Simply Sweet

Today's laundry list of cute stuff Sophie has done recently includes....

• Asking to hold her sister repeatedly and getting so excited when we actually let her
• Handing Benoit Audrey's blanket so she wouldn't be cold
• Alerting me to Audrey's crying by gasping, pointing, and saying 'Aww dwee'
• Looking behind the stereo speaker to see who was making that noise when we turned the radio on
• Asking for 'hep peas' (help please) when she can't do something by herself
• Minding her manners with 'peas' and 'tank u'
• Chasing bubbles and announcing 'pop' when she catches one
• Lighting up and yelling 'Momma!' when I come in the room.

Simple pleasures, but I'm soaking them up.

Don't Blink

Please don't blink, or my girls will be grown. I can't believe it's already been a month since Audrey was born. Sophie turned 17 months yesterday and Audrey is 1 month old tomorrow. It feels like I've had 2 girls all my life - I love them so much that I just can't imagine my life without them. While there are moments where I feel my head will pop off from the chaos (don't we all have them), there are sugary-sweet moments too. Like when Sophie gives Audrey a kiss, which she tries to do a lot. And when Audrey sighs after nursing like she's the most content little baby in the world.

I recently had a friend lose her baby in her second trimester. I can't imagine that sadness and loss. I look at my girls with a renewed sense of thankfulness and remember how truly blessed I am. They bring us great joy, even when we're exhausted, spit-up on, pooped-on (oh yeah!), and screamed at. Parenting is not an easy job, but certainly fulfilling. I'm also very thankful that I had the opportunity to leave the professional world for a short time and pursue professional motherhood.

Here are some of my fave memories during Audrey's first month in this big world:

• Hearing Sophie say Audrey's name - sounds like 'orange juice' to me.
• Falling asleep with Audrey in my arms and hearing her snort and sigh.
• Watching my mom hold both my baby girls and seeing the joy in her face.
• Laughing while Sophie entertains Brad, Emily, and mom with her animal antics. She loves to stomp like an elephant, raise her shoulders like a buffalo, bend her neck like a giraffe, etc, etc.
• Dressing my girls alike - that's right, I'm doing it until they tell me not to!

The list goes on and on, but my time does not. With two little ones underfoot, I'm lucky to have time to brush my teeth. And yes, I did check that off the to-do list today! Here are a few new pics for your viewing pleasure.

Welcome Audrey Jolie Cotnoir!

Early Thursday morning, Benoit and I welcomed Audrey Jolie Cotnoir to our family. She is a precious, sweet little girl with dark hair like her daddy and curious eyes just taking in this big world. She eats like a champ and sleeps so peacefully. I'm in love with her little sighs and grunts. I could just snuggle all day! With Sophie, I was so overwhelmed I almost forgot to just take it slowly and enjoy the simple pleasures of having a newborn. I remember being so tired and unsure of myself I don't think I relaxed into motherhood for a few months. This time, I'm going to enjoy each moment - even the grumpy, sleepless ones....


Things I want to remember so far include:

• How Audrey brushed my face with her tiny, but long, fingers right after she was born while lying on my chest.


• How she calmed instantly when she heard her Daddy's voice for the first time after she was born. It was as if she just knew him and found his voice soothing.


• How proud Benoit was when he first saw her and how eagerly he watched her during her first checkup.


• How she and I fell asleep together this afternoon after breastfeeding in the bed. We just snuggled peacefully together and enjoyed mommy/daughter time.


• How tiny she is right now - she'll never be this small again. I love how curled up she is and how she just balls up in your arms. Precious.

Also, I would like to explain the meaning of her middle name. Benoit and I loved the name Sophie Belle, as Belle refers to my Southern heritage and also translates to 'beautiful' in French. For Audrey, we debated over several middle names but settled on Jolie since it also translates to 'beautiful' in French. It is a simple way to connect the sisters. We hope that both of our girls learn that they are beautiful to us and that their beauty begins from within. We've been calling Sophie 'ma Belle', or 'my beauty' for a while and now we have a 'ma Jolie' in the family. We are so blessed and thankful for it!

The first expanded Cotnoir Family photo!

Swings, Potties, and Bellies - Oh My!

By special request, here are some new photos of Sophie the past few weeks. We went to Gattitown recently, which is like a kids' version of Dave and Busters. She had fun 'dancing' with her friend, Liam.

Sophie LOVES to be outside and LOVES swinging with her daddy. Can't you tell from her little expression how much fun she's having!

Here is a pic of the bow board I made to hold all Sophie and Audrey's bows. I'm still making more, so will have to add another board behind the door. Welcome to the world of little girls!She is starting to learn about the potty and enjoys sitting on it fully dressed. We spend lots of time talking about pee pee's and poo poo's and how fun it is to sit on the potty. Not really dinner conversation, but perhaps one of the most important skills she will learn in her life. No pressure.... We are not pushing potty training until after Audrey gets here to minimize the stress in Sophie's life. Hope that's the right move!

And finally, here is a pic of momma bear in all her glory at 8 months preggo! Benoit and I had a date night this weekend and I figured it was a good night for a picture. Not too bad for 32 weeks! :)

Sign of a smart girl

For the past month, Sophie has started signing with us to communicate. She's not speaking yet - not even mama or dada - but she has found a way to 'talk' to us. She can sign more, eat, light, dog, hat, up, all done, and no. She has also signed a complete sentence: eat more (that's my girl!). We are working on the difference between eat and drink as well as bath, water, and yes. It's pretty cool to watch her learn and you can see it in her eyes when she gets it and how proud she is of herself. I'm pretty proud of her too!

In other news, Baby C2 is doing well and growing like a weed. I'm sure she must be 5 pounds now - at least that's what it feels like! She was 1lb 5oz a few weeks ago, so maybe she's closer to 2lbs now. She is kicking me all the time and I think she's going to be a ninja at the rate she's going. Benoit and I are desperately working on naming this baby before she arrives but can't seem to settle on just one name. We like several, but it's so hard to commit! We've ordered her baby furniture and bedding so far and will move Sophie out of her room in a week or so. Sophie is moving to the old guest room, which has been freshly painted a soft shade of green called 'Spring Reflection'. I want to get Sophie in her new room well before the baby arrives to ease the transition as much as possible.

Our next big trip is to LA (as in Lower Alabama) for Easter, so stay tuned for updates and pics!

Baby's First Portraits

Baby C2 had her first set of portraits this week at the doctor. There's a cute button nose and tiny toes ready to be kissed! Can't wait to meet her! I'm feeling good and can really feel her moving around now. She weighs 1lb 5 oz and is 11 in long. Benoit has been able to feel her kicking too, which is fun to share. Sophie gives my belly kisses and pats my tummy with her hand to say 'hi' to the baby. Love to all!

Where did my BABY go?

Another good thing about being pregnant is I miss having a baby so I'll have another one soon. Sophie is growing up so fast and I look at her sometimes with astonishment that she's not a little baby anymore. Last week, she graduated to her big girl car seat and she had a ball playing on it while I was reading the instructions. She's beginning to try to climb on everything, though she usually can't get her legs to cooperate. She's not quite tall enough to get over the bath edge, or the toy box, or anything else that interests her. She's also started mimicking me on the phone, which is adorable. She'll hold my cell phone to her ear and chat away. If I'm on the phone, she'll pretend with her hand and she's just so serious about it. I love it! I think she'll be a chatterbox when she starts talking because she's so animated and babbles ALL the time. Can't wait to see what she has to say! Here are a few pics of our darling.

Strutting her stuff around the house - she's a full-fledged walker now.
Climbing all over her new car seat.

Checking out the box it came in.

Did somebody call a plumber?

"Not now mommy, I'm on the phone!"

Sugar and Spice

And everything nice! Benoit and I are excited to announce a baby girl is on her way into our family. We were not sure what to think at first - I think we had both expected a boy. But after an afternoon to sink in, we are thrilled to have a family full of little precious girls. I know Sophie will love having a little sister and I hope they will be close friends as they grow up together. We may have to get another boy dog to even things out for Benoit!

So now begins the planning - what to name the baby, what furniture to buy, how will we decorate her room, etc, etc. I've been looking forward to this part for a few months and am super excited about it! I'll be posting lots of cute pics as we prepare our sweetie's room. This time around, I know ALL about etsy.com. If you haven't discovered it, get ready for a new obsession!

Our little green thumb

So here's what happens if you turn your back for one minute - maybe even thirty seconds - with a crawling, cruising, curious child in the house!

Busted!

Look at all this dirt mom!

This is so much fun!

I'm coming over for a muddy hug!

And the days go by

Only 1 day left until Benoit comes home and I can't wait. He's a huge help with Sophie and I love hanging out with him in the evenings. He's been gone all week, so I'm especially ready to see him again. We're planning for a date night on Sat, which is always fun. His mom is coming in next weekend, so this is the last chance for a date night for a few weeks. Not sure what we'll do, but I'm thinking about seeing The Invention of Lying - sounds hilarious.

Sophie had another shot today but she only cried for about 10 seconds. She's also has a diaper rash that just won't go away and the nurse recommended A&D ointment, which I've never heard of. So I'm off to buy that this afternoon and hope for the best. We've been 'airing' her out most evenings and using a hairdryer on low heat/low speed to dry her bum between diaper changes. It takes forever!

In other news, Sophie started pulling up on her own. I often find her standing at the side of the crib when I go to get her up from a nap. She pulled up on her bookshelf the other day and started crying b/c she couldn't figure out how to get down. So cute! I pulled out some 12 month clothes for her - thanks Neely! - and have started packing up 3-6 month clothes. It's always so sad to put them away b/c I know she'll never be that little again. Yet another reminder that my baby is growing up so fast.

I'm super pumped to have my bath tile wrapped up today. It was quite an ordeal to get the right edge for the bath tile and after multiple trips to the tile store, I've got the right one. Carlos is installing it today and then the glass folks will come tomorrow to install the shower. (Strike that, just got a call from the glass folks and they will not install until Monday! Aaagh! So no finished shower until then. Boo hoo!) I'm likely to take the longest shower ever once it's all done! Not to imply I haven't been showering elsewhere, it's just that I'm so stinking excited about my new one. :) This week I hung all the towel rods and last weekend we hung the new lights. Almost done! I'll post pics when it's finished, but here are some of the progress to date. Enjoy!