Time to Upgrade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!