Happy Birthday Daddy!

Ryan turned 33 on July 21st. He decided to work that day (he always takes the girls bdays off). So there was no way we were going to let him just have an average day at work.
That morning, after he left for work, I woke up the girls. Then I threw some clothes on them, grabbed the balloons that were hidden in the house, plus a couple presents and we were off!
Had to stop at the Donut Spot to grab some treats for us and a few more for his great Guards and fellow workers. What's 3 dozen in the scheme of things, right?

We scared the guards a bit (Apparently, a big red stroller filled with donuts and presents is a security threat), but they helped us out by calling him down to the front desk to surprise him. Aubrey got to ride the elevators and share donuts and milk with her Daddy. Amber was chill, as always, just sitting in his lap while he opened some presents.

Happy Birthday, Honey (and Daddy)! You are the best.

P.S. Next year, we'll bring you less Donuts. ;)

Happy Easter!

Amber is officially 4 months today. Which means there is only 8 months and 1 day until Christmas... :) Easy to keep track now.

I hope your Easter was wonderful. We spent it busy in Church and together as a family at home. It was very peaceful and relaxing.

We really enjoyed the Ruggles Annual Easter Egg Hunt yesterday! It was our 2nd year going. Hard to believe that it was a year ago we were watching Aubrey grab eggs and throw them back on the ground. She didn't understand the "putting them in the basket" part. This year was a bit overwhelming for her, but she eventually filled her basket full.

Amber watched the Egg Hunt in the arms of a friend (Thanks, Kaci!), so Ryan and I could help Aubrey and record it for posterity. That's right, posterity...You better really enjoy all these movies and pictures we're taking cause it takes a lot of effort. Especially when one child refuses to be recorded or photographed most of the time. ;)

Later, sugar meltdown ensued! But, it is so worth it. Kids really only have two days a year to gorge themselves on candy, right? Yep, worth it...

Everything is worth it.

Daddy and his girls...

Love our girls!

Who wants to do laundry when you can play with these two? (Please ignore the pile in the background). :)

Happy Birthday Aubrey!

Our sweet muffin turned 3 on March 16th. We had a fun family gathering for her. My parents and Ryan's Mom and Wayne were all there. It was so fun to have both girls in our arms that day. I had envisioned how fun that day would be when I was pregnant, but it was even better than I imagined.

Aubrey is super creative and very inquisitive. She has known her ABCs for a long time now. She also points out colors and numbers. She continues to correct us when we are driving and not going the normal route we take. I can't believe she remembers how to get places, as I STILL get lost.

Her favorite things to do are playing outside, finding snails, telling me the snails are broken (after she steps on them while my back is turned), she loves playing with bubbles, and she has mastered the computer in many ways in the past few months.

Ryan once asked me if I had let Aubrey use the laptop...she had found it closed on my nightstand, opened it, and was searching the favorites bar for the saved websites I have for her. If you haven't found pbskids.com or nickjr.com, they are great! She loves playing matching games and word games on the laptop. I am totally stunned at her abilities.

With all these vast changes, we are continuing to notice that she still has a hard time in social settings, or when there is too much noise. It really throws her for a loop emotionally. She becomes very quiet and even withdrawn around people (and kids) she knows. We press on and hope she will find a way to feel comfortable in new (and familiar) settings with time.

Amber is now 3 months old! It has been very eye-opening to see the differences in our two girls. Having another child 24/7, it becomes very apparent that they are two different personalities and we love that! Amber continues to be very chill. She doesn't like it when big sister is crying and may start crying herself at times, but for the most part she seems unbothered by all the commotion of having an very active big sis. She will sleep through just about anything and calms very quickly.

Amber's nickname is Sis. Little sis, little miss, sweet sis...etc. :) She is very smiley and loves to make eye contact and respond to people talking to her. She can be calmed with a pacifier rather quickly. She takes a while to get to full blown wailing. We have maybe heard that 5 times. She usually just cries out in a "Hey, I'm over here!" kinda way. She loves sitting up with us at the dinner table on one of our laps (We have to get a softer highchair soon!).

Its been really challenging at times keeping Aubrey busy while I feed Amber, but it has been a great learning experience that I wouldn't change for anything! Let's just say I have a truckload of sympathy for moms with 2 kids, now. :) Wonder what 3 kids will bring? That's not an announcement, either!

Ryan's job is going well. I continue to admire his hardwork and dedication to his clients. I am also so grateful for all the time he spends in the Elder's Quorum Presidency. It truly blesses my life to see him serving others so willingly. Good example to me.

I am continuing to learn patience. For myself, my girls and towards others. It is a long journey for me and a very necessary one. I am so thankful for the knowledge that Heavenly Father will never give you more than you can handle. That does not mean things will be easy, but you will be strengthened to meet your challenges. Whatever they may be.

Love you all!!

Amber is here!

Amber Jeanelle Aten is here! She was born 12/24/10. 7 lbs 8oz and 19 inches at 37 weeks. She spent 5 hours in the NICU for fluid in her lungs and then was able to join us. We had a wonderful Christmas the next day and feel very blessed. :) Enjoy the pictures! She is now 6 weeks old and such a delight in our family.

Mm-hmm

Aubrey continues to pick up more and more grownup ways of talking. It is so endearing! Her latest feat is simply saying yes with an mm-hmm noise. Like Uh-huh, but with her lips closed. Apparently we do that a lot around here. :)

"Aubrey, do you want some lunch?" "Mmm-hmm."

Her Fisher-Price nativity set is getting a lot of use this year. She arranges the characters all looking in one direction, usually away from the stable. The sheep has replaced the angel on the top of the stable. Only the sheep is allowed to be up there.

She is captivated by Frosty the Snowman. She loves his movie and anytime she sees a snowman character she exclaims "Fwosty!" She pulls me out of my chair so we can march around the room with the kids in the movie too.

Aubrey also calls Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer movie the "Donkeys" movie. Yes, Aubrey thinks donkeys are pulling santa's sleigh.

As for Amber, I had my 35 week checkup today. Everything is looking right on track. She still can move around quite a bit, though she stays to my right side most of the time. It has been really interesting to notice the difference in movement between her and Aubrey (in utero). I used to get surprised by Aubrey's kicks. She mainly seemed to "protest" me resting a hand on my stomach or daddy trying to feel her kick. She would powerfully kick right at the spot of pressure once or twice and that would be it. I would be sitting at my desk at work, rest my hand on the top of my stomach without really realizing and pow! She'd kick right at it. It was really funny cause I'd jump a little. Ryan and I were amazed at her accuracy and felt like she was showing us her personality right from the start.

Amber is not really like that at all. She seems to move her body around where my hand is resting. Or she seems to just move around on her own, not really reacting to my hands or Aubrey sitting close next to me. She's definately going to be used to more noise than Aubrey was. She'll probably recognize Aubrey's shrill scream right away after she's born. haha!

Only about 36 more days until we get to meet her!