how ainsley spends her days..... i think i almost caught a sleepy smile
and how noah spends his.......

we truly have tried to nix this great habit- and clearly it's not working. sometimes i don't even think he realizes he is doing it- and then other times he thinks it's the funniest thing in the world. so- here's hoping it's a boy thing.

brotherly love

here's a few pics of noah's first visits with his new sister. he's doing pretty well with it, just a few moments here and there but i suppose that's normal. he likes to "hold her" and sing to her. and he's done about as quickly as he was ready. so we do a lot of 'mine' followed by 'all done'. he's the first to run and comfort her- which usually consists of rubbing her head with his cheek and ever so gently pulling on her arms. where this came from i don't know- but it's what he does none the less. i think having family so close- him having spent so much time with nana and papa- and now with my dad and gail here and becky and galen's visit to follow- the transition hasn't been too bad. we'll see what happens when we're on our own. so far so good though....

welcome, baby ainsley

i imagine most have seen these pictures, but i thought i'd put them up here anyway. so here she is- ainsley ann. she was born august 26th at 0411 a.m. she weighed 6# 10.5 oz and is 20 inches long. she's a pound smaller and an inch longer than noah was. but to us- and compared to him now she is tiny. and no c-section for me this time- what a blessing. labor went well- thanks to the best labor nurses ever! you gals know who you are- laura, kim, elizabeth and krysta- you guys rock! who knew having a baby could be so easy.... relatively speaking of course. anyway, we are home and doing well. still trying to get a hang of the nursing, but that is normal in our world. more to come when noah allows me to get on here.....

a new best friend and - oh yeah- tomorrow's the big day...

this little bear has slowly become a necessity around here these days.... we call him boyd (creative- i know- it was the label on the tag when noah got him as a gift when he was born) and he travels with us all over and back. he is a pillow at night, he is a snuggler during the day, he eats lunch with us- you get the picture. anyway, it's a new best friend. it's actually kinda sweet- he has never really had something like that before- just his lovey. maybe it will help once little miss gets here. speaking of- tomorrow is her big day. we'll find out in the morning if we can be induced or if i have to have another c-section. we're hopeful that i won't have to- but in the end just a healthy baby either way is what is important, right? we'll head in around 8 after what i am sure promises to be a tearful goodbye to my current "baby"- who is staying with a good friend for the day. i just hope our adjustment goes on without too much difficulty. while i am so excited to meet her and finally see what she looks like and love on her- i am not ready for him to be the "big" one- maybe i never would have been though. so anyway- check back here for details and updates- and pictures when i can get them on here. wish us luck!

much needed one-on-one time

here are some pics from an afternoon spent at nana and papa's while the guys were golfing last weekend- lisa snapped these pics of us playing in the "fort" that nana made for us. that's right- i am actually down on the floor. getting there and getting up- not such a pretty picture- but while i was down there- not too bad. so we're really into forts these days. we make one almost every day down in the family room and noah makes himself one in the big bed in his room with all the pillows- and then at night he falls asleep and wakes up scared because he's pretty well buried in there and then we have to put him back in his little bed. another battle i'm not willing to take on right now. eventually he'll get used to it right?? know what else we're in to- NOT LISTENING to anything.... what joy that has been. at first he had a cold, so i let it slide. and now he's getting the dreaded 2-year molars- which have been by far our most challenging set of teeth to get- so i thought that was the reason for his orneriness- but nope- i think it's just him at this stage. it will pass- right? i think aaron may lose his mind otherwise. that's just what i need. anyway- any tips or tricks from you experienced and seasoned momma's is appreciated- and don't hold back....

nothin' like a good case of bed head

who wouldn't love to wake up to this little mess of hair RIGHT in your face?? even if it was at 5:30..... thanks little buddy.

those are some big shoes to fill, noah

who knew shoes could ever be so fun.....

yucky week of colds

noah and i have spent the last week battling colds.... a grand time let me tell you. without fail at the beginning and end (perhaps it's a sign??!!) of both pregnancies i have gotten a nasty cold. lucky me. anyway, there are few pics to share from this week- and really- i'll save you from the snotty noses. we do have a few pics from my mom's this weekend that lisa took- i'll get those up here soon. they'll really give you an idea of just how much space this little girl is taking up! while we were at my mom's though she finally uploaded the pics on her camera- and i thought these were "share worthy." the first few are from feb this year- won't eat the clementine if you peel it for him- but let him bite it and he'll go to town. the next few only partially show his LOVE for wheel of fortune. he started this early- watching it in the evening with papa- and has since continued his love. he claps when they do- and gets really excited when it comes on. it is to this day the one show he will actually sit and watch for longer than 2 minutes. it's always fun to look back at pics- i could do it for hours. anyway, that's all from here for now- thanks for keeping up with us- and hopefully we won't have any other problems...

i'll take the floor.....

.... i will never understand his personal choice to sleep on the floor vs the bed. especially when there are 2 to choose from. even so, noah has chosen to sleep here the last few days during nap time. he'd rather be in bed at night- but for naps- we're strictly a floor guy. actually- i am just glad he sleeps for nap time. since the removal of the toy bins he has taken some pretty good naps. we are all glad for that! we haven't been up to much else. just getting some last minute stuff together before she gets here. we had a pt deliver a few nights ago at work and her baby weighed 12# 4oz. ummmm... that baby was bigger than my ENTIRE mid-section. needless to say- i'm hoping for a healthy half of that baby (who we affectionately call "tiny" in the nursery). so cute and snuggly- but seriously- the size of a 4 month old. my dr. tells me she'll probably be a little bigger than noah- and that would be ok too- but i can't even imagine what it would be like to carry around a 12# baby in my tummy!! i'm fairly confident that something that size would not even fit......well- i'm hoping not anyway. allright- i think that's all for now. off to battle the sleep monster that doesn't let me sleep like a normal person. can't wait to sleep on my stomach again- and take a break from working the night shift!!

new haircut and (thankfully) lots of noah smiles

at daddy's request- and that of many others- noah got a haircut on tuesday- and upon returning home i promptly heard from aaron "i actually liked it better longer." well- he'll have to wait for it to grow again- and after this time he may never get another haircut again. anyway, the haircut in itself didn't go well exactly and the aftermath was worse yet- the first pic below is only half of the amount of chocolate that was on his body and does no justice in showing the breakdown he had. the gal who cuts my hair cuts his too and usually he does all-right- not this time. she gave him a cookie before she started and he had to hold it in his hands the entire time thus melting the chocolate all over him and his clothes- and the cookie is now covered in little blonde curls. so- we have to get rid of the cookie- and you can't even imagine the screaming that followed that- and add in no nap that day and we have developed a bit of a situation..... there is chocolate everywhere on me and noah, he wouldn't wear the "special harry potter cape" so we are both covered in hair and itching head to toe, he is screaming and i am hot- and possibly a little irritable. so she kindly gives him another chocolate chip cookie- but this one is not the same. he accepts it of course- but we're still crying- loudly. we leave the salon and drive straight to nana's house which is half way home (we're talking a 10 minute drive total to our house) because he is crying so hard he is choking himself. freaking awesome.... (reminder- the 2nd cookie is still melting in his hand, on his clothes and his carseat at this time) he has a death grip on this cookie- but isn't eating it- just carrying it around like it's a little treasure. we get to nana's and he has finally stopped screaming and regained a slight amount of control. he held that cookie for 45 mins and took ONE stinkin bite. finally he was distracted by some sidewalk chalk and he let it go. i thought he might actually sleep with it that night. anyway, i was never so happy to get to take a shower and see him smiling again.... and while i wish i had some pics of the mental breakdown he had- they are permanently placed in my mind for me to look back on and laugh- someday.....

fun weekend with the fam!

aunt amy, will and jack were visiting last week and noah had an absolute blast! the boys are so good to him- they played together all weekend- and noah has spent this week walking around the house saying "where jack." he truly enjoyed playing with them at nana and papa's and in the pool especially. amy took these great pics- and even more. i think the dvd she left us has around 350+ pics. lisa was asking the boys what it was like to live with the paparazzi.... no one minded as you can tell- and now we have all the fun in pics to look back at- so THANKS amy- we had a great time and the pics are awesome! post below- more pics so be prepared- the diving board offered everyone time to show their mad skills with a kick board, beach ball and hula hoop!

diving board fun

as uncomfortable as i am this summer- i have to say that i love it anyway- and wish it would slow down so we could enjoy it longer. here are some more pics that amy took from this weekend. all i have to say is that this hot bod will not be participating in any of these diving board events for quite some time. props to mom, amy and lisa though for showing their skills- and having a blast!!