Being 3 is Fun!

I know this is a little late, but my baby girl turned 3 on the 24th of May! I CANNOT believe she's already three. It seems like she was just born and she's growing up so fast. She's a little fireball, super stubborn, and the sweetest thing. We celebrated this birthday for over a month and she was SOOO spoiled! I love you so much Miss Ava!

Along with the 18 hour labor, 2 hours of pushing, and an unplanned c-section, the little Miss also had jaundice. She knew how to get attention at the very start of her life!





Growing up!







Family Birthday Party!



My sisters are always getting Ava the toys that we played with as little kids. It is so cute. Here she is with her "Cooties". They've also gotten her a "Glo-Worm" and I joined in on the fun with Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears, and Strawberry Shortcake!



Randy and I got Ava some Princess Board Puzzles. Here she is putting them together with her Papa. Little did we know that these would be her VERY VERY favorite things to play with. We are constantly putting them together and she's gotten so good at them. We can't decide if it was a good idea to give them to her or not. Sure, she loves them, but we are all CONSTANTLY playing with them. :)

Good Times . . . .

Okay. This is funny. This first pic is of Ava and I think it looks just like Kai, so we decided we'd try and re-create the picture to show how much they looked alike. Well, first of all, he wouldn't open his eyes so it's a little hard to tell how much they look alike and second, Kai is HUGE! Seriously. He looks ginormous. Look at the diapers! I think they're both newborn size. Ava was 8 lbs 1 oz when she was born but in this pic she was probably about 7 1/2 lbs. Kai is about his birth weight, or 9 lbs 8 oz. Normally he doesn't look so big to me, but I pretty much laughed out loud when I compared these pics. To be fair, he is about a week older here.


Here are my kids yesterday morning. Ava decided to lay out her blanky and chill next to Kai on the floor. She really likes him so far which is good. Instead of saying, "Hold me, not Kai!", she say's "Hold me too Mom!" She's content as long as she is also getting attention, but she doesn't seem to mind if Kai gets some too.

Just some cute pics. There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby!



This is Kai's face when I bathe him. He looks confused like he's just not sure what to think. :)

Man I love these kids!

So Happy Together . . . . . . .

Well, we are officially a family of four and personally, I am LOVING every second. I swear. How can that be you ask? I have a newborn, a 3 year old, AND I am recovering from major surgery. I'm sure a big part has to do with my mom living with us since I came home from the hospital. She is the absolute BEST mom and grandma in the whole world. She cleans, she cooks, she changes diapers, and she calms temper tantrums. She is LITERALLY a miracle worker. She even gets up in the middle of the night when Kai wakes up, changes his diaper, and brings him into me to feed him. That's right. My mom rocks.

Another big part of my state of happiness is that my 1 week old baby is an angel. He really is. This kid is a champion nurser, wakes up 1-2 times in the night, and is the most content baby ever. For some reason I've always maintained that Ava was a pretty good baby. Never a good sleeper, but a pretty good baby. Well, now that I've seen the other side, I can now say that Kai actually IS a good baby. I know it's only been a week and I am always waiting for the honeymoon to be over, but if he keeps going like this, I am going to be in a great mood for a long time.

I didn't realize how anxious I was about having Kai until I actually gave birth. I was tense and nervous for 2 weeks before the big day. I was on edge the whole time. The morning of the c-section I thought I was going to have a panic attack. It was all so surreal as they took me in a wheelchair into the operating room. I didn't feel like I could breathe. It is really weird being awake and knowing they were going to cut into me. As SOON as I heard Kai cry, a wave of relief and relaxation washed over me. Besides the actual recovery, I have had that same feeling ever since he was born. I knew he was there, healthy, and BIG! I may or may not have actually said a swear word when I heard, "9 lbs 8 oz". :)

Ava has been a WONDERFUL big sister. She loves to give him his binky, kiss him, and give him hugs. She always lets me know if he needs something. This morning she said, "Mom, I want to put stickers on Baby Kai." I told her she could put one on his jammies and she said, "No, I want to put them on his face." Hmmmmm. Note to self: Never leave those two alone in a room. Randy and I are really enjoying our kids. We are so blessed and grateful. We've had Kai for only a week and I cannot imagine going back to just three! I guess there is a time and season for everything in life.

Any one of the following pictures can describe Kai most of the time.





Kai's first bath. If you really want to hear this kid scream, you need to be here when we're changing his diaper or giving him a bath. Other than that, you're out of luck.

This is my new double stroller. I have only taken it on a very short walk around the block but I LOVE LOVE it! It is exactly what I wanted. As soon as I can actually walk further than a block, I will be putting some miles on this thing!


It was SO warm today. Welcome back Summer! Ava got to play outside with her Uncle Robert and had a blast. The water was freezing cold, but she couldn't have cared less. Another bonus to a May baby? We get to be outside instead of cooped up in the house and with a crazy 3 year old that is a big deal!

He's Here!

Kai Randy Cuff was born May 11, 2009 @ 8:44 am via c-section. We are SOOOOO in love with him. He weighed 9 lbs 8 oz and was 21 inches long. Yep - you read that right. I couldn't believe it! We took bets before. Randy guessed 7 lbs 11 oz and I guessed 8 lbs even. We were way off. :) He's a little chunky monkey and the cutest thing ever. He's a champ at nursing and Ava just loves being the big sister. She has put herself in charge of making sure that he doesn't ever lose his binky. I know it's only been a day, but we just can't imagine life without him!

The Nursery . . . .

The nursery is done and I am so ridiculously ready for this baby it's not even funny. Now all we need is the baby! Monday morning he should make his debut and we'll actually be able to make use of his room. My mom, bless her heart, helped me do the paint in the nursery. I basically bought every part of his bedding at a different store and my mom made the gorgeous blanket that we built the room around. Thanks to my sister-in-law for the great changing table and Kat gave me the cute vinyl saying for a shower gift. I can't WAIT to actually put a baby in that room!






Every single baby item in the nursery Ava has actually turned into her own personal toys. :)