Bathtime!!!

Last night Chad and I gave Avie a bath together. I got her these new letters and numbers that stick to the tub when they're wet.

Apparently they stick to Avie too...

She's like, "What are yall laughing at?"

Couldn't resist...

She has no idea we're doing this, by the way.

And...she winks..."haha Mama, I knew you were sticking letters on me the whole time!"

Swimming at Miss Magan's

Our friend, Magan, is having a baby boy in July...William Nolan Gandy. Magan was Avie's NICU nurse and we just became friends through all of it. She was there when Avie was born. She helped resuscitate Avie when she wasn't breathing. Lots of doctors and nurses helped Avie, but Magan had a heart for Avie. She cared for her like she was her own. You could tell she loved Avie. She would call us in the morning and say "she's got her eyes open!". We ran down there, hair half-dried, one shoe on...and she'd be back asleep by the time we got down there. We didn't see her eyes for several days...she was sedated with the seizure medicine for so long. Magan was also the one who let us hold Avie. She called our courtesy room one morning and said "you wanna hold her?". We hadn't gotten to hold her the first 5 days of her life...she was just too sick. Our parents got to hold her that day too. I also remember one morning, walking into the NICU to feed Avie at 6 am. A nurse said "girl, Magan's got your baby all over the floor this mornin". I thought "all over the floor?!" (no, she just meant walking around). Magan came around the corner with all of Avie's cords draped over her shoulder and holding Avie, taking a stroll. It was so cute. Avie was wide awake and enjoying being out of that isolette! We've kept in touch and she's come to see us several times since then. Saturday was her baby shower in Rayville. We went to the shower and then swimming at Magan's parents' afterward in Mangham. It was Avie's first time to swim and she had a blast! This is definitely something we'll be doing alot this summer!

These are some of the things I gave baby Nolan!

Just getting started. The water was cold! This little girl DID NOT MIND. Bathtime, outside, her 2 favorite things...what could be better?

Silly girl!

Avie and Mama

Magan and Avie

Ok, so Avie was starting to get hungry. Swimming works you up an appetite!

Ok, she's ok now.

Pretty thing!

I'm so glad she's happy in the water! This is where I like to be in the summers!

Shre kept sticking her face in the water and drinking it. Guess she likes saltwater. If you look closely, you'll see a pregnant belly in the back left!

Really, a weekend of carousels and swimming pools? Could it get any better???

Avie and Nana on the carousel! (is that how you spell it?)

Avie has rode the bench on the carousel once when she was about 3 months old, but now that she knows how to have fun...she moved up to the giraffe Friday! Nana took her while we were at the mall shopping. AVIE LOVES THE CAROUSEL!!! Omg...it was the cutest thing EVER!

Getting ready! Notice my mom sticking her tongue out? That's what she does when she's concentrating...she's done it all my life.

Look at her holding on!

Nana is trying to get Avie to wave at me. She waves now...and it looks like she's got her hand out, showing you a pretty ring...it's so prissy and cute!

And...she's off!

By the way, we went back today and she rode it twice! This time we rode the buck and the dolphin. The giraffe was stationary, but the buck and dolphin moved up and down! She giggled the whole time!

Avie's bath buddy!

Avie has never taken a bath with anyone so Emmy and I thought it would be fun to let the babies take a bath together. Avie loves baths and she loves Caroline, so it was the perfect combination. Molly couldn't stand it...them havin' all that fun without her...and had to join them eventually!

Aunt Jenn came to see us!

Jennifer and I have been friends since 8th grade! She loves Avie and Avie loves her! We live an hour apart so it means the world to me that she drives all the way out to my house to see me and her "honorary niece"!

Some things I've made lately...

Well I've been monogramming and appliqueing up a storm lately! I have atleast 10 friends having babies this summer. I've really enjoyed making them their own special things.

I appliqued the lemon on this little striped onesie for a friend's baby shower and added the baby's name.

And I also monogrammed this precious blanket! Avie had a "blankie" similar to this...furry on one side, satin on the other.

Ok, so this is actually for my own baby. Nana bought her this little dress for like $6 at Ross a while back, so I monogrammed it and the bloomers and...VOILA! (oh, and Lindsay, I love this font! Thanks!)

Ooh, I loved this one. $3 onesie from Wal-Mart and a lobster applique...too cute!


...and an appliqued froggy burpie

Oh, and this is for me. I got these burnt orange linen cocktail napkins from the Townsend House a few weeks ago. I wanna say were like $8 each and then 75% off...so I bought all they had! I use them as coasters.

My friend Lisa's niece is having twin girls. She asked me to monogram a bunch of things for them for a shower. She wanted to give her a bunch of monogram stuff...this was my first big job! (yes, I'm doing this as a little side business so let me know if you need anything!)

I did 2 little beanies.

And 2 linen pillows...

And 2 linen bibs (they're so pretty and dressy!)...do you like the shadow of my fingers in the pic? Nice!

And bloomers with their first and middle names on them!

...and of course, pink blankets. These are so cozy!

And I know the mama of the twins, so I made her something from me! These birdies remind me of Avie's Potterybarn bedding.

Ok, in my last post I mentioned making Avie and Caroline matching outfits. Here they are! I appliqued an octopus onto a $3 Target tank! I got these little polka dot sailor capris at Ross for like 4 bucks! How cute did this turn out?! Thanks, Lindsay, for the applique!

What's Been Goin' On Lately...

Well I haven't blogged in a while. My internet connection at home is extremely slow...I live in the country kinda. Thought I'd do several posts in one to save time. It literally takes about 10 minutes to load 5 pics! Let's see what's been goin' on lately!

Our good friends Paige and Russell and their 2 babies (Harrison and Bailynn) came over for dinner last week. Harrison is 17 months and Bailynn is 5 months (right, Paige?...they were both born in January...a year apart!). Harrison and Avie stayed entertained with toys, but Bailynn is still too little to get in the floor and play so we thought we'd try Avie's favorite...the Jumperoo! Avie started it at 3 months (with a blanket stuffed behind her)! We put Bailynn in it and we think she liked it!

And Avie played in the floor!

...in this dress! Her $6 Wal-Mart dress I monogrammed. (Thanks Lindsay for the idea!)

Avie likes to play with my monogramming machine presser foot. This was Sunday after church...in her sweet sailor dress from Nana!

I won this smocked dress on ebay (new with tags!)...it's The Wizard of Oz!

We went to the camp for Memorial Day. We have an annual Johnston Family Reunion there every Memorial Day. We had a terrible scare that day before the reunion! Avie was sitting on the bed (I was RIGHT there!) and leaped off, head-first on the concrete floor. It was the loudest "conk" I've ever heard! I FREAKED OUT! I seriously thought she had cracked her skull...and hits like that can trigger seizures, so given her history, I couldn't just wait this out and see how she was an hour later. I had turned my back for 2 seconds to zip up my make-up bag and she just jumped so quick! I never put her on the bed because she's so mobile now, but I was standing right on the edge of the bed with her. It just happened so fast. I jerked her up (I think I cried more than she did!), got her a bottle, jumped in Chad's truck with her in my lap (Britney-style) and sped down to the Johnston Pavilion (15 seconds down the road where the reunion was and where Chad was). There were people all in the road and they're were NOT moving, so I threw the truck in park and jumped out and called for Chad. He got in the truck (we buckled Avie in her carseat, I promise!) and we rushed an hour and a half to St. Francis ER. Needless to say, she was absolutely fine and laughing and playing the whole way there. The doc said not to worry, she hit the thickest part of her skull. She didn't have so much as a bruise or a bump! Thank you Lord! We headed back to the reunion and had a wonderful rest of the day. I got the Mother of the Year Award that day, dontcha think? Avie forgave me!

This is Avie and Pops on her first 4-wheeler ride! (She and Caroline wore matching outfits I made...I'll post that next!)

And this is Avie playing with magazines in my bathroom. She SHREDS them! It's pretty cute, and messy!

And after a long day yesterday (she's got a snotty nose and a mild ear infection), this is how I found her when I checked on her. I guess she couldn't decide if she wanted to sleep on her tummy or her side...so she did both. I had to uncover her and take pics of this!

And this morning, she played and played!!!

...and tried to pull up on the couch! That's something the OT is working on with her.

I got a cute grin from my little snot-face!