Gilbreath Family

First Day of School

2011-08-31T14:46:00.000-05:00

The girls had their first day of Children's Day Out on Tuesday. We had meet the teacher last week, so Ainslee was able to get a taste of just how much fun she was going to have. She was very excited to start school! When I dropped her off at her room this morning she ran right in and started working at their tables. The teacher had to remind her to tell me goodbye, which I took as a sign she was going to have a great day! Hattie went into her classroom without a fuss and I am sure she was excited to see so many of her little baby friends in her class.
The car ride home was quiet, the house was quiet, it was strange. I ran lots of errands, cleaned up the house, did laundry, ate a quick lunch, and forced myself to relax for about 10 minutes before pick up time.
I got great reports from their teachers. Apparently Hattie did not cry all day and was a happy little girl. Ainslee said she had fun and looked exhausted. She told me she sang songs, played kitchen and legos, ate lunch, played in the gym, and made a friend. They both took great naps when we got home, so I know they played hard. I think they are going to have a great year!

Ainslee's first day of school picture

My best attempt at Hattie's first day of school picture- she was not in the mood

She also wouldn't hold still for a sister picture. I thought about "staging" a picture later, but this is real life! :)

Walking!

2011-08-31T14:36:00.001-05:00

Hattie had been taking a step or two here and there, but finally decided to really go for it on August 20th. She took about 7 steps across the kitchen in front of Mommy, Daddy, and Ainslee. The rest of the afternoon she spent perfecting her new skill. She is not a 100% walker yet, crawling is still faster and easier, but she is doing very well. At our church's potluck lunch last Sunday, she learned how to stand from a sitting position, so now she doesn't even have to pull up on something first. We are so proud of her and she is SUPER proud of herself!

She has also started to do more of this! And that makes Mommy very happy! I now see a light at the end of the tunnel on the nursing.

12 Months Old!

2011-08-31T14:26:00.000-05:00

Hattie Cakes turned a year old on July 29th! Daddy made special birthday pancakes for her and we had a playdate at the splashpark with all of our MOPS friends. I'm pretty sure she was completely oblivious to the festivities, but Ainslee and I sang "Happy Birthday to You!" MANY times. :) On Saturday we had her birthday party. I went with an "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream" theme, since she literally screams whenever she sees ice cream, I wish I were kidding... We had lots of friends and family over to help us celebrate Hattie's big day with pizza, fruit/veggies, ice cream cone cupcakes, and of course- lots of ice cream! I think Hattie had a great time!

12 month stats:
Height: 29 inches
Weight: 17lb 13 oz.

Hattie and McKade in the bowl of "Dip and Dots"

Hattie and her adorable baby friends, Anna, McKade, Jackson, and Caroline

Ethan Ainslee and Cameron enjoying their pizza...and eyeing the ice cream toppings

Grandpa and G-Ma

Aunt Yo's amazing ice cream cone cupcakes!

The birthday girl!

Quick cuddles with Mommy

Enjoying the playground

She was not too sure about everyone singing to her

She was SURE about the cake!

This is right before we finally cut her off

And right before her bath :)

Taking her turn at the ice cream cone pinata

Pop made a fun Pin the Cherry on the Ice Cream Cone game!

Grammie snuggles next to her birthday wreath

Great-Putt and Great-Memaw helped us celebrate!

Summer Recap

2011-08-30T21:49:00.000-05:00

We have been trying to make the most of our summer and just enjoy the family time before Daddy goes back to work. I did a terrible job taking pictures this summer, but I'll blame that on the fact that we were all having too much fun to stop for a picture. Also, the fact that if we went anywhere, it was man-on-man with diaper bags, snacks, and strollers...not conducive to picture taking. Here is a little recap of our summer events:

Port Aransas trip with the Kilpatrick family (SUPER FUN!)
Playdates with friends
Ainslee's first movie theater experience (Winnie the Pooh)
Flying L Ranch
Multiple Sea World trips
Tubing/Skiing on Grandpa and G-Ma's boat at the river

4th of July

2011-07-08T15:47:00.000-05:00

I think my children have a new favorite holiday, the Fourth of July. Ainslee is still talking about it and asking, "When's it going to be the fourth of July agian?" We went downtown to see the arts and crafts festival in the morning, took a long afternoon nap, and then headed up to our church for the evening festivities. Our church had corn dogs, snow cones, ice cream, music, games, and crafts for the kids. They are also located right across the street from the park where the fireworks were going to go off. They had me at corn dogs and snow cones, my favorite! :) We met up with a couple of other families that have kiddos the same ages as ours and we all had a great time. The big kids ran around all night and we made a pallet in the back of Jason's truck and had a "redneck playpen" for the babies. It worked quite well. Kerrville was about the only place doing a fireworks show in this crazy drought, but it was spectacular! I honestly don't think I have ever seen Ainslee more excited. She just kept squealing and saying, "Whoa that one was huge, did you see that?!" Hattie had fun pointing at them and jumping in my lap. It was a great night with friends and family!

My patriotic cuties

Ainslee, Abigail, and Ethan enjoying their corn dogs

Caroline, Anna, and Hattie watching their crazy older siblings :)

Cute little friends!

11 Months

2011-07-07T15:44:00.000-05:00

Hattie is 11 months old! I can't believe my baby is going to turn 1 soon! Hattie is ALL over the place these days. She is crawling, standing, cruising, and climbing! I think we have a little monkey on our hands. This little girl has developed a clear opinion on things and knows how to express what she likes and doesn't like. She is not going to be a push-over, that's for sure :)

She has also turned into an eating machine this month. She will eat anything you give her and lots of it, although I'm not sure where she puts it, she's still pretty petite. We have discovered that she loves cottage cheese, which makes me want to gag every time I feed it to her :) Kiwi and blueberries are her favorite fruits this month. Thankfully, she cut two more teeth just this week, so we might get to expand our food repertoire.

I think we also have a first word- kitty! Hattie says, "yeye" every time I open her curtains (and there is usually a cat or two in the yard). She will also point outside if you ask her where the kitties are. I think Yeye also means Ainslee and Grammie. Mama and Dada are still used, but I'm not sure if they really mean anything to her yet :(

Hattie has become so good at playing by herself. She can keep her self entertained for over 30 minutes just playing with her toys and books. She loves putting things into a bucket or cup. She's definitely trying to figure out what goes with what and how things fit together. It's so fun to watch her explore. She seems to have a lot of patience when trying things out, hopefully this will be a lifelong trait (one that most definitely came from Daddy). She still loves to play and wrestle with her sister too. They have so much fun laughing together and Ainslee gets so excited when Hattie does something new. I hope these two will always have fun together.

Hey Hattie, how old are you going to be next month?!

Can you see those cute little teeth?

Father's Day '11

2011-07-07T15:18:00.000-05:00

We had a fun father's day celebration with Aunt Yo and Uncle Trevor. They were coming into town to pick up Ruby, who we had been keeping for the week. We had a great meal at Mamacita's and played a little Wii before they had to head back to Corpus. These two girls are so lucky to have such a wonderful man to call daddy! He plays with them, cuddles with them, and loves them unconditionally. God sure knew what he was doing when He gave Jason two daughters!

Sea World

2011-07-07T15:12:00.000-05:00

We finally caved and purchased season passes to Sea World! We went in June with Bo and Cameron for the first time. Ainslee and Cameron had a blast running everywhere together. It's a lot of work keeping up with three kids (and all their stuff!) in a theme park, so the pictures are very limited. Ainslee said her favorite part was the wave pool, which was quite relaxing. We plan to go back soon to actually watch some of the shows.

Cameron loved feeding the dolphins! Ainslee thought they were going to eat her and refused to partake (she thought they were sharks, haha)

Look at that shark!

Dads and kids. We missed Katie, she was on a mission trip to Utah!

Rub a dub dub, three cuties in a tub! Washing off from a hot day in the sun! Can you tell they were worn out :)

3 and a HALF!

2011-06-22T21:55:00.000-05:00

This silly little girl is 3 1/2 years old now! She is full of imagination, creativity, and lots of personality! She constantly amazes us with phrases she says and things she remembers. She currently loves painting, drawing, playing with friends, science- "investigating" things, Sunday School, going to the park, playing in the dirt (Mommy's least favorite activity), and animals. Her favorite color is purple and her favorite food is waffles with Nutella. She says she wants to be a teacher like Daddy when she is "all grown up" and she can "tell the kids what to do." She has become very cautious lately and takes awhile to warm up in new situations. Ainslee loves her family and is always so excited to spend time with her extended family members. She is an amazing big sister. She is still just as opinionated as ever and there is not much you can do to change her mind. :) I'm hoping this trait will serve her well in adulthood.
We love you so much Ainslee Grace and are so proud of the little girl that you have become!

10 Months

2011-06-04T12:35:00.001-05:00

Hattie Cakes is 10 months old (and a week, but please ignore my tardiness). She has changed more this month than any other! She is babbling all the time, sometimes even shouting. Lots of dada, mama, yaya, ahhh sounds but I'm not sure if she means anything by them yet. She can sign "more" and for sure knows what it means. This kid is an eater! Quite surprising considering her initial snubbing of food. I think she would sit in her high chair for several hours if you just kept giving her something to eat. This is quite nice for when we go to restaurants. There is one stipulation these days- she must be able to feed herself. She doesn't really even like for me to put "real" food in her mouth anymore. What.A.Mess! Some of her favorites are avocado, banana, beans, cheerios, blueberries, and cheese. It's hard to find a variety of foods that can be eaten with only 2 teeth (that aren't even all the way in).

She is all over the place. She can crawl on all fours, but will do so only on carpet. She finds she can go faster by sliding on her stomach on our wood floors. She is pulling up on everything, and can even pull herself up and onto the ledge of our stone fireplace, ugh!
It is so fun to watch her learn and really understand new things these days. She loves to point to the things she finds interesting and have you tell her what they are. She is starting to appreciate books, but will only sit through a couple of pages. Apparently, all this excitement and movement make it quite difficult to fall asleep. Naptimes have been challenging, but once she falls asleep she is usually out for about 1 1/2 - 2 hours (twice a day). She has done great in the nursery at church and will let just about any woman hold her. She is still a little leery of most men, but sure does love her daddy!
I love watching Hattie and Ainslee interact even more theses days. It's so cute when they crawl into their play tent and laugh and play together. It amazes how well they already play together, I can't wait to watch their sister relationship grow!

I love you to pieces sweet little Hattie Cakes, but if you could hold off on turning a year old, this Mommy would really appreciate it! :)

Pulling up on EVERYTHING

She has a very good "sad" face!

How does your garden grow?

2011-06-04T12:12:00.000-05:00

We were so glad that GG was able to come spend an extra week in Kerrville with G-Ma and Grandpa after the wedding. We had lots of fun playing, especially in the garden. GG helped Ainslee pick lots of blackberries. They also had a blast riding around on Grandpa's Ranger!

Picking berries with GG

G-Ma teaching Hattie about blackberries

Rows of corn, lots of varieties of beans, and onions (I think)

Garlic!

Tomatoes

Squash

Waco Wedding

2011-06-04T12:00:00.000-05:00

On May 15th, Jason's cousin Rachel married Nick in a beautiful ceremony. It was so fun to see many members of the fam that we don't get to see nearly enough! The reception was in The Roosevelt Room, a gorgeous building in downtown Waco. Ainslee was so excited about dancing, she could hardly stand it! We had a wonderful dinner and danced the night away. Ainslee finally stopped and said, "Mommy, I'm exhausted!" We took that as our que to head back to the hotel, another first for both girls! Let's just say we've definitely had better nights of sleep, but I think Ainslee had fun. We woke up early, enjoyed breakfast, and headed out to the Cameron Park Zoo. I was quite impressed! The weather was perfect- cool and sunny. There were also maybe 10 other people in the entire zoo (since it was a Monday), it was great!

The beautiful bride and groom

Everyone looking at the camera AND smiling - a first!

Playing on the bed in the hotel room, at one point in the night we were ALL sleeping in this bed

A super fun tree house in the zoo

Ainslee being eaten by a snake!

Cute little monkey! Don't worry, he's on the other side of the glass.

Hattie was mesmerized by this elephant! I think it was Ainslee's favorite too.

The girls had fun pretending to be monkeys...

But I think Daddy had even more fun! :)

Teeth!

2011-05-27T21:26:00.000-05:00

Way behind on my blogging, but for posterity's sake I must mention that Hattie finally cut her first tooth on Friday the 13th! She got her bottom right, middle tooth at 9 1/2 months! She woke up on Saturday with the left one too! I haven't been able to get a picture of them yet, but stay tuned!

Mother's Day '11

2011-05-27T21:14:00.000-05:00

This was my first Mother's Day as a mother of two! I loved hearing Ainslee talk all about "Mudder's Day" and receiving all the sweet pictures she made me all week, leading up to the big day. We had our annual Mother's Day lunch at Grammie and Pop's house this year. We celebrated three generations of mothers: Memaw, Grammie, G-Ma, and Mommy. I was a terrible picture taker, but here are a few.

Hattie got to hang out with Uncle Rob

She got to play with his iPhone- it appears to be serious work!

Here is a sequence of pictures in our attempt to get a decent family pic...maybe next time

Grammie snuggles

As I was tucking Ains into bed, she whispered, "Happy Birthday, Mommy." Such a sweet little girl, even if she was a little off on which holiday it was. :)

Just Because

2011-05-05T21:34:00.000-05:00

When did this little girl start looking like such a big girl?!

It's amazing how still you can get her to stand with M&M's at stake :)

I love this little face Hattie makes. I thought I better capture it, since I don't think it will be the same if/when she ever gets teeth.

Studying the camera

These sisters love each other so much, it really just amazes me. It is so fun to watch them play and interact with each other. I heard them both laughing so hard the other day and snuck around the corner to see Ainslee laying on her tummy next to Hattie. She said, "Mommy, were're playing like we are snakes!" I love that she thought of a game that Hattie would be able to play with her.

9 Months Old

2011-04-30T13:50:00.002-05:00

(same dress as Ainslee's 9 month pic on the right side bar)

Hattie turned 9 months old yesterday! Ainslee was ready for a birthday party, but I had to break it to her that we had to wait 3 more months for a real party. :) This has been a big month for our baby girl. Just yesterday, she started crawling on all fours (instead of army crawling)! She is ALL over the place. Ainlsee loves to have "races" with her down the hall. I need to get that on video.

She has also become a big fan of food. She loves oatmeal, avocado, bananas, puffs, egg yolk, and just about all baby foods. She really enjoys feeding herself and makes a lovely mess of it too. I was really hoping all the food would help her sleep better at night, but she is still waking once around 4 or 5 am. We'll get there soon enough...hopefully!

Still no teeth, which has me totally surprised! I know "they" say not to compare, but Ainslee was working on her 6th tooth at this age! Crazy how different siblings can be. Speaking of differences, Hattie seems to be quite the dare devil. She loves being tossed in the air and going upside down (both terrified Ainslee). But Hattie really loves riding in Grandpa's Ranger (like a fancy 4-wheeler). She squeals when she sees it and while she's riding on our lap. She seems either very unsure or scared around animals, though. Ainslee on the other hand, was obsessed with animals from very early on. Just some interesting differences that I would like to remember and see if they continue as they get older...

We had her 9 month check up this week and here are the official stats:
Height: 27.5"
Weight: 16.1 lbs

Fishing for Hattie

Always on the move!

Easter '11

2011-04-27T22:09:00.000-05:00

We had a wonderful Easter weekend with family. Aunt Yo, Uncle Trevor, and (dog) cousin Ruby came into town late Thursday night, but we got to have breakfast with them on Friday morning before they headed out to Laity Lodge. Unfortunetly, Jason had a "bad weather" make-up day and had to go to work on Friday. Saturday was spent preparing for all our company that was coming over on Sunday. We have been renovating the girl's bathroom (post about that to come soon) and needed to get a few things finished up. G-Ma, Grandpa, Grammie and Pop all came over to help out and help keep up with the girls.
Easter morning started bright and early for us and Ainslee was quite excited. We enjoyed a quiet morning hunting eggs, eating a huge breakfast, and going through Ainslee's Resurection Eggs which tell the real story of Easter in way that is easier for children to see/understand. I don't think Ainslee fully understood (mostly because there are 12 eggs and she only had the patience to listen for about the first 7), but she really enjoyed them! I really want her to know the real reason we celebrate holidays...not just the candy, presents, etc....
We had everyone over for Easter lunch and enjoyed our time together. I know the girls especially enjoyed ALL the attention from their family.

The pinwheels were a huge hit!

As were the puff-filled eggs

Pondering the nutrition facts, Hattie?

What's inside?

The bunny cake made by G-Ma and Grandpa. If you look closely, there are photographs of Grandpa as a little boy and Daddy, Uncle Travis, and Cousin Rachel when they were little - all with similar bunny cakes. The tradition continues!

Dads and their kids playing fetch :)

These cousins LOVE each other :)

The fam!

Bye Bye Paci!

2011-04-26T21:51:00.000-05:00

I am slightly embarrassed, but proud to say that Ainslee is finally paci free! This girl is/was a complete paci addict. She only got it at nap and bedtime for the last couple of years, but it was a vital part in getting her to sleep. Well, the other morning she came in our room frantic because she couldn't find it. I went into her room and could not find it anywhere and neither could Jason. I think this was the motivation we needed to let it go... We told her the paci fairy must have come to take it away while she was sleeping. She has gone to bed without it for 5 nights now! The bad news....naps have been non-existent and as soon as she wakes up in the morning, she is up for good (around 6:45-7:00). Ugh. This has made for some long days for Mommy, but I am so proud of my big girl! Don't worry, Ellie (the elephant) isn't going anywhere. :)

On the move!

2011-04-26T21:16:00.000-05:00

This post is long overdue, but Hattie Cakes is officially on the move. She has been for about 3 weeks now. Of course, trying to get to Ainslee was all it took to get her going. She is a champion army crawler and doesn't seem to mind the occasional rug burn on her knees and elbows. She has started getting up on her hands and knees, but has yet to move forward in that position. It has been quite challenging to keep all of Ainslee's "choking hazards" out of reach, but Ainslee is pretty good at asking if it is alright to give Hattie a certain toy. Ainslee is having fun with Hattie's mobility and gets so excited when she "chases" after her.

Last week, I noticed Hattie was looking pretty close to pulling up so we lowered her crib mattress. After we got everything set up, I set her down in her bed to see what she thought. Well, we lowered the mattress just in time, because she pulled herself up for the first time! It won't be long before we have an extremely mobile baby!

Clapping!

Always trying to get close to Big Sister!

Strawberry Picking

2011-04-12T14:57:00.000-05:00

Last week we headed out to Marburger Orchard, outside of Fredericksburg, for some strawberry picking with G-Ma and Grandpa. The weather was beautiful and we had the whole place to ourselves the majority of our time there. We had a yummy picnic and enjoyed some DELICIOUS strawberries for dessert. We picked a ton, so I made a strawberry cobbler that night and we ate strawberries all week! We will be going back for some peach picking in May or June.

Heading for the strawberry patch

Grandpa helped Ainslee perfect her picking skills

Ainslee had a blast running up and down the rows

Hattie tried to help too!

Enjoying her strawberry very much

Hattie really enjoyed her first taste of strawberry too!

Where's Hattie?

2011-04-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

Ainslee had fun the other day covering Hattie up in all of her stuffed animals. Hattie was thrilled with all the new toys at her fingertips.

8 Months Old

2011-03-29T15:37:00.000-05:00

Really, it has already been a month?! This is going by way too fast for Mommy's liking! Hattie Cakes is 8 months old today. The biggest milestone this month is that she is finally eating solids! Just in the last week she has decided that eating isn't too horrible. She still makes a face with just about every bite, but she will open her mouth for more. Her favorite are Baby MumMums (like rice crackers). She does pretty well actually chewing them too, especially considering she still doesn't have any teeth! I discoverd that she seems to prefer food mixed with rice cereal and does not really like either one by itself. Seems pretty gross to mix carrots and cereal, but hey, I'll do what works! :)

Hattie definitely prefers sitting up to play, rather than laying down. Ainslee is quite excited by this milestone, as it means much more interaction! I love to watch them play together. Ainslee will make up little games to play with her and Hattie will just laugh and laugh, which makes Ainslee laugh too. It is the sweetest noise to this Mommy's ears!

We are still waking up once to eat in the middle of the night. I'm sure I could break this little habbit, but I think part of me secretly enjoys our little quite snuggle time...

In the mobility department, Hattie can do 360s and go backwards, but has not figured out how to move forward yet. I don't think I'm ready for her to be on the move yet! She has been trying really hard to pull up on us and anything she can get her hands on. I'm sure it's just a matter of weeks before she has that down. Time to lower the crib! She is a squirmy little thing and is eager to get down on the floor so she can chase after her big sister! Ainslee nicknamed her the "Squirmy Pickle." I'm not sure where she came up with that one, but it seems to suit her! :)

Here a couple of classic "Hattie faces"

Is it Summer yet?

2011-03-29T15:14:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Grandpa and G-Ma came over to help Daddy work on landscaping our front yard. It was quite hot, so I decided to get out the baby pool for a little cool down. Ainslee had a blast playing in it with ALL of her toys for about 2 hours! Hattie got in on the fun too, but I think it was a bit too cold for her liking. She loved watching Ains splash though! I think we are going to get a lot of use out of this little pool this summer.

"Cleaning" her toys

Happy just watching Big Sis

Sisters!

Gone Fishin'

2011-03-28T14:59:00.000-05:00

Grandpa has been dying to take Ainslee fishing since she was about 2 months old. During Spring Break we finally went! We went out to a friends house/ranch where our odds were good, since the ponds were stocked with perch and bass! Ainslee had a blast watching the bobber and pulling up the fish. I think she and G-Ma caught about 6 or 7! Grandpa and Daddy each caught a few bass, but poor Mommy did not catch a thing! Hattie took a long nap in her car seat and missed out on most of the fishing, but she was happy to play in the grass for the first time, once she finally woke up.

Her shirt says "I heart Grandpa"- very true!

Help from G-Ma

Jason caught a fish eating another fish!

Playing with leaves!

Love this drooly little girl!

Refreshment break with Daddy and G-Ma

Little Mommy

2011-03-22T14:40:00.000-05:00

Ainslee has really gotten into playing with her dolls lately. She is such a sweet little mommy to her babies and takes great care of them. I'm pretty sure this is her favorite baby though...

First Dance

2011-03-22T14:33:00.000-05:00

Hattie- 7 months

Ainslee- 7 weeks

I just love these pictures. I'm pretty sure they will be a part of their wedding slide shows! :)

Wedding Weekend

2011-03-22T14:25:00.000-05:00

We kicked off Spring Break '11 with a wedding in Fischer, TX. My cousin, Ian married a sweet and gorgeous girl named Melanie. We are so excited to welcome her to the family! :) The wedding and reception were held in the historic Fischer Hall. There were delicious cupcakes, a delicious fajita dinner, and lots and lots of dancing. We had a great time celebrating in our cowboy boots! We spent the night at Lotus Ranch and shared a room with Aunt Yo and Uncle Trevor. We didn't get too much sleep, but we it was fun spending time with family! :)

Our family

Aunt Yo and Uncle Trevor

Pop and Grammie

The Wedding Party

Our sweet big girl!

Jason's mini-me

First father-daughter dance for Hattie

Ainslee reserved her first dance of the night for Grammie

She had lots of fun dancing with Daddy

Memaw and Putt danced the night away too!

7 Months Old

2011-03-08T14:15:00.000-06:00

Technically, Hattie did not get a seven month birthday. There are only 28 days in February (this year) and she was born on the 29th. I guess March 1st will have to do...

Hattie has become quite the charmer this month! Her stranger anxiety is fading and she will smile at just about anyone who looks her way. The most common phrase I hear from people who are around her is, "Is she always this happy?" Seriously. Everyone (except maybe the nursery workers at church) says this. And my answer is YES, all the time. If she is not happy then she is hungry or tired, and when those issues are addressed, she quickly resumes her happy state of being.

A few accomplishments/highlights of the past month include:

Sitting like a pro
Sleeping on her side or stomach
Trying, but despising, carrots, squash, rice cereal, avocado, and the blackberry cobbler that Grandpa snuck you! Hopefully, you will decide you like food sometime during your 7th month...
Talking
Sticking out your tongue
Giving big slobbery kisses
Grabbing anything in your reach, especially in restaurants!
Playing peek-a-boo
First trip to College Station!
No more spitting up!!!

We are STILL not sleeping through the night, only waking once to eat, but it is getting a little old... I'm hoping that once she decides to actually eat food, we might get a decent night's sleep. I did get her to drink out of a sippy cup this morning, so just MAYBE we will give mom a break on the nursing... we shall see! It would be quite nice to completely skip the bottle weaning process and go straight to a cup!

This is the face she makes ALL the time right now

And just because we may not have toothless gums next month...

Hungry Horse

2011-02-24T15:08:00.000-06:00

Last week we got to meet up with the Kilpatricks for dinner in Boerne. We just can't stand going more than about 2 weeks without seeing each other! The girls, as usual, were so happy to see each other and we all had a great time catching up over dinner at the Hungry Horse. We had a little photo shoot in the park on Main street beforehand. Can't wait to do it again soon!

Another Corpus Birthday

2011-02-24T14:57:00.000-06:00

I think we might just make going to Corpus a new birthday tradition! Aunt Yo makes delicious cakes, the weather is likely to be warm and wonderful, and it's filled with fun things to do/see! This year we made a trip to the aquarium. Ainslee has been before, but she absolutely LOVED it this time. The child literally ran from tank to tank and wanted to see everything. She was giddy! When asked, she will say the dolphin show was her favorite part. Hattie actually seemed to really enjoy it too. She was able to track the fish and would kick and wave her arms all around when they got close to her.

Ready to go!

Playing games with Aunt Yo

Her view for the dolphin show

Family picture time

Uncle Trevor catching a crab

Hattie trying to catch fish

Ainslee where's Nemo? She was so excited to see him!

Hattie got her first ponytail!

She played dentist with Uncle Trevor

Hattie had fun with Aunt Johnna

Playdate with Charlie, she loved grabbing him!

Ainslee just wanted to play game after game. She played Pictionary with Johnna

We enjoyed going out to eat, watching movies, eating LOTS of cake, and each other's company! Thanks for being wonderful hosts Aunt Yo and Uncle Trevor!

My Little Valentines

2011-02-24T14:30:00.001-06:00

"Valentime's Day" is Ainslee's new favorite holiday. She is still asking me if it is going to be "Valentime's Day again next week?" She loved getting cards and candy and especially making cards for everyone. She repeatedly told me "Happy Valentime's" but refused to tell me happy birthday...yet another reason I wish my birthday was on the 13th or 15th...

Ice Day

2011-02-11T22:31:00.000-06:00

Daddy had an Ice Day on Wednesday and got to stay home from work! We finally got a little bit of snow, but unfortunately it did not stick. Ainslee was really looking forward to making a snowman and snow angels, but was content just playing with icicles instead. It was definitely better than the ridiculously cold temps and frozen water pipes that lasted 4 days last week!

Go Aggies Katy!

2011-02-11T22:23:00.000-06:00

Go Aggies Katy Bonds came to Kerrville this past weekend and brought her sweet little niece, Avery, with her! Avery is just about a month older than Ainslee, so they had a blast playing together. It was fun getting a glimpse at life with three kids (just in case I can EVER convince Jason...). We did lots of pretend playing, coloring, and little movie watching. Ainslee just loves her "Go Aggies Katy" - Mommy has lots of good friends named Katy/Katie, so we have to distinguish them somehow, and Katy Bonds lives in College Station so this is the name Ains came up with. Katy brought a gift bag for all three girls filled with toys, activities, and matching outfits, she sure knows how to keep little ones happy and content! Ainslee has already been asking to see Katy and Avery again, hopefully it will be soon!

6 Months Old!

2011-02-11T22:04:00.000-06:00

Baby Girl is now 6 months old (6 1/2 if we are going to get technical). She is still an absolute delight and has been named "the smiliest baby ever" by just about everyone she meets! She does have to warm up to strangers before they can hold her, but the stranger anxiety is improving, thankfully.

Big Sister is one of her favorite people and excellent at entertaining her. Hattie's favorite thing is to watch Ainslee dance. Hattie will kick her legs, squeal, and laugh with delight. I have loved watching these two girls interact and love each other. I am amazed at how early these sister bonds have formed. Ainslee tells me all the time how much she loves her little sister, melts a mom's heart!

Hattie is a rolling machine. She doesn't stay on her playmat for long and has also started sleeping on her stomach. She is sitting up pretty well unassisted, but I wouldn't leave her side just yet. She has tried rice cereal, avocado, and squash but is still pretty much on a pure milk diet.

We are still up once every night, usually between 3-4:30, but she eats, gets a diaper change, and goes right back to bed without a fuss, and it's only about a 15-20 minute intermission in my sleep. I don't really mind this too much because she will sleep until at least 8:30 if she gets this feeding.

We love you sweet little Hattie Cakes. You have brought so much joy and laughter to home!

Weekend in Hempstead

2011-02-11T21:36:00.000-06:00

The last weekend in January, we went to Hempstead to meet up with Uncle Trevor and Aunt Yo! We had a blast playing on the ranch. The kiddos enjoyed spending lots of time in the great outdoors, and I'm pretty sure Ainslee had a fabulous time sleeping in the king size bed with Mommy and Daddy all weekend! :)

Hattie getting snuggles from Aunt Yo

Ready for a ride!

Jumping hay bales with Uncle Trevor

She could have done this ALL day!

Big girl!

Campfire with the whole group-lots of fun!

First s'more!

Traditional family pic

Mommy's girls!

Pearl snap baby

The post that should be dated Jan 5th

2011-02-11T21:07:00.000-06:00

I am soooo far behind in my posts it is not even funny. Our "borrowed" internet that chooses to not work at the most opportune times, two children who refuse to sleep at the same time, and a novel called The Help (which should be a post all in itself) have all contributed to this lack of blogging. But, primarily it is the fact that I can't get a system down for uploading photos to blogger that doesn't take 30 min per picture, and I'm not exaggerating! Our fancy shmancy camera takes extremely large size photos and my method for resizing no longer works - HELP please if you know how to fix this!

Anyway, as I was saying...Hattie cakes has had some major milestones lately and I feel horrible for not properly documenting them!

On Jan. 5th she got her first taste of rice cereal! She was not a fan. She willingly took a few bites, but gagged and made horrible faces while trying to figure out how to swallow it. I have since tried again and given her squash, but she is still pretty content with being on a pure milk diet.

Not sure what's coming, but as always, happy about it!

What is this?

Still not sure about this

And I'm done!

Christmas Part 2

2011-01-16T22:08:00.000-06:00

In the afternoon, we headed out to G-Ma and Grandpa's house for the rest of the day. We had a fun time opening presents and introducing Hattie to her Uncle Travis. It was the first time they had met! Later that evening, GG, Aunt Jan, Uncle Tommy, Rachel, and Josh came into town. We had such a great time visiting and opening more presents. Of course by this point, Ainslee was a present opening addict! :) Although we didn't spend the night, we pretty much spent the next few days out at G-Ma and Grandpa's house. We spent lots of time playing, watching football, and eating! We don't get to see that side of the family very often, but we can't wait to see everyone again in May for cousin Rachel's wedding!

Hattie playing with her Uncle Travis

G-Ma's girl

Daddy got a ladder!

Ainslee & Hattie help G-Ma open her present

GG and Aunt Jan watch Ainslee open gifts

GG and Ainslee's tea party

GG and Hattie Cakes

Christmas Part 1

2010-12-31T16:19:00.000-06:00

We woke up Christmas morning in our own house, a first for us! It was a strange feeling, but quite nice to not have to pack for two small children. Ainslee and Hattie must have been very good this year, because Santa sure did make a visit to our house! Grammie and Pop walked up the street and opened presents with us. Ainslee was very good at helping everyone and was so excited. Hattie seemed to sense that it was a special day too, because she was extremely happy and smiled all morning!

What did Santa bring?!

We'll have lots of fun in this!

Santa left Hattie toys too!

Pop with his girls

Daddy enjoying his new cookbook

Grammie taught Ainslee how to play her new piano

Just hanging out in her new exersaucer

Christmas Eve

2010-12-31T15:17:00.000-06:00

We spent Christmas Eve down the street at Grammie and Pop's house. Grammie came with us to the Christmas Eve service at our church that evening. It was a service designed specifically for families with young children...so if they screamed it wasn't a big deal :) I think this is going to be a part of our Christmas tradition, since we will probably always be in Kerrville. It is a great way for the girls to see and hear what Christmas truly is about, before the present madness kicks in. I loved how Ainslee could tell us who each of the people were in her nativity set this year (except for the "Girl Wise Man"- granted he does kind of have long hair ). We came home and had a traditional tamales and chili dinner with Memaw and Putt. It was great evening, but Ainslee ended the night with a terrible fit so we didn't get to leave cookies and milk for poor Santa...maybe next year!

Grammie and Pop

The Gilbreath 4

Hattie helped Grammie make the rice

My First Christmas

Ainslee was ready for presents!

They each got to open one gift

Memaw helped Ainslee unwrap her new blankie

5 Months Old

2010-12-31T14:05:00.000-06:00

This picture really sums up Hattie at 5 months. She is all smiles! She just scrunches up her nose and gives the biggest grin you've ever seen. She is still a pretty content and easy going baby, but she has developed a case of stranger anxiety. It amazes me that a baby so young can know and recognize certain people. She sure knows Mommy, Daddy, and Big Sister! She had been doing a great job sleeping at night, but just in the past few days has started waking up multiple times :( We also had to move her up to size 2-3 diapers, due to repeated blow-outs, so I'm pretty sure we are in the midst of a growth spurt. I told she is big enough already, but I don't think she's listening to me. It looks like "solids" will be in her near future...

Visit with Santa

2010-12-30T12:16:00.000-06:00

Hattie was super excited to go see Santa, Ainslee wasn't so sure...

Ains was fine, as long as Grammie was holding her hand

Ainslee quickly jumped down, but Hattie was pretty comfy.

Cute girls

2010-12-29T21:32:00.000-06:00

Party Time

2010-12-29T21:23:00.000-06:00

Ainslee had a wonderful time celebrating her third birthday with lots of family and friends. We were quite blessed to even have old friends come in from San Antonio just to spend the day celebrating! Aunt Yo was party planner extraordinaire and created the decorations, made the cupcakes, and the cake! Everything was so cute and festive! We had a great time playing outside on the playground and running around the backyard. Ainslee's new pink Barbie Jeep from G-Ma and Grandpa was hit with all the kiddos! As usual, Ainslee was not a fan of the "happy birthday song" and threw a fit while everyone sang, but I can't wait for her to see the pictures when she's older, haha! Thanks to everyone who helped to make the day special for our big girl!

3 Years Old!

2010-12-07T09:08:00.001-06:00

Ainslee Grace,

How in the world are you already 3 years old??? While part of me cannot believe you are already this old, another part of me cannot even remember life without you. You have changed so much this year. You are taller, your hair is longer, you look like a little girl and not so much a toddler. But even more drastic is your knowledge, understanding, and wit. You have gone from 2 word sentences to run on sentences. You make up jokes, games, and songs.
So much has changed in your little life this year. I'm amazed at how well you have handled everything. Some of the biggest changes this year were moving to Kerrville to a new house and becoming a big sister (and those were both within 2 weeks of each other)! You also moved from a crib to a toddler bed to a twin size bed and were potty trained at 2 1/2.
You are are just as social and outgoing as ever. This is a trait that you certainly don't get from your Mommy or Daddy. I hope that you are always so friendly! You love your friends and talk about them everyday. Cameron is definitely your best friend, sometimes you tell me that she is your brother. I guess this is an endearing term to you? Anytime you have something to share, you say it is for Cameron. You love your little sister too, you tell her so quite often. I love to hear you call her by the nicknames Mommy and Daddy use for her. You give her lots of kisses and hugs, and it is just the sweetest sight to see you holding hands.
Ainslee, we love you so much and thank God for giving us such a wonderful, smart, and beautiful daughter! We can't wait to watch you grow even more this year!

Your 3 year doctor visit stats:
Height: 36 inches
Weight: 28 lbs

Thanksgiving at Home

2010-12-02T22:12:00.000-06:00

We were brave enough to host Thanksgiving in our new home this year. The last time we hosted Thanksgiving, I was about 1 week from delivering Ainslee and was not allowed to travel- it was either host or not partake in a family Thanksgiving :) Fortunately, both occasions have been a potluck style meal. I was merely responsible for assigning each person to a dish. It's the way to go! (Katie, I'm still not a "real grown up" since I didn't make the turkey!)

We so enjoyed spending time with both of our families. We love having everyone together and are so happy that we now have a place large enough to accommodate everyone. It was also great having Uncle Trevor and Aunt Yo here for a few days, I know Ainslee LOVED the attention. Hattie got a little spoiled from all the holding and has been a little difficult to actually put down for naps this week! :) Oh well, isn't that what grandmas and aunts are for? I'm pretty sure she had a good "First Thanksgiving."

For more great pictures from our Thanksgiving go to http://theprewettpost.blogspot.com/

4 Months!

2010-11-30T21:39:00.001-06:00

Hattie is now 4 months old and has changed so much in this past month! She is just the happiest, most content baby I could ever imagine. This month she has learned how to roll from her tummy to back, hold her head and torso up very well, laugh (cutest sound in the WORLD), coo and squeal, stick out her tongue, hold her hands together to put them in her mouth, grab objects, and melt hearts!

Hattie is still wearing a few 0-3 month clothes, but is mostly in 3-6 month. She is wearing size 2 diapers, which are still a bit big, but definitely better than having too many "blow-outs."

We are making no progress in the bottle department. This kid is 100% momma fed. She screams when offered the bottle, even if she has gone too long between feedings. She also refuses a pacifier. I'm not pushing this one, since her almost 3 year old sister is still an addict. :) I think it's an extremely sensitive gag reflex issue. Maybe we will just jump straight to the sippy cup and avoid bottles/paci's all together?!

Hattie does very well with her 3 hour feeding schedule and will occasionally go 3 1/2 hours. She has done a few 10 hour stretches at night, but still likes to wake up around 5 to eat more often than not. She is very good about going right back to sleep though. And another big milestone I almost forgot to mention- Hattie is sleeping in her own room now! This was rough for mommy...my baby is growing up too quickly!

And the official stats:

Height- 25 inches

Weight- 12.9 lbs

Working the land

2010-11-18T14:45:00.000-06:00

And by land, I mean our ginormous backyard! We are loving our little acre in the hill country. G-Ma and Grandpa have come over a few days and helped us get the yard looking even better. We have lots of branches to cut, rocks to move, sticks to pick up, and clearing to do. They brought over the Polaris Ranger a couple of times to help haul and move "stuff." We have sent several trailer loads of brush to their house to burn and we are not even close to finished!

We started with a few pole saws, chain saws, and shears!

Ainslee and Grandpa on the Ranger

Our little tree hugger!

Jason and G-Ma worked to take out the rotting storage shed

Hattie and I mostly just did this:

More "after" to pictures to come soon!

Crazy Kid

2010-11-18T14:30:00.001-06:00

Just a random picture, but it actually says a few things about this little girl these days.

1. She is not wearing any pants. I can't keep pants or socks on this kid, no matter how cold it is! If you come over and she is not wearing pants, it is because she has gone to the bathroom., taken them off, and refused to put them back on when she is finished. I try, but it is one of the battles that is just not worth fighting. She does wear pants in public...although she tries to take them off at random times...

2. She has a stuffed animal with her. These are her new "friends." She is developing a huge imagination and loves to play pretend. This one's name is Panda Bear, and yes, she knows it is a polar bear.

3. There are kid chairs in the kitchen. (Please ignore the hideous linoleum floor. It is part of the Big Kitchen Remodel of 2011.) She is constantly pulling up chairs to try and help cook, clean, or "make something" in the kitchen. I think the chairs and step stools might kill me one day, I can't even count how many times I've tripped over them!

4. She is smiling. Ainslee is so eager to please and just says the sweetest things these days (when she is not throwing a fit). She repeatedly tells me, "Mommy, you're my best friend." I'll have to remind her of that when she is about 14. Haha!

New Tricks

2010-11-18T14:12:00.000-06:00

Hattie has been working very hard lately at developing a few new tricks! About 2 weeks ago she started really grabbing for things, not just batting at them. I still remember cooking in the kitchen and hearing the music this little flower makes, when Ainslee pulled it for the first time (it feels like yesterday!). Ainslee and I got so excited when Hattie did it for the first time. Ainslee kept praising her, it was super cute!

Here is the look of determination:

Closer

Got it!

As you can see, she is quite pleased with herself

Hattie has also become strong and steady enough to start sitting in the bumbo seat. Ainslee is a bit jealous of this trick, as she has become quite fond of the bumbo herself (yes, she still fits in it).

Here's a little trick Hattie Cakes can do with her hair!

And last, but certainly not least, Hattie learned how to roll over on Veteran's Day (Nov.11th)! We were spending the day with G-Ma, since Daddy and Grandpa were both out of town. I laid Hattie on her tummy to show G-Ma just how much she despised tummy time, and she just rolled right over! Of course I did not have my camera, but here is a little photo sequencing so you get the idea. :)

Hattie, we are so proud of you! But really, if you want to just stay my tiny little baby forever, your mommy would really appreciate it!

Birthday/Ballerina/Halloween Fun

2010-11-03T14:20:00.001-05:00

We had a super fun Halloween weekend! Saturday morning we headed to SA to celebrate Cameron's 2nd birthday- can't believe that sweet baby girl is already 2 (except for the fact that she talks like she's 5!) Ainslee had fun seeing all her friends and playing the cute carnival games that Katie had set up. Of course we stuck around a little after the party to get in as much Kilpatrick family time as we could. We miss our random week night excuses to eat out or at each other's house!

Hattie got some lovin' from Mama Wanda

The VIP table :)

Say "babies"

After a much needed run to Costco and the kids resale store (for more hair accessories), we made it back to Kerrville for Grammie's school carnival in Hunt. Ainslee was a bit overwhelmed by all the noise and people, but quickly discovered the fun games and the even more fun prizes! She and Jason even used their tickets to watch a dog show. I'm not sure what the dog show entailed, but she's still talking about it and now thinks that dog shows are just a normal part of Halloween. :)

Ainslee's favorite game

Prairie Grammie and Ballerina Hattie

Huge smiles!

On Sunday we went to church and then came home to rest before another eventful afternoon. We headed to the First Baptist Church festival and loaded up on cotton candy, snow cones, and candy galore! We came home just in time to pass out candy to trick-or-treaters and do a little trick-or-treating ourselves. Ainslee loved giving out candy and was quite good at it. At one point she saw a group of people walking down the street and yelled out, "Hey everybody! Come to our house!" They heard her and thought it was pretty funny.

Yummy!

3 Months Old

2010-10-29T13:53:00.001-05:00

Our sweet little Hattie Cakes is 3 months old today! She is just as sweet, content, and cuddly as ever. I never thought it would be possible to love another little girl as much as I do Ainslee, but Hattie proved me wrong! It's amazing how your heart can love them both, the same, and so intensely.

Hattie has started smiling at everyone and everything (fans, air vents, rock work...), but I would have to say she seems to be quite the mama's girl. Her smile is very contagious, especially when she squeals with excitement. I love when she smiles at Ainslee. It is so fun to watch the sister bonds beginning to form.

Hattie Bear has been sleeping longer stretches at night and will go 9 hours on a good night. Last night she went from 10:30-7:30! She is still a spit up machine, but I think it's getting a little better, maybe??? She has decided that she completely despises tummy time. In fact, I can't think of anything that gets her madder! She LOVES her swing and bouncy seat. The swing is a life saver in the evenings when nothing else seems to help calm her. She is obsessed with the blue elephant that velcros to the bouncy seat. She has even been successful in pulling it off. Of course, this is done with her left hand. I know it is WAY to early to establish handedness, but I will not be surprised if she is a lefty like her Daddy and big sister.

For some reason she is rarely just called Hattie. Poor kid is going to have a nickname forever attached to her. Hattie Cakes, Hattie Bear, Hattie Boo Battie (Ainslee's favorite), Rudy Tudy, and Walter (this is Pop's crazy name for her) are some of the nicknames she goes by! :) Enjoy the pics! Unfortunately Hattie was not in a smiley mood, but I had to get pics as soon as possible- you never know how long two little girls will keep their white shirts clean!

3 Month Chair Pic

Don't you just want to eat those cheeks up?!

Matchy Matchy

Kisses from Big Sister

Hoodie Sisters

2010-10-12T15:09:00.000-05:00

The chilly hill country mornings have given me the opportunity to bust out some winter attire for the girls (of course it is shed by lunch time...). Hattie has been able to use a lot of Ainslee's hand-me-downs that I thought she wouldn't get to wear. Poor planning on having girls born in December and July, but what can you do? :)

This was my favorite outfit of Ainslee's! Hattie appears to be less than thrilled about wearing it :)

When did she get so big?!

Love these little girls more than I could ever imagine!

And Hattie is DONE!

Playtime w/ G-Ma and Grandpa

2010-10-04T14:16:00.000-05:00

We have been finding every excuse we can to get out and enjoy this beautiful fall weather! Last week we had a picnic lunch at the park with G-Ma and Grandpa. Ainslee had a blast showing off her swinging and climbing skills!

G-Ma helped her with the maze. She was fascinated by this and called it a map!

I finally got her to look at the camera and smile!

G-Ma was a little nervous going down the slide

But Grandpa loved it, even if his legs were a little too long!

Plenty of supervision

Hattie enjoyed sitting in the shade and practiced holding her head up with Grandpa

Just waving to the camera

Silly girls

One last slide

The Storyteller

2010-09-29T16:08:00.000-05:00

Once upon a time there was a little girl named, Mommy! The monsters, dogs, and ghosts chased her! The End.

As told by Ainslee Grace

2 Months Old!

2010-09-29T16:02:00.000-05:00

Hattie Lane is 2 months old today! She is such a sweet and, for the most part, laid back little girl. She is smiling, cooing a bit, and holding her head up like a champ! She started at around 7 weeks sleeping anywhere from 6 to 8 hour stretches at night then going right back to sleep after eating. It is quite nice on days when Ainslee decides to sleep past 7:30! Naps still take place any and everywhere. I'm really hoping she stays small enough to sleep in the bassinet forever.
Big sister is still very much in love with her and I can see that the feelings are mutual. Hattie is perfectly content as long as she can watch Ainslee. We can't wait to watch them actually play together!
Hattie's doctors visit is tomorrow so I will update with the stats when I get them. Despite the massive amounts of spitting up, I think she's grown a ton! She is wearing the same outfit Ainslee wore in her 2 month chair picture.

Recent Ainslee-isms

2010-09-16T13:31:00.001-05:00

Jason took Ainslee to a jr. high football game the other night. The mighty Spikes won 28-0. On the way home Jason asked Ainslee who won. Her response: "The blue team won and the white team....well, they did their best."

As I was putting her shoes on her the other day: "I'm proud of you Mommy."
Why are you proud of me Ainslee?
"For all that you do to me."

Several times this week she also declared, "You're a good friend, Mommy!"

I had been trying, unsuccessfully, to air up an exercise ball (we discovered it's the secret to calming Hattie's upset tummy). When Jason got home from work Ainslee pointed to it and told Jason he needed to "Suck it up!" We finally figured out that she meant he needed to pump it up.

She has also recently been complimenting my (and Grammie's) clothes. She will tell us she likes our shirt and then ask where we got it from.

"Zip. No talkin'!" (insert hand gestures of zipping your lips and a finger over your mouth) When asked where she learned that phrase she said, "School." That would be the 1 day a MONTH class she is in while I attend MOPS.

Another Beach Post

2010-09-12T11:10:00.000-05:00

We made our second beach trip of the season, this time with the newest member of the Gilbreath family. We went in the evening to avoid the heat and direct sun- it was great! Hattie thought the ocean was just a really loud sound machine and was pretty chilled out the entire time. Ainslee ran around, jumped the waves, and built lots of sand castles.

This is Jason's "I hate the beach" face

Trying to build sand castles

Big stretches on the beach

Family picture

Just the girls

Hattie with her aunt and uncle

Just lounging

First Smiles

2010-09-12T09:10:00.004-05:00

Hattie started smiling at 5 weeks old. It took a few times before I was convinced they were real smiles and not just gas, but now there is no mistaking. She loves to smile after a feeding when I'm changing her diaper. I love when you finally realize they DO like you! :)

Crazy Imagination

2010-09-12T08:49:00.002-05:00

This little girl has developed a crazy imagination lately. She is constantly playing pretend, whether its running from lions, shopping at HEB, or driving a motorcylce. She loves to involve Mommy and Daddy in her games and tells us exactly what we need to do to play the game. She is also into performing and has made up some crazy dance and gymnastics moves. Before she sings a song now she will say, "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, for me's next song...." (I think she got that from her Letter Factory dvd). One of her other favorite activities is building houses. She will use any and all materials to complete this task. The other day she used just about every toy from her room and Hattie's. The house was giant! It was a beast to clean up, but it did keep her occupied for a few hours. :) She loves to play with her baby dolls, who have all recently been named Baby Hattie. She will feed them (imitating exactly how mommy feeds Hattie- not with a bottle), burp them, wipe up their "spit up," change their diapers, and put them down for naps. It's so fun to watch her imagination and see just how she perceives things around her. We just never know what she will come up with next!

The "Chair" Pictures

2010-09-01T16:16:00.004-05:00

I'm going to try to be as good at taking monthly chair pics of Hattie as I did with Ainslee. Here are a few so far:
5 days old

1 month old

A chair pic w/ big sis at 2yrs 8 months (refuses to wear pants because she wants to see her Dora panties)

One more of my baby girl

1 Month Old

2010-08-30T19:59:00.007-05:00

Hattie Girl is a month old already! She had her doctor's appointment this afternoon, and despite her daily projectile vomiting, is growing like a weed. She weighed 8lbs 15oz, up from 7.4 just two weeks ago! She is quite the cuddle bug and snuggler. She is still sleeping and eating quite well and working hard on holding her head up. Poor girl is suffering from a bad case of newborn rash, but hopefully it wont last too long. Here's a little photo recap from the last month:

Lots of naps on Mommy and Daddy

Lots of naps in the bassinet (while big sis looks on & makes lots of noise) :)

Loving from Grammie

Loving from G-Ma

She has become quite the traveler! She made a trip to Gruene when she was just 9 days old and got to meet "Go Aggies Katy" (as Ainslee refers to her), Lee & Lindsey.

She traveled to Fredericksburg this past weekend to see this little girl and her family. I think Cameron loves her already. She is just adorable when she calls her "Baby Tattie"

The Three Amigos.

She has also made several trips to San Antonio! Thankfully, she is a great traveler. We have only had a couple of instances where both girls were screaming at the same time- Jason and I just looked at each other and laughed...what else can you do? :) We love you lots Hattie and can't wait to see what next month holds for you!

Lots of Pictures

2010-08-23T21:46:00.002-05:00

Here's the link to Hattie's newborn photo session! Make sure you have the volume turned on and enjoy!

http://soulologie.com/slideshows/#/page/73d4/cara/

Brand New

2010-08-17T16:29:00.003-05:00

This was the onesie I bought on my way home from our sonogram in March, when we found out we were going to have another baby girl. I had seen these in Gymboree and knew I would by a pink or blue one as soon as I knew what we were having. It was our big reveal to our families to show that they were going to have another granddaughter. It is a preemie size and just adorably tiny, just like Hattie!
Our baby girl is just the sweetest, most laid back baby I've ever seen. She has such a quiet little cry and hardly ever uses it, unless she needs to burp. She is quite the sleeper! She eats at about 10:30 pm, then wakes once around 2 or 3, then makes it until 7:30 or 8 am (and I usually have to wake her for that feeding)! We are definitely feeling rested, which is nice since we have a wild and crazy 2 1/2 year old running around :) Speaking of, Hattie is also a very sound sleeper. Ainslee can run around the living room (on noisy wood floors) pretending to be a lion or motorcycle or whatever she can think of, and Hattie will just be sound asleep in her bassinet on the coffee table. Her easy going personality has just made her seem like she has always been a part of our family. We are all so in love with our brand new baby girl!

First Bath

2010-08-17T14:56:00.005-05:00

She was not a huge fan of the bath itself...

But the hair washing was another story! She loved it and instantly calmed down.

Drying off

All swaddled up and warm

Sneak Peak

2010-08-17T13:59:00.005-05:00

My cousin Erin took some amazing pictures of Hattie on her 1 week birthday. She has given me a sneak peak at a couple of the pictures, so I will share. I can't wait to see the rest! Here is a link to her website. She has some amazing talent!

Sisters

2010-08-13T15:06:00.006-05:00

Ainslee has been a wonderful and loving big sister. She gets so excited whenever Hattie is awake, which is still not too often. She yells, "Her eyes open Mommy!" She will talk to her, hold her hand, sing her songs, and tell her "it's okay, it's okay" while patting her, even when Hattie's not crying. :)
This was Hattie's first day home

I am loving the matching dresses!

Hattie in Ainslee's doll cradle. I think Ainslee likes to think of her as one of her baby dolls.

Happy Birthday Hattie!

2010-08-02T12:40:00.009-05:00

On Wednesday, the 28th we said goodbye to Ainslee and headed to San Antonio for one last relaxing night before we became a family of four! We had been given a very generous gift certificate to the Westin La Cantera last Christmas and had yet to use it. We figured since we had to be in San Antonio by 6:30 am, we might as well get a head start and a little sleep while we still could. We definitely got some strange looks and questions, as most people don't stay at a resort while they look like they are going to POP! We woke up super early and headed to North Central Baptist Hospital.

I was expecting at least a whole day of sitting/laying and waiting, but apparently Hattie was ready to come quick, despite being 12 days before her due date. By 7:30 I was hooked up to petocin and after 30 min. they turned it off because the contractions were already 1-2 min. apart. Thankfully, I was able to quickly get an epidural (that came with the magical button to get more drugs as often as needed- something that was not provided and much needed when I had Ainslee). The nurse said our families needed to hurry or they would not make it in time for the birth, and at this point I was still in denial about a quick delivery. My parents made it just in time for my dad to get kicked out of the room and the real fun quickly began. After about 30 painless minutes of pushing Hattie entered this world at 11:30 am. She had the umbilical cord wrapped twice around her neck which was quite a scary sight. Apparently this caused some breathing/lung clearing issues as well. A team of NICU doctors and nurses quickly entered to start getting her oxygen levels to a better range, but unfortunately they had to whisk her to the NICU. I was able to hold her for literally about 5 seconds before she was taken. Daddy was able to follow her in to keep an eye on her and my mom stayed with me. We were hoping for a quick stay, but she wasn't released to our room until 11:30 that night.

Hattie had lots of visitors who weren't even able to hold her or see her, including big sister Ainslee. The NICU only lets parents and grandparents in and only 2 at a time. Mommy and Daddy did get to hold and feed her a couple of times, but were extremely thankful to have her released. Jason actually thought the NICU was kind of nice, since Hattie was able to get some undivided attention for so long. Everything about the labor, delivery, and our stay were wonderful. Other than the short NICU stint, I don't think we could have asked for a better experience.

The waiting game

First hold

Visiting the NICU

Working on her breathing

First bath

Visiting Aunt Yo & Uncle Trevor

Pretty baby

Blonde highlights

Ready to go home

D-Day Set!

2010-07-21T20:51:00.004-05:00

Today I had my last doctor's appointment before the big day arrives! I was hoping this would be the one where we would set the induction date, since we didn't get to last week :( My doctor wanted to do an exam to make sure baby girl would be ready. Apparently she has decided to start making her way into this world because I am already 2 cm. dialated. This was good news because it meant all the contractions I've been having are actually doing something! It is also a little nerve wracking, because we are closing on our San Antonio house tomorrow and will be full time Kerrville residents! Hopefully she will just wait until the 29th, our induction day, so that we don't have to make a mad rush back to SA! The house remodeling is coming along nicely and the crib is set up in the nursery. We are so ready to meet you Hattie Lane!

Baby Update

2010-07-13T17:18:00.004-05:00

These pictures were taken at 34 1/2 weeks. I am now 36 weeks and look and feel about twice as large. I feel pretty good, but my activity level has quickly taken a dive. Just the thought of running more than 2 errands completely exhausts me. Since we are moving, and I plan to keep my doctor and hospital in SA, my doctor wants to induce around 38 weeks. I go to the doctor tomorrow to hopefully set the induction date! We are all getting quite excited to meet this little girl, but hope we can have everything ready before she arrives. Ainslee made the comment the other day, "I ready to take baby sister out!" Me too, Ainslee, me too!

2 Week Recap

2010-07-13T16:30:00.006-05:00

Life has not slowed down since our trip to the beach, in fact it has been going about a zillion miles an hour (no exaggeration). We have been living part time in Kerrville, at Grammie & Pop's house while we (and by we I mean mostly Jason) make some massive changes to the house before move-in day. A day that has yet to be determined, but will hopefully occur at least a week before Baby Girl arrives.

We have had a few fun excursions in between the madness. Grandpa and G-Ma came down to take us all to the Witte Museum to see the dinosaur exhibit. We all new that Ainslee would either love it or be completely terrified, thankfully she LOVED it! She has been talking about the dinosaurs non-stop. I had never been to the Witte before and thought it was a great place for the whole family to explore.

We had an entire 4th of July weekend (most of it spent working on the house). On the 3rd we celebrated early at my Aunt and Uncle's house. We were able to visit with a lot of my dad's side of the family that we haven't seen since Lauren's wedding! Unfortunately, I was a little too late taking out the camera, so I don't have any pictures. :(

We also had a wonderful 4th of July at the Kilpatricks. We are a little sad that it is the last party out at their house, but I'm sure the tradition will continue to their new "city" house.

Daddy and Ainslee enjoying the firework show

Ainslee and Cameron ending the evening in pj's and patriotic hats, and of course holding hands

Beach Vacation

2010-06-29T13:29:00.010-05:00

I can't believe it has already been a year since our last trip to the beach with the Prewett family! Once again, we had a wonderful time in Corpus. We spent the weekend grilling, eating out, playing games, watching Ruby and Ainslee play, and just relaxing. We spent all of Saturday afternoon at the beach.

Ainslee was a little hesitant at first and would not come out of the car - the cage was for Ruby not her :)

Daddy and the sand toys were all the convincing it took to get her out

Pretty little girl

She loved the waves

Yay for no more swim diapers and cute little butt cheeks :)

Mommy, Ainslee, and Ruby

This is how the boys spent most of their time

Finding sea shells with Aunt Yo

Time for a potty break on the beach

The whole gang, minus Daddy

Can't believe we will be taking TWO kiddos to the beach next summer!

So Much to Say

2010-06-29T08:07:00.002-05:00

Just about the time the nesting instinct kicked into full gear, our lives turned into beautifully controlled MADNESS! I'm going to list/date the order of events just because I know it's something I will want to look back on and I believe it shows just how in control God was of our whole situation. His plan went way smoother and quicker than ever should have been possible, especially if we were the ones left in control (if you know me then you know I'm bad at planning!).

June 10 (am)- We head to Kerrville so Jason can get a root canal at the dentist

(pm)- Jason gets an unexpected phone call from the middle school principal asking him if he can come in to interview for a science job (an opening we did not even know existed)

30 min later- Jason heads to the school dressed in jeans, tshirt, flipflops (we had not planned to stay the night, much less interview for a job!). He is told he will know something by the end of the next week.

45 min later- we head back to SA for our last sonogram before baby girl arrives

June 11 (8:30 am)- Principal calls asking if he would like the job! He says yes and we immediately start packing/decluttering our house. We spent the entire weekend doing this and loaded a ton of stuff to a storage unit.

June 14- Call our realtor & get a call from our renters, who have somehow heard through the Kerrville grapevine, that we are moving back.

June 15- Get the 30 day notice from our renters! AHHH!!!! We were planning to tell them when we had a CONTRACT on our house (which was not even on the market at this point!)

June 16- Met with realtor, signed the paper work, and stuck a sign in the front yard

June 17- House officially goes on the market!

June 18- We head to Corpus for a much needed break and some relaxation with Aunt Yo & Uncle Trevor

June 19- Play at the beach all day and come home to an email containing an offer on our house! We counter, they accept, and we are under contract in less than 48 hours after putting house on market!!! The closing date the buyers chose is July 22, which is the last day of summer strength camp at Jason's school.

Now if that is not God's providence at work then I don't know what is! He has blown us away by his timing, mercy, and strength.

Quote of the Day

2010-06-28T12:40:00.002-05:00

Background info: We attend a very large non-denominational church that has what I would consider modern architecture and nothing fancy. Our church has "satellite churches" so that others in the community or surrounding cities can attend, without having to drive so far. We attended the Alamo Heights satellite church, held in a Methodist Church, last night to see our friends son get baptized. Katie and Cameron rode with us. As we drove up to the church we hear...

"This where Mickey Mouse live Katie!"

Apparently the church steeples resemble the pictures she's seen of Cinderella's Castle in Disney World.

2 1/2 or 30 Month Update

2010-06-18T06:59:00.003-05:00

Ainslee Grace,

Mommy is a tad behind in writing your half birthday update. We have had a wild and crazy summer and it's only the middle of June! Making things even more difficult is the fact that our computer died. I don't even want to think about the pictures we might have lost (luckily I have a horrible habit of not deleting the camera memory cards, so we might be able to salvage a lot). But, until we get a new and improved computer I will be blogging on Daddy's school, or "cools" as you like to call it, laptop which might mean no pictures for awhile.
Well, your big 2 1/2 year milestone would have to be potty training! I won't say potty trained, because we just aren't completely there yet. But, you don't wear diapers anymore and you have declared yourself a BIG Girl! That is a big step since you used to always correct me and say that you are a baby (and I am an "old person"). You also tell me that I am a big girl when you see me go potty. You are still less than thrilled about using the potty, but you really don't like having accidents so you just hold it as long as possible. Hopefully, this will have no long term affect on your health... You also like to use going "teetee" as an excuse to get out of naps and bedtime. You are just too clever for your own good! :)
You are quite the talker these days! While waiting for an oil change yesterday, I had a lady ask me how old you were. She said you were a very good talker. A few minutes later she changed her wording to, "she talks a lot!" Yes, pretty much all day long non-stop. I think you clearly like making your opinions, thoughts, and emotions very well known.
Ainslee, I don't know where you get it from, but you are quite the social butterfly. Anywhere we go you ask to play with "these little girls" or "these little boys." Unfortunately, this is usually at the grocery store or Target, and we can't just stop and play in the middle of the store. You will walk up to any little kid and try to play with them and you make friends everywhere. The other day while we were playing at Chick-fil-a (your all time FAVORITE restaurant), I heard you tell a 7 or 8 year old little girl, "Hi, what's you's name?" "Can I play with you?" You then came up to me and told me you were going to play with Ashley! I can't believe you are old enough these days to do/say things like that! I love that you are so outgoing and social, maybe Mommy can learn some things from you in that department.
You still love to draw, paint, and play with play-dough. You can entertain yourself for at least an hour doing these things. You have gotten very good at coloring inside the lines of your coloring books, when you are concentrating. You are also into playing games. We have lots of matching games like Memory that you like to play with Mommy or Daddy. You also like hide and go seek and playing chase with Daddy. Daddy taught you how to play and say, "tag, you're it!" I have seen you try to play this with Charley cat, but I have yet to see him chase after you! :) You have become very interested in your baby dolls and taking care of them. I'm hoping this means that you are prepared for you upcoming roll as "Big Sister."
You have told me many times that you want to hold baby sister and I can't wait for that moment! You have already made plans for the things you are going to do for her and how you want to take care of her. The other day you laid out a blanket on the floor and put a bunch of toys on it. You told me that it was for, "me's baby sister." You are so sweet and thoughtful!
Mommy and Daddy love you to pieces and are continually amazed by your actions, thoughts, and just how darn smart you are!

Fun with family & friends

2010-06-01T14:51:00.007-05:00

We had a fun and relaxing 3 day weekend. On Saturday, Mommy and Ainslee met Grammie at The Rim for a little shopping trip, while Daddy watched Jr. High football all morning. Grammie treated both of us to a few cute outfits, including matching dresses for Ainslee and Baby Sister (can't wait to see that!). It was so funny to hear Ainslee point out all the things in Babies R'Us that she thought Baby Sister needed: "Baby Sister needs these diapers, Baby Sister need these sunglasses, Baby Sister need this baby toy, or I need this for me's Baby Sister." I thinks she's getting ready and anxious to meet her (as we all are)!

On Sunday, we met Aunt Yo at McAllister's Deli after church. We quickly toured the nearby farmer's market and then headed home with a very cranky and sleepy 2 year old. We got in a quick game of Settler's of Catan (which Mommy won) and Yo and Mommy even got to do a little shopping before it was time to get ready for a fun night at the Kilpatrick's house. Ainslee could not wait to see her BFF, Cameron! We had a great dinner and enjoyed spending time with good friends.

On Monday, we got to see Uncle Trevor and "Uncle" Ruby when they came to pick up Aunt Yo. We had a long, late lunch on the patio at Chuy's. Despite Daddy and Yo getting pooped on by the birds, we had fun :) Apparently the weekends festivities had taken their toll on poor Ainslee, and she crashed for 3 1/2 hours that afternoon/evening!

Playing ball

Resting with Daddy

Silly BFFs! I don't even know how this game started, but they thought it was hilarious!

Splash time

This was splash time last June

Ainslee did not like being wet, so Jason told her to go dry off on Bruce Dog:

Trying to play catch with Bo and Braden

Cameron was ready for a bath and bed

Really wish I had remembered to take out my camera more this weekend! I didn't get any pictures of Ainslee with her Aunt Yo :(

Quote of the Week

2010-05-22T14:53:00.002-05:00

Me: "Ainslee, why don't you practice counting on your abacus?"

Ainslee's obscure response: "I cain't, me's elbow hurts!" (said with much emphasis on the word "cain't")

The Country Life

2010-05-21T14:25:00.009-05:00

Ainslee and I headed to Kerrville on Tuesday morning to spend the day at G-Ma and Grandpa's house. GG was in town for a few days so we wanted to get to spend some quality time with her since we don't get to very often! As always, we had a great time playing outside and exploring the garden.
We hung out on the front porch for a long time

Then Grandpa let Ainslee go into the garden to pick carrots. The carrot that is sticking out of the ground was replanted by Ainslee :)

She loved finding them! She also loved eating them. Grandpa asked if she wanted to go feed them to the horses and she replied, "No, I eat these carrots!" And she did, about 4 or 5 of them!

Of course, the shoes had to come off...

The blackberry vines are just beginning to ripen so we found a few that were ready

She saved them to show GG how many she found

The lavender is also in bloom and Ainslee quickly discovered it smelled wonderful! She kept waving her hands all through the plant.

We tried taking a few portraits, but someone was in a silly mood...

Thought this was cute though

After all that running around she took a GREAT nap and then played with her new sticker book from GG.

Thanks for all the fun G-Ma, Grandpa, and GG!

Ainslee's Opinion

2010-05-13T14:07:00.002-05:00

This morning Ainslee was watching me intently while I was getting dressed. She pointed to my increasingly large belly and said, "Baby!" I said, "Yes, baby sister is in Mommy's tummy." She looked at me for a second and said, "No, it a baby ball!" I would have to agree, it does look like there is a ball in my tummy, not so much the shape of a baby :)

Time to Upgrade

2010-05-12T13:39:00.005-05:00

The good ole Camry just wasn't going to work out much longer. It is still a wonderful car with no mechanical issues (in case you know someone who might be interested), but was lacking a lot of features we want with two kiddos. Lots of little things like tinted windows, rear air conditiong (a necessity for our little August baby and hot natured 2 year old), room for hauling others, and keyless entry. In other words, it was time for the SUV/Mommy mobile. I told Jason I couldn't bring myself to drive a mini-van before I turned 30.

After test driving just about every full size SUV on the market over the span of multiple weekends, we decided on the Honda Pilot (thank you Katy Bonds for the insight), which of course was the last vehicle we looked at. We looked at so many cars that Ainslee started recognizing car dealerships when we drove by them...she even saw a commercial for one and said, "I need to go there!" Jason researched, negotiated, and called every Honda dealership in Texas (only a slight exaggeration, but I did seriously have to rule out California and Wisconsin) and found an incredible deal right here in San Antonio on a brand new 2011 with lots of "bells and whistles". So, last night we spent 4 LONG hours with our lovely toddler at the dealership and drove home with this beauty:

The first thing Ainslee said when we drove off the lot was, "Baby sister like this car?" Yes Ainslee, I hope she will! :)

Big Girl Bed - Take 2

2010-05-11T13:24:00.005-05:00

I didn't want to write this post any sooner for fear that I may jinx it, but Ainslee has been sleeping in her big girl bed for a week now! (Remember this post about 8 months ago?) We have not had any problems getting her to stay in her bed at night, and only a few little instances in the beginning at nap time, but she been doing great. The first night I went to pick her up off of Jason's lap after he finished reading her bedtime stories, and she said forcefully, "No, I do this!" And she put herself to bed. :) Unfortunately she has not been sleeping as late or taking quite as long naps, but hopefully that will improve with time.

There is no turning back now, because her crib has been disassembled and parts have been sent back to the manufacturer. I decided to check the model number after we took it apart and discovered her crib had been recalled! We are now awaiting a voucher for Babies 'R Us to buy a new crib for our little bundle on the way, perfect timing! I don't have any pictures, but will post some when we redo her room (which will happen whenever we get a nursery put together).

Mother's Day Bash

2010-05-10T14:17:00.006-05:00

Uncle Rob hosted the annual Mother's Day Bash on Canyon Lake this year. Continuing with tradition, we celebrated near water and with lots of yummy food! The weather was pretty uncertain, but we had wonderful pavilion all to ourselves to keep us dry. Unfortunately, it was too cool to swim, but Grandpa and G-Ma (Grandma's new name, since grandma was apparently way too confusing and difficult to say) brought their boat for everyone to enjoy. I think I can speak for all the moms there and say that we had a wonderful day!

The Mom and her child/children pics:

I guess this counts :)

Ruby loves her Grammie too

Cousin cuddles

Jason decided to get comfy too, they both were out for a long time!

Ainslee thought she could take pictures with the tripod

AGG returns to AGGIELAND

2010-05-07T14:52:00.012-05:00

Jason competed in a Crossfit competition this past weekend in College Station. It was a wonderful excuse to see "Aunt" Katy and take Ainslee on another whirlwind tour of Aggieland. She had been eagerly awaiting this trip all week, constantly telling me she was, "Ready to go College Station." She even told us to turn off the DVD player when we finally pulled into town because she wanted to see College Station. We had a hard time explaining to her that College Station was really JUST a town. I think she was convinced it was some kind of magical place, which I guess is somewhat true. :)

Katy had her niece, who is one month older than Ainslee, in town for the weekend. Ainslee and Avery had a great time playing together and keeping us busy. I was a horrible Mommy blogger and forgot my camera just about everywhere we went! We took the girls to watch Jason's competition on Saturday morning, went to lunch, and took naps (where Ainslee decided to climb out of the pack-n-play for the first time and silently take apart Katy's roommate's room...). Saturday night we all went out to Katy's dad's house in the country for hamburgers and outdoor country fun.

Sunday, we played at the park and splashpad and had to say bye bye to Avery whose dad came to pick her up. Ainslee kept asking, "Where little girl go?" For some reason she refused to call Avery by her name and just referred to her as "the little girl" all weekend. We had a yummy treat at Spoons (a yogurt shop) and then toured campus all evening. We had a fabulous weekend!

Fun at the park with Avery

Splash Pad - we didn't last long since someone was afraid of the water and her swimsuit

Yummy! She pretty much ate the entire bowl by herself.

The 3rd annual Aggie ring picture, but she wouldn't get in it this time

Climbing the Century Tree with Daddy's help

Just a pretty girl in a tree

We even ran into Reveille!

This was a little something Mommy and Daddy did back in their college days. Banister sliding in Rudder...the tradition continues with the next generation Aggie :)

Had to document Baby Girl #2's first visit to Aggieland :)

We threw $ into the fountain before we left

Just like Daddy

2010-04-28T15:36:00.002-05:00

Ainslee saw Daddy shaving the other night and thought it looked like fun...

Doesn't everyone use a toy golf club as a razor???

Enjoying the backyard

2010-04-28T15:08:00.004-05:00

Our backyard has been a work in progress since the day we moved in, almost 5 years ago. It all started when we opted not to pay a billion dollars for Centex to sod our backyard when our house was built (which I believe now comes standard). Well, since we live on solid limestone the seeding has not gone so well (the summers of drought have not helped our situation). We built a rock flower flower bed perimeter right away and left it empty for about 2 years.
The summer before Ainslee was born we finally planted in the bed. Since then, the plants have really taken off! The grass is coming along, but is definitely an improvement. We have really enjoyed spending the evenings in the backyard this spring. Ainslee's favorite plant is the rosemary, which she can identify and say perfectly.
We have also been acclimating Charley Cat to the great outdoors. If/when we move to Kerrville, the plan is for him to become a fully outdoor cat! He stays in the fence and usually just chills on the porch. It's been nice for ALL of us.

So excited to be outside :)

Charley enjoying the freedom

Pretty girl with pretty flowers

Where's the rosemary Ainslee?

We also replaced the tree that did not make it due to a snail invasion :(

Helping Daddy pack down the soil

Easter Weekend

2010-04-08T14:33:00.009-05:00

We spent Easter weekend in Kerrville at Grandma & Grandpa's house. We didn't get there until late Friday evening because Ainslee got sick. I took her to the doctor on Friday morning and she tested positive for strep throat (first time for that) and a double ear infection! We picked up her antibiotic and let her take a nice long nap before heading out. She ended up taking another nap in the car, which should have been a sign that she was not feeling well AT ALL. She was excited to see her grandparents and stayed up late playing and entertaining everyone.

Around midnight she woke up crying and would not go back to sleep. Jason took her into the living room and discovered she had a rash all over her body, poor baby! Well, Mommy was supposed to do a 5K Easter WALK with a friend early Saturday morning, but that did not happen after a night of no sleep. Instead, we called every doctor we knew trying to get her a new medicine. Thankfully, we were able to get the meds and after a few rounds of Benadryl, she was rash free!

That night Grammie and Pop came over to eat dinner with us and dye Easter eggs. I always love it when both of our families our able to get together and I know Ainslee probably loves it even more! Four adults giving you undivided attention, what's not to love?! :)

Ainslee spent 2 HOURS painting pictures with Grandpa on Saturday morning, she loved it!

Dying eggs with her grandmothers

We went with the nude approach... didn't want to risk dye on the clothes

Easter morning Ainslee discovered the Easter bunny had come to visit! We had to hunt eggs inside, because it was pretty yucky outside. Unfortunately we had to skip church, we did not want to infect other little kiddos with yucky germs. We had a pretty laid back morning, feeding chickens, playing with sidewalk chalk, and exploring the garden. It is always so nice to get to relax out in the country at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

What's in this one?

Found one!

We spent the afternoon at Grammie and Pop's house and got to visit Aunt Yo, Uncle Trevor, and Memaw and Putt. Ainslee and her "cousin" Ruby had a great time playing together. Highlight of the afternoon: Ainslee got a couple of photos of Ruby from her Aunt Yo. She was so excited that there were two different pictures and exclaimed, "Two Uncle Ruby's!" She makes us laugh for sure!

Egg Hunt #1

2010-03-31T15:42:00.005-05:00

Ainslee had a fun playdate picnic/egg hunt on Monday. Ains was a tad distracted by the new playground and all the kids, so she did not partake in the picnic, but had a blast exploring a new park. I prepped her before we left on what the egg hunt was all about - she was to hold her basket and find eggs to put inside. She got it. She ran from egg to egg and took her own path away from the other kids to eliminate some competition. :) I think she found about 15 eggs, but once she discovered they had candy and stickers in them she was ready to sit and evaluate her "loot." She had a great time and is ready to do it again this weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's house!

The best "group shot" of the kids I could get

Loved how the twins held their baskets around their necks :)

Found one!

Her and Jaxson checking out their loot

So proud of her sticker

It's a...

2010-03-29T15:10:00.002-05:00

GIRL!!! I was totally shocked, but we are thrilled to add another baby girl to our family. I know Ainslee is going to love her baby sister, she talks about her all the time! I pray that she and her sister will have the kind of relationship I have, and have always had, with my own sister. Baby Girl still does not have a name, but we are working on it. (I have a name picked out, but we just have to get Daddy to agree!)

Here is her latest little profile shot. I think she is just adorable already!

The proof, aka -I'm sure she'll kill me for this one day:

Spring Break

2010-03-26T13:23:00.006-05:00

We had a nice, relaxing spring break last week. We had no major plans or trips and pretty much just played around town. We had a fun trip to the Children's Museum in New Braunfels with the Kilpatrick family. Neither of us had ever been before, and we were all VERY impressed. The girls had a blast running around and playing with everything.

They both LOVED the little grocery store setup. I think Ainslee could have spent all day there! Here the are making their selections.

They went for a kayak ride/fishing trip

They rode "horses" and sucked their fingers (this is how Ainslee loves to copy Cameron)

Ainslee loved painting on the easel, and has talked about it just about everyday since.

She got to have first hand experience in a baby nursery

I loved this nursery rhyme on the wall :)

We also took a trip to Lake LBJ with Grandma and Grandpa. Ainslee loves riding in their boat! The weather was a bit chilly, but we all had a great time and enjoyed seeing all the beautiful homes on the water. Apparently Ainslee finds the boat very soothing, because she crashed in my lap for a long time. I can't even remember the last time she fell asleep with me holding her! Another highlight was seeing a giant catfish some people had caught just as we were bringing in the boat. Ainslee thought it was just about the neatest thing she's ever seen! It was huge!!! We also loved going to the Bluebonnet Cafe for Pie Happy Hour before we made the trip back home :)

Of course she had to tell Grandpa which way to go...

She loved going through the tunnels

And honking the horn!

Bath Time Baby

2010-03-17T23:08:00.003-05:00

Ainslee has been less than thrilled to have her hair washed lately, she freaks out when water gets in her eyes. I thought a bath time baby might be the distraction we needed to make bath time run a little smoother. So far, it has worked great!

Washing her baby's hair

Cheesing for the camera

Are you clean now, baby?

Zoo Trip

2010-03-17T22:37:00.006-05:00

Mommy and Ainslee made a trip to the zoo with Grandma and Grandpa a couple of weeks ago. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and a pretty limited crowd. We had a picnic lunch in the park and planned to ride the train before entering the zoo, but just as we were about to head to the "station," Ainslee suddenly decided she was fearful of the train and wanted no part of it. Maybe next time. Ainslee loved seeing all the animals and could name a lot of them! She told all of the sleeping animals to "wake up!"

She was not too sure about the goats at first...

But she warmed up quickly and brushed ALL of them!

She loved the beach area in the Tiny Tots section. I think she could have spent hours there!

A zookeeper let her feed the fish!

Seesaw with Grandpa

I can't remember what animal she was trying to see, but this picture makes me laugh :)

My little lion :)

We can't wait to go again soon!

Fun on the Farm(er's Market)

2010-03-09T14:35:00.008-06:00

Two weekends ago, we went to the Prewett Family farm out in Hempstead. I told Ainslee in advance that we were going to go to a farm to see Aunt Yo and Uncle Trevor and meet her new "cousin" Ruby. She was quite excited and kept talking about the "farmer's market" all week. I guess since we had visited a little farmer's market a few weeks prior, that's what she associated with a farm. It's so fun to see/hear how her little mind works.

We all had a blast on the farm and enjoyed a beautiful weekend spent almost entirely outdoors! We had fun watching Ruby, Rio (Johnna's dog), and Ainslee all run around and play together. I think the highlight of the "cousin fun" for me was when we all turned around to see Ruby pulling on Ainslee's shoe and Ainslee was yelling, "No Ruby, no Ruby, me's shoe, me's shoe Ruby!!!!"

Ruby and Ainslee played tether ball together

They had fun swinging

Ainslee loved feeding the horses grass that she picked

And playing on the tractor with Ruby and Rio

She spent lots of time playing in the water tank filled with fish

She sported overalls once worn by her Mommy and Aunt Yo

And tried to clean the "cow poopoo" off of the porch and in the grass with hand sanitizer

She went for her first 4-wheeler ride with her Daddy and kept her hands on the handle bars the entire time

Daddy cuddled with his niece

Our growing families

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

2010-02-26T15:05:00.003-06:00

Daddy celebrated his 29th birthday on Tuesday! Just one more year to enjoy his twenties :) Too bad he had to work all day, but we had Sterling, aka Uncle This, over for dinner that night. Ainslee had fun giving her daddy all of his cards and "helping" him open presents. She also had a blast showing off for her Uncle This (long story on the name, but I think it's sticking).

Giving Daddy sweet birthday kisses

Bringing lots of drinks to Uncle This

Then she turned on the stereo, took off her pants, and insisted on a dance party. Not sure why the pants come off when the music comes on, but she does it every time (we are hoping she outgrows this soon)!

Daddy and Uncle This participating in "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"

This picture CRACKS ME UP! Here's what's going on: The Bible song, "Deep and Wide" is on, Daddy is doing "wide", Uncle This is doing "deep", and Ainslee has just gotten bored with the whole thing and is leaving!

Not the kind of birthday party we would have had a few years ago, but I think Daddy had a fun time! :)

Pink or Blue?

2010-02-26T14:31:00.003-06:00

We won't know for sure until March 18th, but according to our fortune cookies at Pei Wei it looks like we might be having another little girl. (Because we all know how accurate fortune cookies are!)

Jason opened up his cookie and showed me this:

I thought that was pretty crazy until I opened mine and found this:

A girl inside, eh? How weird is that?! That completely contradicts the two dreams I've had in which our baby was a boy (all my dreams while pregnant with Ainslee were that she was a girl -except the one where it was a kitten). I will be shocked if this little one really is a girl.

On a more serious note, at my last doctor visit I was diagnosed with placenta previa. Apparently it is fairly common early on in pregnancy and can easily correct itself, but if it does not there can be lots of unpleasant complications. When I go back on the 18th, they will be checking to see if it is still a problem. Prayers for it to "fix itself" would be much appreciated!

Belated Valentines

2010-02-23T15:42:00.006-06:00

Every year Mommy and Daddy have a fabulous Valentine's dinner at an amazing house in Tapitio Springs. The dinner is actually a fundraiser for mission trips taken by members of our Sunday school class. It is a wonderful night of delicious food and fun fellowship and it all goes to a great cause - I can't think of a better way to spend Valentine's Day. And one of my favorite parts is that it is never even on Valentine's Day! That's right, February 14th is my birthday and we can celebrate Valentine's on some other random day! :) Anyway, this past Saturday was our dinner date night, so Grammie came down to go on a date with Ainslee to Chick-fil-a :) I think we all had a great evening!

Just the "3" of us :)

Grammie and Ainslee ready for their dinner date too!

On Sunday, we met up with Grandma and Grandpa after church to have lunch, visit a farmer's market, and make a trip to Bass Pro Shop. We had a fun afternoon visiting and playing and enjoying the beautiful weather! Of course, this was all made possible by Ainslee's refusal to take a nap :)

She loves test driving the boats

And the 4-wheelers with Grandma

She sure loves her "pa-ahs," as she calls them both :)

After leaving Bass Pro Shop we had one worn out little girl who crashed in about 2 seconds in the car. We let her get in a good cat nap so she would be fresh for our dinner guests, Katie, Bo, and Cameron! We grilled and ate some leftovers from Saturday nights dinner! We had such a busy and fun weekend filled with some of our favorite people!

Crashed out with her sunglasses on and a pacifier in her mouth! :)

Bo Daddy with the girls, this makes me laugh so hard!

Happy Birthday to Mommy

2010-02-19T14:13:00.007-06:00

We had a fabulous birthday celebration last weekend in Corpus. Aunt Yo and Uncle Trevor were wonderful hosts and made Mommy's birthday very special. We left Friday after Daddy got home from work and made it just in time to eat home-made pizza and watch the opening ceremonies of the Olympics.

On Saturday, Yo surprised me with a giant rainbow birthday cake! Apparently it took her an entire day to make, but it was beautiful and yummy! Ainslee loved telling us which color she wanted to take a bite of next.

We played Settlers of Catan whenever Ainslee went to bed or took a nap, we are addicted!

After nap time, we took Ainslee down to the sea wall. She had been asking to go to the beach the entire week before we left! This was as close as we were willing to get, since it was pretty chilly. She loved walking right next to the water, which kept us on a very close watch.

I had the brilliant idea of feeding the sea gulls some of her goldfish. I didn't think it would be a big deal since I only saw one near us... Apparently word travels fast, because we were immediately surrounded by them. Daddy was a little worried they were going to attack Ainslee :) Of course she wasn't scared at all and had a blast watching them.

Strolling with Aunt Yo

She thought she was big stuff sitting on this bench.

Our family of almost 4

We were pretty worn out and cold by this point, but Yo wanted to make sure Ainslee got to see the Christopher Columbus ship.

After we warmed up at home for a little while, we headed out for dinner at La Playa and came back to play Catan after Ainslee headed to bed.

Sunday morning we attempted to get ready quickly, and by quickly I mean before 11:00 am, and went to Cracker Barrel for a delicious brunch. I had been craving biscuits and gravy for a few days :) We all stuffed ourselves but worked it off later on at the park.

Ainslee discovered the joy of going down a slide on her tummy.

But she had even more fun going down the slide with Mommy!

We had a super fun time and can't wait to go back to meet Ruby, our new doggy niece, who arrived soon after we left!

Play-Doh

2010-02-19T14:05:00.002-06:00

This is what we have been doing when it is too wet or too cold to go outside (which seems to be the case almost every day this winter)! Sometimes it can keep her occupied for over an hour, which I think is some kind of toddler attention span record!

This is her in action smashing the play-doh

Her new "cheese" face

Everytime I get out the play-doh now she says, "cheese" and thinks I need to take her picture while she plays :)