Ainsley still says "no" or shakes her head "no" when she means "yes".  It's very rare that she'll answer a question with "yes", but she always answers with "no" even when she means "yes".

Stacking blocks

Today we learned 'up' and 'down'.  She's very proud of herself after she says it, and points up and down, too.  She thinks she's hot stuff!

She also found the beads that she somehow came home with over the weekend.  Thanks, Jeremy and Kathleen!

We went to Placke's yesterday to meet Joel and Jim for lunch.  Ainsley was really good the whole time!  Brad even gave her a balloon before we left, which made her day.  She loved it!

Fish lips

She loves to go down to the basement and play. I think it's because she has a lot more room to run around than upstairs.  If we even mention going downstairs, she runs to the basement door.  She's learned how to go down the stairs by scooting on her butt, although I still stand in front of her the whole time, because it still scares me. 


Why can't I lay on the baby bed???

What, Mom?!?!

Finally putting her baby to bed and kissing her good night.

I'm sure she picked this up from the kids at Lisa's, but she's been laying on her belly to watch tv.  She did it for the first time one day last week and I just laughed at her, because she's never done it before.  It's pretty cute!

Last Friday it was so nice outside (almost 70) so we spent some time outside, which Ainsley loves.  I think she'd stay outside all day if I would let her. 

Grandma's driving....both hands on the wheel!

She loves the lawn mower and runs right over to it and has to climb up and act like she's driving.

I took her to the doctor last week because I was afraid she had another ear infection.   She'd been cranky, not eating, runny nose, etc.  Luckily, both ears and her throat looked good!  However, little Miss Ainsley did not want to go back to the room to be checked out.  As soon as the nurse called our name in the waiting room, Ainsley lost it and started throwing a fit.  She wanted to stay in the waiting room and color.  We got into the room and she was still throwing a fit, so I put her on the floor while the nurse asked the regular questions.  Ainsley proceeded to bang her head on the floor (hard) while crying, and of course, it left a huge red mark on her forehead. 

Just hanging out with a big red mark on my forehead....

Girl

One of the little boys at the sitter's calls Ainsley "girl".  Every morning when Joel drops Ainsley off, Blaine is already there and Joel says he comes running over to Joel and Ainsley pointing to Ainsley and saying "girl".  He's a few months older than Ainsley, and it's so funny!  I'll pick her up from Lisa's and Blaine will run over and put his finger on Ainsley and say "girl".  Lisa tries to correct him and tell him her name is Ainsley, but he doesn't pay any attention to her.  We all just laugh about it, and the other day I asked Ainsley what Blaine calls her and she responded with "girl"!  A new word added to her vocabulary!  I got it on video, which is pretty stinking cute!  Check it out here.

Not only does Blaine teach my daughter new words, but he also teaches her how to climb on things.  Blaine is a climber, and I've walked into Lisa's a few times to pick up Ainsley to find Blaine climbing on the dining room table.  Yep, yet another thing my daughter learned from him.  I turned around the other night while cooking supper to find Ainsley in the middle of our table.  She's such a daredevil.

Girls Weekend

I was able to get away over the weekend for some shopping with the girls.  We went up to Chicago (well, actually the suburbs, but it's all Chicago to me).  We hit an outlet mall and then Ikea the next day. 

I don't know if this is something new, but there were a lot of people walking around the outlet mall with suitcases on rollers.  I think they were stuffing all their bags in the suitcase.  It was kind of weird!  The mall was very crowded, and it was pretty obvious that I was a sick, pregnant woman walking around it.  It seemed like every store I went into people were blocking the aisles with strollers, suitcases, or little kids and didn't have any consideration for anyone else.  I couldn't have imagined having Ainsley with me.  I think we would have ended up just leaving and going home!

I was still stuffed up and had a terrible cough, so the trip went as well as it could being sick.  I was exhausted Saturday night, but we ended up going to Maggiano's to eat.  Rigatoni "D" for supper?  I wasn't going to pass that up!  By the time we finally got our food, it was so late and I was about to pass out from exhaustion that I only ate a few bites of my meal.  I can't believe I wasted all the good Maggiano's food.

Alaina, Me, Michelle, Kristina, Katie, and Gretchen at Maggiano's

We hit Ikea Sunday before heading home.  I'm proud to say I only bought one thing at Ikea....unlike some of the others that had a cart full!  We ended up getting everything in the car, even if it was piled to the ceiling, in the seats, floor boards, and aisle.  Poor Gretchen and Alaina was packed in the back seat like sardines! 

Trying to figure out how to stuff the rest of the stuff in the back

Ainsley stayed with Daddy, Aunt Jennifer, and Aunt Kathleen while I was gone.  I didn't hear of any major mishaps while I was gone, so I guess she was okay for everyone.  I got a picture and video from Aunt Jennifer.  She was trying to ride a toy of Drake's and kept falling off.  It's pretty funny.  You can check it out here.

Ainsley and Drake eating breakfast

I did get a text Sunday morning from Jeremy, though, that she likes chocolate pudding with the picture below.  I'm sure she had a great time at Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Kathleen's because I'm sure they gave her whatever she wanted.

Yummy!  Chocolate pudding.

I think she was happy for me to get home Sunday night.  She was probably more excited for the toys I brought home for her than actually seeing me, but I did end up getting to snuggle with her, so all was good.

I'm still trying to get rid of my cough, and am hoping it only lasts for a few more days because I'm sick of it!  Ainsley's nose is still running, but she seems to feel pretty good.  Hopefully everyone is on the mend and we'll be well again in no time.

It must be in the water...

It seems like everyone is pregnant these days.  We're going to have a baby boom early next year, and I think it's great.  I know of at least 15 babies that are due in between January and June, and new pregnancies are being announced every day! 

New babies means baby showers, and that's what has consisted of our last few weekends.  A few weekends ago was Audri's baby shower, where she got lots of nice things for her and baby Piper!  Ainsley only slept for half an hour or so on the way to the shower, so I had a feeling she would be a handful.  She did pretty good playing with Madilynn, but she had her meltdowns also. 

We were eating, with Ainsley on my lap and Madilynn beside me, when Madilynn starts playing with her food.  Ainsley looks over at her, points her finger, and proceeds to tell her "No-No".  Madilynn put her head down and then looked at Ainsley and said: "You be nice".  I'm sure the conversations between these girls will only continue to get better as they get older. 

I tried getting a few pictures at the shower, but I had taken my little camera with me, and I really dislike using it.  It seems like all pictures I take with it turn out blurry and it takes so long for the camera to actually capture the picture that by the time I've finally got it to take the picture, everyone is out of frame.  I guess I'm just spoiled with my big camera, but it's too big and bulky to take everywhere with me.  I'm hoping my new phone camera will work out much better for circumstances like this.  I just upgraded to the Iphone 4S.  I've had the old Iphone 3G for the last two years and the camera on it was terrible. 

Two little divas...Madilynn and Ainsley

Well, Hi there Hannah!

This last Sunday we had another shower for a friend that is having triplets.  Yep, you read that right....TRIPLETS!!!!  I've known Elisha since grade school and our families were friends growing up.  She couldn't be a better person to be pregnant with triplets.  She's a preschool teacher and absolutely adores kids.  She's always upbeat and happy, and I know is going to make a great mommy.  We couldn't be happier for her and Bob. 

I had to wake Ainsley up from her nap to go to Elisha's shower, and she wasn't in a very good mood about it.  The shower was at Elisha's Mom's house, who had breakables, etc. all over her house.  Ainsley wanted to explore, and had to go into every room, under everyone's legs, and it seemed like had to get into everything!  She wasn't scared of anyone, and kept everyone entertained.  She especially like the dog's tail and following the dog around.

Elisha and the babies got lots of nice things, and hopefully a good start on everything they're going to need.  She isn't finding out the sex of the babies, so she got lots of neutral gender things.  She got a few things with pink in them, but boys can wear pink too!  If even one of those babies is a little girl, I know she's going to one of the best dressed girls around!

Saturday night we went over to Lou and Alaina's, where Ainsley and Hadlee actually played good together.  It was so cute to watch them play.  I did get a picture with the camera on my new phone, and it's not too bad!

Getting ready to eat

This week hasn't been the greatest.  I woke up yesterday morning with my throat hurting, and the day just got worse as it went on.  I just felt like crap and it's continued today.  My head hurts.  I have no energy.  I feel like I have pins and needles poking me, and haven't had an appetite.  I did finally eat a little chicken noodle soup and a grilled cheese tonight, but I hadn't ate anything since lunch yesterday before that.  I don't think Ainsley feels the greatest either.  She's been stuffy and  her nose has been running a little.  We've been keeping Tylenol and Benadryl in her, hoping it helps.  Lisa said when she woke up from her nap today that she was grabbing at her ear, so I have to try to get her into the doctor tomorrow to check for an ear infection.  I wish all this sickness would leave the Freeman house and never come back again!

Ainsley + Minnie Mouse=BFF

Ainsley has been carrying around her Minnie for the past few days and we haven't seen her without Minnie very often.  Ainsley thinks Minnie has a diaper on (her bloomers) and that she poops too, so I have to pretend to change Minnie's diaper.  We play pat-a-cake with Minnie and give her drinks from Ainsley's sippy cup.  Ainsley lays with her in bed, and gives her lots of hugs and kisses.

We rode with Daddy in the tractor the other day.  Ainsley did really good and sat still.  She tried turning the steering wheel a few times, but only got the auto-steer off a few times.  Oops!  Like most kids, the tractor started to put her to sleep, so we figured we should probably go.

Playing in the rocks while waiting on Daddy to get to us

Watching Daddy switch tanks

She still managed to fall asleep in the car.  Farming is hard work!

Ainsley has such sensitive skin, and she had bright red blotches all around her mouth last night after eating macaroni and cheese.  I usually buy the Great Value macaroni and cheese, but was able to get Velveeta shells and cheese (the good stuff!) for under $0.25 a box a few weeks ago couponing.  It's probably the first time Ainsley's had Velveeta macaroni, but it made her face turn red!  I guess we should just stick to the generic stuff.

Trick or Treating

We've gone trick or treating a couple of times over the last few days.  Ainsley didn't exactly care for her costume this year, and when Thomas and Tanner tried to put it on her at Dad's on Sunday, she had a total meltdown.  I was finally able to get it on her by telling her she could play outside for a little bit.

She found the mums at Dad's and had to pick a couple.  She likes smelling the flowers, and it's so cute to watch her wrinkle up her nose and put the flower close to her nose so she can smell it! 

Love her face!

We went down to Papa and Nanny's to trick or treat, where Ainsley had M&M's for the first time.  She liked them, but who doesn't?? 

We were planning on making a few more stops before heading home, but noone seemed to be home.  We were able to catch Grandma Mary out walking Barney, but Ainsley had already fallen asleep in the car, so we didn't really do much trick-or-treating!

Tuesday night, we went to the nursing home to see Grandma Bowman. It was "Safe Trick or Treat" night at the nursing home, so there were a lot of kids there.  Of course, Ainsley wouldn't sit on Grandma's lap, but she was able to get a few hugs and kisses out of her. 

Great Gma Bowman with Ainsley running away!

Mom paraded Ainsley around so the rest of the residents could see her, and she said Ainsley got a little scared in the dining room when she saw someone dressed up as a monster. 

Gma Shelly and Ainsley

We finished out Halloween yesterday afternoon when I took Ainsley down to the bank to see Rita (and the rest of the bank ladies).  Ainsley ran around like she owned the place, and we left lots of little fingerprints on the bank windows.  She went right to Pam after Pam mentioned a sucker, and even let Pam hold her!  She loves suckers!!

I do have to say that I'm glad Halloween is over this year.  Ainsley really didn't like putting her costume on, and then when I would take it off, she would have another meltdown because she wanted it back on.  You just can't win with her!

Happy Halloween

Ainsley says:  "Happy Halloween!" 

13 weeks

I'm out of my first trimester and am feeling pretty good.  The exhaustion has went away for the most part.  The best news of all is that I'm off my Crinone and Estrace medicine!  I feel like a "normal" pregnant woman now, only taking my prenatal vitamins each day. 

I had my monthly doctor's appointment on Thursday.  The heartbeat was in the 160's and sounded good.  I gained 5 pounds last month, but I had lost a lot of weight when I had the flu a few months ago, so I'm only up 1.5 pounds overall.  That's a lot less than where I was at this point when I was pregnant with Ainsley!  I think I had gained close to 15 pounds at this point with her.  Check out my 12 1/2 week belly picture with Ainsley.  WOAH!!!

My body is definitely changing.  I'm starting to get a little belly (or bigger belly if I'm bloated, stick it out, or after I eat) and my legs are getting bigger. 

Potatoes have been my go-to food over the last few weeks.  Popeye's mashed potatoes and gravy are the absolute best and I've just happened to be in Springfield a few times to pick some up!  We've also been eating quite a few baked potatoes, which we normally never do, but they just sound so good!

I can't believe I'm even going to type this, but Joel went out last weekend to get me Taco Bell.  We were sitting at the house and nothing sounded good for supper, except Taco Bell.  I thought there was no way that Joel would go get it, but I threw it out there, and the next thing I knew, he was putting on pants and asking me what I wanted!  He's never done that before!  Not even when I was pregnant with Ainsley.  He went into town and got me my bean burritos and nachos and came back home.  He didn't even get anything for himself!  That's true love!  (Or, maybe he was just trying to get out of giving Ainsley her bath for the night, but I'll stick with love.)

13 weeks

Keeping up with Ainsley

Ainsley continues to learn new things every day and continues to amaze us with the things she comes up with. 

There's her tongue...it's been MIA from pictures for awhile!

She started saying "cookie" about three weeks ago.  She walked around saying "cookie" over and over for an entire day.  We couldn't figure out where she learned the word, because it's not one we say often.  I finally figured it had to be from Lisa's, so I asked the next day and sure enough, Blaine says cookie all the time and that's where she got it from. 

When she wants to know where someone or something is, she'll put her hands out to her sides and look at you and say "um um um um".  I have no idea where she got this from, but it's adorable.  If we're home and Joel isn't, she'll look at me and say "Trista-Joel" and then put her hands out and say "um um um um".  She's wanting to know where her Daddy is. 

Ainsley and Daddy

Joel and I both have noticed several times over the last few weeks where Ainsley knows something that neither one of us can figure out where she's learned it from.  We've never really went over what a frog is with her, but in a book in the bathtub, there is a little girl holding a frog on one page.  I asked her where the frog was (thinking she had no idea what it even was) and she pointed right to it!  Even though she's still not saying many new words, or very many words at all, she does know what things are and can point to them if asked.

One thing she's really interested in right now is a clock.  She's found a clock in two or three of her books (that I never noticed) and will point to it until I tell her that, yes, that's a clock.  If she sees a clock on the wall, she has to point it out.  Again, we have no clue where the interest in clocks came from.

She's found her chair again!  She hasn't paid much attention to it for a few months.

She loves to talk on the phone.  If anyone calls, she's right next to me the whole time until I let her talk, and then she doesn't want to give the phone up!  She'll give kisses over the phone to tell whoever she's talking to "bye", and let me tell you, they're some of the best kisses.  You can hear the "smack" of her lips when she gives them!

Another new thing she started to do this week is read her books out loud to herself.  She'll be sitting somewhere looking at a book, just jabbering away as she turns the pages.

I was vacuuming the other day and found her in her room reading in her rocking chair

Makes my heart smile. :)

Her favorite song to sing continues to be "Old McDonald had a farm".  Ainsley can only sing two parts of the song, and she enjoys singing them over and over and over and over!  This is Ainsley's version of the song:  "e-i-e-i-e-i-e-i-o, woof woof.....e-i-e-i-e-i-e-i-o, woof woof.....e-i-e-i-e-i-e-i-o, woof woof".  She thinks Old McDonald only has a dog on his farm, and puts a few too many "e-i's" in there, but it's all good!

During the last few days her favorite word has become "poop".  She'll say it and point to her butt, and at first, she did it when she really had pooped, but yesterday and today she'll say it every hour or so and didn't really poop. 

The holiday toy book came from Toys R Us this week and Ainsley loves to look through it. 

Christmas shopping

She found the Disney Jr. page!

We went over to Jeremy and Kathleen's a few weeks ago and Lani loved playing with Ainsley.

I don't think a house could ever be quiet with both of these girls in the same house...check out this video of Lani and Ainsley!

She loves to get on her horse and bounce.  I was cracking up at her the other morning because she had pigtails and her hair was flying all over!

There's one of those dirty looks I've been referring to...

Next minute, she's smiling at you. Crazy girl!

Ainsley still loves to dance (which definitely didn't come from her Mommy).  Here's a video of her dancing the other weekend.

We got some stickers in the mail the other day and Ainsley thought she'd struck gold!   She was in heaven!

Check out all those stickers!

I was at bunco a few weeks ago, and Ainsley was home with Daddy.  I got a text from Joel with the picture below.  Ainsley was playing with her baby's hair while drinking her milk before bed, since Mommy's hair wasn't available.  I cracked up when I got the picture!  Of course, she had mis-matched pajamas also.  I swear, all her pajamas are together in sets in her drawer, but Joel still manages to mess them up.

I caught her trying to climb into her baby's stroller the other day...

Someone loves her cottage cheese!