My Little Artist

We gave Ainsley a few crayons and 2 cards to send her Grandpas for Father's Day. Usually she just draws all kinds of random shapes and tells us what each of them are. The same little squiggle can be anything from a heart to the moon to a shoe. So, she was drawing away when Clint looked over and said, "She drew a face!" She quickly corrected him and said it was a happy face! :)

I was very impressed...eyes, hair, nose, ears, etc......

She told me she added "cheeks" and a "cloud" on this one....

Nursing Room Update

Since I complained about the men in the nursing room last week I have had so many different people tell me the same thing has happened to them. Ok, was I out of line to say something? Maybe I just gripe too much, but the preschool director said I was the first person to bring this to her attention. She had no idea this was going on. Anyway, there were signs posted this week. The outside door said, "WOMEN ONLY" and the inside door said something about "Out of respect for our nursing mothers......" It was worded really well and there were absolutely no men in sight! :) I hope it stays that way!

Grady will be 8 weeks old tomorrow. Ainsley was 8 weeks the first time I put her in the nursery at church. Every time I walk through the children's area people ask me when I'm going to leave Grady. I just don't think I'm ready to yet. Is that silly? I always wished I could have kept Ainsley with me a little longer, but in the old building there was no foyer. You were either in the building or you were outside. So if she started to fuss a little bit, I had to leave. I just felt like she was too much of a distraction to others trying to hear the sermon so I put her in childcare. Grady is much more content in church, though. I put him straight in the carrier and he stays asleep all the way to church and at least through the worship time. At some point during the sermon he usually wakes up and is starving since it's been usually 4 or 5 hours since his last feeding. So, I just take him to the nursing room and finish the rest of the sermon. And about half of the time he falls asleep and I can go back out and sit in the worship center while he naps. It just seems so easy! I'm trying not to feel the pressure to put him in childcare like I did with Ainsley. As long as I'm able to keep him with me and get something out of the sermon without Grady being a distraction to others, why put him in childcare where I'll just worry the whole time that he's not sleeping or he's hungry (since he won't take a bottle right now)? I'd probably be worrying about him and not listening to Pastor.

Ok, off of church and onto other things..... I took the stroller for a test drive yesterday. I decided to walk up to the new elementary school and let Ainsley play on the playground. I knew it was a good walk (just over a mile one way) but I didn't realize it was all up hill...nor did I realize how much weight I'd be pushing! 30 pounds of stroller + 30 pounds of toddler + 20 pounds of baby/carrier = a very tired momma! My arms were killing me and it was very humid, but Ainsley had a blast and Grady slept right through it all. (At least until the stroller stopped moving) I was easily able to steer with just 1 hand, though, and Ainsley seemed to really like the ride. I really think I'm going to like it a lot! Right now I still have the second seat on for Ainsley, but when we take it shopping or something I'll convert it to a Sit 'n Stand and see how she likes that. She's always been a good kid to sit in the stroller, though.

Well, I'm exhausted so I should really take advantage of my time and go to bed! I've been a little sick and Clint's also been working some late nights (like I'm in bed when he gets home) so I've had to deal with bath/bedtime routines with both kids. Not an easy task....tonight I nursed Grady while reading Peter Pan in Ainsley's bed! At least pottying is going really well. All I have to do now is help her pull her pants back up. She's going "All my byself!" every time and it's great! She just waddles in to find me with her panties around her ankles. Of course, she still finds a way of pooping and calling out for a "wipe" just as I start to feed Grady. We need to establish a poop schedule, I think. I'll add that to the list. :)

New do...

My dear, sweet friend Casey came over to watch Grady yesterday (Ainsley was at school) so I could go get my hair cut! It was the first time in 7 weeks I've been without any kids, so it was nice to pamper myself a little. I thought it would be harder to leave Grady than it was, but I think it helped that it was Casey watching him. I cut about 6-7 inches off...it's pretty short! It's not quite what I asked for, but I think I like it.

Here's Ainsley helping me take a picture of my new haircut....

And here she wanted to take a picture of my "eawwings." :)
On another note, there is a nursing room at church for nursing mothers to sit in during the service and nurse your babies. It has a one-way mirror so you can see the stage and a few recliners...really nice! I used to nurse Ainsley either in a metal chair in the bathroom or in one of the pastor's offices (at the old church building) or I'd have to go across the street to the children's area. So, I was really excited about using this new room! I've only used it the last 2 weeks, but both times there has been a different family in there just hanging out with their toddler. Yes, that means mom AND dad....and 2 year old too! ??? Last week I asked the dad to leave because I was not able to stay covered up very well. These people just sit in there so their kids can play. Seriously. The mom told me so last week. She said that her daughter (who was walking and talking) did not like to be dropped off in the nursery so they always sat in the nursing room where she could play. So, you know me, I just couldn't let this slide. I talked to our preschool director and she was going to post some signs on the door this week. So, I'm anxious to see tomorrow if there are any men in the room. I'll keep you advised! :)

Twins?

Grady
Ainsley











Ok, I need better comparison pictures, but don't my kids look a lot alike? I had a picture of Ainsley pulled up earlier (in pink) and Clint actually thought it was Grady! The funny thing is, I have to compare Grady's 6 week pictures to Ainsley's 10 week pictures because she was so much smaller than him. They sleep just alike too...










Funny that they both have thermal blankets, in the same chair, and I might even be wearing the same shirt! I couldn't have done better if I'd staged it!

Things have been pretty crazy around here, but we're adjusting. Grady has turned into quite the fussy little thing. He's just not ever happy unless he's being held...and sometimes that doesn't help. The only way I can get him to nap is to hold him. Luckily, he doesn't mind if I'm walking around and doing things too much, but the minute his head hits the bed he wakes up! So, I am getting very little done. I've been letting him fuss some and he's starting to learn to self-soothe a little bit, so I see a light at the end of the tunnel! He's still doing great at night. I don't know why he goes right down in his bed at night, but won't during the day. Who knows?

Ainsley is doing fabulous! She kisses that little boy all the time! And her new name for him is "Big Man." Weird, huh? I guess she's heard me call him "Little Man" before. She also calls him Sweetie a lot too. Anytime he starts crying she goes running to him and says, "It's alright...your big sister is here!" It's so cute! She loves to dance for him when he fusses and help give him baths. She tells me to be quiet when he's sleeping and is always more than happy to share anything with him....from Mommy to chocolate. (Yeah, she got two M&M's one day after pottying and she wanted to give one of them to Grady. How sweet is that!??!) Her biggest achievement lately has been on the potty! She's completely potty trained now. She wears nothing but panties (day & night) and even goes all by herself. About half of the time she'll just disappear and go potty. The only way I even know she's gone is that I hear the toilet flush! I'm SO proud of her!

Well, hats off to all of you who continued to blog every couple of days after your babies were born. I have NO idea how you did it! I can barely find time to potty, much less shower or even blog! So, sorry for the hiatus...hopefully it will get better soon! Oh, and my stroller came in yesterday! I'm pumped! I took some pictures of the kids in it today (we rode in the living room since it was raining) so I'll try to post those soon. Wish me luck!

Gross!

This picture is for you, Becky Petrie!


Ok, here's the story. Ainsley's friend, Zoe, got her this cute, little Barbie swimming pool for her birthday. It's been great entertainment! Ainsley loves to play Barbie's outside on the porch and it really keeps her busy for an hour or more at a time. Well, on this particular day she had been playing for a while when she came inside and went straight to the kitchen. I heard the silverware drawer open and close and then saw her run back outside. I didn't think much of it because it didn't look like she had anything in her hand...I was wrong. It turns out, she had taken her bag of dry cereal (Fruit Loops) and dumped them into the swimming pool. As soon as I saw it I said, "Ainsley what did you do?" Her response was....."Yummy!" Yeah, now I know what the spoon was for! You want to hear the best part? Look at the picture closely....see the brown things in the pool? Her cereal is mixed in with pine bark nuggets from the landscaping!!!