Keeping Warm

We have been snuggled up trying to keep warm inside and playing with all our new Christmas toys. Stay tuned for our Christmas wrap-up post.






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3 Days Until Christmas

But who's counting?? :-)



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Merry Christmas from The Winston Family

This year we used Shutterfly for our Christmas cards and as you can see they turned out amazing! Thank You Shutterfly!!!!

Tis' the Season to be Jolly

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Meet Alice in Wonderland

Me: Avery what do you think we should name your new baby?

Avery: hmmmm (puts finger on her chin to really get the creative juices flowing) I know! What about Alice in Wonderland??!!!

Me: You want to name her Alice?

Avery: Noooo Mommy (acting all exasperated) I just told you her name is Alice in Wonderland.

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Avery Can Read

I have been meaning to post this for a while but haven't gotten a chance to until now. My mom got Avery this book from Costco called Princess Treasury in October and she has completely memorized every single word of this 200+ page book. It's truly amazing how quickly she memorizes books. You may have to watch it a few times to tell exactly what she is saying because she is talking so fast but we recorded the words so you could see that she really does know this entire book. So amazing!

Snow in South Florida

We had such a fun weekend! It was super busy and filled with lots of friends and food!

On Friday night we all got into our holiday jammies, warmed up mugs of hot chocolate, popped some popcorn and hopped in the car to go look at Christmas lights. There is a park that is filled with lots of lights and you drive through it all. Avery loved it and of course Gracyn slept the whole time!

On Saturday morning we went over to Delray Beach (about 20 minutes away) to the Kids Winter Festival. They had SNOW!!!! This was Avery's first time to see "snow.

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Mommy and Avery

"Mommy, its SO cold!"

** I am sure any northerners who read this blog find it truly hilarious that kids actually line up to play in the smallest mound of snow but seriously there were so many kids waiting to play in this stuff. It was so funny and a little sad that this is the first time Avery has ever seen or touched snow.***

Gracyn sleeping like the angel that she is

The official 2010 Winston Girls picture with Santa

Family pic

Avery's face is hilarious because she begged us to ride this darn carousel and was so excited but then she had this horrified face and was clinging to the pole the entire time it was moving like she was scared to death but when she got off the carousel she said "That was really so much fun." Haha

Matt laughing at how Avery was acting scared to death

On Saturday night we had Matt's 30th birthday party at our house. His birthday was on Tuesday and I finally let him agree to let me invite some friends over so we could celebrate properly so we invited a few couples and their kids, grilled some fajitas and sipped on some homemade sangria. It was such a fun night and although it can be a lot of prep work to have people over at your house its really nice to just relax in your own home and not have to go anywhere at the end of the night.

Happy Birthday babe! We are so grateful to have such an amazing husband and father. You are truly the best, most wonderful person I know. We love you!!!!

Avery throwing a fit at the end of the night- she was sooooo tired from playing so hard!

Blowing out the candles on the homemeade cookie cake- I spared us all and only put one candle on instead of all 30!

Then on Sunday we went over to a friend's house to do cookie decorating and a kid's gift exchange. It was so much fun and Avery has the best time playing with all these girls!

Gracyn's Two Month Post

What You Did This Month- 2 months old

Weight: 10 lb 12 oz (50%)

Length/Height: 22.5cm ( 50%)

Head Circumference: 15 cm

Diaper Size: Size 1

Clothing Size: 0-3 months now- those NB clothes seemed to get tight so fast! I was sad to pack them up

Sleeping Habits: Still a huge cuddlebug and a big obstacle has been you only taking good naps during the day if someone was holding you. The minute we try to lay you down you wake up EXCEPT over the past week you have been tolerating sleeping in the pack in play in the daytime for about 30-45 minutes at a time. I'll call that progress. Somehow you seem to know when it's nighttime because you transfer and sleep easily in the pack in play in our room and sleep for one 5-6 hour stretch at night and if I time it right we only wake up once during the night!

Eating Habits: Exclusively breastfed every 3 hours. At this point with Avery I was preparing to go back to work and was constantly pumping so I could store milk and it was totally exhausting and I never understood how other moms would say that breastfeeding was "so easy." Now I get it. Its so much faster and cleaner to just breastfeed, which means you have only had about 5 bottles in your life. I am going to try to make sure you keep taking the bottle also and try harder to give them to you a little more often.

Milestones: Such a happy girl, always cooing and smiling, usually right after you eat. You are sleeping longer at night and rolling from your side to your back going both directions. You still tolerate tummy time really easily and seem to be getting stronger every day.

Likes/Dislikes:

- You still hate the swing and will not tolerate it at all (Avery never liked it either). You really prefer to be held or to be sitting propped up on the couch while Avery is playing- you seem pretty amused by Avery.

- I think you went through a growth spurt this month and seemed to have a noticeable witching hour around 7-8pm where it harder to calm you to sleep but it looks like you are already (thankfully) outgrowing that.

- You seem to like taking a bath OK but become so angry when I put lotion on you. For some reason that really sets you off and you are hard to calm down. I think this is the hardest I have ever seen you cry.

- You often root around when I know you are not hungry and I keep trying to see if you will take a pacifier but you act like you have no idea what to do with it when its in your mouth. I just tried the soothie pacifier the other day because I thought you might like the shape of it more and you will take it for a little bit.

Gracyn- You are such a good baby and you love to cuddle up and coo at your mommy, daddy and sister. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful new addition to our family. This Christmas season has made us so appreciative of our beautiful growing family. We love you sweet girl.

Firsts

So although this wasn't her first movie (Marmaduke was) it was the first time she requested to go see a specific movie. So I had to oblige my little princess when she asked to go see Tangled. We went on Friday and Avery loved it. I blame my mom for the fact that I can not go see a movie without purchasing popcorn.............it's all your fault mom :-)

As you can tell Gracyn really enjoyed her first movie too. She slept through the whole thing and didn't make a single peep. The movie was adorable and completely made me tear up. Overall a successful trip to the movies.

On Saturday we made a quick trip to Target and what do you know but Santa happened to be there. This is Gracyn's first picture with Santa and Avery's first time to not look completely horrified in a picture with Santa. Avery actually talked to him and was pretty happy when he gave her a candy cane. Like I always say, candy can get you everywhere, especially with kids :-)

Last but not least Gracyn got to go to her first NFL game on Sunday. We went to see the Dolphins play the Browns and it was a heartbreaking game.

Gracyn continues to win the award for Best Baby Ever because she honestly did not even open her eyes the entire time we were at the game, not even when the jet planes did the fly-by or when the crowds cheered. Such a fun weekend filled with lots of firsts!

Santa's Little Helpers

I don't know if you can tell but Avery's shirt says "Mommy's Little Helper" and Gracyn's shirt says "Daddy's Little Helper"---- so cute!

Snuggled Up

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Thanksgiving 2010

The week of Thanksgiving my youngest sister Allison came to visit and we had a blast! The week went so fast.



These pictures sum up what Avery thought about Aunt Alli. Avery thought she was the funniest person in the whole world. They just laughed and joked around all day long. It was hilarious.

Allison was SO much help and it was so nice to have someone here to hang out with me during the day. For actual Thanksgiving Day we did a potluck dinner at a friends house. There were 4 families, all with kids under the age of 5. It was loud, busy, and so much fun, and Allison fit right in! It was such a great way to spend Thanksgiving and I am so grateful my sister got to come and spend the holiday with us- we miss you already Aunt Alli!
As for a little Gracyn update- she is doing great! She is such a good baby. She is still eating so well- as made evident by her little buddha belly that she is sporting. She is sleeping pretty good too. If I time it right we are only waking up once per night. We are working on getting her to tolerate napping in her crib, rather than in our arms! This little cuddle bug loves to be held and I am sure I don't help matters much because I love to snuggle with her. But she has been napping pretty good in the pack in play over the past few days, so I have actually had a little time to do all the stuff around the house that I have been neglecting like laundry! Speaking of laundry- I have no idea how one little person can make it seem like we have so much more laundry- how is that possible?
Avery went to a Princess Birthday Party the other day and I just had to throw this picture in because I think its hilarious. The girls all came dressed in their princess attire and had a tea party. So funny.

We are gearing up for a busy December filled with Christmas parties, Matt's birthday and lots of holiday events- can't wait!

Is it me?

Or do I have the cutest girls in the whole world!






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What I Have Learned....

Here is what I have learned in my last two months of being a momma to two precious babes, take it for what its worth..........

- I have learned that spit up blends in best when you are wearing a off-white top.

- I have learned that its a sad reality that the second child does not get nearly as many pictures taken of them.........mainly because I am so busy I rarely have time to take a second to stop and take a picture. Most of my pictures are on my Iphone.....does that count?

- I have learned that it takes at least 60 minutes to get both girls and myself cleaned, dressed, fed, packed up and out the door, making the phrase "Honey I am just going to run to the store (ie Target) really fast, OK?" a thing of the past. Nothing happens really fast these days.

- I have learned that a smile and coo from a newborn baby can turn a day around.

- I have learned that my mom must of been crazy to have not two but THREE girls. She was 26 years old with three little girls under the age of four. Insane I tell you. Mom- you are my hero!

- I have learned that I can still function on decaf coffee, although I may be much more bleary-eyed.

- I have learned that my toddler is so much more accepting of change than I actually ever gave her credit for.

- I have learned how to do absolutely everything using just one hand.

- I have learned that is all seems so much easier the second time around. Makes me wonder what I thought was so hard the first time around.........

- I have learned that every single time I watch my two girls interact I tear up a little bit.

- I have learned that antibacterial lotion covers up the smell of spit up.

- I have learned that bathing is a luxury

- I have learned to shop online for almost everything. Amazon Mom, Diaper.com, and Target.com are my answer for everything.

- I have learned that my heart is so full and content. At least once every day I stop and look at my beautiful life and thank God for so many blessings. I am beyond grateful.

What have you learned since having kids? I would love to hear it!

Thankful

I am so thankful for my beautiful family and the blessed life I have.

Wishing all of you a Thanksgiving filled with love and laughter.

Avery's Favorite Things- 2 years 8 months

Avery is almost 30 lbs now and around 37-38 inches tall! She is growing like a weed and is still sooooo tall for her age. We are having trouble finding her jeans that are actually long enough. She is still such a good girl. I am sure every mother says that but she honestly is. Every time we go to the park or are around other kids her age I am so proud of how well behaved, patient and kind she is. Don't get me wrong she has recently begun to test the limits a little bit ("Avery please don't throw my phone" followed by her looking right at me and throwing my phone down). And she is a little bit of a drama queen, making herself cry real tears in response to things I know aren't really that sad/painful/etc. Also she is so smart. I know every mother probably says this too but she really is. She has this amazing memory retention for books, songs, etc. The other day I read her the book Pinkalicious twice (we had never read it before) and after only hearing it TWICE she could recite the entire book back almost word for word. That's truly amazing to someone like me who has barely any memory retention!

Avery is at such a fun age where she still has so much fun doing almost anything and she thinks her parents are the funniest people in the world (which we are!). I am really looking forward to this holiday season because I know she is going to make everything so much more magical and fun!

At 2 years 8 months Avery's Favorite:

Song: Sugarland "Stuck Like Glue"- she still loves this song and calls it "Avery and Mommy's song" which is the cutest thing ever. But she really likes almost all music and really loves to dance to it all!

Movie: Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue, Mary Poppins, anything Princess related- Avery has started to be more interested in cartoons- such as Mickey Mouse and Olivia but for the most part she still like to watch movies best of all. We check-out a new movie from the library almost every week so we have been getting to watch old classics like Sleeping Beauty, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and The Sound of Music. She loves watching anything with either princesses or people who sing and dance.

Clothes: Avery insists on wearing a "beautiful dress" every time we leave the house. Thankfully we live in a place that is warm year-round. She never wants to wear pants and getting her to wear anything besides a skirt or dress is a battle. Matt said "you created this princess monster" because I have always like dressing her up in cute outfits haha!

Foods: she will luckily eat almost anything but her diet mainly consists of waffles, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, PB&J, fruit and veggies

Books: She loves the Classic Storybook from Disney that has 20 of the old Disney classics- like Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, etc. I feel so blessed because Avery really loves to read and she could seriously read all day long

Hobbies: swimming, riding tricycle, playing outside, reading princess books, watching movies, going to the park, playing with her friends

Avery- Your Mommy and Daddy thank God for you every single day. You are such a blessing and truly such a good girl. We could not be more grateful for how well you have handled the transition into "Big Sister" and you make each and every day so special. We love you more than words could every say!

Just Because

It's That Time

And by that time, I mean Christmas card time! I love all things related to Christmas cards- picking them out, designing them, sending them and of course receiving them! I have been thinking about our cards for a while now because this year our Christmas cards are going to double as Gracyn's birth announcement/Winston Christmas card so I know I want something really cute and timeless since it's going to be in Gracyn's baby book!

So I was looking around on Shutterfly's website looking at their card designs and let me tell you these card have come a long way from the card's of our mothers time. Seriously these holiday card designs are so modern, classic, and just plain beautiful I have no idea what I am going to choose this year. Just look at some of these





How cute are those? (It helps that the kids they have on the cards are all smiling like little angels!!! I would like to know how long it took the photographer to get both kids to smile, act like they like each other AND look at the camera!) And I was pleasantly surprised at the prices. They are so reasonable and all the cards look like they should cost much more. And I have used Shutterfly before so I know the quality is top-notch.

Don't forget to check out Shutterfly's huge array of possible gift giving ideas- from coffee mugs to calendars. We actually made photo books last year to give out as Christmas gifts and it was a huge hit with all the grandparents and great-grandparents, and Avery still loves looking at "picture book of Avery" haha!

So needless to say I am super excited about picking out the perfect Christmas card this year from Shutterfly's website. If you are a blogger and are interested in 50 free cards from Shutterfly go here to find out how!