Another birthday celebration

I can't even begin to express how hard it was for me to have a "small" birthday party for Ainsley this year.  Our house just isn't big enough to hold a lot of people, and because we were in the basement for most of it, some of my grandparents wouldn't have been able to go up and down the stairs, so her party was just our parents, siblings, and friends.  It's always nice to see everyone, and everyone enjoys seeing Ainsley, but it's just not feasible any more. 

Bill Cosby said, "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."  I need to be reminded of this quote day in and day out.  I can't please everyone, and when I try, I fail.  We ended up having my Dad's sisters over on Sunday for a little party so they could see Ainsley and all get together for a few hours.  It doesn't happen as much as it used to since Dad's parents are no longer here. 

Ainsley had a great time at both her party two weekends ago and on Sunday.  I think having the smaller parties really let Ainsley be herself.  She wasn't too shy, or intimidated, and most people got to see the true Ainsley, attitude and all!

Saturday night, I baked cupcakes for our little party on Sunday.  Ainsley loved being able to "help" Mommy in the kitchen.  I gave her a bowl with flour and sugar, a spoon, measuring cup, and whisk and let her go to town.  She started out on her step stool, but could barely reach over the top of the bowls.

I sat her up on the counter and she had a great time!

While Ainsley was busy making a mess, Mommy got the cupcakes baked for her party the next day.

Since when is "Got cha" on conversation hearts?!? What happened to "You're cute"?

She had such a good time that she didn't want to get down.  I finally got her on video telling me "No-no" while shaking her finger at me (and giving me her "evil look").  Here's the video.  Joel really needs to quit shaking his finger at Ainsley, which is where she gets it from!  He says it's the "Bulldog" (his Grandpa Brown) coming out in him.

Birthday girl

Abby had to work, so Aunt Sudi and Aunt Doris brought J.D. up with them on Sunday.  He couldn't wait for Ainsley to open her presents.  I'm pretty sure he thought they were his too, which is okay, because it led to a good few "fights" between them!  Ainsley's really caught on to the whole present idea.  After we ate lunch, she walked into the living room and saw the gift bags on the floor and immediately started ripping the tissue paper out of them.  She went from one bag to another pulling stuff out.  It was cute!

JD helping Ainsley

 Aunt Doris took J.D. to Walmart Saturday night to find something for Ainsley.  J.D. thought she needed something pink.  As soon as he saw the little girl bras (and a pink one), he decided that's what he wanted to get for Ainsley!!! 

Check out those fancy bras!

She got lots of cool toys, including some stacking blocks.  She liked stacking them, while J.D. wanted to push them all down. 

Grandpa Bill got in on the action, too.  He had to help Ainsley put the top block on the tower.  She's not quite tall enough!

Ainsley's hoping it doesn't fall down!!!

Standing on her tippy toes to get it up there

And they all come crashing down

J.D. didn't understand why he couldn't open the presents and really liked the tractor Grandpa Bill brought for Ainsley.  He told us it was his first and Ainsley's second!

J.D.'s anxiously awaiting Joel to open the tractor

Grandpa and Ainsley playing with her new tractor

We sang Happy Birthday and ate some cupcakes and ice cream.  Ainsley didn't want anything to do with blowing out her candles this time, and refused to even try.  She did enjoy the cupcake, or I should probably say icing.

Before everyone left, we all got to watch a little fight between J.D. and Ainsley.  They both wanted the ipad, and Ainsley was getting right in there and trying to push J.D. out of the way.  Of course, J.D. didn't "fight" back, so he's the one that ended up crying.  I'm sure it will probably be the opposite way the next time, where Ainsley ends up crying.  It was pretty funny to watch, and of course, I wasn't fast enough to get it on video.

Ainsley was exhausted that night, and fell asleep during supper.  I'll consider that a good day!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day....a few days late!  I've been absolutely swamped at work and didn't get half the things done this week that I would have liked.  My house is a complete wreck, we've had leftovers all week, and I can't remember the last time I emptied the dishwasher.  Joel has been wonderful this week and has picked up Ainsley from Lisa's, fed her supper, and put her to bed for me.  If you usually receive a "holiday" card from me, it will be late also, but I did end up getting them in the mail!

I felt like a terrible Mommy Wednesday night.  Ainsley was going to Lisa's the next day, which was Valentine's Day and I didn't have anything to bake for treats.  To be completely honest, I was so exhausted that I don't think I could have stayed up long enough to bake anything!  I was too tired to run into town to buy something, so I started hunting around the house.  I'm thankful that people had been posting their kids' Valentine's Day treats a few days early on Facebook which gave me a few ideas, and as soon as I saw some apple juice boxes, I knew it was going to be okay.  I taped a little note to each juice box that said:  "You're the apple of my eye.  Happy Valentine's Day!"  and a sucker on each and called it a night!  I'm sure the kids could have cared less, but I wasn't letting my baby go to day care without any treats!

I'd been hinting at Joel for the last few weeks how nice a pregnancy massage would be for a Valentine's Day gift.  My back has been killing me, and I've been putting in a lot of hours at work, which leads to quite a bit of stress.  A massage sounded amazing.  I'm pretty sure I mentioned a massage to him at least once a day the few days leading up to Valentine's Day, and I was so close to just going ahead and scheduling one on my own because my husband isn't exactly the best in the gift giving department.  To my surprise, he walked in on Thursday afternoon carrying a brown paper bag.  He had a big grin on his face and said:  "Happy Valentine's Day, Babe" as he pulled out a quart of Placke's soft serve ice cream.  It wasn't exactly a massage, but it did make my day a little brighter!   I'm sure there aren't many other women out there that got a quart of ice cream for Valentine's Day, but my husband knows the way to my pregnant heart (and Ainsley's)!

We gave Ainsley her Valentine's Day present later that night (a new doll and book) and she loved them.  We've had trouble getting her to brush her teeth (more on that in another post), so I got her a Baby Alive doll that has a toothbrush and toothpaste, so she could brush her baby's teeth.  The doll was a hit!

She was happy!

Putting the toothpaste on the toothbrush

Brushing her baby's teeth



I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day and got something special, or at least thoughtful.  I know I did!

28 weeks

I had my monthly appointment a few weeks ago with Dr. Huston.  It was also time for me to do my glucose test, so I drank the nasty orange glucose drink on our way to the doctor so they could draw my blood shortly after I got there.  You have to wait one hour after you start drinking it to have your blood drawn, so it all worked out pretty good. 

I was called back to have my blood drawn and was surprised when she started putting the band around my arm.  When I had the test done while I was pregnant with Ainsley, they pricked your finger.  I was happy to see that they had changed, and were now drawing your blood instead of pricking your finger.  I absolutely hate having my finger pricked!

The lady that drew my blood immediately put some on a strip to test my blood sugar.  I couldn't see the numbers on the machine, so I asked her if she could tell me if I passed or not, or if I had to wait for the doctor to tell me.  She looked over at the machine, and then back at me with a grimaced face and just shook her head at me.  I had FAILED it! 

I was so mad.  I failed the one hour glucose test when I was pregnant with Ainsley, too, and had to sit for the three hour test.  I was going to be sitting for the dreaded three hour test again with this pregnancy.  Just my luck! 

The nurse called me back to the room and asked what I had for breakfast that morning.  They told me I could eat that morning, just not in the hour after drinking the drink.  I thought I was doing good and had a yogurt for breakfast and a bottle of water.  When I told her I had yogurt, she immediately responded with:  "That's probably why you failed.  Yogurt is filled with carbs that turn to sugar."  She told me I should have ate bacon and eggs.  Say that again?!  Bacon and eggs, and I had a stinking yogurt???? 

The doctor came in and told me how 24 out of 25 women will pass the one hour test, and I didn't fail it by much, but I still needed to sit for the three hour test.  The baby's heartbeat sounded good (in the 140's), and I had gained 3 pounds since last time.  He made the comment that my weight gain had slowed down a little! 

I asked him if I were to fail the three hour test if I would be put on a special diet.  He told me that I would need to adjust my diet, but it wouldn't be too bad.  I then asked if candy was included in the diet, to which he laughed and said:  "candy isn't exactly in the diet plan."   You can't tell this pregnant lady that she can't have candy!!!

Ainsley wanted in on the pictures too

Mom...what about me?!

C'mon, Mom...enough with this baby already!

I was able to go to Passavant for the three hour glucose test last Wednesday.  I got there right at 7 as the lab opened, but of course, didn't get the glucose drink until after 7:30.  They then had to draw my blood after I got the drink down and then each hour for three hours after that.  I couldn't have anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before my test, and I was really wishing I would have had a late night snack the night before because I was starving!  I finally got out of there a little before 11 and was told I'd get the results the next day. 

The nurse called Thursday morning with the good news that I passed the three hour test!!!  She told me I could eat Valentine's Day candy until my heart was content.   Thank goodness!  No special diet for me!  I don't understand why I was so unlucky to fail the one hour test with both pregnancies and then pass the three hour test.  At least I passed the three hour test both times and didn't have that to worry about.

The baby is very active, and really moves around as soon as Ainsley gets on my lap.  I'm talking about every single time I hold Ainsley, the baby starts moving and kicking!  My heartburn is still terrible at night, so Tums have become my best friend again.  It's getting harder to sleep at night, and for the past few weeks, I've been getting up 2-4 times a night to go to the bathroom.  I guess it's just preparing me for the little to no sleep I'll get once the baby gets here.

It's hard to believe that we're going to be meeting our precious little baby in less than 12 weeks.  This pregnancy is flying by!

It's not worth it

I came across a great video tonight on melanoma.  You can view it here.  When I first discovered the mole that was eventually diagnosed as melanoma, I was pregnant with Ainsley.  It started as a small mole on my shoulder blade and got bigger.  It itched like crazy and Joel and I kept a close eye on it.  I didn't have my regular yearly appointment with my dermatologist until a few months after I had Ainsley, and with a newborn, I wasn't too eager to get it checked out.

I was diagnosed with melanoma at the age of 27.  I knew I had an increased risk, since my Dad had it, my fair complexion and freckles.  I've had yearly skin checks since 2005 when my Dad was diagnosed with melanoma.  It's amazing how fast it can develop and how your world can be turned upside down with just a few words:  "It's melanoma."  Ainsley was just a few months old when I was diagnosed, and that was so scary to hear as a new Mom.  I want to be able to watch her grow old.  Luckily, the doctor was able to get all of the melanoma by taking a (pretty big) chunk of skin off my left shoulder.  I now have a lovely scar, that has a little indention from everything she removed to remind me every day of what was there.

I was a young and stupid teenager who used a tanning bed a little too often.  The place I worked while in high school and college was just a few doors down from a salon with tanning beds.  I would walk over and tan during my break about every day.  It was my time during the afternoon to get a 10-15 minute nap in while laying in the bed.  I remember how hot my legs would get while laying in the tanning bed.  I would get out and the backs of my legs and butt would be bright red from burning.  I hated the way I smelled after tanning and can still smell that smell to this day.  It was like burnt skin.  I stunk for the rest of the day and would carry body spray with me so I could freshen up after tanning.

Why did I continue to tan if it got so hot that my legs and butt literally burned?  And why did I keep going if I stunk so bad after tanning?  I was young and stupid.  No question about it.  I'm so glad to see that there are cities (including Springfield) that recently put a ban on teenagers tanning.   Sure, you look great tan, but is it really worth it?

I hate seeing people post on facebook about going to the tanning salon, etc. and that they don't even worry about the risk.   I think (almost) every day about the "what ifs"  What if it comes back?  I've been really scared throughout this pregnancy, and have been watching my body very closely for any type of changes.  It scares me that it happened during my last pregnancy, and it just makes me think that it's going to happen again during this one.  So far, so good though.  Nothing out of the ordinary! 

Hopefully this video will help at least one person realize that it's just not worth it!!!

"Oh TWO-dles"

 

We had Ainsley's second birthday party on Sunday afternoon.  It was a Minnie Mouse themed "Oh Two-dles" party.  I ended up making all the decorations and some fun food to go along with it.  I'm pretty proud of myself, since I'm in no way a crafty person.  I think I've used the hot glue gun more in the last few weeks than I have my entire life.  Ainsley loved all the "Mickey" things and would point and say "ickey" at all the decorations.

I made Mickey shaped sandwiches, and rice crispy treats with the ears dipped in chocolate.  Thank goodness for Pinterest, because I never would have been able to think of these things on my own!

Ainsley enjoyed having everyone over, and once everyone got here, we headed to the basement to unwrap her (ginormous pile) of presents.  She was excited to unwrap the first few presents, and would tear off little pieces and hand one little piece of paper to everyone. 

Everyone had to wait on Ainsley to make her way downstairs...all by herself

Checking out some new clothes

Trying on her new click clack shoes that light up!

She liked her new Sophia the First shirt

She quickly got bored with opening the presents, and instead, wanted to open up the toys she had already unwrapped and start playing with them!  But, what kid isn't like that?!

Drake's trying to figure out what toy he's going to play with first

Hadlee found the new Minnie dishes!

Papa Jim and Ryder watching

Lani cheesing it up!

She got lots of Mickey toys, cute clothes, and even her very own little Norwex mop and cleaning rags.  The Norwex mop and rags were courtesy of Grandma Shelly, of course.  Ainsley likes "mopping" the floor (carpet) with it.  You can even click here and order your own mop!

After we were done with presents, we headed back upstairs for cake and ice cream.  We had Ainsley's party on Tanner's birthday, so we couldn't leave the birthday boy out.  I got two cakes, one for Ainsley and one for Tanner's 18th birthday.  Tanner's cake had the number "18" on the top in the shape of shotgun shells.  Both cakes were awesome and what's even better is that they taste great!

Tanner waiting to blow out his candles

Ainsley was getting tired at this point, and just wanted to drink her milk and play with my hair, so I had to hold her.  She didn't want to blow out her candles at that point either. 

After she got a little sugar in her, she was ready to play with the kids again.

Hadlee was ready for some cake!

Hannah loved the chocolate cake!!!

All the girls did really good playing with each other.  Ainsley, Madilynn, Hannah, and Hadlee all enjoyed playing in Ainsley's room.  Madilynn was little mother hen to Hadlee and kept following her around saying "ha-wee, ha-wee".  It was cute!

That evening was the Superbowl, so I made a little more food and we picked up some pizzas for the game.  Jeremy and Kathleen stayed to watch some of the game, and Kathleen helped me go through all of Ainsley's new toys. 

Watching the game

Lani and Drake liked Ainsley's new Minnie hair utensils.  Lani did my hair, while Drake did Kathleen's.  We only had a few fights over the curling iron, blow dryer, and brush. 

The kids doing our hair

Ainsley was beyond tired at the end of the night.  I took her clothes off of her on the couch while she was watching Mickey.  I ran back to her bedroom to get a pair of pajamas to put on her and walked back into the living room to find her sitting straight up on the couch passed out!  Poor thing was tired!