Ainsley Loves the Phone and other Randomeness

So this video is pretty long, but it has some fun things in it if you're interested. Ainsley's walking is progressing rapidly. It's so amazing how quickly she picks things up. She's actually starting to use it as a mode of transportation now not just when we prompt her to do it. Then of course there are the stairs...she loves the stairs, I can't keep her away from them.

However, my favorite part of the video is the phone!! How funny that she knows what to do with a phone? She has always been fascinated with our cell phones and remote controls. She'd rather play with those than any of her toys, so I'll play telephone with her on her play phones, but she's never really interested in that. She always wants the real thing. We ended up giving her one of Clif's old cell phones (We are on no short supply of old cell phones...for those of you that know my husband, you are not surprised that he must keep every gadget he has ever owned no matter of it's size, usefulness, or working ability. Love you Clif :). However, she seems to still really like our cell phones. So she found both of them sitting on the end table last night and she decided to "talk" into them. Very cute, cracked me up! We tried to call Aunt DeeDee (wasn't sure who else would be up, it was about 10 pm), but she didn't answer, but Ainsley was very mesmerized by the voice mail message coming out of the phone.

My favorite thing about this phone obsession is that apparently I had the same obsession as a baby. So my daughter who shows zero resemblance to me, actually does have a little piece of me in her. That does worry me a little that she will end up with more of my personality, I'd much rather she be like Clif. I am way more high strung then he is. He's so happy go lucky. I'd like her to live her life that way, more carefree, not always worrying and stressing like I do.

Well, enjoy the video. I'm typing this at work and probably shouldn't be :)

First Mother's Day

So first I will say, I know I have not kept up with my 3-4 times a week goal, but I do have a very good excuse. I have been working very hard at trying to get Ainsley to sleep in her crib for the past two weeks, and it takes a lot of time. Between that, trying to keep my house clean and my class, I have not had much time for blogging. Plus I'm exhausted, so my creative juices just haven't been flowing. Ainsley is still not sleeping in her crib very well. We can usually get her to go down around 8, but she's up every 20-30 minutes. So if anyone has any ideas that I haven't already tried, I am all ears. Today we spent 2 hours just trying to get her down for a nap, and guess what, no nap. I'm willing to build my day around her naps and bed time, however, it makes it very difficult when it takes a better part of the day just to get her down for a 20 minute nap. So again...any ideas...anything...I'm willing to try just about anything. We've been doing this for a week and a half now and I actually think it's getting worse. Anyway, most of the time I just think she looks so tired...see above photo. I just want to help her sleep, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get her to sleep without holding her.

Well, on to other topics. Today was my first mother's day, and it was very nice. I had cards and gifts when I woke up this morning...a great way to start any day really. Then Clif, Ainsley and I went to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. Clif and I got married at the gardens and we hadn't been back since. Ainsley slept in the stroller for most of the adventure, but she still seemed to enjoy it when she was awake. It did rain on us a little, but it was really only a light drizzle. We spent about 2 hours there, just wandering around, taking pictures. It's really beautiful. They also have a children's garden there. I can't wait to take Ainsley there when she's older. Motherhood is such a dilemma of emotions. On one hand, I want her to stay little for as long as possible, and sometimes I look at her and I can't believe how big she is. How have I not just video taped every single moment. How do I not just sit and stare at her for weeks on end, not missing one single change. On the other hand, each new milestone is so exciting and I can't wait until she can do the next thing. I can't wait until we can play together in the children's garden, I can't wait until she is running around the yard. But there's always that worry in the back of my mind that she'll grow up too soon and I'll wonder where all the time went.

After the gardens we went to Short Pump to try and eat at The Cheesecake Factory. We thought that since it was only 4, we'd beat the dinner crowd. No such luck on Mother's Day. There was an hour and a half wait. That would have been fine had we been able to walk around the mall while we waited. But no, the little vibrating pager does not allow for that. You must stand within ten feet of the door. Seriously, someone smarter than me needs to invent something like that. A roaming pager that will work at farther distances. No more complaints about waiting for tables. Problem solved.

We ended up eating at Tara Thai, which we love and which was not jam packed. The waitresses loved Ainsley. She was making friends all over. Good thing they weren't busy, because these girls barely left our table. Ainsley was laughing and talking to them...trying to feed them rice. It was very cute, and Clif and I got to eat our dinner without her crying to be held. Also very nice...we'll have to go back there more often.

And introducing Ainsley's newest trick...climbing stairs. Ainsley discovered the stairs a couple of weeks ago, but until yesterday she really never paid them much attention. Now she's fairly obsessed. The moment she's free from me or my sight, she makes a mad dash to the stairs. Last night she climbed all the way to the top, don't worry I was right behind her. It's amazing how quickly she learns a new trick and it's even more amazing when she realizes she can do it. She just giggles and giggles all the way up the stairs. It's the funniest thing in the world to her. She has such a personality. Crazy how quickly she went from staring at ceiling fans to making herself laugh. It makes me wonder what kind of person she'll be. Will she be shy or outgoing? A tomboy or a princess? Will she like sports or music or both? It's so strange to think that all of that is just inside her little head just waiting to jump out. I can't wait to see it all unfold.

First Time

Hi friends! So, I am totally copying my friend Carrie. She started a blog about her daughter Addie, and I have read it every day so far, and it looks like fun. So, here I am. I'm not sure how well I'll keep up with this. I am very slow at work this week, which is not always the case, but I love to talk about my little Ainsley Bug, so hopefully that will keep me motivated.

As most of you know, probably all of you know, Ainsley Lynn was born on July 9, 2007. I can not believe she is already 9 1/2 months old!! I always thought time went by so fast, but nothing compares to this last year. I just don't even know where the time went. Ainsley is quite a handful these days, she is all over the place. She crawls and cruises around furniture and now she is standing on her own. Last night, she discovered the stairs, and guess what? She can get up them. Maybe we should start baby proofing the house...maybe start with a baby gate at the foot of the stairs!

This past weekend Ainsley started saying "uh-oh" and "bye-bye". In Ainsley speak it sounds more like "ah-ah" and "dy-dy", but we are still pretty excited! At first she just repeated after us when we said "uh-oh" but now she actually says it when she's supposed to. She drops her toy, "ah-ah." She spills her sippy cup, "ah-ah." It's really very cute.

Ainsley's also eating grown up table food now. So far, her favorites are baked potatoes and hot dogs...not necessarily together. I wonder if she's really eating much of it, considering that most of the pieces are in her seat or fall off of her when I pick her up. Gatsby is really enjoying this new stage in Ainsley's life. He'll be 10 lbs heavier next time we go to the vet!

I am amazed every day at how much she changes and grows. It's so hard to believe that we brought her home as this helpless little creature and now she's talking and eating and almost walking on her own. It can be bitter sweet at times, but all in all, it's been the best year of my life.

That's all for now. I'll try my hardest to keep up with this.