Adventures with Ainsley Jane

i LOVE shutterfly

2010-11-15T21:24:00.001-05:00

we ordered a photo book of our wedding, and fell in love with shutterfly, since then we use them for holiday cards, invites and photo printing. i've ordered 3 more photo books since the first and they always come back perfect, i could never imagine using any other photo site! we even have one of their awesome photoshare websites for our family to see the latest pics of miss ainsley, because not everyone has facebook :)

we celebrate hannukah and christmas in my family, so i'm always on the lookout for a great happy holidays or wintery card so that everyone is happy, and i'm LOVING these, all of the pics from ainsley's photo shoot would look great in either of these bright and colorful holiday cards.

aren't they gorgeous, i'd love to get either of these in the mail myself!

since ainsley's birthday is just 6 days after christmas (tear - how is it even possible that it's almost been a year already!?!), i've also been looking for birthday invites, i'm doing an owl theme (of course) and i am in LOVE with these -

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

sunshine award

2010-07-05T16:00:00.001-04:00

it has been a month since my last post, eekkk! i have been enjoying the time with my boogie, she is sitting up by herself, playing peek a boo, crawling and pulling up on EVERYTHING! it's been an adventure and i'm sure there's no rest in sight!

my friend chrissy over at http://www.sasstastic.com/ nominated me for the sunshine award. she is mommy to the cutest little girl ever, like seriously - if i had the chance i might kidnap her. and she's pretty awesome herself too :)

The Sunshine Award! It’s so flattering to be told that my little blog brings sunshine into people’s lives.
Rules are as follows:

1.Thank the person who gave it to you! (thanks again love!)

2.Share 10 things about yourself

3.Pass the award along to 10 bloggers who you think deserve this award!

4.Contact the bloggers and let them know you’ve picked them for the award.

10 things about me:

1 - i always wanted a lot of kids, but after having ainsley i'm not so sure anymore. part of me thinks i wouldn't have time for all of them, but most of all ainsley is so awesome - how could the next kid ever top her (or even come close)?? (i know that's horrible to say outloud, but that's how i feel)

2 - i miss my gma every day. i really wish ainsley had gotten to meet her, but i can tell already she passed along a lot of her spunk and outgoing personality to my little one :)

3 - i love farmville, there i said it! i hate that one day kids will think that chocolate milk comes from brown cows, but i LOVE harvesting crops and animals - it is a wonderful way to waste a little too much time, especially since i've become an insomniac(sp?) lately

4 - roadtrips are my favorite kind of vacation. i know you can get there faster by flying, but the blaring of music, stopping for meals, gas and bad for you snacks, and just spending fun as a family are what a vacation should be all about. i still remember roadtrips from when i was little and i hope ainsley enjoys them as much as i do someday

5 - i love making people smile, but i can also be a bitch when i need to be

6 - i am a card-a-holic, i have a serious addiction. i have said it before, but i have literally boxes and boxes of greeting cards. everyone in my family has their own folder in the filing cabinet with cards i have picked out just for them. i keep telling myself i won't buy anymore cards until i use up what i have, but that never happens. i think i have enough so that ainsley's childrens children will never have to buy a greeting card in their lives :)

7 - my husband is my best friend and i would be lost without him

8 - cheesedip, guacamole & chips, lousiana pasta (from cheesecake factory) and cheesecake would be my preferred last meal

9 - i never knew what it was like to love someone so much until i had my daughter

10 - i love NOLA, if i could, i would pack up everything, buy a house and move there tomorrow!

bloggers who make me smile -

cathy @ http://oldeggsandham.blogspot.com/
liz @ http://rsgrl.blogspot.com/
lea @ http://minipingers.blogspot.com/
mrsbro @ http://lalalibraryland.blogspot.com/
LL @ http://storiesfrommyute.blogspot.com/

wordless wednesday

2010-06-02T09:23:00.000-04:00

wordless wednesday

2010-05-26T16:44:00.000-04:00

bittersweet week

2010-05-24T14:01:00.000-04:00

we did relay for life this weekend, in remembrance of my gma. the anniversary of her death is this coming weekend. it was hard to do, but through the tears we walked and tried to enjoy ourselves as much as possible. i'm so happy my hubs is up for doing things like this with me, it would have been so hard without him.

this weekend my sis is coming home, we haven't seen her since ainsley was 4 days old! i'm excited to see her (and meet her boyfriend, who she is bringing home for the first time). we're also both getting memorial tattoos this weekend, so that should be fun as well. i'll post pics after we get them :)

but at the same time, this weekend is going to be hard and i know i will feel like curling up in bed and not doing a thing. everytime ainsley does something cool, i think of gma missing it or the fact that she never even got to meet her and it hurts.

hopefully i will survive all of it and come back with great pics, wonderful memories with family and not so much hurt.

great weekend

2010-05-16T20:09:00.000-04:00

weekends are the bestest, i mean hanging out with the whole family is great. and it's awesome to be able to sleep (blake wakes up with ainsley on friday and saturday nights - how awesome is that?)! we relaxed, cleaned and watched movies together - seriously there is no better way to spend the weekend yall.

ainsley LOVED the sweet potatoes when we tried them again last night and it also resulted in her sleeping through the night for the first time ever. i hope i'm not jinxing it by typing it out ::knocks on wood::

we packed up the baby swing today and it hits me that everytime she hits a milestone/outgrows something it is so bittersweet. i am so happy she is growing and learning new things, but i wish she would slow down a little. it's all going by so fast and i am in no way ready for things like the terrible twos, let alone a teenager (you're allowed to return your kids right?) but taking it's place was her excersaucer, which she also loved. we instantly had loud giggles, spinning around and jumping up and down. i will have to try and get a video of it later. i'm a bad mommy and didn't have enought batteries, so she was batting at some of the stuff and it didn't light up or play it's music, so i can only imagine the fun she will have when it's all working.

blake's back to work tomorrow and we have relay for life this weekend, so hopefully the week goes by quickly!

sweet blog award

2010-05-14T01:38:00.002-04:00

thanks so much lady (http://ladymgray.blogspot.com/) head on over there stat, because she is a wonderful, witty and gorgeous mom. did i mention she's gorgeous!?

i'd like to nominate -

http://fallingforbaby.blogspot.com/
http://amanda-carroll.blogspot.com/
http://adayinthelifeofthes.blogspot.com/

love you ladies :)

Thankful Thursdays

2010-05-13T21:03:00.001-04:00

even though the hubs sometimes messes up (ie - mother's day) he is the honestly best husband, friend and father. ainsley absolutely lights up when he walks in the room, seriously yall she could light the dark with the look on her face when her papa comes home from work everyday. she giggles and smiles and reaches her arms out for him and it makes my heart melt every.single.time. he is also a wonderful husband and the best friend i could ask for, he puts up with a lot so that we can have the life we do and i am thankful for that everyday.

the other thing i'm most thankful for is finally beginning to have a social life again, wooot! silly i know, but i'm excited to have lunch dates on the schedule, the planning of a friends bridal shower, relay for life activities, etc. it makes me feel human again. although i must say, i think everyone wants to see and hang out with ainsley, not me, but i'll tag along for the ride anyday :)

trying sweet potatoes

2010-05-11T21:54:00.000-04:00

i think we'll have to try again tomorrow!

new pictures

2010-05-09T00:38:00.000-04:00

changes are a coming!!

2010-05-09T00:21:00.001-04:00

stay tuned :)

p.s. sorry i've been slacking, but we're about to get back on track!

catch up

2010-02-20T11:27:00.002-05:00

it's been awhile, but we've been busy so forgive us :)

miss ainsley has learned how to smile and it absolutely melts mommy and daddy's heart. it is now one of her favorite things to do. her second favorite would be to coo and ah at herself in the mirror, i think we may have a little diva on our hands, lol.

in honor of lent i have decided to give up pasta since it is my favorite food, i eat it way too often (seriously, sometimes twice a day) and it's not the healthiest. and our pastor also encourages taking up something good, so i have decided to try an accomplish at least 27 acts of random kindness before easter. i picked 27 things because i will be turning 27 on march 19 and i also thought it would be a fun birthday present to myself. i will be posting my random things as i accomplish them, so stay tuned!

p.s. i also have a wonderful award from my lovely lyse that i need to accept, but i will save that for the next post!

first snow

2010-01-30T21:04:00.001-05:00

one month stats

2010-01-26T16:49:00.003-05:00

my baby girl is doing great. still the same height (21 inches) but she's up to 10lbs!!

a few of my favorite things

2010-01-16T20:27:00.004-05:00

i've only been a parent for a little over 2 weeks, but i thought i would make a list of some of my favorite things! hopefully it will be useful to someone :)

1 - bertolli frozen dinners

i know it's not really a baby item, BUT this is a favorite of ours. i never got around to making any freezer meals, but these are fabulous! i love the lasagna rolls the best, but so far all of them we've tried have been good. i highly recommend them!

2 - receiving blankets

we use these for everything! they are soft, and work as a light blanket, head support for the car seat, burp cloths, etc.

3 - sooth and glow seahorse

this thing just plain rocks. ainsley is not a fussy baby, but the few times that she doesn't want to go right to sleep this thing works like a charm. she is usually out before it even gets to the third song.

4 - bouncy seat

i can only imagine that this will get even more useful. during the few times in the day she's awake she loves to sit in it with the vibration going and look around. she will stare at the little owl so hard it looks like she is trying to have a staring contest, it's so cute!

5 - playtex drop - ins

these things have saved little ainsley's tummy. she was having some gas problems and starting throwing up/spitting up a lot. then i remembered we had a pack of these bottles. once we started using these, she has stopped having issues, thank goodness!

i'm sure i will think of more as time goes on, but these have been my top 5 so far!

1st doc appointment!

2010-01-13T11:53:00.002-05:00

she's doing great!

up to - 8lbs 7oz and 21 inches long :)

we have her one month appointment in 2 weeks

birth story (long)

2010-01-11T10:54:00.005-05:00

it started on tuesday (12/29/09) at my 40 week 1 day appointment. my blood pressure was high and since we already knew an induction would be scheduled my doc went ahead and called the hospital to see how busy they were. they weren't very busy, so we were told to go ahead in. my doc wrote up some papers and sent us on our way. we headed home to grab a few things (hubs wanted a sandwich and we needed to get the laptop) and to take the dog over to his parents. since we didn't know how fast things would progress(i was only about 4cm), etc, when we dropped the dog off at my ILs house we just told them we were going to dinner and shopping and didn't want her to be alone. i was nervous, excited and giddy the entire way to the hospital. when we got there we grabbed out bags and paperwork and headed in to register (because i was slacking and had never sent the paperwork in, whoooops!).

we got taken up to our room, which was really nice. it had a tv, a pull out sofa for blake and our own bathroom with whirlpool tub! the doc on call was from my practice, he came in with a nurse and they checked my cervix (still about 4cm) and inserted the cervadil. after that blake and i hung out and watched TV for the rest of the evening. the nurse came in to give me a sleeping pill so that i could get some sleep. blake called all our parents and let them know we were there, and we both tried to get a good nights rest. when i woke up in the morning they took the cervadil out, checked my cervix (still only 4cm) and let me eat breakfast and shower. then a few hours later they hooked me up on pitocin. the nurses came in throughout the day to check on us and make sure everything was okay.

the day went pretty well, but later that night the pain started getting intense. the contractions started at 20ish minutes apart and the pain was getting worse. the doc on call came in, checked me (he said i was 5-6 cm now) and broke my water, which was a disgusting feeling. luckily the nurse cleaned me up very quickly. after that the pain and intensity kept getting worse, so i was offered the epi. i said i wanted it as soon as possible and was given it about 20 minutes later. the pain felt somewhat better afterwards, but i could still feel a lot and was surprised. i talked to the nurse and the doc came back to give me a higher dose. i could still feel a ton of pain, but continued to just scream/moan through it. looking back i should have said something again, but i was just in too much pain. the doc on call at the time was leaving, so the new one came in and checked me, i was told that i was still only 4-5 cm and that the earlier estimate of being farther along was wrong.

the doc left for about an hour - ish and my contractions started getting closer and closer together. they were about 2 minutes apart and at the intsity that the doc wanted to see. so she checked again and i was still only 4-5 cm dilated. she looked at me and said she could feel the baby's head trying to funnel it's way down already. that meant that my body was already trying to push this baby through while my cervix was not cooperating! i knew at that moment that she was going to mention a c-section. so i looked at blake and i told her that we would do whatever was safest for the baby and i at that point. so we stopped the pitocin so that my contractions would stop and the nurses and docs started getting ready for a c-section. blake held my hand and told me everything was going to be okay. luckily within about 20 minutes my contractions started getting farther and farther apart and i was in less pain.

they went over with us what would happen and what to expect and then started getting me ready. i was wheeled into the room and they started hooking me up to everything. the nurse was talking to me and they started putting up the blue curtain. blake was getting put in his scrubs and hat in the other room. the doc did some tests and poked me with a dull point and then a sharp point and asked when i could feel the pain. i was surprised at how much i could feel and kept telling him i could feel it. then i felt this super sharp pain and screamed ouch very loudly. the doc looked up and asked what hurt and i told him it felt like he was cutting me. he looked at the nurses and they told me they were going to put me to sleep. they put a mask over my head, asked me to take deep breaths and that's all i can remember!

when i woke up i was very groggy and was back in my room. both blake and my dad were there in the room with me (my dad is a night owl and said he had woken up at 3am and just felt like he needed to go to the hospital - none of our parents knew we were having a c-section it had happened so fast). the nurse came in, checked on me and they all asked if i wanted to see my baby. blake wouldn't tell me if the baby was a boy or a girl, all i knew was they were healthy. a few nurses wheeled her in the room and blake said here's your little girl. of course i started crying and got to hold her, she was the cutest thing i'd ever seen! she latched on okay and ate for a little bit before she got taken away again and i passed out and went to sleep.

blake ended up calling his parents, my mom and my step mom and told them all we had had the baby and that they were welcome to come. my mom and stepmom wanted to know wether it was a boy or girl, but his parents and sister decided to wait until they got to the hospital - they wanted to see her and get told. when i woke up again everyone was there and she was being passed around the room. i was in pain, but pretty out of it from the meds i was on (some of you got some very incoherent texts, lol).

we stayed at the hospital until sunday, i walked for the first time on saturday and was feeling MUCH better by then, but was super ready to be out of the hospital and back at home in my own bed!

so there's the story, sorry it's so long!

oh and her stats -

december 31, 2009
4:02 am
20 and 1/2 inches long
8lbs 10z

2010-01-09T02:51:00.003-05:00

i'll have to write out my birth story later, but for now i thought i'd get a quick update in. everything is going pretty well. we are absolutely smitten with our little girl :)

she has only really cried when she's hungry, which has been awesome ::knocks on wood:: she eats and then tends to sleep for 3-4 hours, she's turned into a piglet today though, she's been eating a TON! we'll see if it continues or if it's just a fluke. she loves to sleep on one of us and we usually let her, she's going to be so spoiled, i think she's only slept in her crib maybe 5 times since she's been home. otherwise it's on one of us or in her carseat.

blake went back to work today and i did it all on my own (including the night before). surprisingly i was able to get some sleep when she slept and i'm not overly tired. blake being the awesome hubby he is has decided that on saturdays or sundays when he wakes up he's going to take ainsley to his parents to hang out so that i have at least one day to sleep in and relax, he has encouraged me to go shopping when i wake up or do something that will be 'me' time. it's super sweet of him and made me cry when he told me. he says work is his time and i deserve some too!

i think that's about it for now, i'm off to try and get some sleep before she wakes up again!

hi world!

2010-01-05T01:22:00.000-05:00

welcome to the world ainsley jane

2009-12-31T18:43:00.001-05:00