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.

Kite Flying

We attended a birthday party over the weekend with a kite theme. All the kids got to fly kites, which was a lot of fun, especially since it was a beautiful day outside. Evan picked out a Spiderman kite (even though I don't think he actually knows who that is) and did a great job flying it. We're looking forward to more kite-flying this spring and summer!

New Bike

We got Evan his first bicycle. He's already been out on it a couple of times this year and he's been doing great. The first time riding down the sidewalk on it, he said "I love it!" with a big grin on his face. After that he started singing a song while riding - "I love riding on my bicycle. It's a special time...". Then his training wheel hit the grass and he fell over. I caught him though so it wasn't a big deal and he kept on going. Here's a few pictures of him riding this weekend.

Bye Bye Bubs

Last spring, when Evan was 2-1/2, we attempted to get rid of his "bubbies" or "bubs" (pacifiers) for falling asleep at naps and bedtime. He had shown an interest, and we figured it was a good time. After 32 days of going cold turkey without the bubs, we gave them back!! It was taking him 2 hours to fall asleep with one of us sitting by the bed - a different bad habit that we didn't want to start! Anyway, we decided to try later.

Then, when he turned 3, he dropped his nap, so he was only using his bubs for 10-15 minutes to fall asleep. I felt like a bad mom for having a 3 year old with a paci - but at the same time, wasn't willing to fight the battle for the short about of use..

Fast forward to January. Doug and I noticed that he wasn't asking for his bubs when he was going to sleep. After a few nights of this, I asked Evan if he's like to trade in his bubs just like he traded in his diapers. (He traded in his diapers for toy gummy lizards.) He agreed, and we sent off the bubs to the Bubbie Post Man - and he got some toy gummy frogs and a big lollipop as his trade in. He was so excited and hasn't said a word about it since. It was so easy! Kids definitely do things in there own time :)

Name

Evan has really been practicing writing his name lately and he's doing really well. I wish I could say it's due to my awesome parenting/teaching skills, but I think it's really from his new favorite show, Word World. I was able to catch this practice session on the camera, although he's usually embarrassed when I get all excited about him writing his name - he tries to erase it before I can every get a picture!

Baby Girl

It's getting closer and closer for Baby Girl Ross to be here!! Here is my belly with Evan at 8 months. :) Evan is starting to get excited. We talk about the baby every day. (It's usually things that Evan can do that the baby can't do - sitting, coloring, eating cookies, etc) He hasn't asked too many difficult questions. He does say that the baby takes all of mommy's energy (which is sorta true). Also, at lunch the other day, I said that I need to eat for the baby. Evan corrected me that the baby can't eat - they eat through their umbilical cord. I guess he has been listening to the baby books we read him. He's not really interested in feeling the baby kick. We ask have a name that we've been trying to decide on, but Evan is convinced that's her name. Maybe he'll be right?

I think he's going to be a great big brother!

Birthday

On Friday, I celebrated my 30th birthday. Everyone made it a special weekend, especially Doug and Evan. On my birthday, the boys got up to make my birthday surprise. They made me yummy cinnamon rolls and Evan made me a special card. They also went shopping for me - I guess Evan wanted to get me a pencil with a fuzzy top (his idea), but they ended up with two pencils with heart erasers and crazy candles for my cake. Doug then surprised me with a night away!

On Sunday, we celebrated with my family by going to Soho. They cook at your table - Evan wasn't so sure about all the fire and smoke at our table, but he hasn't stopped talking about it since. We then came back and celebrated my birthday and Chad's birthday. It was a wonderful birthday weekend!!

Animals

Since Evan has been about 2, he has always loved his animals - carrying them around, playing games with them. I think his first animal "love" was Blue Bear.. then Soft Doggy (which was borrowed from Grandpa). Now he has all his animals that he sleeps with and plays with. Different animals get to play each day, although I think Soft Doggy holds a special place. His animals in order are: Spotty Dog (or Dalmatian), Blue Bear, Big Bunny, Little Bunny, Soft Doggy, Pups, Daddy, Monkey, and Sheep.