Arboretum, Ava's Christening and Memorial Day

Okay, so I have been behind in posting, but I am just going to use the excuse of 3 little girls, work and Patrick having to travel to explain why I haven't found the time to post in the last couple of weeks. We have been very busy first with a trip to the arboretum. The flowers were beautiful and the girls had lots of fun seeing all of the brides getting their portraits taken. Ava slept through most of it which is why I have no pictures of her there. It was a little warm in the sun, but all in all a great afternoon.

On Sunday, May 18, we had Ava's Christening. She was a little fussy during the ceremony and she didn't appreciate the water being poured on her head, but she did okay. We had a few people back to the house afterwards and the girls had lots of fun playing with their uncles.

Memorial Day weekend we spent between the lake and the swimming pool. The girls are using their swimming skills much better in the pool then the lake, but the lake was so choppy this weekend I didn't like them being without the life jackets. We have been in the water tons this weekend, and it seems like we will be there most evenings from here on out. We have some friends, Maddie and Abbie (each a month older than Anna and McKenna respectively), who are definite water babies and they are helping my girls improve their swimming by going to the pool at least once if not twice a day. The girls play wonderfully together at the pool - hopefully I will get some good pictures of all of them soon. This weekend Anna also went to a birthday party at Girly Girl - it was a Hannah Montana themed party, but Anna wanted to dress like a princess. She thought the karoke machine was the best.

Anna and McKenna also graduated from their preschool classes - they both had performances where they sang songs. They did a great job and will miss their classes. I can't believe how much they have both grown over the last year. Patrick and I were discussing how we can't believe that Ava is only 11 weeks old - I can hardly remember life before she was born, it seems like she has always been here. We are so blessed with our 3 daughters and we thank God for all that he has given us.

My Little Cowgirl

Today at school McKenna got to go dressed like a cowgirl, and this is what she decided on. Maybe not the most fashion forward!

Happy Mother's Day

We had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. On Friday, we had dinner at my sister's house since my brother had to work on Sunday. The girls had a great time with Grandma, Aunt Jenny and Uncle Brian. We had a great dinner and then Anna and McKenna helped Aunt Jenny decorate cupcakes. It was a very late night, but lots of fun.

Here is a funny picture of McKenna - she fell asleep on the way home one day and when I woke her up to get her out of her carseat, she jumped down and promptly fell back asleep between the front seats!

Ava is working on her head control, and one of our new favorite things is the Bumbo. She likes to be able to look around at everyone.

On Sunday, the Clerkin, Franz and Mahfouz families celebrated Mother's Day together. Ava slept through a good part of lunch, which allowed everyone to eat their meal, and then she got passed all around. Anna and McKenna got to go from relative to relative having a great time. When we got back to the house, Patrick took Anna and McKenna to the park and Ava and I got a little nap in. It was a wonderful Mother's Day with our family. We are so blessed to have our 3 beautiful girls and our families.

2 Month Checkup

Ava turned 2 months old yesterday, and she did great with her checkup. Here are her stats:
Weight - 9lbs 7oz - 25%
Height - 22.5 in - 50%
Head - I can't remember the exact measurements 50%

How she compared to the other girls at 2 months:
Anna - I will update when I get home, I forgot her piece of paper - but she was so much smaller because of being premie - she had only been home from the hospital for about 1 week at this point!
McKenna - 9lbs 19oz, 22.5in, and 25% on the head

Ava didn't like her shots at all, but who does? She was a little fussy yesterday afternoon and evening, but with a little Tylenol she did alright. She was tracking well and doing everything else she should be doing, so no concerns from the doctor. McKenna also had her ears rechecked after her ear infection and they look good.

No pictures today, but hopefully I will get some more taken soon. Big weekend coming up - Mother's Day, and we are going to move Ava upstairs to her room (she is still in the study right now).

Back to Work

Well, yesterday marked the end of my maternity leave and I am back to work. To ease back into it, I worked from home yesterday trying to catch up on emails and just remember what I am supposed to be doing in an office! My sister came over and watch Ava at the house, Anna went to school and McKenna went to the sitter's. As you can see from the above picture, Ava was pretty torn up about me going back to work - I guess her Aunt Jenny did a pretty good job of taking care of her. Since Ava was such an easy baby yesterday, I have convinced my sister to watch the girls over the summer (it is nice being a teacher!). The girls will still go to their grandma Clerkin's some as well, but Jenny is going to be coming to the house and hanging out this summer. We are still looking into getting an au pair, but this isn't something I want to rush into, so we now have until August to find someone we are comfortable with to watch all 3 girls. My biggest concern is that Ava is only 8 weeks old, and I just want to make sure she is being taken care of. Anna and McKenna are talkative little girls, so I know that they tell me everything that goes on at school, the sitter's and even at grandma's.

Patrick's mom will be watching Ava most of May and Anna and McKenna will be there as well 2 days a week. She is going to have her hands full, but Anna and McKenna have been pretty good and they really like to help with Ava. The biggest concern is trying to take all 3 of them anywhere - you have your hands full. Anna graduated from swimming last week, but McKenna still has 1 more week to go, so Linda is going to attempt to get the girls to school, swimming, and dance this next week - talk about super grandma. The plan is for me to drop Ava off at about 6:15 am so I can get to the office by 7 and then Patrick will take Anna and McKenna to school or Jessica's depending on the day. I will be forcing myself to leave the office at 4 pm and then I will be driving all over Plano and Frisco to pick the girls up from their respective locations! May is going to be a little crazy, but school ends May 20, so only a few weeks of really craziness.

I need to get the camera out when we go out to play, I hardly have any new pictures of all 3 girls, plus I will need to get some new ones to take to the office. At some point, I also need to go get some professional pictures taken of the whole family, maybe one weekend soon. I don't know if I will be updating more or less now that I am back to work - lunch time updates may be the only time I will be free to make posts, only time will tell.