Snuggled In and Loving It!

Today is a snow day here and I have to tell you, I love it!  There is a beautiful dusting of fresh, white snow covering everything and it's hard not to be sucked in to the pure beauty of it.  I woke up imagining that we would all sleep in and enjoy the stillness of a freshly fallen snow, but 2 little nuts had a different idea!  So, after letting go of my sleeping-in dream, we packed ourselves up and went to Bible study.  Now we are all home again and snuggled in for the day.  I'm feeling very thankful that I got my groceries yesterday and that we have everything we need, in fact I think we're going to attempt to make some Christmas cookies with Ava tonight to share with our neighbors.  That seems like a perfect thing to do on a snowy night :) I'll let you know tomorrow if it was indeed as "perfect" as it seemed!!

Speaking of my little Ava, this is a perfect picture capturing her current cheeseball phase.  She is all about saying "cheese" for the camera and then giving us a shot of her teeth...every, single one!   I'm pretty sure she's getting another molar, which means most of them are in now.  I am truly loving this stage we're in with her.  She's become so independent and she's comprehending so much of what we tell her or ask her to do.  It's a great blend of acting like a "big girl" and yet, still wanting to be my baby.  She is doing just great with Carter too.  So much better than I expected.  I'm proud of her.  

And look at that face...How can that not make you smile???

 I have been looking at photos of her at this time last year, and I just can't believe how different she is!

  She was just starting to scoot/crawl towards things, but for the most part she was still stationary!

Oh, how things have changed :) 

 For example, this little guy entered the picture!  

 And he evened up the score :) 

I don't think I've shown you pictures of this yet, but this position is Carter's favorite!  When he is fussy or gassy or crying, if we just hold him vertically and let him rest his head in our hands so he can look up, he melts like butter...

Especially when his Daddy is holding him!  It's the weirdest thing, but it works every time!  He's spending a lot of time in the baby bjiorn for that very reason :) It's his "happy place" and our ace in the hole from dinner time to bed time.  It seems like it would hurt his little neck, but he just loves to lean back and look around.  He's such a little snuggle bug, we are just eating him up.  He's a great baby, really the calming presence I prayed he would be.  I love having a baby again, there are so many things that are fun to experience with him for the first time!  He is smiling a lot lately and responding to our voices by cooing back.  It's so sweet and I'm doing my best to get it on video so I can remember this stage.  I hardly remember Ava doing that, but I know she did.  They change so fast and although I'm enjoying it with both of them, I desperately want the clock to slooooow down.   If I've learned anything the second time around, it's to not wish these days away in favor of the next one.  

Some days are totally intense with both of them, but I'm so thankful for the opportunity to experience that kind of stress!  For every minute that I want to pull my hair out, there are twice as many that bring a smile to my face or tears to my eyes.  I love my kids!  

Now if you'll excuse me, I can hear each of them stirring from their naps, which means I'm about to experience one of those "intense" times in a few minutes!  One will need her cup, the other will need me, and they'll both need a new diaper...Let the games begin!