Visiting Cousin Jessica

We went to Amarillo this weekend to meet the newest addition to our family - Miss Jessica Kate! She is absolutely precious and it is so hard to believe that only 3 months ago Audrey was that little. They grow up so fast. It was a fast weekend trip, but plenty of time for my sister to have a bunch of company in her house with a 2 week old! Thank you so much Melissa for letting us come and see our first little niece!!

Ella and Wyatt had a ball as usual. They spent most of their time running wild through the house and swimming in the pool outside. Mimi and Papa J brought them to the zoo on Saturday. Naptime was always forced because they were just having too much fun, even though Papa J went right to sleep during the bedtime stories.

Our Little Jumper!

John put together the Jumperoo for Audrey this week. It was one of the few toys that is not a hand-me-down from Ella. We weren't sure if she was ready for it, but she really has loved it and it is nice to have a place to set her down where she isn't just flat on her back looking at the ceiling. Our main issue is Ella either trying to spin her around in it and tell Audrey to "Look at this" or Ella wanting Audrey out of it so that her baby dolls can use it. Everytime I walk by it, one of her 4 babies is sitting in it.

Vacation Bible School

This week was Vacation Bible School for us. I debated on whether I wanted to drag both girls up there for the week, but Ella has gone every year since she was born, the first time being when she was 7 months old. I decided to work in the nursery with Audrey who was the youngest participant this year! We had so much fun, especially since the Jaynes family - Stacy, Madelyn and Harper--got to join us. Ella just can't get enough of her BFF Madelyn. The girls got to play a lot, make crafts, have snacks, and sing lots of songs. This is the picture we got of Audrey. The theme was Superheros, and though it may be hard to see, Audrey had her very own cape with an "A" on the back. Of course, Ella has already tried to steal it and thinks it is just a really big bib.

Happy Fathers Day

Ella and Audrey are the two luckiest girls in the world. They have the best daddy who loves them so much and is always the fun parent. If you ask Ella who her boyfriend is, she will say "Daddy." I think it melts John's heart. I don't know what he will do one day when the girls actually bring home real boyfriends. Happy Fathers Day John!

A New Cousin for the Girls

Today we welcome Jessica Kate Purser to the family. Aunt Melissa and Uncle Wes had their little girl this morning at 6:40. Things went a lot smoother than when cousin Wyatt was born, so we are so thankful for her safe arrival! She weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and was 19 3/4 inches long. She looks EXACTLY like Wyatt did when he was born - simply another one of God's perfect creations.

It has been so much fun to get to experience pregnancy and mommyhood with my sister. Ella and Wyatt were born 2 months apart and now Audrey and Jessica are just 3 months apart. We have had so many laughs, tears, and joy over the past 2 years with Ella and Wyatt and are so excited for the newest additions to get to grow up together too. As my mom says, "My cup runneth over." I don't think there is a better gift to be able to give to your parents than the gift of a grandchild.

We can't wait to go meet her in 2 weeks!

Our Little Fish

Though Ella has taken swim lessons for the past 2 summers, we decided she needed another round of them this year. She loves getting in the water, but still continues to not be too fond of getting water in her eyes. This will be the last summer that Mommy will have to get in the water with her--thank goodness! Daddy meets us at the pool and holds Audrey for the 30 minutes we are in our lesson. Here is Ella and Madelyn before getting in the water the first day and then Ella waving to Daddy watching her from the sidelines.

Bye Bye Tiger

It was a short life for Tiger--only 4 days at the Wedemeyer house -- but we woke up to find Dorothy's boyfriend had gone to fish heaven. Ella didn't notice right away, but she eventually caught on that there was only one fish swimming around. She cried at first, but we told her that Tiger had gone to heaven to live with God. She nodded her head and said "Dorothy stayed home." The fascination with the fish has definitely worn off and now Ella could care less about Dorothy. Mommy and Daddy are stuck cleaning the stinky fish bowl every other day.

As Daddy watched the US Open this weekend, every once in a while we would here him say "Come on Tiger"--of course referring to Tiger Woods. Ella seemed to get a little confused about the two different tigers and continued to question where "Tiger the Fish" went.

Happy 3 Month Birthday Audrey!

Today Audrey turned 3 months old! Though we still aren't sleeping through the night, Audrey continues to get bigger and sweeter.

At 3 months, Audrey:

• Loves to watch her mobile in her bed which allows us some time to get things done!
• Does not fuss as much during the day and has a lot of awake time
• Enjoys watching Ella dance around and actually seems to like her (even though John and I think Audrey is one day just going to punch Ella out)
• Smiles a lot and likes to chuckle
• Is beginning to get into a more regular routine as far as eating and sleeping-- even though her day still begins no later than 6:30.
• Got to walk in the Race for the Cure with Mommy today and stayed awake almost the whole time enjoying the great weather.
• Will reach out and try to grab things like the toy hanging down from her infant seat.
• Loves to blow bubbles
• Has found her fists and likes to suck on them
• Coos and talks to you
  

Big Girl Panties, Makeup and a Fish

I am officially claiming Ella is potty trained. There are no more diapers and we have had no accidents this week. We are still wearing a Pull-up at night, but many mornings Ella wakes up dry and just asks to go to the potty right away.

How did we do this you may ask? First, big girl panties were very enticing. She has a wide assortment of Dora, Elmo and Hello Kitty ones that she loves to wear. Second trick was makeup-- Ella really likes to play with my makeup so I bought some little kid stuff for her. It makes a complete mess, but it is worth it.

Next, we promised her if she had no accidents that she would get a fish. She wanted to name it Dorothy, just like Elmo's. We figured this was a cheap pet that could easily be replaced. Since they were only 29 cents, we let her get 2.

Introducing Dorothy (the solid gold) and her boyfriend Tiger...

We Like Ballet

After a little discussion with Ella that if she didn't participate in ballet class this week we would not be going back, we attempted ballet for the 2nd week. Dressed in her leotard and tutu and sporting her brand new ballet shoes, we headed to class again today. The whole way there Ella kept saying "I not be shy at ballet class." When we got there, she did great. She danced, laughed and did "leaps" across the room. Again, her favorite part was sticker time at the end, but Mommy has decided we are officially a ballerina.

Sunday Best

My mom loved to dress my sister and I alike when we were growing up. It seems like when I flip through photo albums (remember when we actually had printed out pictures), all the professional pictures we took had Melissa in the smaller version of something I had on. I guess my mom is continuing the tradition with the girls and has sent us a few dresses in both 2T and 3-6 months. I love having the girls dressed cute for church even if Audrey rarely gets out of her carseat! John wants to make sure we start the girls on the right track with dressing in the appropriate attire for church.