Performances and 4 month birthday!

May has been a fun month! Our dear friend Abby Aulner from Auburn got engaged, and asked Kya to be the flower girl! She sent Kya a package with some rose petals (fake) and a bracelet for the wedding! We are pumped for August 2015!

Kya had her TOT performance where she got her first trophy!

Then, she had her first choir performance at church where her Mission Friends' class sang two songs with the "big kids" as Kya calls them. Grams, Big Daddy, Nana, Pop Noah, and Uncle Abel all came to the performance!

Then, Memorial Day weekend we headed up north to see the grandparents. Bailey went to the pool for the first time and enjoyed a nice nap on Big Daddy while Kya enjoyed playing at the splash pad!

Then, we went to stay with Nan and Pop the rest of the weekend!

Bailey turned four months on May 28th, and she is growing so fast!!! At her four month appointment, she was 25 inches (72%) and 14lbs 2oz (48%), and her head was in the 75th percentile. We are so blessed that she got a good report and is growing so much! She now eats 6-7 ounces five times a day! We are going to start some rice cereal with her soon! She loves to laugh and loves being tickled especially under her arms. She likes to have lots of attention and be able to see everything. Kya was a great napper, but Bailey is not! However, she sleeps about 11-12 hours a night, so I will not complain about the napping! I think she is scared she is going to miss something so she doesn't want to nap.

Kya will be four in July! I cannot believe it! She continues to make us laugh and she is so sweet to Bailey. Recently, she told me that I need to have another baby because her and Bailey need a boy baby. She has mentioned this other baby we need to have several times. It's fun to see her personality continue to come out. I found another way she is like me - she does not like missing school. She cried this week because she missed her Friday art project because she was at her Grams and Big Daddy's house. I tried to remind her that she had lots of fun, but she was not happy she missed the art project. She also has Eric's sense of humor and they continue to be "best friends". Sometimes I get to be their best friend if I am lucky....

Girls are growing too fast!

So, I have to brag on my Bailey girl - she rolled from tummy to back and back to tummy all in one week! Being a working mom, I worried I would miss her milestones, but thankfully, I got to see these two! Well, I missed the back to tummy because I had walked in the kitchen for a second, and when I walked back out, she was on her tummy yelling. She doesn't care to be on her stomach.

Kya bug is starting to ask some really hard questions lately:
1. Why does God live in heaven? (I let her minister dad answer this one - when Eric was describing that God is holy, Kya started singing "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin and said, "God is amazing, Mama." YES HE IS!)
2. Why is God hiding? (I told her that God was with us on Earth, but we can't see him)
3. I like God more than Jesus (well, this is a comment). It was fun trying to explain the Trinity to a 3-year-old.

I still love that she still says, "Take me a bath." and she has started saying, "Actually...." before a lot of her sentences, but she uses it correctly!

I love these girls so much and am honored that God chose Eric and me to raise them. They are amazing!

3 Months and we are still kicking!

Three doctor visits in five days, and Bailey came out of the virus okay.... One of those visits was precautionary, by the way! Long story short - we took her in first because she had a rash, discharge from the eyes and was congested. No ear infection at that time. Then, I was convinced Bailey had an ear infection a few days later due to her fussiness, so I took her into an urgent care on a Saturday night to find out, she was perfectly fine - just fussy from being sick. Of course Eric was out of town during the weekend, but my parents came to the rescue and helping me with the girls during all of this!

Bailey is definitely different from Kya. She will let you know if she is uncomfortable and wants to be held 24/7 if she is feeling bad. Kya would be perfectly happy and have the flu! We are just learning her cues I guess!

Bailey is now a whopping 13 pounds and still smiling and cooing. She does not really care for tummy time, but we try to get some time in each day to strengthen those neck and core muscles. She is also sleeping from 11:30-7:00 or later, which has been fabulous. She was still sleeping through the night even when she was sick, and would only wake up if she was coughing. Babywise and our day care teachers are amazing!

A bug eye look from Bailey!

Sweet smiles!

Kya is becoming more and more like a little girl! The other day she told me I had to hold Bailey because her and Daddy needed to concentrate. They were building some stores with her blocks and Bailey was getting in the way. I am so impressed with her vocabulary and her ability to use words correctly. I know everyone thinks their children are geniuses, but I really think she is! :). She still only likes to wear dresses and frequently wears her dress-up dresses on the weekends everywhere we go. I forget she is dressed like Cinderella until someone mentions how much they like her dress. She loves her little sister and constantly tries to hug or love on her. I hope that they are the best of friends in spite of the three and a half year gap.

And here are some pictures from Easter!

Easter bunny at the Egg Hunt in Bentwater!

Easter Morning at our house!

Egg Hunt at the House!

Bailey's (and Kya's) Accomplishments!

So, Bailey has been busy lately! Here are the latest as of her 10 weeks of life:

1. She laughed for me a few days ago, which sounded like a man laugh, but it was cute nonetheless.

2. She has found her voice, and was making high pitched squealing sounds two days ago. Kya and I were cracking up, but Eric said it looked Bailey was really angry when she was making the squealing noises. It was hilarious, and I guess Bailey was mad we were laughing at her.

3. She slept 8 hours last night on her 10 week birthday!!!!!!!!! Kya also slept through the night at 10 weeks. I am so blessed with great sleepers! She's been sleeping for 5-6 hours at a time at night, but last night was awesome! I wrote a thank you note to her teachers for helping keep her on her schedule! Babywise has really worked for our family - I am a true believer in it!

4. She hates tummy time, but can roll from her back to her side. She has almost rolled completely over a few times.

5. 6:30-7:00 is her fussy time. She can be dead asleep, and at 6:30 she will wake up and begin screaming. It's truly amazing to me.

Kya has continued to be a great big sister and wow everyone with her great manners. I took her to her first wedding shower this past weekend, and she wore her Cinderella dress. She was so well-behaved and helped get all the presents to the bride-to-be. She wanted to be the only one helping, but I had to explain that she had to let other people help. I love that girl - she is awesome!

Two Months!!!

Bailey was two months on March 28th! She did great at her appointment with three shots and the rotovirus drink thing. She barely cried - I was so proud of her! The doctor kept laughing at how much she was moving around as she tried to check her out. It was a huge improvement from her screaming at her two week appointment.

The stats:
11 lbs 3 oz: 46th percentile
22.5 inches: 52nd percentile
Don't know head circumference, but it was 73rd percentile!

We are so thankful for a great report, and she has been doing awesome. She slept six hours straight last night. I was so proud of her (and thankful for the extra sleep!). She has continued smiling, cooing, and kicking around. I was so nervous about her transition to daycare, but she has done really well, and the ladies have done a great job of keeping her close to the schedule I had her on. I am so thankful for them.

Kya has been battling a sinus infection caused by some virus for about a month, but after her second antibiotic, she is finally kicking it! This time of year is really hard on her, but I think we finally know what to do to get her cleared up. We have a great PA at her ENT, too! Thankfully, she did not have an ear infection, which is awesome because her tubes are on their way out and not functioning anymore, so that was some great news about her! She's still super sweet and great with Bailey. Bailey just smiles at her and pays attention any time Kya is around. I hope they are great friends!

Bailey's first day of school was also St. Patrick's Day!

Bailey is smiling at Big Daddy!

Bluebonnet pictures didn't go exactly as planned, but we took them!

Two month pictures!

Back to work I go!

So, I started back to work this past week, and let me tell you, the six weeks off just flew by. Eric watched Bailey for three days, and the first day did not go so well..... I wasn't home five minutes, and Bailey was fast asleep. Thankfully, the next two days went much more smoothly for him.

I forgot to post Bailey's two week stats, and I can't believe she will be two months in less than two weeks! At two weeks, she was 20 3/4 inches and 7 lbs 11 oz. I don't believe that she grew 1.5 inches in two weeks, so someone didn't measure her correctly!

Kya has been adjusting so well to Bailey and loves singing to her and "helping". Sometimes Bailey actually calms down immediately when Kya starts singing her made-up songs to her. I hope they are great friends. I know Bailey pays the most attention to her out of all of us.

Bailey has started cooing and "talking" with us when we talk to her, and she has started smiling more! Her first smile was around 1 month in a picture with Pop:

But she has shown me some really great ones lately, and I love how babies laugh and smile in their sleep. Sometimes I just rock her longer at night to see them!

One of our friends and former youth group students from Auburn came to visit us this past week before I went back to work. Abby was so helpful with Kya and Bailey. Kya of course loved showing Abby her playroom and even offered to let Abby sleep in her bed with her. We wish we got to see Abby more, and we enjoyed getting to visit with her so much!

Family of Four!

Sweet Bailey Hope Ballard was born on January 28, 2014 at 12:59 pm weighing in at 7 lbs 9 oz and 19 1/4 inches! She was born the day that they shut down all of Houston because of a Winter Weather Warning! Thankfully, things were not near as bad as they thought they would be, and I was able to get induced! It sleeted around town, but we got to the hospital way ahead of the weather.

I'm not sure how, but this labor was even easier than Kya's. I tried to go without the epidural, but around 6 cm, I gave in and asked for it. This time I did not have to wait an hour and a half for an anesthesiologist to get to the hospital like I did in Auburn! I think I waited 5-10 minutes! My doctor was in a C-section when Bailey started trying to come out.... My nurse was amazing and kept reassuring me that if Bailey came, she could deliver her. The doctor was one of my dearest and oldest friend's bestest friend from residency, so I really wanted her to deliver Bailey, and thankfully, I was able to hold on until she could make it to my room! I think I pushed twice, and she popped out. I know - people hate me - I pushed for 15 minutes with Kya and I thought that was short!

When they told me Bailey was 7lbs 9oz, I started laughing - she was almost a pound bigger than Kya, and they were both born at exactly 39 weeks. The nurse kept commenting on how she was absolutely perfect - she said not even a birth mark on this child. I just felt so blessed and thankful. When I finally got to hold her for longer than two seconds after she was all cleaned up, I couldn't help but notice how she looked so much like Kya. They definitely have the same exact nose. Bailey also had very plump and kissable cheeks from the very start (I have taken full advantage of those sweet things and kiss them all the time).

It's funny how much calmer and less stressed out you are with the second child. I remember when we left the hospital with Kya, we were like - how can they trust us to take her home?!?!. With Bailey, they offered to let us go home after 24 hours, and we were like, yes, please! I was so ready to sleep in my bed and not be checked on at all hours of the night.

Kya has been amazing with Bailey, and she is so proud to be a big sister (minus the "Don't cough in your sister's face.", "Please don't get that close to her face.", "Don't step on her!!!!"). Grams and Big Daddy took great care of her while we were in the hospital (and super-mega cleaned my house) and took her back to their house for a few days, so she could be spoiled and give me time to rest up and heal. Eric and I so appreciated them! I also have to give a shout out to my parents who came down and helped us when I had my false labor and then, came and helped after Bailey finally got here. We had clean clothes and meals and Kya was taken care of! I seriously don't know how we would have done it without the help from our awesome parents. We are so blessed to have both sets of grandparents be so involved in our girls' lives and that truly help us out!!!

One more thing about Bailey - she has been a great sleeper as well - once I figured out what I was eating that was making her so gassy (stupid oranges). She also does not like having any poop on her - Kya would sit in it and we would never know unless we checked, but Bailey will scream like there is no tomorrow if she has a dirty diaper. She has this bug-eyed look about her when she is awake that makes me laugh so hard! I'm going to treasure these last few weeks I have at home with her, and I am trying not to think about how sad I am going to be to leaver her at daycare. I am so thankful that I absolutely love the place that we will be taking her.