North Meets South in NC: May 2014

Always find a reason to laugh.

It may not add years to your life,

but it will surely add life to your years.

Ava Nicole

You have been so busy moving, learning, and growing! You are getting so good and picking things up and grabbing things around you (especially mommy's hair, necklace, bracelets, nose, and face!) You love to scream on top of your lungs just to hear your own voice and you are starting to make other noises now too! You have so much to say, but only Ella seems to really understand. She loves you so much and you are always making her smile and laugh. You still give the best hugs in the world and we love to cuddle with you! You are a great eater! Your favorite is still squash, but you also love peaches, apricots, sweet potato, bananas, oatmeal, apples, pears, and carrots.

You have decided that you no longer want to be completely swaddled, but you still love to be snuggled tightly. We swaddle you with one arm out and daddy holds your hand every night until you fall asleep. You love when we sing to you and you love to be held by mommy and daddy. You get very sad if we leave the room even if we are just gone a second. Your favorite toy is still Sophie, but you have a new "macaroni" teething toy that you really like too! You are working so hard on crawling and you are getting so close!!! You scoot and crawl backwards, but you never give up! We are so proud of you!! We love you to the moon and back!! xoxo

Ella Justine

You are such a happy little girl and you have a permanent smile on your cute little face! You wake up smiling and go to sleep smiling! You are the fastest roller and we can't take our eyes off of you for one second! Your personality is coming out so much now and you are always making us laugh! You love your sister so much and you are always looking to see what she is doing. You love to touch Ava and be close to her. Ava loves you so much too! She smiles as soon as she sees you in the morning and you both fall asleep during nap time holding each other's hand. You love to bounce in the exersaucer and jumperoo! You are constantly on the move and you are getting so good at moving things with your hand. Your favorite toy is still Sophie, but you also have a new "macaroni" teether toy that you love. You are also working on crawling, but you would much rather roll to get your toys. Your favorite food is still bananas, but you also love carrots, apples, peaches, sweet potatoes, apricots, zucchini, and squash. You love all types of music and you just started "dancing" this month (jump like crazy in your exersaucer!) You love any kind of animal noise and you laugh when mommy and daddy make funny sounds. You are a great sleeper and you still love to be swaddled. Your happiness is contagious! We love you to the moon and back! xoxo

This month was my first Mother's Day ever!!! I was so excited to celebrate you both! You have brought me such joy and meaning to my life and have given me the best job ever - mommy!! We decided to celebrate with Grandma (my mommy), Papa, Aunt Nicole, Uncle Jay, cousins Ryan and Dylan, Uncle Michael, and Aunt Jasmine. We had not seen everyone for a very long time and you had not visited NY since Christmas! This was a long overdue visit! We didn't want to waste 2 whole days driving, so we decided to pack up the house and fly to NY! Your very first time on an airplane (besides when you were in mommy's belly) and you did great!!