Weeks 9-11: Two under 2

Sorry about the delay! Man, these girls sure keep us on our toes. I'll try not to start out each post with saying how busy we are, but time does fly by! It might be kind of hard to remember all that's gone on in the past few weeks, but I'll see what I can dig up.

Pictures of the girls (I'll get more posted this weekend I hope and send out a new link of pictures):

Anna (17 mo) and Izzy (2 mo)
Month by Month

Izzy: We had her 2 month appointment a couple weeks ago. She was still 10 pounds 2 ounces seeing as we were in just a week prior. She had her first rounds of immunizations and did really well! No fever or sleepless night and didn't cry more than 30 seconds. She's just as much of a trooper as her big sister. She's 22 1/4 inches long, so at the same timeframe her and Anna were about the same length but Izzy's almost 2 pounds heavier at this age than Anna. Izzy's been smiling a lot more when we talk to her, especially when Anna is near her. We try to tell Anna that she loves it when you're around her, that she loves you, making it a positive thing. She does pretty good. She's also become quite a chatty little girl too - especially after her baths. Cooing, trying to find her voice and seems so proud when she does. She's still our little cuddle bug, sleeping the best when being held or at least near someone. I can't wait for the day when she grabs her blankie and just wants to sit on your lap for an hour. She sleeps till 5am most nights, sometimes a little longer. With our doctor's suggestion, we're trying her nighttime bottle with some rice cereal, but she doesn't seem to sleep any longer. Who knows. :) It's so fun to see her develop who she is and to sit back and think of what these 2 are going to be like as sisters. Izzy also had her baptism on March 15. We had a wonderful time with family and fawning over Izzy. :)

Anna: I swear she'll be talking in full sentences in weeks. She tries to say the last word or 2 of everything we say. She repeats "sentences" like she knows what she wants to say, but can't say it yet. It's amazing. On the way home from daycare each day, we practice saying and doing everything she knows and then add in a few extra things. We know what a lot animals say, kitty is our new one, with her cute little "meow". She knows where most of her body parts are from her pigtails and eyes to her knees and "belbows". We practice saying all of her aunts and uncles names (Sheila is "ee-ya", Alex is "ee-esch", Ryan is "ee-yan" and Angela and Libby are difficult yet), grandpa is "papa", grandma is some babble, mommy and daddy said loud and clear, and Izzy is "baby". :) She's said Izzy a couple times, but when we say, say Izzy, she says baby. Too funny. She is learning the joy of a bubble bath, she collects rocks with her neighborhood friends and is a bit on the crabby side yet b/c of teeth and being almost 2 I'd guess. She's certainly growing up and we're just amazed at all she does already. I know she loves her little sister, it's just hard to share the attention sometimes.

Mom and Dad: Gary had a oral surgery last week. He had an infection at the tip of the root where a root canal wouldn't get to it. They had to cut his gum and drill through the bone to get to it. Talk about goosebumps. He's healing up nicely and pain free. Work is going well for him and keeping busy for sure. I'm doing well, working on getting our new business venture, Blossom Studios, up and running. We had a successful craft expo a few weeks ago and have been spreading the word and people are excited! Our prelim website is http://blossomstudios.shutterfly.com and I'm working on an actual site design. So anyone in West Michigan, NW Indiana and south side of Chicago, let us know if your intersted! Work is going well for me - I think we'll make it through the downtimes alright. It seems as we won't struggle for business, just making a profit this year. Which is better than most can say. The basement is on hold I suppose, until we have a free weekend or motivation to move on to the next phase (mudding and taping). We have a room where people can sleep, so that's the main thing we needed for right now. We're ready for spring, to get out for walks, bike rides, trips to the park, gardening and soon after that, the beach! I'm also taking on the venture of starting my own seeds for a garden. Three days in and we already have sprouts!

All in all, we're doing well. We're all happy, healthy and thankful. Please keep Gary's Grandpa Hall in your prayers as he's been in and out of the hospital for dehydration and possible pneumonia. He'll be getting in home care now. Keep Grandma in your prayers as well as she cares for him.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love,
Gary, Christie, Anna and Isabella