Differences

It is so fun to see how different my girls are from each other, yet also see their similarities.

Kara has always been a social butterfly pretty much since the day she was born. She was ready to do things like eat real food way before she was supposed to (by 4 months, she was trying to grab things off the table when we would eat dinner). She has just always wanted to be a "big girl," and I swear she is 2 going on 20. She's got spunk (and a little attitude too, but I guess she was destined to with me as her mom).

Jessalyn has a more quiet personality. I'm not even sure that quiet is the right word, but I can't think of a better one. She definitely cries more than Kara, but when she isn't crying, she is very happy just to be laying or sitting in the bouncy seat and watching the people around her. She has been smiling and interacting a lot more lately (she hates it if she thinks she was left in a room), but she doesn't "talk" as much as Kara did. I bet she's going to be very calculated with her words when she does start talking! She also hates her car seat, which doesn't make for fun car rides, but I'd probably hate being crammed in that thing too. Who can blame her? She's also a few pounds smaller than Kara was, but she just had a growth spurt, so I'm guessing she's between 8.5 and 9 pounds now.

Both my girls are very sweet, and I love that they both got the squishy cheeks! And I'm glad they both had hair, but Jessalyn has quite a bit less than Kara did, and she is rocking an enormous bald spot on the back of her head, haha.

Both these girls challenge me in different ways, but they reward and enrich my life 100 times over! The longer I am a mom, the more I realize I have no idea what I'm doing, and nine times out of ten, Kara is the one to teach ME a lesson. Thankfully, kids are resilient, so even though they're stuck with me, I think they'll be ok :)

Sleeping

How could anybody sleep like this? She does this all the time!

Happy Girls

We had a really great Thanksgiving with my family this year. And I think my girls looked especially cute!

Just a Picture

How cute is this baby?? I could just squeeze her all the time!

Too Fast

I am in shock over how fast Kara is growing. She turned in to a big girl over night! Every day, she does new things that I am amazed by. Lately, she has been noticing that a bunch of letters together make words. Even though she doesn't recognize all of her letters by sight yet, she will point out a word to me and ask, "mommy, what does that say?"

I read to her a lot, so it also shouldn't surprise me when I catch her "reading" her books to her dolls and stuffed animals. I will often walk in on her with her toys set up around her and listen to her telling them a story about the pictures in her books. Some of the stories she has memorized, so she does a pretty good job of re-telling them, but some of the stories she just makes up out of her imagination, and it is just so darn cute!

She also wants to do everything just like me. If I am doing "pat-a-cake" with Jessalyn, Kara gets her dolly or her Lorax stuffed animal and does the same thing. If I have Jessalyn standing in my lap, Kara is doing the same thing with her toys. I have caught her telling her dolly in a sing song voice, "look at you! You're so big!" It really reminds me how much she's watching me and that I need to be a good role model!

I just love my little Kare Bear!

Silly Girl

Kara is inquisitive and ALWAYS busy. This is what she did with her crayons this morning when we asked her to put her crayons away:

My 3 Month Old Munchkin

We had a 3 month check up today. Jessalyn weighs 7lbs 13oz! She is actually growing a little slower than she should be, but it could just be do to the fact that she was IUGR. Developmentally, the doctor feels like she's about where she should be for her size and gestational age. The weight issue still concerns the doctor, but overall, Jessalyn is healthy, (sometimes) happy, and just as much a doll as ever! I say (sometimes) happy because boy, does this girl like to cry! She is just such a fuss budget, but somehow, I still think she's just as adorable as ever.

It's so striking to me the differences in my two girls--Kara was a very happy, very social, and very active little baby. Jessalyn is more quiet and observant, and she definitely lets us know when she's not happy about a situation. Their two little personalities are just amazing! I love, love, love both of my girls to pieces.