4th of July weekend

Fireworks?  Check.

Time with family and friends?  Check.

Relaxing at home?  Check.

We had a great three day weekend.  I think it may have been the first time since Ainsley's been born that I finally had a chance to relax and get some things caught up around the house.  Not only did Ainsley get to see fireworks for the first time, but we also went to her first parade.  I met Erin and the kids Saturday morning and we went to the parade in South Jacksonville.  Ainsley absolutely loves being outside, so she did really good.  She jumped a few times when the sirens or guns would go off, but never cried.  She ended up falling asleep half way through it.  The only thing that would have made it better is if it would have been a little cooler.  

Preston, Ainsley, Brooke, and Bailey waiting for the parade to start



Saturday night we visited with the Bangert's.  Ollie is still so little compared to Ainsley, but I'm sure that won't be the case in a few months! 


Ainsley wasn't for sure about that crying baby!

Nolan and Joel with their babies


We headed to the Hallock's Sunday night for their "3rd of July party".  It ended up raining and the fireworks were cancelled at Sunset Lake Sunday night, so Thomas ended up lighting some off that he had left over.  They weren't anything special, but enough that the kids were excited and Ainsley was able to see some fireworks.  She would look up at the sky when they went off and would just stare.  It was so cute!  She did really good for being outside in her stroller most of the evening and for not having a nap. 


Freeman family 7/3/11





Me, Ainsley, Alaina, and baby Hadlee



Keatyn and Ainsley...she's going to be a great cousin when Hadlee gets here!

 Ainsley slept all night Thursday through Sunday night.  We couldn't believe how good she was doing and was  hoping it wouldn't end, but unfortunately, it ended last night.  She was up at 2:30 this morning, but she did take her bottle and went right back to bed. 

She has started sitting in her bumbo seat more and more.  We tried to feed her supper in the seat last night.  Her head still bobbles quite a bit when she sits in it, so it didn't work so well.  Joel ended up getting quite a bit of peas up her nose! 



Someone saw her food and was a happy baby!



I'm messy after Daddy feeds me!

Joel hung her swing yesterday afternoon.  We went out and let her swing for a while last night, and she loved it.  I really think she could spend all day outside and be content.  She must get that from her Daddy!

Having a baby in the house in a lot of work, but there is one thing that I absolutely love and could do all day long.  Most people will probably think I'm crazy, but I love doing baby laundry!  I could sit all day and fold/hang up Ainsley's clothes.  I love getting them out of the dryer while they're still warm, the smell, and folding all  her little onesies!  I want to point out that I'm only talking about baby laundry.  I could care less about our laundry, but I could sit there and smell and fold baby clothes all day long!


I love finding new pictures on the camera that Joel takes when I'm not around!

Playing with Mommy

I entered Ainsley in the Gerber Generation Photo Search.  You can vote once a day, every day from now until the end of July.  We would really appreciate your vote!  Click here to vote for Ainsley.  

Happy 4th of July!

5 months

Our baby girl is 5 months old today, and we fall more in love with her every day!


Ainsley-5 months

We've had a busy week.  I took Ainsley to Lisa's on Wednesday.  I won a package at the quarter auction I went to a few months ago and it included an eyebrow wax and eyelash tint.  I went and had that done Wednesday morning.  I'd never heard of an eyelash tint, but they brush some stuff on your lashes and lets it sit for 10 minutes or so.  I'm sure it works better on people with lighter eyelashes, but since mine are dark already, I didn't really notice too much of a difference.  I don't think I'll get it done again, and am glad I didn't have to pay to have it done!  That afternoon I ran to Springfield to get the stitches taken out of my back.  They said that it healed really well, and I'm so glad I don't have to wear huge bandages any more!  I think there's something in the adhesive of the band-aid brand band-aids and made me itch terribly.  I had to get Ainsley new clothes while I was in Springfield.  She's in 12 month stuff and I didn't have much for her in that size for summer.  I'm hoping she doesn't get into 18 month before the summer's over.


Watching Mommy water the flowers Wednesday morning before her doctor's appointment

Tuesday night I noticed a rash on her back and called the doctor Wednesday morning.  They couldn't get her in until Thursday morning, so to the doctor we went that morning!  She weighed 18 pounds 1 ounce.  The doctor said that the rash on her back was eczema, which they said is common in infants.  It seems like everything that Ainsley has wrong with her is what they consider "common".  They described the eczema as extreme dry skin and that there are many things that can cause it to flare up.  We were told not to use baby lotion.  (Sigh....it smells so good)  Instead, we have to use a "good" lotion as they described it.  Yep, that "good" lotion is $14 a bottle.  But, her back is already looking better, so I'm more than willing to pay the extra and miss the baby smell to have her rash gone.  We also have to put hydrocortizone cream on her back . 

Ainsley's neck was getting bad again.  I had taken her to the doctor at the beginning of June and they said she had a fungal infection and gave us powder to put on her neck.  We've been using the powder since, but it didn't ever clear it completely up.  The doctor prescribed two different cremes for her neck instead of the powder.  We now have an anti-fungal and steroid cream to put on her neck 2-3 times a day.   I never imagined having so many cremes/medicines for someone so young! Our routine now is:  mornings-cream on back, then lotion.  Anti-fungal cream on neck, then steroid cream.  Repeat around 1 p.m.  Repeat after her bath at night and then 1/2 tablet of prevacid for her acid-reflux.  Her "instruction" list for anyone that watches her just keeps getting longer and longer!

I don't know if I've mentioned this in the last few weeks, but Lisa noticed it on Wednesday and told me about it.  Ainsley's been doing this quite a few times each day, and it's pretty funny to watch.  She'll get her arm out in front of her and her hand will be in a fist.  She'll catch her hand/fist out of the corner of her eye and then she'll just stare at it while holding it in front of her face.  Her eyes almost go cross-eyed looking at her fist.  It's like it's brand new every time she sees it!

Ainsley started peas tonight, and she loved them.  They have been the worst food yet for me.  The smell was terrible, and they were pretty thick and almost lumpy.  There's no way I could have choked them down!  She's spending more time on her tummy now, and really likes the jumperoos. 



Playing with Daddy during tummy time



Don't you wish your Daddy could drive a tractor like mine?

This is one of the onesies/hair bows that Ainsley got Joel for Father's Day.  I ordered it in a size 12 months, thinking that she could wear it this fall during harvest.  Boy, was I wrong!  Jennifer told me to put it on her Sunday because she thought it would fit her, and I'm glad I did. It's not going to fit for much longer.  I put the skirt on her with the onesie one day last week and the skirt was a size 12 month also.  Let's just say she's only going to wear that skirt a couple times.  I can't keep her in clothes! 

We had a pretty laid back weekend, and it was nice!  Josh and Kathleen came over Saturday night.  It was nice to see them and the boys. 



Nathan (almost 2), Ainsley (4 months), and Augie (7 months)



Nathan giving Ainsley kisses!


Sunday morning we gave Ainsley a bath and when we rolled her on her stomach to put lotion on her back, she lifted her head up off the countertop and looked around.  I know, I know...not very exciting to most people, but I teared up!  She's never liked tummy time and will cry the entire time she's on her belly.  She's never lifted her head up off the floor when laying on her tummy.  I couldn't believe my eyes when she did it.  She just looked at us like:  "What?  Yeah, I can do this."   It was no big deal to her, but it meant the world to me.  (I know in the pictures below, she's on the island and it probably looks like she could fall off very easily, but rest assured, she wasn't going anywhere and both Joel and I were right beside her.)

I tried her "skinny" jeans on her today that I bought a few months ago.  They're size 12 months, so again, I thought she'd be able to wear them this fall....nope, they fit now!  Joel came home and just laughed at her.  I really like them, though.  I've only put her in regular blue jeans once, and I'm not planning on doing it again any time soon.   She looked so uncomfortable in them.  The jeans she had on today were stretchy and make me think of the "pajama jeans" that you see on the infomercials.  Granted, I've never actually seen a pair of pajama jeans in person, but I'm guessing these are what they would be like.  I think they're adorable on her!



She wasn't holding her head up as good as a few days before....



She kept face-planting it!



Ainsley-almost 5 months



Ainsley and Daddy checking out the fountain

Mom watched Ainsley while I got my hair done this afternoon.  Rowdy was there also, and was all about Ainsley.  He even let her swing in his swing.  He was also happy when he got out, so he could have a turn!


Rowdy patiently waiting for Ainsley to get out of his swing!

  

She loves to swing!


I'm hoping Joel gets Ainsley's swing hung up in the next week, so we're able to go out and enjoy it any time we want.  Maybe that can be a project for him this weekend!

Father's Day

Ainsley is starting to laugh more and more.  She has to be in the right mood, but once you get her going, she'll usually keep laughing for a couple of minutes.  It's the cutest laugh in the world!  It kind of sounds like she's whining, but then you catch the little chuckle in her laugh.  It's funny!  Tanner said she laughed at him for quite a while Sunday morning.  If I were her, I would have laughed at Uncle Tanner, too.  He's pretty funny looking.  This video is kind of long, but you'll get to hear some laughs!

Ainsley has now tried pears, green beans, bananas, and carrots.  She has loved all of it, and is doing really good eating.  I weighed her this morning at Weight Watchers and she's up to 18 pounds!  (I'm down 16 pounds since I started two and a half months ago!!!)

She loves to kick back in her high chair while Mommy gets her food ready!



Check out our chubby baby!


She's been spending more time in her exersaucer and jumperoo.  She loves the jumperoo, but I think it's because she fits better in it.  I've even caught her playing with one of the toys on her exersaucer.  It's so cute, because she'll play with it for a while and then it's like she realizes that it's her hand making the toy go, and quits. 

Saturday morning it rained 12 inches in some parts of Jacksonville.  The water treatment plant was flooded and a lot of roads were closed.  A mobile home park had to be evacuated and Morton was completely covered in water by Country Club Road.  The water made it to Scott County by Sunday morning and breached a levee.  Joel and I went down to look at the fields that were flooded that morning.



Flooding on 100

We took Ainsley to Mom's on Saturday to stay the night while we went out.  We met Lou, Alaina, Thomas, and Jamie at Osaka's for supper and then had a few drinks afterwards.  It was nice to go and have a night out.  We were home and in bed by 11, and I think we both slept like logs that night. 

Sunday was Father's Day and we went to get Ainsley from Mom's.  Ainsley got Daddy some new onesies for herself to give to her Daddy!  Joel especially liked the Packer's Fan onesie and hair bow. 


Joel's First Father's Day

We went to Brian and Jennifer's that afternoon for a cookout.  Joel took Ainsley in the pool for her first swim.  Her bikini (which is size 6-12 months) was too small, so we had to squeeze her in it.  The top was really tight, so we got her out of it pretty quickly and let her swim around in her bottoms.  She loved it! 




Grandma needed to open her eyes!



She wanted out of that bikini!

So much better with the bikini top off

Grandma put her to sleep!

Hanging out with Grandpa Jim

Ainsley has been putting her feet together when sleeping, or just laying for quite a while.  I finally got a picture of it.  She's always rubbing her feet together, which she gets from her Daddy.

SPF 50 Sunscreen for the rest of my life? Yes, please!

I've been going to the dermatologist for yearly skin checks ever since Dad was diagnosed with melanoma, six years ago.  I've had a couple of moles removed in the past, but weren't anything to worry about.  A few weeks ago, I went for my annual skin check and the doctor removed a mole off my back (shoulder blade).  They did the routine biopsy on it and told me it would be a couple weeks before we heard anything.  I called the doctor's office before I left for Dallas to see if they had my results back, but they weren't back yet.  When I got home from Dallas and checked the answering machine (that Joel failed to check while I was gone), there were two messages from the doctor's office asking me to call them.  Of course, I didn't get the messages until Saturday morning, so I had to wait until Monday to call.  By the sound of their voice on the machine, it didn't sound like good news, so I worried about it all weekend. 

I called first thing Monday morning, and the nurse told me it wasn't good news, and it was skin cancer.  She said that the doctor would talk to me more about it the next day, because they needed me to come in so that the doctor could cut more off to make sure they got all the cancer the first time.  She said that it would take about 30 minutes to cut and stitch me up.  Of course, when I got off the phone, I had to get on the Internet to start researching and I had a feeling it was melanoma because they were cutting and stitching me.  With the other kinds of skin cancer, they usually don't do that, but I still kept my hopes up that it was a less severe type of cancer. 

Joel (and Ainsley) went with me the next morning to the doctor.  As soon as the doctor walked in, she looked at me and said it was melanoma.  My heart sunk.  Seriously, melanoma????  She said that we caught it early and that she was sure it was all gone, but they needed to make sure.  I had noticed the mole right before I got pregnant, but I was waiting until my annual skin check to have it looked at.  Going forward, I won't wait that long.  Ainsley filled her diaper right before we walked into the office, so Joel took  her into the next room to change her diaper.  By the time he came back into the room, the doctor had already numbed my back and had started cutting.  Once she was done cutting, she asked Joel if he wanted to see it before she stitched me up.  Unfortunately for me, he wanted to see and stood up to look. As soon as he say it, the following came out of his mouth: "Wow, I didn't think you were going to take that much.  That's big."  So, that made me even more freaked out.  Joel counted my stitches the other night, and he counted 15 stitches.  Now, that's Joel counting, so I don't know how accurate it is, but I had estimated 20 before he counted. 

The doctor called yesterday morning to tell me that the biopsy from Monday morning came back and all the cancer is gone.  Yay!  Finally some good news!  I have to go back every three months for the next year for skin checks and then every year, unless something new comes up that needs looked at before.  The doctor told me that I'm more than likely to get it again in my lifetime because I'm so young.  I'm glad I caught it early and it wasn't worse.  It wasn't near as bad as Dad's was, and I know it's because I (and Joel) are more aware and we both keep an eye on any changes to my skin. 

So, it's sunscreen, and lots of it, for me for the rest of my life.  I would suggest everyone else lathers up with plenty of sunscreen also.  Join me in the pastey leg club, I dare you!

Home Sweet Home

I never imagined it would be so hard to leave Ainsley.  I left for Dallas on Wednesday afternoon to attend our mid-year meeting and flew home late Friday night.  Wednesday night was not only the first time I was away from Ainsley overnight, but also the first time she spent the night somewhere.  Mom kept her all night because Joel didn't know how busy he would be in the fields.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  I didn't cry while I was gone, well, maybe I did one time, but that was it.  Joel sent me a picture of her Thursday night after he got her ready for bed, and I teared up then.  Here's the picture he sent me.....I know, I know, nothing special, but it really hit me!

My trip to Dallas was short and sweet.  I was able to relax some, although I'm still unsure if I actually got more sleep while I was down there.  It usually takes me a couple nights at a hotel to get use to the noises, bed, etc. and I tossed and turned quite a bit both nights.  I got into St. Louis around 9 Friday night; just in time for the big storm.  Lucky me!  Godfrey to Jerseyville was the worst.  I couldn't see at all, because the rain was so heavy and there were a couple times we were stopped along side the road, but I followed a car with their hazards on the entire way to Jerseyville going 20 mph.  When I finally got home, a little before midnight, I went straight into Ainsley's room to see the sleeping princess, who didn't disappoint me for one second.  Her arms and legs were both sprawled out and she was fast asleep.  I stood over her crib for a good five minutes and just stared at my baby.  It was good to be home!

I was so afraid that Ainsley would forget who I was by the time I got back.  She got up Saturday morning around 4:30 and I was quick to hop out of bed to get her bottle ready.  This Mama missed holding her baby girl in her arms and couldn't make that bottle quick enough!  When I went into her room to get her out of her crib, she had a huge smile on her face when she saw me and then cuddled in my arms once I picked her up.  My baby didn't disappoint me!

Tuesday, before I left for Dallas, I called the doctor to see if I could get Ainsley in.  There was a rash that started over the weekend and kept getting worse on her neck that I wanted looked at.  We got in, and it turned out to be a fungal infection.  YUCK!  The doctor gave us a prescription for a powder to put on her neck 2-3 times a day, and said it should clear up in a few days.  By Thursday morning, Mom said it was already looking much better and when I got home, you could hardly see where it was.  Hopefully it doesn't come back.  That afternoon when we got back from the doctor, I gave Ainsley 4 ounces of juice (2 ounces of juice/2 ounces of water).  I had started giving her juice Saturday because she was having a hard time going to the bathroom.  I hadn't given her 4 ounces before, and I don't think I'll give her that much again for a while!  Tuesday afternoon she had diarrhea.  I'm talking about the kind that came out the front AND back of her diaper, got all over her outfit, and made her entire room stink.  Lesson learned:  only give her a couple ounces of juice at a time or you'll be changing diapers all day!

I don't know how Mom got so lucky Wednesday night, but Ainsley slept all night for her and didn't get up until close to 7:30.  She's never done that!  Ainsley got a walk out of Grandma, and her toes painted.  They went to the hospital to visit before she was dropped off at Aunt Jennifer's.  Joel picked her up from Jennifer's that afternoon and it was all on him!  He fed her cereal, gave her a bath, and put her to bed.  Friday she went to Lisa's and Joel picked her up that afternoon.  He took her to the bank for a visit and then to Mimi's to visit with Bonnie while she was here.  He was quite the "Super-Dad"!  (Although, I did hear that she had monkey hair on Friday because he didn't put lotion or a bow in her hair.)

Saturday was the Duck Derby.  It was wet and cooler, but at least it wasn't hot.  The water had to be cold, but it didn't seem to phase the guys catching the ducks. 


Madie (11 months), Will (8 months), and Ainsley (4 months)



Ainsley and Ryder.  He couldn't get over her blue eyes. :-)



Ainsley waiting for her first duck race.  Needless to say, she fell asleep before it started!



Catching the winners



Yep, I'm pretty sure that's where mine ended up, along with all the rest of the losers!

I started Ainsley on pears Saturday night and she loved them.  It's amazing how fast she's picked up eating off a spoon.  We're going to try a vegetable Wednesday, and I'm hoping she does good with them also.

Have a good week!