We're back!

Did you miss these two kids?
Well, we've been pretty.....sick! (Thought I'd say busy?) Grady got pneumonia. It was really bad. He was treated for it and 2 weeks later came down with a high fever again. We went back to the doctor and he STILL had it! He couldn't keep the steroids down, but he actually seemed to enjoy the breathing treatments. Is this not the saddest picture you've ever seen?


During our time of pneumonia, I also had strep and Ainsley had a virus. We also celebrated Clint's 31st birthday and our 9th wedding anniversary! So, my parents came up one weekend to watch the kids and let us go out on a much needed date. Yeah!!! We went to Crabby's which was absolutely fantastic! I always thought it was seafood because of the name, but they specialize in their steaks. I had lamb chops, roasted grape tomatoes, saute`d spinach, and gnocchi and Clint had a blue cheese encrusted KC strip with grilled asparagus and horseradish mashed potatoes. (I make these potatoes all the time now!) The next day, my mom helped me keep Grady content while I gave him his first haircut. Before....

And After....
He looks SO much better. I may be weird, but I don't really have any sentimental attachment to the first haircut. I mean, I kept his hair, but it didn't make me sad to cut it. I love to cut hair, though. :) He looks like such a big boy now, and those baby blues really stand out!

We've also had some CRAZY weather in the Ozarks. We, very literally, go from 70 degree weather to snow in one weekend. We've had a few snowfalls this year, but Ainsley has had a fever for every one and has not been able to play outside. So, we let her build a snowman this time...

And back to 70 degree weather! This was on St. Patrick's Day. It was in the 70's so we went to the park for Grady's first swing. He loves his sister so much!

Last year on St. Patrick's Day, I was at my baby shower. This year has gone by SO fast. Haircuts may not make me sad, but my babies growing up REALLY makes me sad. Please stop growing!!!

Check out the picture above. My kids have completely different skin tones. Grady has a very olive-y tone. It looks yellow when he gets next to Ainsley's peachy skin.

We were seriously sick for about 6 weeks. So as soon as everyone started feeling better, we locked the doors, boarded up the windows, and started planning our vacation! I felt bad for not going to church the day before we left, but I just knew I'd be coming home with a sick kid if I did.

We went to Kansas City for Spring Break for a little time away. It was a lot of fun and easy on the wallet! The kids were fantastic! Slept well, ate well....we just had a really good time. We went to the T-Rex cafe, Crown Center, Children's Edutainment Center at Paradise Fun Park, Union Station, Fritz's Railroad Restaurant, Bass Pro, had some KC barbeque and lots of ice cream, and swimming at the hotel. Ainsley still cries now and then because she wants to go back to our "new house". :) She loved the hotel! I didn't upload any pictures on here because it took me so long to upload them all to Flickr, but you can check them out there.

Whew! What a relief! Getting caught up on blogger is like getting caught up on laundry. It's one of those things that just piles up and makes you feel anxious. Come on, you all know what I'm talking about!

Oh, one last thing. With the economy the way it is and all the recent lay-offs, Wal-Mart's bonus was a little uncertain this year, but it finally happened! We bought each other an annniversary gift. Clint got a new TV and I got a new console...

Furniture shopping is definitely a weakness of mine! You can also see my new wicker toy trunk in front of the fireplace. I got a great deal on this and it holds ALL of the baby toys in the living room....plus serves as a good fireplace barrier.

Well, I'd love to catch you all up on the kids as well, but Grady has a high fever that won't break and I think I'm going to have to put that sweet boy in bed with me tonight. Oh, darn! :)

Little Shrimp?

Grady's 9 Month Appointment:

Weight: 18 lbs 5 ounces -- 10%
Height: 28 1/2 inches -- 50%
**Head was still 75th %! :)

When Grady was born I thought he was such a chunk! Ainsley never had a single roll or dimple on her body...anywhere....ever! So, I have laughed and laughed at the little dimples on Grady's bottom and rolls around his knees. I knew he was losing a lot of that, but I didn't realize just how much he had lost until his appointment. He was only in the 10th percentile for his weight! The doctor was not concerned at all since he recently started scooting around though. I just can't believe how much his little body looks like Ainsley's now. Another long, slender string Bean!

He is getting around super fast these days! Still just army crawling, but he occasionally gets up on all fours and tries to move. He usually only moves one leg and then plops back down on his tummy, but he LOVES to stand up. If he's ever fussing, all I have to do is stand him up and let him walk around. Silly boy. He also loves to mimic us and play games with us. He gets REALLY excited to see his sister too. I can sit him in the toy room with Ainsley and go cook dinner or do some laundry. How great is that??!! The only problem is, he doesn't play well alone. He always wants someone playing with him, so I don't get much done on the days Ainsley is at school.

Speaking of Bean Sprout #1, that girl is growing! I put her pink dance pants (guachos) on her last night. A year ago they looked funny because they came all the way down to her feet, but now they come just below her knees! She must have grown 4 inches or more. She still hasn't really gained any weight in several months, but that's not really her style. :) We play LOTS of Polly Pockets. I mean ALL DAY LONG. She's not allowed to bring any clothes or shoes for Polly out of her bedroom, but she can bring the dolls out. She loves to give a couple of dolls to Grady and she calls him the prince. It's so cute to watch her get them dressed in their jammies to go to bed and dressed in their princess dresses to go to the ball and then their swimsuits to go to the beach! She's so funny! On a sidenote, I think Grady ate a Polly Pocket shoe yesterday....

I have a cute video of Ainsley playing "Hide and Go Seek" with Grady. Or at least she thought she was! He found her, though. I'll try to get that uploaded tonight because I don't know how to use my new iMovie very well. Until then, you can check out all the new pictures on flickr!

I also had a great time with many of you at Girl's Night Out last week! Next time I hope to get to visit with everyone!

Doctor or Mechanic?

Ainsley just came out with a printer cartridge saying, "Momma, I found it! I found it!"
Me: "What did you find?"
Ainsley: "Medication for my bicycle! Yeah!"

??? My kids are really weird.

Kid's are both napping!!!

...so, I'm taking this opportunity to be crafty! I've always wanted a very inviting entrance to my home. Something that feels warm, yet still grand. Well, most everything I've wanted to do would cost way too much money. So, I went to Hobby Lobby and took advantage of the 50% off all floral today. I took the old stuff off of my wreath and put all my new things on, plus some pheasant feathers! We also got a new rug from my aunt for Christmas and the topiaries from the associate's store. Here's the front door...

And here's a close-up of my feather wreath...

I was inspired after this, so I went around the house looking for more flowers. I had a few things laying around, plucked a few from other arrangements, and picked up a dead branch from the backyard too. Here's that result....

The vase does not really match the decor, but it will do for now. Here's what I did with the rest of my Hobby Lobby purchases...

It has feathers too! :) I also scored a great deal on a big, wicker bowl/plate kind of thing...$3. They had a lot of things that were 66% off. I didn't really decorate anything any differently when we moved into this house because we had used any extra cash on the loan. I have to say, though, after my new arrangements, I really am inspired to start redecorating...little by little. So, stay tuned!

Update on Baby Harper

Clint talked to Scott today and it sounds like there has been a tiny bit of improvement. (If you didn't read Kelly's blog, Harper was born with pneumonia.) There was some concern that the left side of her heart was swollen and may not be working correctly, but they were told today that she has a healthy heart. There is still a lot of fluid in her lungs, but it is clearing up little by little. They're even hoping to have her off the ventilator soon. Wow! This little baby went from a prognosis of "little hope" to talk of coming off the ventilator in a period of only 4 days! However, she IS still in very critical condition and needs lots of prayers to pull through this. They are basing all of this information on the rate of her progress, but that could change at any time. They know it is going to be a very long recovery, but they never stop giving God all the praise...no matter what news they are given. Please keep praying!

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, and the Lord delivers him out of them all." Psalm 34:19

Please pray...

Please join me in praying for baby Harper. Her daddy, Scott, is a good friend of Clint's and they have been very excited about her arrival. They are a wonderful christian couple and are asking God for a miracle today...and I believe it will happen.

Sweeties

Last night on the way home from church....

Me: "Ainsley, who did you play with tonight?"
Ainsley: "Cooper."
Me: "Did you play superheros?" (Cooper has been teaching Ainsley how to be superheroes. He's named her Lava Girl!)
Ainsley: "No, we played babies."
Me: "Were you a family? Was Cooper a Daddy and you a Mommy?"
Ainsley: "No, we didn't play families, we played BABIES!"
Me: "Well, did you have a baby and Cooper had a baby? Or did you share a baby?"
Ainsley: [Rolls Eyes at Me] "No, Cooper's a boy. Only Mommies and Sweeties have babies in their tummies."

Also, Grady started scooting a few inches this weekend!!! He's not very good at it yet, so it leaves me a little bit of time to childproof and, you know, vacuum!