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!

Alaina's shower, Avery visits, and cereal

If Ainsley could talk, I'm sure she'd tell me how exhausted she is.  The past two nights, she has fallen asleep before 9 without taking a bottle, and nothing would wake her up.  She usually takes 4-6 ounces right before bed and is in bed by 9-9:30.  The past two nights, she's taking 1/2 an ounce and crashes.  We thought for sure she'd be up in a couple hours after we laid her down to eat, but we were wrong.  She slept until 5 both mornings.  Now, that is one tired baby!

I know that I'm partial, but I love listening to my baby talk.  Here's another video of her jabbering.

Ainsley went to Lisa's on Friday and we were suppose to head down to Mom's so she could watch Ainsley that night.  I was going to decorate for Alaina's baby shower, and then head to bunco.  Between work and some last minute shower errands, I didn't make it to Mom's, bunco, or to help decorate.  Instead, we got up early Saturday morning and headed to Girard to set up for the baby shower. 


All ready to go to Alaina's baby shower

The shower turned out great, and Alaina got a lot of nice things.  Little Miss Hadlee is going to be one well-dressed little girl!  I think it's funny when Mommy's-to-be open gifts and sometimes don't know what they are/what they're used for.  Alaina only had a couple of these...and they were from her Mom.  Of course, Alaina thought her Mom was crazy, but once we got a demonstration of how/what the things were, they made sense.  Hopefully they found somewhere to put all the gifts!



  

The Mommy-to-be!



Aunt Royce got her to sleep, even if it didn't last long!

Keatyn was quite the little babysitter!

Bow bouquet centerpieces for the shower

Thomas and Jamie had Avery Saturday night and came up to visit.  It's amazing how much more Avery can do than Ainsley.  Granted, Avery has almost 2 months on Ainsley, but she is already sitting up, playing with toys, and eating (well, kind of) baby food.  Avery is very active and is constantly kicking her legs, and Ainsley just lays and barely moves.  I'm thinking that has something to do with Ainsley's weight!  We sat Avery in front of Ainsley and Avery got very excited.  It was so cute.  Then, Ainsley started to whimper like she was going to start crying, and it was almost like Avery was in slow motion.  You could see her face turn from a smile, to-what is that baby doing?, to a little frown, and then finally a puckered up face and another little girl who was crying.  It was the funniest thing, I only wish we would have caught it on video.


Poor Ainsley, she has no chance with those two!



Can you tell Ainsley is use to Mommy taking pictures?   Avery loved it!



Avery didn't know what to think of Ainsley crying

Yesterday we worked on Abby's bridal shower and wedding invitations.  I can't believe we're already in June and her wedding is a short 3 1/2 months away.  We did find bridesmaid dresses this week (as long as we can get them in) and I found Ainsley's flower girl dress.  Now, we just need to get the decorations, and she's all set! 

Ainsley hung out with Daddy most of the day while we worked on invitations and ran in to get groceries (which was a major necessity).  Abby wasn't too happy with what (or in our case, didn't have) in our pantry.  Moldy Weight Watchers lemon cakes aren't up to her standards, I guess.

When I got home, we gave Ainsley cereal for the first time.  She actually did pretty good.  She's had cereal in her bottle since she was a few weeks old, so it wasn't completely new, but the spoon-part was.  I made a few tablespoons of cereal, and she ate 1/4 or so of it.  Well, there was quite a bit on her at the end too, so maybe it didn't all get in her!  She wanted to talk while eating it, and that didn't work out so well.  I think it hit both of us last night while giving her cereal that she's going to be changing a lot in the next few months.  It's sad how quickly they grow up.  Here's a video of her trying to eat the cereal.

I liked the cereal!

Here's my happy baby girl one morning waking up!

The night before....

Just starting to wake up

She's gotta get her stretches in.



Now she's happy!



Oh, wait, maybe I'll go back to sleep

One new thing she's started doing in the last few days is grunting when she wants your attention.  She'll let out a little grunt until you look over at her and acknowledge her.  Joel says that's her Aunt Jennifer coming out. 

I'm trying to get in as much snuggle time as I can with her.   I leave for Dallas on Wednesday, and it will be my first time away from her overnight.  I know she'll be fine, but it's going to be sooooo hard!