Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Some friends offered us tickets to the Reds game tonight, so I was able to take Evan to a game for the first time. I wasn't sure how much fun he would have, but he had a blast. First, he got to have his friend ride in the car with him and they both loved that and were screaming and laughing the whole way down. Walking into the stadium, he was very interested in everything, and was even excited to ride up the huge escalator.

We got to our seats and he enjoyed checking everything out. He wasn't exactly following the game, but sort of interested in what was going on, especially after the Reds got a home run and there were fireworks. After an inning or two, it was time for peanuts. After that, bathroom break. Then popcorn, which was one of the highlights of the night for Evan.

We actually made it to the 7th inning stretch and we got to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game". He was practicing it with Erica earlier in the day, but I didn't think we'd last that long. After that, we stopped by the playground on the ground level for a few minutes before heading back to the car.

We had a lot of fun, and I can't wait for more of these great father/son activities in the future!!!

Home Run Reds!

Last Day of School

Evan finished up his last day of school on May 22nd. He went one day a week for the past year in the toddlers class. He loved going to school and especially loved his first teacher, Mrs. Maggie. In fact, he wishes that she could be his teacher again next year. He had a great first experience that will hopefully continue in the years to come.

On the last day of school, there was a school picnic, complete with bike parade! Evan loves biking (he's so fast that we now can ride with him instead of walking). Here are some pictures of his decorated bike. (Yes - the balloons are pink and purple - his choice.) The bike parade was pretty long (about a mile) and mom had a tough time keeping up. It was a great way to end the school year.

Tandy

If you ever here us talking to Tandy - it's not our imaginary friend.. it's Evan's dog name. He occasionally started pretending he was a dog a few weeks ago. After he did this a few times, we asked him what his dog name was. He thought about it a few seconds and answered, "Tandy!" We have no idea where the name came from - he just made it up and it stuck. Since then, Ainsley has been born and she has been given a dog name, too - it's Speedy.

When Evan is pretending to be Tandy, we can't call him Evan. He either ignores us or tells us that he's not Evan, he's Tandy. If we call him Tandy, whistle, or say things like "Here boy!", he'll do what we say. He also likes to do tricks (giving us his paw, rolling over, etc.) and he gets an imaginary treat after he does them. Sometimes we "run out" of treats and we pretend to take him to Petsmart to buy new ones. Like a dog, he even likes to have us scratch behind his ears and rub his belly, and crawl up onto our laps and snuggle.

6 Weeks

Ainsley was 6 weeks old yesterday - time is going so fast!! At her one month appointment, she was 9lbs, 13ozs and 21.5 in. (The 70% for height, weight, and head size.) She took her first bottle with no problems from Evan. She also not only has dimples on each check, she has the cutest dimple on her forehead. She loves to grab onto things tight - especially my hair. I think she also tries to bat at toys. And - the last two nights - she has slept for 7 hours straight (from 10pm to 5 am)!!

Photo Shoot

We thought it would be a good idea to take a picture of all 3 grandkids for Doug's mom for Mother's Day (Evan, Ainsley, and Mya). The marathon photo shoot lasted about 4 hours, interrupted by baby feedings, diaper changes, 3-year old antics, and lunch. After all of that we ended up with a few decent shots (and plenty of outtakes!).

1 Month Old

I can't believe my little girl is 1 month old. (I still can't believe that I have a little girl!) Here are some things I've discovered about Ainsley this first month:

- She is awake and happy almost every morning for a good 2-3 hours. Its a great time to feed her of course, but to talk with her and really connect. Luckily, we don't have a lot of places to be in the morning, so I've just been enjoying the time with Evan and Ainsley.
- She smiled for the first time over the weekend :) I love her little smile.
- She also like to coo and "talk" and is a very alert and happy baby throughout the day
- She loves to look at her black and white pictures
- Ainsley figured out her nights and days really quickly. I think it's thanks to Evan making sure the days are full of noise and activity :)
- She loves to be swaddled. She quickly broke out of her blanket and now loves the SwaddleMe just like her brother. She's also in the bassinet next to our bed.
- She is almost grown out of her newborn clothes - Ainsley is growing like crazy. She is a great eater! We haven't gone to the doctor yet, but we're guessing she's 9-1/2 to 10 pounds.
- She likes her baths, but doesn't like getting out
- Her little cousin Mya was born 15 days after Ainsley. They don't look that close in age (Mya was only 5 lb 6oz at birth), but we are so excited that she's always going to have a friend so close in age.
- Ainsley loves her pacifier (bub), especially at night. I thought I might try no bub, but there is no way. She loves her bub!!
- She is definitely a second baby - she has already visited the zoo, preschool, Kings Island, gone shopping, and had several (short) babysitters. I hadn't left the house with Evan at this point.
- I have started dressing her up. I think I appreciate the girl clothes even more after having a boy. Doug just laughs - but he's already head-over heals in love.
- Evan loves his little sister very much. He hasn't been jealous at all. He loves to give lots of hugs and kisses and get right in her face. She doesn't mind at all. Every morning, he comes in and helps me wake her up by unwrapping her swaddle blanket. He's the best big brother!!

Some day soon I will get around to updating the format of the blog.. it's now definitely now Life with E & A!!

Ainsley's First Week

Ainsley is 1 week old today. Wow - what an amazing week!!! We spent Easter at the hospital, where Evan and Ainsley got to "bond" for the first time. Evan was pretty excited to meet her, but slightly more excited about his big brother present (craft scissors). He was very sweet and gentle, and we are very happy with how he's doing with the transition.

Ainsley has been such a sweet baby - when she is awake, she is so alert and just loves to look around. She's also been sleeping well (3-4 hour stretches at night) and eating well. We just can't stop holding her, snuggling with her, and just enjoying every second of having a tiny, perfect newborn.

She has also been the subject of several "photo sessions". We are just trying to capture as many sweet moments as we can...

Ainsley Marie is here!

Our little girl, Ainsley Marie, was born today! She came at 4:19 pm and was 7 pounds, 9 ounces and 21.5 inches long. She's got a nice head of dark hair and has dimples like her brother and mom. Everything went well with the delivery and both mom and baby are doing great. Here's a couple of her first photos. More to come soon!

3 & 1/2

Evan is now 3-1/2 years old. I can't believe it!!! (He will actually tell you that he is 3-1/2 now, not just three.) He's turned into such an amazing person. I love to see what each new day will bring. Some things about Evan at 3-1/2:

- He is 38 1/2 inches tall and weighs 32 pounds
- He loves to say "actually"
- He likes us to come snuggle with him as he's going to sleep and we'll often hear a "mommmm-e" "dadddddd-e" from his bed
- He loves to practice writing his name
- His favorite two thing so far this spring are riding his bike and digging for worms and bugs. If he finds a bug, he'll pick them up and talk to them in his "baby" voice. It's too funny
- He's still pretty cautious when it comes to new situations
- He's very into using his imagination
- He loves to hear made up stories and contribute to them
- He's still into art and doing "projects". He also likes to help me cook and "reads" the ingredients from the back of the box

I love my little man so much!!

Easter Egg Hunt

Some really nice neighbors of hours invited us to their house for an Easter egg hunt last Sunday. Evan had a great time. There were a ton of eggs to find, he got to color eggs, and jump in a trampoline. After it was finished, he couldn't wait to get home to see what was inside all of his eggs.