Walking & Talking

Ainsley is a little over 13 months old now, and what a transformation we have seen over the last month. It's been all about walking and talking!

She took her first few steps a few days before her birthday and now she's a full time walker! She can get up from sitting down without holding onto anything, so, anytime, anywhere, she's ready to walk! It actually is nice in some ways - when we are outside, she's not stuck in a stroller or being held. However, my life is much busier now! She loves to get into everything - especially Evan's tiny toys!


The other big change with our little one is her language! She is definitely talking! It's so amazing that she can now really communicate with us. She says lots of words - mama, dada, pat pat, ball, go, baby, uh-oh, wing (swing), bird, bro (bother), down, up, tickle - tickle, bub (our word for paci), woof (for what a dog says), and all done. She also lets us know what she wants by pointing and smiling.

One fun thing that we did with Ainsley was to let her ride on one of the big kid rides at Kings Island. It was the cars that go around in a circle. We would have never done it with Evan, but it's going to be a long summer there, and she should have some fun too. She absolutely loved it, and rode 3 times with her big brother.

Ainsley is still so sweet. She gives us hugs and kisses and will even walk over to greet Doug at the door. It's been fun to see her growing and getting to see her personality more and more!

Mother's Day Tea

I had the privilege of going to Mother's Day Tea at Evan's school this week. I will definitely remember it for a long time. I arrived at school and got the biggest hug and kiss from my little man. We then did a craft together and we got to look over this sheet about me. Here is what Evan had to say about some of my favorites:
The kids then sang us a special song - You Are My Sunshine. There where definitely a few tears. I got a video of the whole thing, but it's too big to uplaod. We then got to have tea and cookies with the other boys in his class, followed by lunch with several classmates and McDonalds. It was such a special, sweet day with my little boy. I am so blessed!

Swimming Class

Evan just finished up another session of swimming lessons. He has really been improving! He will now put his head completely under water for several seconds - something he would never attempt in the past. He has a ball in the water too! It was so fun to watch him swim and I'm really looking forward to this summer!

A's 12 Months

I take a picture of Ainsley in our red chair every month. Hope you enjoy watching her grow...

Ainsley is 12 months old!!

Our little girl is one! Wow - that went fast! I have to admit, I had a little cry on her birthday morning, but we had such a wonderful day. So, here are some things about Ainsley at 12 months...

1. At Ainsley's 12 month appointment she was 20lb 6oz (40%) and 29-1/2 inches tall (60%)
2. Two days before her first birthday, Ainsley took her first steps. She is still very shaky, but practicing all the time. She even squeals when we ask her to walk.

3. Ainsley's really starting to communicate with us. She says Mama, Dada, uh-oh, ball, baby, go and pat-pat. She'll also sign more, eat, and milk. She also seems to be much more expressive, good and bad. If she gets frustrated, she'll let us know!

4. She loves to be outside! Just say outside, and she'll go right to the door. She likes to swing and slide, and to crawl around in the grass.
5. Ainsley also loves her bath, and will crawl up the steps and straight to the bathroom if you ask her to take a bath.
6. She loves Itsy, Bitsy Spider and throwing kisses!

7. She now has 4 teeth - two top and two bottom.

8. Ainsley loves baby dolls. If she sees a baby across the room, she gets so excited and loves to hug and pat them.
9. Her eating is getting better. She only eats finger foods and some of her favorites are - cheese, mac & cheese, grilled cheese (see a theme?), turkey, bread, bagels, grapes, peas, and hummus. She also loves whole milk, although she is still nursing a few times a day.
10. Ainsley celebrated her second Easter - we had a wonderful day with family, and got some great pictures outside.
11. I have a little monkey! Ainsley is into everything - and is a climber. She can easily get up steps, Evan's step stool, and her new favorite is getting into the bathroom and the pantry. I have to keep an eye on her all the time.
12. I know that I have said it a bunch - but Ainsley is such a blessing! She's so sweet, and calm, and just a joy! Doug and I both love her more than we could imagine!

Smarty

I know that we've posted a bunch lately about Miss A, but we've been having just as much fun with Evan lately :) I have to record a little about my math smarty! A few weeks ago, we started playing a numbers game with Evan. We would "buy" a certain number of items and pay for it, and Evan would tell us the change we'd get back. It started off easy, buying 1 item, and giving him $3, him telling us the change. We quickly discovered that he really liked this game and wanted to challenge himself more and more. Now, on a pretty consistent basis, we can give him any combination of items we are buying and dollar amount, with numbers between 1-12, and he correctly gives us the change. It's been pretty fun to watch him grow in confidence - and maybe he will have my love of math too :)

Steps

Two days before her 1st birthday, Ainsley decided to try out some new moves...

Now all she wants to do is practice!

1st Birthday Party!!

We had Ainsley's 1st birthday party on Sunday. It was a fun, wonderful day that we all got to enjoy. Here are (lots) of pictures from the day...

Some of the easy preparations - princess highchair and homemade hat:
Easy butterfly cupcakes:

We had a small family party, and it was fun to enjoy all our guests and the birthday girl (and our neighbors trampoline too):


Ainsley had so much fun with her cake. We were able do everything outside, since it was such a gorgeous day!

Singing:
What is this??
The cake part is much better

We were all there to cheer her on


Then came the presents! Everyone was so generous! Lots of sweet girl things - a purse and tea set from Mya, pink walkers from Grandma and Grandpa and Nani and Poppy, clothes...

Crawling tunnel from Aunt Jen and Uncle Chad..

And a charm braclet from Mom & Dad..

We had so much fun celebrating our little girls first year of life!

Blessed!

Today is Ainlsey's first birthday. Over the last few days, I have been thinking about this past year. The one thing that I have realized is how blessed I am. I have an amazing husband who is also a wonderful dad. I get to stay home and spend my days (the good and the bad) with my kids :).
Evan has turned into such a sweet, "grown up" little boy. I can't believe how much he understands and how he can make us laugh. He has turned into my helper and he's just fun to be around! And, he's learning and growing like crazy!
And Ainsley.. my now one year old. What a gift she is!! Such a sweet little girl - always smiling and making it easy for me. And having her as my second baby - I have enjoyed this past year so much, not bothered by all the worry. I feel like I've been able to soak up all the minutes as she grows up.
I feel so blessed to be able to parent a boy and a girl. They are so different! And, I do love having a little girl to dress up :)
So, today, I am going to enjoy every minute the best that I can. More tomorrow about Ainsley's progress and Evan's soccer.. but today
I am so blessed.

Soccer

Evan started his first organized sport last week - soccer! It's exciting for both Doug and I since we both played and our dad's coached growing up. Evan had a great time chasing the ball around - and we'll need to work on those jumping jacks. Can't wait for this season!