The Ireland's: November 2013

5 new posts

I finally took the time to blog!! Here are the most recent 5 posts!! Just click on the post you want to view and it will appear!

K: 17 months

Halloween 2013

K: 16 months

Avery is THREE

Our Chicago Move

K: 17 months

November 21st-- Kinsley Rae turned 17 months!

She is so active and into everything. We finally baby proofed some areas, like the pantry. However, there are some places that I just haven't been able to "Kinsley Proof" such as the entertainment console. Almost daily she pulls out all of the DVD's and who has to put them back?? MOM! It's quite frustrating, but I guess it could be worse!

Some firsts for Kinsley at 17 months.....

-We have a house with stairs here in Illinois and she has tumbled down them once.

- She got her first hair cut just 2 days after she turned 17 months. (Avery didn't even have any hair at this age! haha!!)

Before:

During...

After....

- After her first hair cut she had her first sucker.

Halloween 2013

Our first Halloween in Chicagoland was a great one!

We had a little baby chick.....

and Izzy the Pirate from Jake and the Neverland Pirates....

It was a rainy day, but we had about 30 minutes of no rain so we hit the sidewalks of our new neighborhood for some trick or treating.

Avery loved trick or treating and would rush up to the doors without waiting on her sister. haha. She was having a blast and would have kept going had it not started raining and her mom and dad forced her to go inside! (We aren't too fun, the rain came and we were ready to go inside!! It was COLD!)

They got a lot of goodies!! (Mommy has eaten most of it over the last month.....)

We think Avery had more fun waiting on the kids to come to our house, which was so sweet!

That's a quick post on our first thanksgiving in Illinois! Everyone really only cares about the pictures anyway!!! :)

K: 16 months

Sweet Kinsley is 16 months and is quite a handful! She definitely keeps us on our toes, but she also shows us so much affection. I love this age and am trying to enjoy every minute because I know she will be grown up before I know it.

16 months:
- you now live in Chicagoland!
- you are so affectionate and give THE.BEST.HUGS. you are much more affectionate than your big sister who only likes to cuddle if she is sick....
- walking all over the place
- you try to do everything your big sis does, including trying to spit when brushing your teeth. It's the cutest thing ever!
- Your hair is long enough for a pony tail!

- you still love to be chased and I love your laugh when we do chase you!
- you now have 11 teeth and may be cutting another bottom molar now....
- Still need two naps a day, though its rare you get two. If you do get your much needed morning nap, it's only an hour long. Usually we are out and about in the mornings and you only cat nap in the car or miss your morning nap all together. Those days you are a bit more cranky, but that's mommy's fault for not ensuring you get your nap.
- You wear 12-18 month clothes
- size 4 diapers
- you eat pretty much everything.

Kinsley- you are our precious baby girl and we love you! Stop growing up so fast!!!!!!

You are into EVERYTHING!!! :)

AVERY IS THREE!!

Our big 3 year old!

It's hard to believe that our baby girl is three years old! I remember being pregnant with Avery and being so anxious to meet her. She is my baby and always will be. I can't believe she is three years old and we are having a blast watching her grow.

Avery is the most verbal three year old I have ever met! She doesn't always use the correct grammar, but often times she does. She has recently started having true conversations when she talks to her daddy or grandparents on the phone and is always wanting people to tell her about their day. It's the sweetest. Moving to Illinois and having to meet new people has been much easier with Avery. She isn't afraid to talk to someone she doesn't know- for example, on the playground she will walk right up to a child or their parent and ask them their names and then introduce herself. I have learned a lot from my three year old regarding stepping out of my comfort zone. :) Her memory is unbelievable! She shocks us daily with the things that she remembers. She brought something up from 8 months ago and I was floored! She has the ability to remember EVERYTHING! Incredible! I love her more than words can express.

Don't get me wrong, there are days that she really tests my patience.... Three year olds are learning to really be independent and boy is that true for Avery. Sometimes I find myself just wanting to do things for her so that it will get done faster. Again, she is teaching me another lesson: this time in patience.
Her independence is also a great thing. She is a HUGE helper. She is also really stubborn. Things have to be done a certain way or she gets really upset; maybe she has a little bit of OCD?!?!

Avery is learning to write an "A" and it's the cutest! She sleeps in a big girl bed without any rails and she can dress and undress herself. Speaking of undressing herself..... the girl loves to be naked. Every night we put her to bed fully clothed and when we go in to check on her a couple of hours later she is naked. EVERY. NIGHT. It's rather comical. We have since started only putting her in a pull up at night in hopes that she will get cold and realize that pajamas are really a good thing. No such luck. She still takes off her pull up and most of the time refuses to let us put her pj's on when we go to bed. Our rule is she has to sleep in her pull up!

Oh the pull-up topic. Avery has been potty trained since Mother's Day weekend 2013. She started wearing big girl panties and hasn't looked back! It's been delighftful! Since she turned three a month ago, we have noticed that 5/7 nights her pull ups stay dry. I am so proud of her!

She is the BEST big sister and loves Kinsley so much. She takes care of her and though they have their sister fights, they are still BFF's!

We celebrated her 3rd birthday back in August while we were still living in FL so that her family and friends could be a part of the celebration also. It was supposed to be a fun, laid back beach day but instead we were having a storm. It was still a blast and she talks about it still today!

My parents came up to Illinois the day before her third birthday so we were able to celebrate with them. Her birthday fell on a Friday this year so we waited until Friday night to celebrate when Daddy was home. We went to a pizza place called Lou Malnatis in Downtown Naperville and it was delicious. Then we came home for gifts and dessert: cupcakes and ice cream! I also started a new tradition and did a video interview with Avery. I hope to continue this with each child, starting at three and asking the same questions each year to see how they change. I will post this video soon.