Silly Pictures!

I flat-ironed Ainsley's hair tonight before dance. I was using the flat iron and Ainsley just kept asking me to do her hair, so I did! It actually looked really cute, although her Daddy doesn't like it at all. He thinks it just looks stringy (and it kind of does) it's just something different so I guess that's why I like it. Anyway, Clint was getting her ready for her bath and thought her hair looked really funny after her took her hair down. I have no idea what they were playing to get a face like this....

I had the camera in my hand, but only because I was walking to the other room to put it up. Ainsley yelled at me, "Cheese, Momma!" So this was the pose I got...
Ainsley playing with "Baby Hailey", her little cousin. It was Hailey's 1st birthday party so she's not exactly a baby anymore, but I'm not sure Ainsley will ever stop calling her that. I just realized Hailey must have been extra hot...look at that hair!

Ainsley's newest thing is "I do it all my byself!" It's so funny when she gets the "m" and the "b" mixed up too! She really wants to do everything by herself and it's made things move even slower than ever before. (Which has always been the hardest part of motherhood for me...pokey little toddlers!)

On another note, Clint and I have been married 8 years today! I can't believe how fast time has flown by us! It really seems like yesterday that we were planning a wedding and a move to Arkansas. And now, we have a daughter and a son on the way....surreal!

A look back...

Ainsley's 2nd day home from the hospital....she was 4 pounds 10 ounces when we brought her home. This is a preemie outfit she has on and it's huge! :) 49 more days and we'll have another little bean sprout in this outfit!

Catch-up Post - Birthday and Babies!

I was working in the baby's closet one day and pulled the Boppy out. Ainsley immediately went running to find her baby (she calls him Grady) and crawled up in the chair to feed him. It was really cute. When he was finished with the bottle, she covered him up (face and all) and rocked him to sleep. That's when I got in trouble for talking (instead of whispering) and making too much noise in the closet. I had to wait until the baby woke up! :)

We've been trying to stay home more lately, since we have activities 5 days of the week and it's starting to really wear on me! This day we stayed in our jammies all day, but I got cold and put a sweatshirt and my house shoes on. So, Ainsley needed clothes just like Mommy's clothes. These little house shoe/boot things are funny. I got them at a garage sale, but Ainsley really likes them! I took a picture because she looked funny with her pink zebra pants on! :)
Sunday was Clint's 30th birthday, but since Sunday's are such a wash with church and home group, we celebrated on Saturday. He had to work in the morning, so we met him at Sam's club to pick up a couple of things and eat some Sam's pizza. While there, we saw some friends of ours (that we've known since college) so we all had lunch together while the kids played. It was fun. Then we went to the park, something Clint rarely gets to do with Ainsley, and played on the playground. Clint took Ainsley down to the lake and they even saw a turtle! :)

Our plan was to go fishing that afternoon, but since Clint was napping while Ainsley was napping, we were all in a pretty lazy mood. So, we ended up staying here and playing in the backyard. I painted and Clint hosed off some of the baby equipment from the attic while Ainsley played in the sand box. It was a very nice day to sit outside and do nothing! Ainsley helped me cook Daddy's birthday dinner (he requested pancakes, sausage, and eggs) and the dessert he had requested as well. We made brownies with chocolate caramel ice cream, dulce du leche topping, and almond slices. Ainsley didn't like it that we were putting the candle in the ice cream instead of the cake, but she gave in once I explained what a "sundae" was...
(And if you're wondering, he did get a real celebration with "the guys" Monday night too!)
The couple that was assigned to watch the kids during home group Sunday night had a sick child, so Clint and I ended up watching the kids. Halfway through the night we looked down and noticed that her left eye was almost swollen shut on one side! We assumed she got hit since she was playing with all boys and seems to get picked on a lot for whatever reason. But as time went on, her right eye started swelling also. One of the kids had been playing outside with some cats and such that afternoon, so maybe it rubbed off on Ainsley. I had also been rocking the baby earlier and then held Ainsley on the same side of my shirt, so it could have been the laundry detergent they use too. (Ainsley is allergic to most laundry detergents) Who knows? This picture was taken after Benadryl so the swelling had already gone down....
We all stripped down as soon as we got home and washed the clothes. I put Ainsley in the tub right away and even fed her dinner in the bathtub! :) But she still woke up the next morning and the other eye was swollen quite a bit. I ran all over town the next morning trying to get her into a doctor, but no one had any openings. I finally talked to a nurse who told me what to watch for (hives, breathing, etc.) and advised to stay on Benadryl another 24 hours. By the following day it was gone! She has such sensitive skin and allergies....we just never know with her!

I have been cleaning up all of the baby toys, swings, bouncy seats, etc. this week. Ainsley insisted on sitting in "baby brother's" chair. Here she is at 2 years and 9 months old...29 pounds...
And again at 4 weeks old....almost 6 pounds..... :)
You saw the picture of Ainsley with the boppy earlier? Well, she thinks the boppy is hers now. Every time I put it up, she runs and gets it and says she needs to rock her baby. So, I found a great buy at the consignment sale last night! It's a tummy time boppy, but it's just Ainsley's size. She LOVES it! She's been rocking all of her babies...bears and lambs included. It's so cute! And it can be her pillow to hold the baby when he comes too. I also got a toy Graco baby carrier that looks almost just like our real one. It was only $2. I gave it to her this morning and the baby had to get all dressed up and go to swimming lessons with us. He even fell asleep in his carrier once in the car, so there was a period of time where I couldn't talk and had to "turn music down" so the baby could sleep. :) I'm encouraging that all I can! I love it that she wants everyone to be quiet during naptime! How easy is that going to make it for me!??!!
After swimming lessons, Ainsley pulled out this doodle pad in her toy box in the car. She was tracing her hand, so when we got home she decided to trace Benji's hands too. Look at his pathetic little face. He's the best dog ever!

So, speaking of swimming lessons, we only have 1 more week and boy am I glad! The only swimsuit I had left that fit (yes, I've outgrown maternity suits already) is now too little. It won't cover my belly and floats up in the water to expose my entire stomach! Plus, we have to throw the kids up and lift them out of the pool and stuff. It's just getting really hard! I'm in so much pain this afternoon that I can barely walk. I'm sure some of it was from standing for 2 hours and fighting 50 other pregnant women at the consignment sale, but swimming lessons was definitely hard this morning. I did get permission to put Ainsley in the 3 year old class for the next session, even though she should be in the Mommy and Me class for 1 more session. She's been in lessons since she was 10 months old with the same instructor, so she was confident Ainsley would do great. There are no mommies in this class (yeah!) and the kids do a lot of things on their own. I think Ainsley will love it!

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and lots of question for my doctor about how difficult this pregnancy has suddenly gotten, so I'm looking forward to the appointment. And Ainsley, for some reason, has been asking to go to school all week, so she's going to be super excited that it's Friday! Saturday is my niece's first birthday party too...it's been a fast year!

Some random stories

Ainsley got a balloon at the train show over the weekend, but decided to bite it (yes BITE it) yesterday. So, once it deflated she had to find a new use for it. She started filling it up with Benji's food and then feeding him from it...piece by piece. She did this all morning so as soon as she sat it down I quickly chunked it. Only I put it in the toy room trash (a small wastebasket in the closet) rather than the kitchen trash. My mistake. So, this morning she's playing in the toy room when I hear, "No, no, no, Momma!" and she comes running into the kitchen with the balloon in her hand. "Don't throw-a my bloon in trash, ok? That is NOT nice! You say, 'I sorry, Ainsley!'" Me-"I'm sorry Ainsley." Ainsley-"Good girl. You be nice now, ok? Or you get spakin!" (Oh, and the next conversation always goes... "Ainsley, who's the boss?" "Oh, I sorry Momma.") Ha! Sweet baby girl!

Last night Clint came home and ate with us, then left for choir rehearsal. As you know, Ainsley likes to say that Daddy goes to church to 'sing for Jesus'. So, I found her in the toy room playing "church" with her barbie dolls. She had her foam puzzle pieces set up like chairs and a whole little family (Ken, Barbie, and Dora) sitting in "church". I wish I would have thought to get a picture. When I walked in, she was standing in front of them holding a domino as a microphone and singing "I have da doy, doy, doy, doy down in ma hawt...whewe?" When she noticed I was watching, she handed me a microphone and instructed me to stand behind her and clap my hands. I think I was the praise team! Ha!

Today Ainsley told me that Daddy goes to work with Jesus. She said he works in 'da heaben' and says "Hi Jesus! Good morning, Jesus! How are you?" (And she's sticking her hand out like she's shaking someone's hand as she's saying this) Ha! Oh, also, on Sunday she was sitting in big church with me when Josh, our worship minister, walked up to start the worship time and Ainsley said, "Look Momma! It's God!"

Her favorite thing to do lately is be "Miss Cherrie", her dance instructor. She likes to stand in front of us and tell us to put our toes on the red line. Then she tells us everything to do. If we don't do it exactly, she gets upset too. Like tonight I was supposed to have my arms straight out and I guess they were droopy, because she lifted them up and said, "Airplane arms, Momma!"

Lunch: "Momma, I want pizza!"
"No, we're having noodles, remember?"
"Oh, noodles....for me?"
"Yes, for you!"
"Oh, thank you! I love noodles! They're SOOOOOO yummy!"
After eating: "I love noodles. I love pizza too! I love pizza later?"

Baby Peas?

We had some steamed sugar snap peas for dinner last night. Ainsley picked every pea out and kept telling us they were her baby peas and the pods were the mommas. (She's really getting into this whole "baby in the momma's tummy" thing!) She would cup them in her hands and talk to them in a baby voice. Then rock them and sing to them, and finally put them to "sleep" under the napkin. It was SO funny! We were cracking up! She acted like they were so special to her, but after she put about 10 or so to sleep, then she'd eat them and start all over again! Needless to say, dinner lasted MUCH longer than usual last night! :)

Baby's Room - Completed

I still need some decorative items, but I'm calling it complete!
(BTW - I don't know if the TV will stay in here. It's was there before and I just haven't moved it, but it might come in handy for Ainsley to watch TV while I'm nursing or something. We'll see...)

Wow! I just noticed the countdown...58 days! This pregnancy has gone by SO fast! So, do you think we need a name? :) Drum roll please.....

Grady Matthew Bean

Well, actually, we may name him Graydon and call him Grady, but that's still undecided. Grady means "Noble and Renowned" and Matthew (Clint's middle name and a family name) means "Gift of the Lord". Again, we went with a Gaelic first name and a Hebrew middle name....just like Ainsley. And, as with Ainsley, this is what we think we'll name him, but we have backups if he just doesn't look like a Grady when he's born. (I don't like to be firm on the name thing until I see the baby) And, of course, we have a girl backup too...just in case the ultrasound tech made a mistake! :)

Almost finished.....

I stayed home today to finish some projects in the baby's room. I didn't have a lot to do, but just a few craft projects that I wanted to do...if I found the time. I had promised Ainsley, a couple of weeks ago, that she could paint a picture for baby brother's room. (She had asked back when I was painting the canvases) So, here is Ainsley at her messiest! She insisted on using her hands just like we did at Christmas....

The finished product....she ended up mixing all the colors together so it doesn't really match the room, but it's still cute. And she's VERY proud of it!

Ok, I'm kind of a "matchy" dork! (Just like my mom!) So, I glued some ribbon onto this wipes container to match the room also. When we get a name nailed down, I'll probably put his name on it too.

I couldn't find a lamp that I liked, so I improvised. I found the shade on the clearance aisle at Wal-Mart and only paid $9 for the base. (I just glued the ribbon onto the shade)

Ok....so here are the curtains that I hated! I used the leftover fabric from the chair cover and I just thought it made the room look too drab. It was just....well...brown! So, I took them off yesterday and sewed some ribbon onto them also. The ribbon matches pretty well (it was just some I had leftover from Ainsley's hair bows) and made the curtains look much cuter. They are double-layered suede denim, so it's very dark in the room when they're closed. An added bonus!

A close-up of the ribbon...

I still want to paint a shelf, as well as a little foot stool for Ainsley to stand on when she's "helping" me with the baby. (Right now she tries to climb on the side of the crib and changing table to see, so I think the stool will help ease my stress) But, overall, I'm finished with the major pieces of the room. It looks like a babies room now! Pictures of the entire room coming....