For Anyone Who is Interested or Curious......

The 2 buttons on the right side of my blog page ---------->
are support buttons for 2 babies whose parents keep blogs for them. They are both very, very sick, though one is getting better a little more very day :)
If you are interested in checking out their stories, the links are below. I am sure the families could use the extra thoughts and prayers......

Kayleigh's Blog
http://kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com/

Stellan's Blog
http://www.mycharmingkids.net/

A Day at the Beach With Mommy

I loaded up the beach cart this morning, intending to get us to the beach before it got too hot. Good intentions and all that jazz......it took me over an hour to get the cart packed and us ready to go.

So after I got us all packed up, we set off for the beach. Ainsley was wearing her new toddler harness AKA "baby leash" so that she could walk like a big girl and I didn't have to be concerned about her pulling out of my hand and running into traffic. Anyone that knows me should know that I am not a huge fan of these things. I really had a very hard time buying it and putting it on her. But once I saw the smile on her face when she was wearing her pink puppy on her back, all of my issues with it seemed to go right out the window. She LOVES that thing. Not that her loving it means I am going to use it all the time. I'll be okay with using it in large crowds where having the stroller is not a good thing. I may even take it to the mall so that if she gets tired of being in the stroller, she can walk. We shall see.

Ainsley walked about halfway to the beach and then she was ready for me to hold her. So I carried all 27ish pounds of her and managed to push out huge monster beach cart that was loaded down with toys, snacks, drinks, sunblock, towels, a blanket. out umbrella, and 2 chairs. I am sure that I looked like I was moving to the beach permanently. I was like a pack animal.

We got to the beach and I started to get us set up to enjoy it. I started out by re-applying our sunblock, just to be on the safe side of things. Then I laid down the blanket and anchored it on either side with our chairs. Then I pretended that I was a javelin thrower and launched the umbrella spike deeply into the sand. Opened the umbrella. Set out all of Ainsley's toys and then turned around ans looked at the water. The dang tide was moving in on us! Guess I should have checked to see if it was high or low before we set out.......Since I had set us down so close to the water, we were in the line of high tide. And it was coming in fast. So, I set about dragging us back about 20 feet or so, well out of reach of the water. While I am doing this, Ainsley is trying to run out to the water and chasing the sea gulls. I am yelling at her (to be heard over the wind) over my shoulder, "Get back here and leave the birds alone. get away from the water. You can't go to the water without Mommy!" Her response was, "Ducks, Mama! Ducks." Did I mention that she thinks all birds are ducks? Yeah........

There were no tide pools today as it was high tide, so Ainsley was content to play in the sand. With every single one of her Little People and Princesses and sand toys. First she out to bury all of her Little People. Then set was happy to fill her bucket with sand from one side of the blanket and carry it to the other side of the blanket, where she dumped it out. By the time we left the beach, there was a giant hole on one side of our blanket and a giant pile of sand on the other. At least it balanced us out some.

At one point, the wind uprooted our umbrella and sent it end over end down the beach, towards this lady that was sunbathing. Her eyes were huge as she prepared herself for the onslaught of the possessed umbrella. Fortunately, I was able to catch it before it damaged her......

We were at the beach for about 2 hours, which is a long time for Ainsley, but she played the whole time. Usually she gets bored after about 30 minutes or so. We had a great time today, the beach was beautiful, the weather was perfect and neither one of us got sun burnt! Which for me is always a good thing, since I am so fair and burn so easily.

Ainsley came home and took a 3 hour nap, which is fine since she was awake this morning at 8:15, meaning she only slept for 9ish hours.........

Arts in the Park and The Opening of the Beaches

This was written on Sunday and I never could get it to save and publish to the blog, so here it is a few days late.

FIRST OFF, AN UPDATE ON AINSLEY AND HER SLEEPING IN HER OWN BED.....SHE MADE IT 6 HOURS LAST NIGHT. THIS WAS THE FIRST NIGHT SHE HAS MADE IT MORE THAN 2 HOURS IN A WEEK AND A HALF!!!!!!

We had a very busy weekend. There were a ton of activities going on this weekend out here at the beaches and we decided to take part in some of them. On Saturday, there was the Arts in the Park here in Atlantic Beach. So we loaded Ainsley up into the stroller and wound our way back through the neighborhood to the park. This park is pretty cool as it is so shady and has several palm trees that are bent and "wind-blown". It is basically a big field with palm trees, there is no playground or anything for the kiddos.

We walked through and looked at all of the booths set up by local artists. Ainsley was very excited to see all of the other babies and toddlers in their strollers. Once we saw all of the booths, we went over to the stage to watch some of the dancing done by one of the dance schools in Neptune Beach. Those kids were great! Ainsley stood by her stroller and played and watched the dancing.

We stayed at the park for about an hour or so and then Ainsley started getting sleepy from all of the excitement, so we headed back home.

Steven and I had to start getting ready for the wedding that we were to attend. Ainsley went down for a nap and we started the process of beautifying ourselves.

Sunday in the early afternoon, we drove over to Jacksonville Beach for the Opening of the Beaches. We were very excited to see the Sand Castle building competition, which was to start at 12. We got to the beach at 12:15 and found a spot for our stuff. Steven set off to look for the sand castles while Ainsley and I played in the tide pools. These tide pools were awesome. They ranged in depth from like an inch or so to about 10 inches. They still had inflow and outflow from the ocean. If you were to look at the beach from above it was like this: soft sand, tide pools, sand bar, ocean. I've never seen anything like it before.

Ainsley thought the tide pools were great. She was crawling through them on her belly. Chasing the older kids who were playing in them. Splashing around like a little wild child. She was having the best time!

All in all, we had a great weekend. We were very tired come Sunday night.

The Funny of the Day

Ainsley is at the age where her little sense of humor is starting to show. She will go to hand you something, and just as you reach for, she will pull it away and just LAUGH like it is the funniest thing. She will just babble away, almost like she is telling a story or a joke, with her hands just flapping through the air, and when she is done, she laughs. It really is adorable.

Well, tonight, after Steven got home, we were in the bedroom with him while he was getting changed out of his work shirt. She was on the bed with me, climbing on me and basically squeezing the life out of me. I told her to be careful, that Mommy was like a cat and only had 9 lives. And I am down to 2 since she hurts me all the time. I told her that if she can go a week without hurting me, all 7 of the missing lives will replenish and I will be back to 9.

Steven got on the bed and laid down next to her. I told her to go beat up Daddy because he is older and that means that he has more lives than Mommy.

Steven said, "Yep, Daddy is an old man."

Ainsley responded with, "Oh No!" And then she laughed like a little hyena.

An Overview of Ainsley's Sleep Training Progress and the Cutest Thing Ever!!!

Ok, so here is a quick run down of the progress, however little it may be, of the sleep training.

Friday night: 7.5 hours in the crib
Saturday night: 5 hours in the crib
Sunday night: 2.5 hours in the crib
Monday night: 2 hours and 15 minutes in the crib
Tuesday night: 1 hour and 55 minutes in the crib
Wednesday night: 1 hour and 40 minutes in the crib

I am not sure what is causing her to wake up, but whatever it is is making her inconsolable, almost to the point of hyperventilation at times. She will not calm down for any reason until I take her out of the room. Then she will fall back to sleep immediately. If I take her back to her room, she wakes up. Could she be having nightmares????

Ainsley has learned a new phrase. She can now say, "I love you." I have video for you to see of her saying it. It is THE cutest thing EVER!!!

Another NIght in the Crib

Ainsley made it 5 hours in her crib last night.

I am so proud of her.

Update on the Sleep Training

Ainsley went to sleep for her nap today in her crib, after 5 minutes. She slept for an hour and 15 minutes.

She has been asleep in her crib tonight for 2 hours and 30 minutes and counting. We shall see how the night goes.......

Drum Roll Please........

How does 7.5 hours sound???

Because that is how long Ainsley made it asleep in her own bed! She woke up at 5:30 this morning, crying. I went in there and she smiled this huge smile at me. I grabbed her up and just hugged her and was so excited for her. She is Mommy's Big Girl.

I will admit that I had a very hard time last night falling asleep. Tears were actually shed as I clutched the baby monitor to my chest. I missed my sweet baby girl so much! But I eventually fell asleep and everything was fine.

The Trials and Tribulations of Sleep-Training a Toddler

As many of you know, we have to this point, done the co-sleeping thing with Ainsley. Mostly due to my severe Post Partum Depression after she was born. I could not be away from her while she slept and I had the most horrible fear that something would happen if I were not there. It ended up working out well for us. She and I both slept better, beside one another. Our breathing and heartbeats would actually sync up. I always knew when she moved or needed me.

Now that she is nearing the 2 year old mark and I am finally starting to get over the PPD, we have decided that it is time to get her used to sleeping in her own room.

Anyone that has ever done any kind of sleep-training with an infant understands how difficult it can be. Now imagine doing it with a toddler. FUN STUFF!!!

We started on Wednesday night. We got home from Mike and Mary Lou's house for dinner and Ainsley went straight into the tub. After her bath, she got into her PJ's and she and I snuggled down in the rocking chair in her room with some milk. It took me an hour to get her to sleep. Once asleep, I gently placed her in the crib. The very second that she touched the mattress, she woke up SCREAMING!!!!! She was inconsolable, so I brought her back out to the living room with me and got her to sleep like normal. She slept in our bed with us that night.

Thursday night around 8:30, I took her into her room, changed her diaper and got her into her pj's. We again snuggled down in the rocking chair with some milk, this time with a nature CD of rainforest sounds playing softly in the background. I got her to sleep this time in about 35 minutes, but held off putting her in the crib for a little while longer. I wanted to make sure she was out cold. So about 20 minutes later, I placed her gently in the crib. Same thing. Woke up SCREAMING as soon as she touched the mattress. She stood up and held her arms out to me. It was HEARTBREAKING! I laid her back down, covered her back up and gave her eebee to snuggle with. I then began to gently rub her back. I did this for about 20 or 30 minutes. Every time I would think she was asleep and I would start to back out of the room, she would flip over and begin to cry. Steven went in and did the same routine with her for another 30 minutes or so. Then he got her up and took her to bed with him. She was out within minutes.

Due to having slept for so long and so good last night, she was wide eyed and bushy tailed this morning at 8:15. We got up and she had breakfast. Then she watched her eebee DVD and had some milk. We colored and played all day. She was really tired by 12:30. After she had lunch, I took her into her room and we settled into the rocking chair with some milk. After about 30 minutes, she was drowsy enough that I could lay her down in the crib, cover her up and sit in the chair without her crying. So I sat there for about 15 minutes and she fell asleep!!! She only slept for about an hour and a half, but it is progress in the right direction.

Tonight at 8:30, we started the process. took her in, got settled in the chair, she had her milk, and I waited. She was so sleepy. After she was done with her milk, I laid her down in the crib and patted her on the back. She fought falling asleep for about 15 minutes and I eased out of the room. It took her about 10 minutes before she started crying and I let her cry for about 10 minutes or so before I went in there. That was so HARD to do. I went in and picked her up and we sat down in the chair. She was out in minutes. I rocked her for about 35 or 40 minutes and was able to get her down into the crib without her waking up. I walked out of the room at 10:00. It is now 11:19 and she is still sound asleep in her own bed!

She did kind of squeal a little earlier and I had to fight to run back there. I have the monitor here with me and can hear her breathing and every now and then a little baby snore. I have no idea if she is going to make through the night or only for a little while longer. Part of me wishes for all night and part of me wishes for just a little while longer. This is hard on me too. It means no more little warm body to pull close to me in the middle of the night. It's sad but exciting all at the same time.

The Bunny Came and Ainsley's First Easter Egg Hunt

Ainsley woke up this morning to a basket full of goodies that the Easter Bunny brought during the night. There was so much, that the Bunny had to use a laundry basket instead of the pretty Easter bucket that we bought for Ainsley. She really raked in the loot this year. She got a wooden puzzle, a TON of Little People, a Wonder pets DVD, a coloring book and some crayons of her own, sand toys, a Wonder Pets book, a new baby doll, a stuffed MingMing from the Wonder Pets, a stuffed duck, a swimming duck for the bathtub, textured balls, sidewalk chalk shaped like eggs, some new sunglasses, a wind-up bunny that hops, a sticker book, and a set of Wonder Pets figurines. The Easter Bunny did well, knowing that Ainsley LOVES ducks and the Wonder Pets.

She played with her new toys for a while and then my dad came over for a visit. Since he moved into his new apartment earlier in the week, Ainsley has been searching for him through the house. So, she was VERY excited to see her Poppa. They played for a while. Ainsley put him to work pushing her on her car. He created a monster with that when he was here. She WILL NOT ride the car by herself anymore. She HAS to have someone push her on it.

Later in the day, we went over to Fred and Janet's house for Easter dinner and an Easter Egg Hunt. Ainsley was so little last Easter that we really did not do anything. She got a stuffed bunny Peep and that was about it. This year she got to participate in her very first egg hunt. She had her bucket and was ready to go. When the kids were told they could go outside and start the hunt, she pushed her way to the front of the group and off she went!

She picked up on what she needed to do real quick. She was running around the yard, hauling her bucket and filling it up with eggs as fast as her little legs would carry her. Her bucket started getting full and heavy, but she did not let that slow her down. She was an Egg Hunting CHAMP!!!! It made me so proud.......

I took some video today of Ainsley with her new baby doll. It showcases just how much of a GENIUS she really is. Please watch and prepare to be in awe.........

Prepare to be Proud.......

Ainsley fell asleep at about 8:00 tonight, in Steven's lap. So, I picked her up and took her to her room. I carefully placed her in her crib, covered her up and placed her little night lite in the bed with her, and walked out of the room. She stayed asleep through all that.

SHE SLEPT IN HER OWN CRIB ALONE FOR AN HOUR AND 45 MINUTES!!!!!!

Real Quick.....

Just wanted to say "Happy 21 Month Birthday Ainsley Mae!"

My Dad's New Apartment

Yesterday, Ainsley and I went over to my dad's new apartment. My aunt Teresa and uncle Ron had driven down from Atlanta with a UHaul full of my dad's furniture and stuff. So we went over to see if there was anything that we (read, I) could do to help them get unpacked. By the time that we got there, they had the truck unloaded and had already returned it. They had his bed and dresser set up, along with his 2 night tables. The thing that you have to keep in mind about this apartment is that it is tiny. When I say tiny, I mean like 390 square feet of tiny. But, it works for what he needs. And he likes it, so that is all that matters.

The apartment is one room with a bathroom. You walk in the door and to your left is a kitchen, with a mini sink and a 3 burner stove. Straight ahead of you is his book shelf and TV. Next to the TV is his dresser. Across from the dresser, is his bed, which is to your right when you walk in the door. The place is 13 feet wide and 28 feet long. So it it basically a bedroom with a little bitty kitchen on one wall.

Ainsley loved the place, especially since she got to play on her Poppa's bed. She had her purse full of all her Little People, Princesses, ponies and what nots. She dumped it on the bed and played with Uncle Ron. The she discovered the recliner that rocks. She stood in the chair and kind of bounced off the back of it, making it rock. She was saying, "Aweeeee!"

Potty Training Mishaps

Ainsley woke up this morning bone dry! So I picked her up and rushed her to her potty. I took her diaper off and sat her down on the potty. She sat there with a huge grin on her face and then she stood up. As she was walking bare bummed across the bathroom, I hear this little voice say, "Ewww! Uh oh!" I look to see a trail of pee across the bathroom floor. She was walking and peeing at the same time and saying, "Ewww! Uh oh! Ewww! Uh oh!"

I sat her back on her potty while I cleaned up the floor. I couldn't help but laugh though.

Talking in Her Sleep

This morning I was woken up by Ainsley talking. She was saying, "eebee! eebee!" I rolled over to look at her, expecting her to be awake. But she was sound asleep! This is the first time that she has talked in her sleep, that I am aware of anyway. The thing that cracks me up about this, is the fact that she was dreaming about eebee. I knew she loved eebee, but to dream about him? LOL.

On a sad note, I spoke with a friend of mine today. She found out today that her little bean no longer had a heartbeat. Please keep her and her Angel Baby Bean in your thoughts and prayers.

65_RedRoses (A Documentary About Cystic Fibrosis)

I follow a blog called Confessions of a CF Husband (here on Blogger). It is the story of a family that has been greatly affected by Cystic Fibrosis. The wife had a double lung transplant last April. The family has a friend that is also a CF patient, that has made a documentary about her life and her wait for a double lung transplant. If you are at all interested, please check them out.

http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/ Nate, Trish and baby Gwen's story. It is a very touching thing to read and will have an impact on your life, whether you know someone with CF or not.

Here is a link to view the trailer of the documentary film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMGUXOtFxjc&feature=player_embedded

Trying to Get Ainsley to Repeat After Me

Today, I had the brilliant idea to try and get Ainsley to say, "Mommy's baby." Should have been a breeze as she can both of these words flawlessly, right? Nope. Here is what was said......

ME: Say Mommy's baby.

AINSLEY: Baby Mama.

ME: No, say Mommy's baby.

AINSLEY: Baby Mama.

ME: Ainsley, say Mommy's baby.

AINSLEY: Baby Mama.

So, apparently, instead of Ainsley being Mommy's baby, I am Baby Mama....... Isn't she a little young to be picking up the slang stuff??? LOL.

Drawing Pictures, Dinner at G. Diddy's House and BUBBLE WRAP!

The day started out being quiet here at the house. Ainsley decided that she wanted her "ya ya's" which are her crayons. Except they are really mine, all 125 of them. I LOVE crayons. So, I got the box out and we sat down to draw some pictures......

I became like a little kid, "No, Ainsley color on YOUR paper. This is mine to color on."

"This is MINE. Don't color on it. I'm not coloring on yours."

Well, Ainsley didn't listen to my whining, so my picture had little streaks all over it from her drawing on it. OH WELL. She also discovered that if she bears down REALLY hard, the color that shows up on the paper is different. So, she ended up BREAKING some of my crayons! It was like a piece of me was being broken :( Again, OH WELL, we were making some awesome pictures!

We went to Fred and Janet's (Steven's dad and step mom) house for dinner. Ainsley calls Fred G.Diddy. They had made spaghetti, which Ainsley LOVES. So she sat up at the counter in the backed bar stool, propped up on several beach towels, with a towel tied around her neck, and ate her spaghetti. Her G.Diddy sat right next to her. She was a MESS, but honestly, it was not nearly as bad as it could have been. She kept the mess to her face, for the most part. She was so proud of herself, sitting there like a big girl and eating her dinner.

Later, after we had gotten home, Steven went into his office to pay some bills. Ainsley loves to go into the office as there is a ton she can get into. She pulled down a roll of bubble wrap from the shelf and brought it to me. I unrolled it and introduced my child to the joys of bouncing on bubble wrap. She thought that was the BEST thing ever! The smile on her face was priceless!

Adventures of Ainsley and the Water Cooler

In our kitchen, we have a water cooler. We use it for drinking water, as our water in the sink is through the water softener, which adds salt to the water. No so good for drinking. Anyway. Ainsley has discovered that she can push the button and make water come out. GREAT! So, earlier tonight, she took one of her tea cups from her play kitchen and walked over to the water cooler. Can you see where this is going???

I walk into the kitchen behind her to see her standing there at the cooler, with her cup poised under the spout and she is releasing water into her cup. She is just beaming, she's so proud. She then takes the cup, that is full to the brim, and walks across the kitchen and into the living room with it. Seeing as how she is a little person and still walks recklessly, water was splashing out onto the floor the whole time. She got into the living room and went to take a drink. Well, all of the water that she had worked so hard to get, had spilled out onto the floor. She held the cup up and looked at it like, "What the heck happened to my water?"

So, she goes back to the cooler for another cup of water. Except this time, when I walk into the kitchen behind her, she is not pouring the water into the cup. She is pushing the button and letting the water just pour out. There is a puddle at her feet, meaning the bottoms of her shoes are wet. She then decides to turn and walk across the tile floor with wet feet......

What happened next was like a slow motion montage of people slipping and sliding and falling. She very comically preceded to slip and slide across the floor, finally falling flat on her bum. She got up and slipped and slid again. Steven picked her up and put her on the carpet so that the bottoms of her shoes could get dry. She then steps onto the tile floor and finds the one wet spot left and slips in it. And falls right on her bum AGAIN!

She was not hurt in any way, as her diaper pads her bum and protects it. So, now we have to figure out a way to keep her from constantly pushing the button and letting water pour out.......

She made it........

The 4th pair of panties lasted 45 minutes! We were actually on our way down the hall to the bathroom to try and go pee pee. She almost made it. I do know that she does not like the plastic waterproof pants very much......

On to the 4th Pair.....

The 3rd pair of big girl panties lasted 30 minutes. It seems like we have a pattern going on here....30 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes. I will have her on the potty seat in 10 minutes this time. We shall see how it goes.......

Our Trip to Babies R Us/Toys R Us and Big Girl Panties

Yesterday while at Walmart buying groceries, I purchased a total of 32 pairs of BIG GIRL PANTIES!!! Not for myself, but for Ainsley! They are the CUTEST things I have ever seen. So, having bought all of these big girl panties, I now needed waterproof pants to go over the panties. The only place I have ever seen these sold is Babies R Us.

So, I loaded Ainsley up in the car and off to Babies R Us we went. We found the waterproof pants right off the bat. Ainsley held the packages to her chest like she was so PROUD that Mommy was buying these for her. She was showing them off to everyone that would look. She was saying, "This Mine, this mine!"

So, having some time to kill, we meandered on over to the Toy R Us side. I was looking for some Wonder Pets toys for the uhhh, Easter Bunny to buy to put in someone's Easter basket. In my search for these toys, we walked past the Sesame Street toys. Ainsley pointed at the Elmo dolls and asked, "Who that?"

I told her that is was Elmo. She responded, "Amy." I said, "No Elmo." Again, "Amy."

So I guess Amy=Elmo......

She then went the rest of the trip yelling, "Want Amy! Want Amy!"

It is now 8:10 pm and Ainsley has been in her big girl panties since 7:10 pm. She is on her 3rd pair. The first pair lasted 30 minutes. The second 15 minutes. We are still counting on the 3rd pair. I will keep you updated, as I am sure that you will be on the edge of your seat, waiting and wondering :)

Ainsley's Doctor's Appointment

Ainsley had her 18 month Well Baby check up today. I know that she is just days away from being 21 months old, but with her having been so sick for so long, she was unable to have the appointment until now.

She has reached all of her major milestones; such as stacking blocks, forming simple phrases, following simple directions, and having a vocabulary of at least 10 words. She weighs in at a whopping 26.5 pounds, which puts her in about the 65th percentile. Height wise, she is 33.5 inches tall, meaning she is in the 79th percentile. I thought she was pretty short, but I guess I was wrong. Maybe all of these people that have been telling me that she is big for her age have been right???

On the vaccine front, she was scheduled to get the first dose of the MMR vaccine. That shot scares the HELL out of me. It just gives me this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I have done tons and tons of research since Ainsley was born regarding the vaccines she has to have. This is the ONLY one that I have any problems with. I won't go into details, as I want people to do their research and know what they are getting into before they vaccinate their child. Choosing to vaccinate your child is a very personal decision, not one that should be taken lightly and definitely not one that can be made for you. Please know your options.

I opted to postpone the MMR vaccine to a later time. Instead, she got the 4th DTaP and the 2nd Hepatitis A vaccines. Poor baby girl got both shots in her little left leg. She SCREAMED like you wouldn't believe. This is the part of the appointment where I have to fight the urge to hurt the nurse because she is hurting my baby. The shots were over in 2 seconds flat, but the tears kept coming for several minutes. She just threw her little arms around my neck and cried into my shoulder. It breaks my heart when she cries like that.

The doctor did hear a heart murmur for the very first time today. He said that it sounds like a Grade 1 Systolic Ejection Murmur. Grade 1 meaning "Very faint, heard only after listener has "tuned in"; may not be heard in all positions." Systolic Ejection means that the murmur is occurring while the heart is contracted, just as the blood is being released. Make sense??? Yeah, me either. Cardiology was NOT my best subject in Nursing School. basically what it means is that is not really anything to worry about.

They will have her come back in about 3 weeks or so and see the same doctor again. If he hears it a second time, he will have her come back again in another 3 weeks. If he hears it a 3rd time, he will refer her to a Pediatric Cardiologist for an Echo cardiogram. 9 times out of 10, he says it will come back as nothing. I had a Grade 1 murmur when I was a baby, not sure if it was systolic though. Steven had a murmur when he was a preteen. We both outgrew them and I believe that Ainsley will too.

So, because of getting 2 shots in the late afternoon, Ainsley was sort of a pill tonight. I can't blames her. vaccines make you feel like CRAP. But, she has fallen asleep on my cchest for the VERY first time today. She had no nap at all. She was EXHAUSTED. And she looks SO peaceful right now.

For All of The Parents With Little Ones

Extended Rear-Facing for toddlers.

This is something that I feel VERY strongly about.

They may look uncomfortable, but they aren't.

Their little bodies are made for folding up and being squished.

Think of how they were in the womb.

I look at it this way......

Would you rather your child have a broken leg or a broken neck???

Here is an article regarding the AAP changing their recommendation for rear-facing. It used to be one year of age and 20 pounds. Now they are recommending 2 years of age and the maximum weight limit for rear-facing on your car seat. It's about time. Maybe more parents will begin to participate in Extended Rear-Facing and more lives will be saved. Please read the article if you have a little one, and pass it along to anyone you know that has a little one. I know that as parents, we get excited about our children reaching the next milestone. This is one that is worth you and your child, both taking your time on.

http://aapnews.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/30/4/12-a

How to say Love You, Ainsley's Babycakes and Zavi's 1st Birthday

Seeing as how Ainsley has started putting together simple 2 and 3 word sentences at times, I have begun to try and teach her some important ones. Today the sentence was, "Love you." I figured it would be an easy one since it gets said so many times throughout the day. SO, this morning I set out on my mission of getting Ainsley to say it. Here is how it went EVERY single time.....

ME: Ainsley, Mommy loves you. Can you say Love you?

AINSLEY: Bye bye.

ME: Say Love you.

Ainsley: Bye bye.

ME: Ainsley, say Love you.

AINSLEY: Bye bye.

ME: No, say Love you.

AINSLEY: Bye bye.

So, I am guessing that when she walks through the house saying, "Bye bye." all the time, what she is really saying is, "Love you." Wouldn't you come to the same conclusion???

One of Ainsley's favorite things to do is to pull CDs off the shelves and throw them in the floor. She was engaged in this very important task this morning, when she came across and Elvis CD. She opened the case, saw the pictures of Elvis and said, "Awwww, that my Babycakes."

Evidently, this is just one more way that she is like her Mommy. She finds Elvis to be quite attractive :)

Tonight, we went over to some friends' house for their daughter's 1st birthday party. Ainsley adores Zavi, so it was a treat for her to go over there. She loves playing with the toys, and now that Zavi is walking, playing chase around the living room. She also had a good time watching Zavi tear into her cake.