Grayson Year 3

Oh, my baby boy. You've grown up so, so much.

He's now 25 lbs, and about 3 ft tall. He's got sass, is extremely well spoken, and hardly ever shuts up ;). He's got a crazy awesome imagination and tells us stories, engages in imaginative play, and comes up with crazy ideas. He's my little tornado, has the energy of a hummingbird, and never holds still, even in his sleep. He's mastered potty training, which I'm thrilled with. He's obsessed with Mickey Mouse, and we've ended up with a DVR full of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He still loves cars and trucks, and boats and trains, and anything else with an engine. He loves being outside, regardless of heat or bugs, and especially loves water, whether it's the Gulf, the bay, a beach, the splash pad, the hot tub, or even baths. He's wearing 3T shirts, but is still in 18-24 months pants, with size 7-8 shoes. He's been moved up in school, and is loving the more school-like environment. I still can't get over how grown up and intelligent he is. He talks constantly and comes up with crazy stuff: saying Gaga is "nervous" instead of "hilarious," congratulating the pilots on driving the plane well, and the absolute hijinks he gets into with his little girlfriend L. <--Seriously, they kill me with their cuteness. I've loved the last three years getting to know him, even when he's as stubborn as me and we butt heads. I can't wait to keep watching  him grow and see the kind of man he becomes.

3 years silly

Park time with the baby dinosaur

Birthday party

Dolphin cruise; we told him to look at the camera

Caught a crab

Hawaii

Napping with Gaga

Sibling love

First baseball game

Feeding his cousin

Battleship selfie

My silly goose

<3 <3 <3

Helping to clean up sticks

Ainsley Month 11 and 12

Sure, I didn't do month 11 and we're almost to month 13, but it's been a busy couple of months, so bear with me.

It seems like around this age, everything starts changing fast. You wait, and wait, and wait for milestones, and the seem so few and far between, and then BAM, all of a sudden they seem to happen every other day.

Over the past few months, Ainsley has started sitting up from lying down, waving, saying "bah bah" for bye bye, pointing at things she wants, standing all over the place (including in her crib), cruising along, walking with help, and babbling her head off (we've heard attempts at yellow, doggy, moo, moon, knees, boo, Pippin/puppy, and even pumpkin!) She makes mmmm noises when eating something yummy and says bye bye and hi, as long as you don't expect it on command. Daycare is getting better. She's still not napping nearly as much as at home (3 hours at home vs 1 maybe at daycare) but she's not screaming bloody murder when I drop her off either.

We've also got a climber on our hands. G was never that interested in climbing anywhere, but even though she can't walk, she hoists herself up onto the back of the couch, tries to climb on the windowsill, and treats me and James as a jungle gym. I have a feeling baby proofing will need to be a bit different with this one than with G.

We're still nursing! She's pretty good about solids, but we still nurse a few times a day. I've decided I'm going to let her decide when she's done, but I'm also not going to continue pumping or using fenugreek or worry about supply. So once she's done with the freezer supply of my milk, we'll switch to cow's milk for daycare and I'll nurse when we're together til she decides she's done.

She and G have been getting into some sibling rivalry too. Mostly about toys, since she always wants what G is playing with, and he likes her toys too. This ends with her "scratching" or trying to bite him, or just screeching at him. Then he tattles (no, really), or screeches back at her. Sometimes he knocks her over, but we're working on all that. I'm sure it'll get worse in some ways and better in others as they grow up, but we're trying to teach them how to behave while still letting them be little.

Here are the pictures from the last few months:

11 months

Bathtime fun!
(Photoshop courtesy of Amanda, since I had two photos, one good of A and one good of G and she spliced them together!)

12 months!!

My adorable 1 year old!

The end result of the cake!

Quick mama update:
-I've lost all the baby weight, plus 20-25 lbs more, bringing me back down to my normal, pre-SD weight. Usually this would be awesome, but it's mostly because I don't feel like eating because of all the stomach issues I'm having.
-My PPD is being handled pretty well between medicine and therapy, which has been hugely helpful to me.
-Hips and the diastasis rectii are still an issue, but hopefully at some point I'll find something that actually works. For now, the PT, chiropractors, etc I've seen haven't really been much help.
-I'm still job hunting. I've had a few interviews, but nothing that has gone farther than that.
-I think I'm up to thinking I've got this mama thing down about half the time now, which is pretty good. At least, the kids seem relatively happy and I get love from them, which always makes me smile. <3

Ainsley Month 10

June 24-July 23

-She is 15 lbs 15 oz, 27" long
-No common food allergies! She's had all the most common allergenic foods as of this month: peanut butter, eggs, strawberries, and shellfish (shrimp) with no reactions
-She babbles all the time!
-Teeth! Up to 4 now

Her naps have been a little off lately. Even though shes nowhere close to needing only one nap, she's been consolidating like crazy, often taking one monster 3 hour nap in the middle of the day instead of two naps. It drives me nuts, but our schedule while at camp is making it really difficult to find a decent sleep schedule for her. She also refuses to nap anywhere but her crib/pack n play, so I've become a bit of a hermit lately, or else I end up with a crabby babe.

She's saying stuff! While I was skyping with a friend I jokingly said "Say Angela!," and she fully said "an he ha!" I know that might not sound amazing to most, but it was so cool seeing her try to imitate our words. She also said "pup pup" when I was pointing out the puppies to her and she's said "baba" when we've told her to say "bye bye!" The mama and dada are getting more distinct too and she seems to know that they mean us!

It took nearly two weeks, but her two top front teeth have broken the surface! They're still coming in all the way but at least they're through. I took her in for a routine blood draw to test for anemia, and she didn't make a single peep as they put the needle in and found a vein, just looked me them and at me. She must have a pretty high pain tolerance.

She's had a lot of firsts lately. Her first day at daycare was on the 21st, and she only drank one ounce of milk. Her second day she didn't drink any milk. She hasn't slept well there either. We'll give her a few more weeks, but if it's still causing more stress than it's saving, we'll pull her out. She clapped, or rather just brought her hands together, but she's so exciting about it! Then a few days later, I picked her up from daycare, said "Say goodbye to teacher" and she waved! Up and down with her hand. It was adorable. So now she waves and claps on and off.

She has become one of the most happy babies I've ever seen. She still has her moments, but overall, she is just such a happy, content baby. She enjoys being held, but also enjoys crawling around on the floor (scooting really) and getting into anything we don't want her messing with. It'll be good to get back to our house when camp is over. It'll be  bit of a hassle to move back in, but I think everyone will be much happier; G will have all his toys, which will feel like new toys to him, and Ainsley will love exploring a new place. (I will enjoy having tv, internet, and cooking again).

When did she get so big?

Hardly ever holds still

Summer G Update (pic heavy)

My baby boyo is growing up so quickly I can't even stand it sometimes. Of course, once he manages to potty train successfully, I'll be even more impressed. It's an ongoing process.
AND UGH TODDLERS. Threenager is not an exaggeration. We've gotten some "leave me alone!"s and some "get out of my room!"s. These tantrums are making the terrible twos look like, well, kids' play! I'm hoping this is the threes kicking in because I don't want to see how it can get worse. Though, in the last week, it seems to have gotten better, so I have some hope.
Some Little Moments:
-I took a shower with him, and when we got off and I'd dried him off, he started hopping around the bathroom saying "ribbit! Ribbit! I a fwog!!"-Pat my toe! No, faster!-Knock Knock! Me: Who's there? G: Stinky sock! Hahahaha!-I Gwayson Lawrence. Your name Mama Lawrence. And and and Baby Lawrence.-We were reading his animal alphabet book, and we got to the elephant and he says "Roll tide!" complete with hand motions. I tried to move on, and he continues saying "Elephant! Roll tide!" He did NOT learn that at home!-"I need cheers Mommy!" And made me clink my water bottle against his sippy cup-I had the perfect opportunity to talk about consent with G. He has a friend at our church who he absolutely adores. They're so flippin' cute together. His friend gave the "teacher" a kiss and I asked G if he wanted to give her a kiss too. He said yes and walked right up to his friend, lips puckered, face up. I don't know if she didn't realize it, but she walked away. G said "I want to give kiss her!" And I told him "You can kiss her, but you have to ask her first, and see if she says yes. Sometimes people don't want to be kissed, so ask her first." He wouldn't ask; I think he was too shy, but he kept saying he wanted to kiss her and I kept responding that you have to ask someone if you can kiss them before you actually do. Repetition is great in this case. He did eventually get his kiss when they said goodbye. She's at least 2 inches taller than him; it melts my heart to see them together. And I'm so glad that this opportunity presented itself so we can start these conversations early!!-Me: What are you counting? G: Fingers! Me: Fingers? G: On truck! One, two, free, fowr, fibe, six, eight, nine, ten, eleben, twelb, tirteen...one-teen, two-teen, free-teen...-Me: "Do you want your sister to sit in the cart with you?" G: "Ya!" Me: "Ok, but you have to promise to be nice to her." G: "I need to pet her!!"-Just last Sunday at church, he and his friend were playing around, and when it was time for communion, they both ran between the two lines, up to the railing and started yelling "Mommy! Mommy!" Luckily, our church is very kid friendly and we were allowed to skip the line too, standing behind them. They continued to play during coffee hour, doing their usual run between the parish hall and the sanctuary. Eventually, I had to take G home, and when he said goodbye, he walked up to her and (umprompted) said "Can I gib you kiss?" Before he even finished, she'd full-on kissed him. It was so cute. On the way home he kept saying "[Name] kissed me on lips, Mama." So freaking adorable!

Pictures

The first and only time he's enjoyed making a mess. It lasted about 15 seconds. (It's an ice cream sandwich)

We made Peeps play doh. It didn't work, but he had fun

Taking care of his baby

Bathtime fun

See-saw on the beach

Easter 2015

I can't take my heels out of the closet without him wanting to wear them

Sibling sweeties

Ready for camp with his sunglasses and his "pack pack"

His fashion sense could use some help

Mermaid tail from a friend's birthday party

Minion ice cream

With Gran Gran and homemade Fourth of July shirts!

I'll take the extra snuggles when I can

Take my picta Mommy!

I've started taking photos of things that may be our "lasts" soon, like the last time he falls asleep on me

Ainsley Month 9

May 24-June 23

-Said Dada May 24
-Spent her first day in the church nursery on June 7
-Pulled up on her own on June 23

She's continuing to grow, grow, grow! This girl loves music! She dances in her seat during meals at camp, and smiles and laughs when the music plays. At church, she held herself up on her own on the pew and danced to the music that was being played behind us.

She's continuing to eat well, whatever she can feed herself, and pieces of what we're eating too. A lot of carrots and cucumbers from the salad bar at camp. She had ice cream for the first time at the beach when James' parents visited. She really, really loved it, and Jimmy had a great time sharing his ice cream with her. (It was also my first time getting ice cream from an ice cream truck! So I can check that off my bucket list. No joke.)

She's still army crawling around, but will also scoot on her butt, much like G did. She can't move from sitting to her tummy, or from her tummy to sitting on her own yet. The counselors at camp love to hold her, but she's showing extreme separation anxiety, so we're working on it. As long as she can't see me, she seems to do alright, but if she catches sight of me, it's all over.

One day she saw her reflection in the glass door of the oven. She started waving her arms and smiling and talking at it. She had such a blast, acting like she'd made a new friend. It was great! I guess I've gotta find her some playdates soon!

Cutie!

Look at those faces!

Ainsley Month 8

April 24-May 23

-New foods: pickles, eggs, blueberries, meatball, egg noodles, macaroni and cheese, chicken, grapes, strawberries, sweet potato, chocolate cake. This girl LOVES to eat!

-First word! On May 8 she said "mama!"

On May 14, Ainsley spent her first night in the crib in her room, and she slept 11.5 hours straight! We moved her after she went from sleeping through the night to waking up 3+times a night and nursing wasn't helping her fall asleep anymore. I think she was waking up because she could hear us moving around (or more likely snoring), and then could see me right next to her. If she couldn't see me, she'd go back to sleep. So I guess we've officially moved to the crib. It's a little sad, but we've ALL been sleeping much better, and her naps have improved to. I give partial credit to the zipadeezip, which is an amazing product for transitioning from the swaddle (even though mine is a bit big for her.) She was getting her feet stuck in between the crib slats, so we bought those mesh, breathable bumpers, and it's seemed to really help. They're pretty cute too, since they have safari animal scenes on them, which goes with her animal/giraffe demi-theme.

She's started really army crawling on her belly and can get pretty far,especially when she's going after one of G's toys. She's also starting to realize cause and effect with her noisy toys. She especially loves the music ones and will bounce around when they play music.

She adores feeding herself. She's not much for purees, so we've been steadily pursuing the baby led weaning path for her. If I manage to get food into her mouth, she spits it right out again until she feeds it to herself. Purees have much the same reaction, with much more mess. G has always hated being messy, but Ainsley couldn't care less and can make an astounding amount of mess with her food. It's adorable. And aggravating sometimes since she's not too fond of the cleaning up process

Getting a bit big for these pjs!

One of the best parts of having a girl is the clothes!! Thanks, Grammy for the dress!

Like I said, loves to make a mess :)

Disneyland

When I tell people I want to go to Disneyland or DisneyWorld, they always tell me to wait until my kids are older. If you have told me this, I'll try to put it gently: this is when I want to slap you. My kids aren't the reason I want to go to Disney. I want to go to Disney for ME. I love Disney. I love the fantasy, the movies, the songs, the rides, the food. So when my parents suggested Disneyland while we were in California I jumped! OF COURSE.

It was our second trip to Disney with kids. Our first had been right before G's first birthday, and had been a success, in my opinion. We met Mickey, went on a few rides, saw World of Colour, and I even rode my favourite ride (Indiana Jones). This trip went even smoother despite the addition of a second child. Ainsley was only 6 months when we went, so she was even more flummoxed by the sounds and sights than G had been the last time. But G. Oh G was old enough to enjoy himself this time. It was SO much fun to see him enjoying the rides and meeting characters and exploring.

Here's what we did:
-Realized we had no SD card in the camera and were held hostage for one on Main St
-Grabbed pins!
-Went to the firehouse and played on the horse drawn fire engine
-Rode the train to Toon Town (no room left on the Lille Belle car) This was by far G's favourite part. He was so excited to ride on the train and hear it whistle. It was so fun to see his face light up.
-Met Pluto. G loved getting hugs from Pluto.
-Met Mickey. G enjoyed exploring the house while we waited in line, but got really shy when actually confronted with Mickey.
-Played in Toon Town, exploring all the vehicles and the jail.
-Headed to the teacups, which he had a BLAST on. James and I (with Ainsley strapped to me) rode in a teacup with G, while my parents were in the neighbouring one. G loved looking for them and spinning around and around. PS: I am super proud of myself for managing to nurse A in the ergo while we were in line.
-Rode the carousel, which was closed last time. G had fun, and my dad wore Ainsley, though I'm pretty sure she slept through her first carousel ride.
-Stopped for lunch, and G crashed in the stroller. So we had a grilled cheese that wasn't eaten, but oh my gosh, he was so cute because he just curled up in the stroller to sleep.
-Went on Dumbo. I stayed off the ride; 5 people doesn't split up well. James rode with G, and my parents rode together, with Dad carrying A.
-Met up with my little Joy and her boyfriend and another friend of theirs as we stopped for snack since someone was hungry. Not surprising, since he didn't eat lunch. We got him a hot dog and I got my delicious cream-cheese filled pretzel. YUM.
-We all rode the train to Toontown again, and went on Small World. G seemed mesmerized by it, but I enjoyed riding it with him.
-Joy and her friends had to go afterwards, though we saw part of  the new parade. G enjoyed seeing Donald Duck.
-We decided to head toward Jungle Cruise, which was RIDICULOUSLY busy! It took forever to get through, but everyone seemed to enjoy it. G obviously didn't get the jokes, but he did seem to enjoy the boat ride, the people laughing, and the surprises (like the hippos)
This is where my mind goes fuzzy on what happened when.
-We went on Pirates of the Caribbean. We waited for a front row seat for G. Incidentally, I was wearing A and we found out that when I wear her, we count as two people, so James and my Dad sat with G in the front and my mom and I were behind them. And we all got splashed. G seemed to enjoy it, though he was a smidge freaked out by the drops. James said he grabbed on to him, but he wasn't scared enough to say anything, and seemed to enjoy them by the end.
-We ended up in Downtown Disney for dinner at the cajun place. Definitely not where I thought we were eating, but the shrimp and grits were good. And yes, I traveled halfway across the country only to eat traditionally Southern food. I recognize the irony.
-We were planning on leaving after dinner, but G fell asleep in the stroller again, and A was perfectly happy to be sleeping on my Dad's chest, so we decided to take advantage of that, and James and I got to ride on Indiana Jones, and the new Star Wars, which was awesome!
-We headed home on the bus, which G loved :)

Firetruck

Train time!

Pluto hugs

Pluto

He was totally shy in front of Mickey

In front of the castle

Waving at Daddy

Being silly

Hugs

Train again! With his "looking eyes" on

Worn out