Fireworks and Bonding Time

I met my mom in Oklahoma last Wednesday and dropped Ainsley off to stay with Mimi and Papa for a week! A whole week! I think it has been good for all of us, though. Ainsley is having a blast and getting a lot of attention from her grandparents. They spent the weekend at my parents cabin on the lake where Ainsley caught something like 6 or 7 fish, they've played in my mom's camper, had picnics at the park, fed the ducks, spent lots of time at the pool, caught a pet turtle (that Ainsley named "Grady"), and played LOTS and LOTS of barbie dolls! :) I've tried to talk to her every day, but she's usually preoccupied with a popsicle or something. I have to admit, though, it's been hard not to jump in the car and go pick her up. I miss her SO much!

On the other side of things, it gave me a lot of time to bond with Grady in a way I haven't really been able to yet. He is such a cuddly little boy! I've taken the opportunity this week to really work on his sleep routine/techniques. I'm happy to report that he is successfully sleeping in his bed (or pack 'n play) all night and now for his morning naps. He's going to bed about 7:30pm and waking up about 3:30am to eat, again at 7:30am to eat, and is up for the day about 11:00am. Then he takes his first nap in his bed also. I just lay him down and he closes his eyes....it's great! (If you're getting jealous right now, you have to read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child." It's worked wonders for both of my kids.) Anyway, the nap we're still having difficulty with is the afternoon nap, but I can always get him to sleep if I lay down next to him. I don't have to touch him, he just likes to look into my eyes to fall asleep. (I know...precious isn't it?) He's still learning to soothe himself so I guess it's not awful, but we'll keep working on it nonetheless. That's his longest nap, about 4 hours, so it would be great if he would sleep in his bed since Ainsley is also napping during that time.
Sunday night we went to watch the fireworks at our church. It was so easy with just a baby. Actually, everything has been super easy! It makes me wonder why I ever thought things were difficult when Ainsley was a baby. :)

My handsome man in his red, white, and blue! (Kelly, I couldn't resist the shoes...even though they're double the size of his actual feet!)


Grady's reaction to the fireworks. His eyes stayed this big the whole time and he was holding onto Tiphanie with all his might!
Tomorrow we're heading to Oklahoma for the weekend to pick Ainsley up and let Grady meet the family...in my new mini van!!! I can't believe I took the plunge. I have taken vows with friends that I'd never get a van, but here I am...30 years old with 2 kids and a mini van. :) It's really great and we're looking forward to using the DVD player and GPS system on the trip. We're excited to show Ainsley our new "Dave car", but I don't think she'll be quite as thrilled. We've been looking at vans for about 3 months now and Ainsley never wants to sit in any of them. She always wants to stay in "Momma's car" and tells me she doesn't want me to get a new car. She'll get over it when she sees the new movies we got her, though! :)