Aly's new look!

Aly has been sporting her pretty pink helmet for the past 2 weeks. She has adjusted so well to having it on for 23 hours a day. I was really worried about her sleeping on her stomach and didn't know if she was going to be able to to do that with the helmet on. But she has managed to find a way to still sleep on her tummy and continues to be a great sleeper! YAY!!! We are really lucky that Aly is so easy-going, and hasn't skipped a beat since getting her helmet.

We had her first follow-up appt. today since getting the helmet and everything went great! I am anxious for our next appointment which will be in 3 weeks, at that time, we will have another scan done and we will be able to see how much her head has grown :)

Here are some pictures of her from the past two weeks.

First day with her helmet on...

I do not normally put a bow this big in her hair, this was Ansley's bow laying on the ground and I just stuck it in her hair :)

School has finally begun

Ansley didn't start school til after labor day. It was a VERY long summer around here and we have been looking forward to the first day of school for weeks. We have been talking about her new teachers for a while since I was afraid she would be expecting to see her old teachers on the first day (we did go visit Ms. Christy & Ms. Sherry - her teachers from last year). Her new teachers are Ms. Wendy and Ms. Melissa, they are new to our preschool but not to teaching...We are looking forward to a great year! There is a lot more structure to the class and they expect a lot out of the kids which I think is going to be perfect for Ansley :)

Here is Ansley on her first day of school in the 3's program:

excited to start school :)

Ansley's 1st Ballet Class

We have been talking about ballet for weeks, and Ansley has been super excited. We went and bought our ballet & tap shoes and she just wanted to dance around the house in them. Of course, I wouldn't let her wear the tap shoes around the house, I could just see her using my hardwoods for practice :( 

So, on Tuesday the day finally came where she had her first class. She went dancing into class, ready to have fun and she was doing great until another little girl was freaking out and then she got real timid. I told her it would be fine. They did tap the first half of the class and then they switch to ballet. At some point during the tap portion Ansley flipped out and got upset (I think it was because the same little girl kept going in and out of the dance room and Ansley saw her mom and wanted me). When they came out to get their ballet shoes on I explained to her that I was right outside the door watching her on the TV. But for the rest of class she just sat and watch the other little girls do ballet and only participated a little.

I am hoping next week goes better. She told me in the car that it was hard, and I just explained to her that it is new to everyone and to just try her best. She seems excited now to go back next week, so we will see (she was the same way the first day of swim lessons).

I was able to get some really good pictures of Ansley before we headed off to ballet class. Enjoy!

Go Dawgs!

We decided not to go back to Athens for the first game this year. We thought it was going to be really hot (even though it was the perfect temperature for an early game), and Mimi & Pop's addition to the house isn't quite done yet and I didn't want to worry about keeping Ansley out of the area that was being worked on. So, we just watched it on TV. I got the girls dressed in their "red & black", made some pizza dip for Rob &  I and enjoyed the game from the couch :) I definitely realized I need some more "Georgia" clothes for Aly. I really don't have anything for her to wear. So, I am on a hunt to find her another outfit or two....

Anways, here are the girls : Ansley is very excited the DAWGS won & Aly is a little unsure about all the noise :)

Solids

A little over a week ago we started solids with Aly. First, was the rice cereal which she was a fan of the first day. She was so interested in the bowl and spoon :) But as the days went on, she really didn't care for the rice cereal so I switched to oatmeal. She isn't a fan of that either, but will tolerate it better then rice. Ansley LOVED oatmeal. I think we will continue the oatmeal for the rest of this week and then move to adding the veggies/fruit.  Hopefully she will be a bigger fan of the veggies & fruit and then we can combine it with the rice & oatmeal.

Here are some pics of Aly trying rice cereal for the first time. They are pretty cute!

Ok, bring me the cereal!!!

give it to me!

this isn't so bad?

let me try licking it this time to see if it tastes better...

are you getting this daddy?

LOVE this one, especially since the cereal is dripping from her chin

Aly's 4 Month Stats & 5 Month Pictures

I am behind on posts, so I figured I would just combine this one. Aly went for her 4 month checkup right after we got back from Harbor Springs. She did great, only cried for a couple seconds when she got her shots but is exactly where she should be developmentally. Aly is a very healthy weight :) so we got the okay to start solids. We also talked to Aly's pediatrician about her head, a doctor at a previous visit mentioned to us that her head looked flat and referred us to a cranial specialist. After going to two different places, we decided to go with the second place which was a lot cheaper and they wanted us to wait another 4 weeks to see if we could really try and get her off her back when she was awake, hoping this would help her head. So, that is just what we were going to do, and my pediatrician thought it was a good idea as well (she is more conservative). We REALLY didn't want Aly to have to get a helmet if we could help it....

Here are Aly's stats from her 4 month checkup:

Weight: 15lbs 8 oz (in the 90th percentile - 2lbs heavier then Ansley was at 4 mths)

Height: 25 1/2 inches (90th percentile)

Well, after 4 weeks of keeping Aly off her back, doing lots of tummy time, the exersaucer, as well as the bumpo, her head just didn't correct itself. Aly's head grew a centimeter but grew everywhere and not just in the one spot we were hoping would start rounding out. So, we decided to go ahead with the helmet. I hate that she has to get it, but in the long wrong it is going to be worth it and will only be for 3 months. With the helmet arriving next week, I decided to take Aly to get her pictures taken.

Aly is 5 months now and it is the first time I have taken her to have her pictures taken, I know, so sad! I just haven't had the time but with her getting her helmet next week, I had to take her....I use to take Ansley to Portrait Innovations but haven't been happy with them and haven't used them in over a year. I just felt like I could take better pictures, plus it was free for me to do it.  However, I do feel like it is easier to have someone else take the pictures for you when they are babies. So I made an appointment with Portrait Innovations and told the guy that I didn't want any of the cheesy backgrounds, I wanted traditional pictures. I was very pleased with them and we got a lot of great shots....Of course I do want some pictures of the girls together at some point but I will deal with that at a later date.

Here are some of my favorites of Miss Aly Lynn at 5 Months.

I have a picture of Ansley wearing this same dress and I love that Aly was able to wear it too :)

I just think this one is funny...I did not buy it but love her facial expression!