we woke up to taking a bath and having a relaxing day...kind of a bummer as she turned 17 months old today!
Thursday was another pool day and we are loving the sun!!!

We also were able to celebrate Connor's graduation at G-Uncle Nick's and G-Aunt Kim's house!
The girls were itching to go outside on Friday...
So we put on our new tennis shoes (thanks Grandma Bena!)... And headed to the park!
It sure was a fun week!
We celebrated Frida's 3rd birthday on Sunday with her little twinkie!! Happy Birthday, Little Frida!

Father's Day

New This Week: Aurelia's ever expanding vocabulary!! She has so much to say and it can be quite entertaining to try and figure out her words and what each one means! Luckily she's very persistent as to what she wants and isn't quick to get frustrated!
We're at 18 weeks! Baby #2 has become amazingly mobile passing the hours yawning, hiccupping, rolling, twisting, kicking, punching, sucking, and swallowing. And baby is finally big enough that I can feel all these movements! Head to rump, Baby is approximately 5 1/2 inches long and almost 7 ounces - now the size of a sweet potato!

We started off the week a little under the weather...Miss Aurelia just didn't feel good on Monday...had a bit of a tummy ache!
Mommy had to work on Tuesday, but Daddy and Ari were able to watch Connor's Graduation! Sounds like they had a good night!
We had a fun day at home on Wednesday...
On Thursday, we spent a fun Girls' Day with mommy's friend Trisha! We hit some rides....

And even introduced Aurelia to Ruby Tuesday's salad bar! An old favorite for us girls!
We used Friday to run some errands and have some Mommy/Ari time!
Mommy took the weekend off to celebrate Father's Day...we spent a little time outside, playing in the dirt!
But after lunch, Miss Aurelia wasn't feeling very well again and we decided to veg indoors...
Even Frida got in on the cuddlying action!

We were feeling much better on Sunday and were ready to wish Daddy a Happy Daddy's Day! We celebrated by going to Red Robin and enjoying some great burgers with Grandma Bena!

June

New This Week: We made it back from our long road trip from Texas. We had a great time and are blessed with awesome little travelers!
Baby #2's skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone, and the umbilical cord is growing stronger and thicker. Those little fingers and toes now feature one-of-a-kind prints. Baby weighs 5 ounces now and is around 5 inches long from head to bottom; about the size of an onion!

We started our week in the car, with a stop in Kansas City again! Thanks Trevor!
We celebrated Daddy's birthday on Wednesday! It was a low-key celebration, but it was nice with our little family!
Here she is on Thursday, doing some twirls in her little tutu, as we wait for some shopping with Grandma Bena! She does like to dance (and shop)!
On Friday, we packed up again and headed to the Lake! Aurelia has gotten really good at waiting patiently as we load up the truck!
And we're back on the road again!
We had a good weekend in Okoboji with Yaya and Papa! We were just bummed it was so cold, so we really didn't get any water time, but it was fun all around! So much fun, she was wiped for the ride home!

Texas Time...

New This Week: Aurelia has learned to use the fork!! Wuelo and Grandma Texas were patient enough to sit with her at her highchair and work on this new skill!! She was so excited when she finally got it down!!
Baby #2 is at 16 weeks. Looks like we're getting ready for a growth spurt. Baby will double soon in weight and add inches to its length . Right now, Baby is about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. The legs are much more developed and Baby's eyes have moved closer to the front of its head. The ears are close to their final position, too. Speaking of ears, the tiny bones forming in baby's ears mean she can now pick up your voice. Guess, we'll really have to watch what we say with two little ones listening to our every word!!!

We had a nice visit in Ft Worth with Auntie D (DD) and Tio Ramon (TioTio)! Then we headed to Houston to see Wuelo, Grandma Texas and Tio Cheech!
For some reason, when we got to the heat, Baby #2 had Mommy on a hunt for a snocone!! We could not find one fast enough!! Thanks Auntie D!!
As we were shopping with Wuelo and Grandma Texas, we found a Clifford to ride in!! She LOVED it, as we sometimes watch this in the mornings at home!
Ari sure made herself at home! I think she really enjoyed our time down there!
While we were down in Texas, we got to celebrate Tio Cheech's birthday and his Highschool Graduation!!! We are so proud of him! It was so much fun to see everyone and spend some time with family!!

More pictures of our fun time down there, soon to come!

Texas, here we come!

New This Week: Aurelia has discovered that you can watch TV in the car!! Our trip to Texas began this week and we introduced the portable DVD player with Elmo...so 15+ hours of ELMO!!!!
Baby #2 is busy moving amniotic fluid through its nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in the lungs begin to develop. Its legs are growing longer than its arms now, and it can move all of its joints and limbs. Although the eyelids are still fused shut, Baby can sense light. Baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple)!

Aurelia started out the week in her PJs, as we were busy doing laundry and packing; getting ready for our trip!
We found some time on Tuesday to make it to the park and enjoy the beautiful weather!!

We began our car ride to Ft Worth on Thursday! As soon as the DVD player came on, we had a little zombie on our hands!
At some point we had to seperate the girls, as Ari liked to tease Frida and Frida wasn't having it...
We were happy to see the little neck pillows worked out great! Poor little pumpkin!

We were lucky enough to stay over at Trevor's in Kansas City and get some rest...so we were all in a better mood in the morning to continue our road trip!
Frida had no problem getting the hang of just falling asleep!
Here she is enjoying a little "num-num" aka. a milkshake!
Just about there, but of course we squeezed in another episode of Elmo's World!!

16 months!

New This Week: We have noticed that Aurelia can now fill in the blanks when we're reading books to her! She loves Good Night Moon and will do the "shhh" sound when we get to the old lady whispering hush. In her I Love You Through and Through, she does the some of the words, like "mad". As well as some of her other little books that she likes to read over and over...and over and over! haha! She has added to her animal sounds again and can now roar like a bear and hiss like a snake (with a little lisp!).
Baby #2 can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck its thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, the facial muscles are getting a workout as the tiny features form one expression after another. From head to bottom, Baby measures 3 1/2 inches -- about the size of a lemon -- and weighs 1 1/2 ounces.

On Monday, we had a nice little picnic outside with Monkey...


We went to the MN Zoo with the Lunds on Tuesday. The girls had a blast at the little splash pad! It was so much spending the day with Ella and Riley!!

I introduced Aurelia to sweet and sour sauce and she LOVED it! I don't know if it was the actual sauce or just the "dip-dip" that she liked! Either way, I think she had fun!

We had a playdate with Miss Sarah on Thursday. It was fun to watch Ari be sooo comfortable playing in someone else's home! Poor Sarah had to really share!
Friday was such a nice day out that we enjoyed an ice cream cone out on the back steps.

Ari Vail also got to see both her Tia Bria and Auntie Chelsea in the afternoon! She was such a goof when she woke up from her nap, she didn't know what to do!
Mommy had a Pampered Chef show on Saturday, so Aurelia had some Auntie Chelsea time, showing her her toys and what a good little shopper she is!
Sunday marked Aurelia Vail's 16 months! Time is just flying by!

May...

New This Week: We had our first weekend away! It went way better than Mommy had thought it would! We sure missed our little peanut, but it looked like we all had a nice weekend. The other new thing this week is that Aurelia can act like a bunny by pretending to chew and shake her head!
Baby #2's ears are now developed enough that it can hear when we sing or talk, and the kidneys are making urine. Fingerprints have formed on Baby's tiny fingertips, the veins and organs are clearly visible through the still-thin skin, and its body is starting to catch up with its head -- which makes up just a third of the tiny body size now. Baby is almost 3 inches long, almost the size of a peach!
We had a typical start to our week, so typical, we forgot to take pictures on Monday and Tuesday!!
On Wednesday, Auntie Chelsea and Trevor spent the day with Aurelia at the Mall of America! They went to Build-a-Bear and rode some of the rides! It looked like they had a great time!








On Thursday, we had a playdate with Aston and Kingsley...it was sooo much fun to watch Ari and AJ play! And little Kingsley is too cute!









After our playdate, we headed to Harmony. This was the beginning of Mommy and Daddy's first weekend away.
We left on Friday afternoon to Amana, IA and Aurelia stayed with Grandma Bena and got to spend some time with Yaya on Sunday. It was a really fun and restful weekend. And it looks like Ari Vail didn't miss us at all!!