Dear Ainsley [9 months]

Dear Ainsley-Girl,

Papa & you in his fav position!

You have become so. much. fun!

You are moving all about—scooting, crawling, couch surfing, and even walking as long as you have a death grip on guiding fingers! While this is an added challenge for just about everything when it comes to watching you, it’s amazing to watch your development.



Grandmomma-cita & Ains
sporting Harley gear!

You also have a voice and love for it to be heard. I’d love to have a translation of what you rant and rave about, but in the mean time I’ll imagine you are saying how happy you are and how much you love your Papa and I. I can dream right?! Even though I’m sure it’s a stretch [especially since your chatting has sometimes been after an ice cream cone while standing on a picnic table!] I’m guessing I’m not too far off because you are such a happy baby! You are constantly smiling and laughing and playing and observing. We are so fortunate to have such a happy babe to have the privilege of parenting.  And all our family and friends are equally as fortunate as you lovingly interact with them as well—most of the time.



Great-Grandma Clum, Ainsley & Grandpa Clum

 In addition to the leaps and bounds you’ve made in moving and talking, you’ve also popped another tooth through in your gummy lil’ smile! A week or so ago, I went to do a paper-swipe of your mouth [paper, dirt and ice cream seem to be your three favorite food groups]. As I swiped I noticed the paper didn’t move…which is because that paper was a new tooth. J Now your bottom two middle teeth popped up at the same time right before Easter, but this tooth was a sole emerger and it was to the side of your mouth. My first thought was how did we miss this?! And secondly I certainly hoped that it wasn’t supposed to be your middle tooth or we need to start right now saving for your orthodontic visits! Thankfully Papa and I hung you upside down—it was the easiest way to see the top of you mouth that way—and we could see your other teeth in the appropriate places. Whew!Keep growing and learning and becoming who you were made to be--even before your first birthday--but try not to move too fast! Just this morning I felt like someone stole my little baby and replaced her with a toddler!

Toothy smile after bathtime

 Love you this much! I'm looking forward to the summer "off" with you! We'll be clocking in lots of quality time and likely a lil' sun bathing!

  


These usually remain
on your face for 4.2 seconds!

Sunbathing Bug
You enjoyed your first pool experience
until splashed in the face by your
big cousins!



Splashing in the slip 'n slide!

Love,

Momma

Dear Ainsley

Dear Ainsley,

Wow! Boy Girl how you have changed since your last letter! Where to even begin?!

Just shy of 7 months old we visited friends in Michigan, and even though you were scooting everyway but forward leading up to that weekend, that weekend you scooted forward straight after their fuzzy companion! (The way you interacted with Buddy made me seriously question my no-indoor-animals mantra!) You giggled and scooted all across their floor to get close to that pup!

Ainsley & Papa with Buddy & his human papa

Then within that week you were crawling! Not the I'm-a-first-time-mom-so-I-want-to-say-you're-crawling kind of crawling, but a very legit, one hand then the other, moving forward kind of crawl! Amazing! You've yet to disappoint when it comes to your development.

And now, just 3 weeks after you started actually crawling, you are a babe on a mission! Just yesterday, you were reading playing with a book in the nursery as I left you to finish folding clothes in the living room. Before I knew it, there you were sitting in the [living room] end of the hall watching my every move! You've also become an amatuer couch/entertainent center/laundry basket surfer!

The only downfall of all this growth is the falling that goes with it! I'm trying my best to be hands-off in this area, and unless it looks like serious pain, allow you to fall of your bum and learn from doing. I want to protect you from all that I can, but this is one area that I know you just need to learn from doing. We'll survive!

In other news, you are Miss Chatty McGee! Da-da-da-da-daaa! If you want to call it your first word, go ahead, but Baby Girl we're just counting it as chatter! We don't refer to anyone as "Dad" or "Daddy" and all the baby websites will say that "dada" is [nearly] always a baby's first "word", so in our book, we're still waiting for that true first word, but in the mean time, we'll continue to talk right back as if you make perfect sense!

Last but not least, you now have two teeth! On April 5th, you bottom two teeth popped right on through! Aside from a little extra dooliness and a bit more gnawling, you don't seem too bothered by them. A couple nights you woke in a fuss for a bit, and Papa is convinced it was thanks to the toothers, but overall nothing compared to the horror, I was expecting! I'm not writing off the horror yet though, we still have 18 more teeth to go!

A bit dark, but it's hard to capture our
newest teeth friends when their host is so active!

So because life has been busy and I've been trying to enjoy/capture the moment versus taking time to blog, the rest of your past several weeks is captured here in photos!

Your 1st--of many--State Wrestling Tournaments



Enjoying the meet with Uncle Zac & Dues



And enjoying it sleeping through it
with Grandmomma-cita

 First out of State Road Trip to Michigan

Sharing Momma's cone after a day in the sun
[which resulted in your first sunburn! :S]

First Easter

Personal Egg





Adorable [boogery] self



Massie Family Picture

Grandma Great aka
Grandma Cow

Easter basket--filled with candy Papa & I
like and a bike helmet for you!

Sharing a Peep with Sondra

 Miscellaneous

Chewing on those toes!
You get your flexibility from your momma
not your papa!

Another cone shared--raspberry sherbet/vanilla twist
which we both agreed was delish!

First pair of stylin' shades!

All jazzed up for Sunday Morning Worship Nursery

 You bring us such joy baby girl!

Love,
Momma

Goals are meant to be accomplished!

I know I have been pretty MIA lately, but rest assure that even though I have have been "missing" I've definitely been "in action"!

Catching back up with life, as I scan through my list of 101 goals that I hope to accomplish in 1001 days, I have a handful successfully accomplished goals and more that I've made some progress on. Woot! Woo! :-)

Goal #2: Go Vegetarian for a month
For the month of February, Mister and I decided that we were going to fast from meat and bread and focus on what our next steps as a family should be. i.e. what we should get involved in, is there anything we should be initiating to better our community, etc. Let me tell you, even though this goal was to not eat meat, this carb lover struggled a lot more with not endulging in bread! [On Fridays my co-workers take turns bringing in a little treat. Well one day I headed to the workroom to find Panera bagels and there happened to be an Asiago cheese one. Score! After toasting it and covering it with cream cheese, I headed back to my classroom. Walkibg down the hall, I raise the small piece of heaven to my mouth when I realize I'm about to eat a bagel aka bread! Ugh! Darn it! One of my students enjoyed a bagel that morning nonetheless.]

After the month of February passed, we decided to continue to give up meat for Lent. Eating meatless seems like a healthier thing to do, even if not because I'm not eating meat, but rather because of the foods that I'm eating instead of eating meat. It's been a lot of fun to cook with Mister and experiementing with various vegetables. Yum! Yum! After celebrating Easter on April 8th, I think the game plan--after eating what meat is already in the freezer because I'm not all about being wasteful--I'll try to only meat if I know where it comes from. Which does not mean Meijer, Rays, etc. but rather a local farmer. We shall see. :)

Goal #12: Run a 5k in less than 30 minutes.
On February 25th, Mister, Momma-cita, my spin instructor, another workout friend and I participated in St. Rita's Family & Friends February Freeze. Well it certainly was in February and it certainly was freezing but some how I accomplished this goal that morning! You see, I was working through the Couch to 5k running program and my third run for that week was supposed to be the dreaded Week 5, Day 3: Run for 2 miles. You see, I've never ran 2 miles without stopping to walk so I was really nervous about this. I started with what I thought was a good pace and gave myself mental pep talks through the first mile and an half. As I came up to the 2 mile mark, I pushed myself to go a little more and then a little more and then a little more. The course was laid out around the blocks that the hospital is on and we had to make two laps around it. Well I thought that after the second loop we were headed back to the finish line, so that's what I was mentally pushing myself to, but come for find out we had to do an extra little loop [probably that last tenth of a mile]. So I kept pushing on and kept not walking. Soon I could see the finish line, I saw that my goal was definitely within reach stride. I kicked hard and crossed the finish line at 29:30!! My first 5k under 30 minutes and I didn't stop for any walking! :D

One hot [ecstatic] mess!
And an adorable, distracted one!

Goal #15: Run a block mile in under 10 minutes.
Continuing with the running theme, on March 7th, I accomplished this one. Mister and I discovered last summer that if you start on the sidewalk in front of our house and keep running until you get back you our house, it is right at 1 mile. Without the initial goal of completing the goal on that particular run, I accomplished anyways.

Running overall--but especially with Mister and Ains--has become pretty enjoyable and I'm sure there will be a post on the sybject in the near future.

Lil' Trooper in the Jogging Stroller

Goal #22: Breastfeed the lil' one for at least 6 months.
Ainsley is almost 7 months old--my oh my how time has flown!--so that means I've accomplished this by almost 1 additional month. The goal is to nurse her as long as I can until she's able to transition to cow milk. I'll be posting an individual post about this one as well! I've got a lot to say about this topic!

One quick word before heading out for a run--or maybe ice cream--even though I've been MIA lately, I was excitedly surprised that 10,000 visits have been made to my blog since it's beginning. So crazy! But thanks for stopping in and hopefully being inspired, encouraged, educated, or received a laugh on my behalf--that's the goal as I use this as an outlet! I won't wait another 3 weeks before touching base again!

Dear Ainsley [Week 26/6 months]

Happy Half Birthday little one! We celebrated this 1/2 Birthday with a dinner out and a couple shots in your thigh! I'm pretty sure Papa and I got the better end of the deal, but we promise from here on out, your 1/2 Birthdays will be more pleasant!

1/2 Birthday Celebration Cake!
Papa and I enjoyed it
and you enjoyed it as well...
just a bit delayed! ;)

Your vitals checked in at 26.5 inches and 18 pounds 9 ounces! Now we thought for sure you were over 20 lbs because a couple weeks ago I held you to weigh you and it was at 20. Oh well. You'll be twenty pounds soon enough, and until then Papa and I will continue to use you as our 18 pound dumbsmartbell while working out!

Speaking of working out, even though the jiggle of a nightime car ride isn't enough to put you into a slumber, Papa and I have been jogging with you in your jogging stroller and it seems to have just the right amount of jiggle to put you right to sleep! Papa commented on our last right we know exactly what to do come spring/summer time if you decide you want to make it a late night. We'll see. :)

Bundled up lil' sleeping duck!

Over the past couple weeks, we've discovered your new favorite "toy". You see formerly your favorite toy--or rather my favorite toy for you--was a lil' bumble bee that when you bend the one wing it vibrates! We've had lots of "buzz, buzzz, buzzzzzz" times with this bee, but I think you've had a change of heart. Now your fancy favorite seems to be... a piece of paper! You've crinkled lots of church bulletins and even "eaten" an AEP bill [too bad that's not an excuse not to pay it!]

Momma's Beauty :)

Let's see, last but not least, you had your first accident this week. Papa & I rose from bed, you continued to snooze away. Well then you woke with your usual smiles, sneezes and gas. You seemed content, but then within a few minutes you let out a cry. Not just any cry, but a painful cry, Papa rushed in to find you on the floor! Yikes! You rolled/scooted/inched your way right off the bed, taking a pillow with you and bonked your noggen on the way down. Thankfully, Papa watched you like a hawk the rest of the day and you must have a tough head because it didn't seem to affect you too much! Whew!

Much love little one!
-Momma

P.S. You successfully drank from a cup
this week! My, oh my, slow down!!

Dear Ainsley [Week 21]

Sweetest Baby Girl:

This week was another week of small changes that, I belive are foreshadowing some big'ins!

You've continued to have some food this week--a bit of rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and sweet potatoes/applesauce mixed--and you've seemingly enjoyed them all! We've also slipped you a bit of a green bean and a green pepper that can back out after some gumming, but I'm sure it won't be long for some more!

Despite new food adcentures,
one day you decided highchair = nap chair!
Papa's looking forward to when you
fall alseep while eating! :)

Although for forever quite a long time you have been wailing in the car at night, but the last week and an half *fingers crossed* you've been much more pleasant! When we first noticed the issue, Papa and I tried out all sorts of tactics to calm you and eventually we discovered that a certain toy seems to help a bit. You have one lil' bee toy that vibrates when one of its wings is bent. Well when we would vibrate it on you, you would calm. The problem was contorting my arm while driving to bend the wing so it'd vibrate to concole you. So when Grandpa Clum asked if we had any solutions for quieting you in the car, I explained I think I knew exactly what would work--a cattle prod! Kidding of course, Princess! Anyways, I was telling Grandpa Massie about this conversation and immediately he suggested a frog back massagers of their that has an on/off vibration switch. Perfect! Yet you have yet to give a chance to test it out since you are doing so well now! That's perfectly okay, lil' one. We don't need to test this out, you can just go on being good in the car!

Hopefully this never becomes a reality!

Other little changes lately that show you're growing is at night usually I would cuddle you to sleep and then you'd lay on my arm as you slept the night away. The snuggling to bed isn't working so well for you any more so as you've become fussy aka ready for bed, I simply put you on your belly and let you grunt yourself to sleep quite quickly.

Belly-down-put-yourself-to-sleep-nap!

It's exciting that you are growing and learning and changing, but baby girl, it's okay if you slow down just a bit!

Love you always as you grow and change daily!

Momma


P.S. Sorry for dropping the alarm clock on your head the other morning. It was early. I was half awake. You're a champ! ;)

This was NOT after dropping the clock!

Dear Ainsley [Week 16]

December 17th, 2011


Dear Jesus Ainsley,

This weekend was LBTs Christmas Cantata and we were asked to be Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. Three years ago, Papa and I were Mary & Joseph [largely because your papa can grow a beard by grunting!], but this year was much better as instead of carrying a cold, plastic doll, I got to embace you through out the program. As far as the acting, we were directed to "be in our own little world, captivated by you and talking amongst ourselves". Easy enough! Momma's usually in her own little world. You naturally captivate us. And I can alway chat with your papa. You did AWEsome with your role as well. The first service you slept through 3 out of 4 songs and then once awake you silently, and adorably stretched! The second service you were awake for 2 songs but didn't make a peep--and we didn't need that bottle I stashed in the bales of straw just in case!

Photo Courtesy of Gary Brown

I'm not going to lie. I was nervous. Nervous you would, well be a baby and cry or fuss. I was also nervous because on Saturday within ten minutes of needing to be on stage you learned a new trick. As you shoved your hand in your mouth--nothing new-- you figured out that if you blew you could make quiet the raspberry on your wrist!! Yikes! It was quiet humorous, but I don't think baby Jesus did that in the manger, and thankfully you didn't either.

Joseph, Mary, & Jesus

In addition to your great acting debut and teaching yourself to make raspberries on your wrist you made another huge development this week! I was out in the garage working on Christmas presents when your papa came out and calmly said you just rolled over. What?! I didn't want to believe him in part because we're constantly joking that you walked or talked when the other one isn't around. He clarified that it was just on the couch so we immediately came back in to see if you'd do it again... and you did! Five more times! And then you proceeded to roll over once on the floor! 

Way to go lil' lady!


Love,
Momma