Happy Halloween!

New Photos!

We had pictures done today of the girls for Halloween. Unfortunately Olivia broke down after one picture so Alaina stepped up and did the remaining poses so we could meet the six pose minimum. Alaina was great and completed the photo shoot without a tear in sight. I'm going to hold back the Halloween picture until the day so their costumes can be a surprise!

Here is a picture of Alaina at 3 months. Can you believe how much she has grown in this short amount of time? She has put on a ton of weight and is much stronger following her heart repair. She has been doing so well that with agreement from all her doctors she had her g-tube removed today. Hooray Alaina! This is such a big step for my little girl and I'm so proud of how far she has come.

Olivia's birthday pictures from June. This little one is looking all grown up too!

Papa and Gigi Visit and Our 1st Buddy Walk

Papa and Gigi came to visit a couple weeks ago. It was so much fun seeing them again and getting a chance to catch up. We miss you guys already! If you look closely Alaina is blowing a raspberry in this picture, it is one of her favorite games to play with people.

We went to our 1st Buddy Walk in Raleigh this past weekend. The Buddy Walk is an event to help raise awareness of Down syndrome. There was tons of fun stuff for the kids to do, great food, and it was nice to meet other families who came out with their kids.

Alaina in her Buddy Walk t-shirt. The smallest size they had was 2t so just a bit too big, but she looks super cute in it!

6 Months

Well Alaina made it to 6 months and I can't believe how well she is doing. She is still eating great and has even started solid baby foods. Alaina also sat by herself for the first time today long enough for me to take a picture. =)

We all went to the County fair friday night and met up with Olivia's friend Alex and her parents. It was great with lots of rides for the little ones. Look at those smiles!

Dance Class Part 2

This is Olivia and her new friend Alex on their first day of dance class. It is a more relaxed dance class than the last one and I think Olivia enjoyed it. It helps to have a friend there =)

Our new car! We finally splurged on a minivan so there is more space for toting the kids around and going on family trips. It is a 2010 Honda Odyssey and so far I'm loving it!

First Day of School

Today was Olivia's first day of preschool. She will be attending a program three days a week at a local church. The parents stayed with the kids today so Olivia was ok with that. I don't know how it will be tomorrow when I'm supposed to leave her there, but I'm sure she will be fine.

This is a picture Olivia drew of Little Mermaid at preschool. Can you tell she looks sick? She woke up from her nap with a runny nose and a fever so there may not be a second day of school tomorrow.

Alaina and one of her sweet smiles.

Where Alaina sits while I try to write the blog. She won't stay in the swing unless she's already asleep or someone is giving her attention =)

Progress

Alaina has been doing so much better since surgery. This picture is of her mid-roll. She has started rolling over both ways and she is eating well. The physical therapist came to evaluate her yesterday and she said that so far Alaina is not delayed with her developmental milestones. So hooray for Alaina!

Here Olivia is being her usually happy self. She is well behaved during the day and will play by herself with her dolls and dress up when I'm busy with Alaina. She is also starting preschool next week and Olivia and I are both excited about that!

I'm taking online classes this semester so that will be my time to study. I considered not taking classes this semester with everything going on, but ended up doing it anyway. The time I spend on school work is therapeutic and gives me a chance to do something just for me. I'm hoping the semester goes well and that everything stays relatively calm around here.

I'm trying to coax a smile out of Alaina for the camera. This is the best I could get.