Not walking yet, but taking a few steps

To sum up the last week and a half:  all three of us have been sick, I've been swamped at work, and Ainsley has taken her first few steps.  I haven't felt good for the entire week.  I have no energy and think it's just a head cold.  Ainsley had it earlier last week and I think her stomach has bothered her a little in the last week.  On top of that, she's had a pretty bad diaper rash that has been hanging around.  I'm hoping we've finally got rid of it.  Joel started getting sick yesterday and is still coughing and is tired all the time.  I'm ready for all the sickness to leave the house already!

I'm starting to get really busy at work, and of course, it's when Joel is starting to get in the fields.  These next few months are going to be rough. 

She found some of my old bracelets and loves them!

Neighborhood watch-baby

Watching over the neighborhood wears her out!

On a brighter note:  Ainsley took her first step Tuesday.  It was only two steps before she plopped down, but she did take them.  She's done it a couple of times since, but won't go more than two steps.  When I picked her up this afternoon from Lisa's, Lisa said she took a few steps today for her.  I think she'll be walking in the next few weeks.  She can stand by herself so much better.  It's so funny because she knows that she's doing something, and when she lets go of whatever she was holding on to stand by herself, she'll just look at you and smile like "Look Mom, I'm big stuff!" 

Helping Mommy get ready....

The chair that she got for her birthday from Aunt Do has become one of her favorite toys.  She can climb up in it by herself and sit, but her favorite thing to do it to climb up in it and stand in it while hitting the wall behind her.  She's become quite brave with it and will sit on the arm of it and then stand back up in it, and she'll even try to reach over while standing in it to grab something on the end table.  She's way too brave for my liking.  There are times when I wish we had the helmet back on....wait, did I really just say that?!?

She pushed her Mickey car over to the footstool of the chair last night and climbed up onto the Mickey car and then onto the foot stool and then from there into the chair.  All this climbing scares the crap out of me!  She also has figured out how to climb onto her Mickey car and sit on it.  She flings one leg over the seat and plops her little butt down and will sit there and honk the horn and play the piano that's on the car.  She's getting way too big too fast!

If you ask her where her nose is, she'll put her thumb in her mouth.  I have no clue why she does that, because she's never really sucked her thumb.  But, every time you ask where her nose is, that's what she does.  I guess, she's getting close enough to her nose, so we praise and clap for her when she does it.  Also, if you ask her if she's hungry and wants something to eat, she'll let you know by saying "Mmmmm" and then smacking her lips together and acting like she's eating. 

She's sleeping pretty good throughout the night and will go to bed in between 7:30-8:00 and sleep until 5:30-6:30.  It's so nice not dealing with a crying baby in the middle of the night, and not having a baby in bed with you throughout the night.  She's sleeping in her crib all the time now!

Here's some more pictures from Instagram over the last week.