The Postman Messed Up

The other day my sister called me shortly after she got my Christmas card. She told me her daughter Riley (4 years old) opened the card and just started laughing. She said the postman must have messed up and sent her a picture of herself.

Here are is a comparison of our Christmas picture and an old picture of Riley. What do you think? Twins right?

Who Does My Child Look More Like?

Here is a recent picture of Ainsley (Don't mind the black eye...she's learning to walk). Who does she look more like?

Boo from Monsters Inc?

OR

Cindy Lou Who?

Sleepy Baby

Yesterday, my first Mother's Day, was a busy day that resulted in no nap for Ainsley. During Ainsley's dinner this happened. I have seen pictures like this before but never witnessed it first hand. We could hardly keep it together we were laughing so hard. Enjoy!

The Tooth

We all know that babies put stuff in their mouths. It's an expected part of babyhood. They crawl places and they see things that we never see and put them in their mouths. We try to vacuum and keep the little things from going in their mouths. Somehow, they always find something we didn't see.

This morning my wonderful husband let me sleep in because of Mother's Day. When I woke up he asked me to look at something. He handed me this...


Yes, it is a tooth and it came from here...


My husband told me that he saw Ainsley chewing this morning and went to figure out what it was and found this tooth. We are pretty sure she didn't pull it out of his mouth and that she just found it on the floor. We figure he would have definitely noticed if she got it from his mouth. But still it makes you pretty sad...Tucker agrees...

Thank goodness she didn't swallow it or we wouldn't have ended up like this today...

What is the oddest thing your children have put in their mouths?

It's Even Scarier

Remember this post where I said that Ainsley looks like Ryan. I have recently referred quite a bit to the fact that Ainsley now looks like my twin.

Ryan was walking past my dresser the other day and saw this picture on it from when I was little. That's me in the middle sitting on Mom's lap.



Let's zoom in for a closer look. Scary isn't it. We are twins down to the facial expression! I think I laughed for 20 minutes when I discovered this.

A Month in the Life of Ainsley

Ainsley wanted to share a few highlights from her 7th month!

I started teething and Mommy gave me a carrot to chew on to sooth my gums. I liked it much more than those plastic teething rings.

Zoom in and you can see my teeth! Mommy says I'm being good and not biting because they are SHARP!

There was a cold day that I had to get bundled up really warm to go to Aunt Leah's house.

Happy Valentine's Day! Mommy was my Valentine this year. Notice my bow. I sport one just about everyday now. They aren't serving too much of a purpose besides fashion. Mommy is way more concerned about my hair than her own right now. I think it's funny.

Me and my favorite pug, Libby. I watch her constantly and laugh at the funny things that she does. She even lets me grab her tail. I like the way her fur feels in my hands. Mommy says that Libby is being nicer than anyone expected. I like Tucker too but he ignores me. Mommy says he's getting stubborn in his old age.

I just finished my carrots...They are all over my shirt but I am happy! I love to eat everything Mommy gives me.

My Inner Yankee

Yesterday after church was over, Ryan and I spent some time talking with our new associate pastor who recently moved here from Wisconsin. We were talking about his adjustment to living in NC and he said that it was a big adjustment. He listed a few reasons why but one of the reasons was the major cultural differences.

I am from Connecticut and have lived in the south for 8 of the past 12 years. I understand his comment. There are parts of me that I have given over to the south, but there are parts of me that will always be “Yankee”. Here are just a few examples:

• I move quickly - I drive fast. I talk fast. I shower fast.
  
• People who move slowly drive me nuts (this includes Ryan at times. I can't tell you how often I'm waiting for him at the front door with my coat on)
• I say what I think and therefore I am quick to offend people with my bluntness.
  
• A toboggan will always be a sled to me.
  
• I don't look total strangers in the eye when passing them in a hall or in a mall or on the street. I will always look away.
  
• I love the Fall and I do not consider NC “color” to be the same as New England “color”

There are things that I have fully embraced about the South. Here are a few of my favorites:

• I love biscuits. (I may have had this one before but it is stronger now!)
• The chivalry that still exists here that means people will open doors for you
• The strong Christian presence
• The Spring that lasts longer than 5 minutes and comes in March at the latest.
• I love that you can swim in the ocean in September
  

I believe that I am becoming a nice mix of both North and South, but in the deepest parts of my soul I will always be a Yankee.

Things that Go Bump in the Night

MaryBeth, her husband Rob, and I were talking today about the weird things that people do in the middle of the night. They had some funny stories but I haven't gotten their permission so I won't share them.

If you have ever slept in the same room as my husband, you have a funny story about him in the night. He is a very active sleeper. He regularly talks and moves around. When he used to work for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, he used to rent me cars in his sleep. It's about once a month that I have to turn the lights on in the bedroom at some awful hour of the night to prove to him that there are no spiders in the bed. The funniest part about that is that he's not afraid of spiders during the day. Ryan's dad even has told me that his camp counselors used to complain about his excessive talking.

During our first couple months of marriage, this was something that I had to get accustomed to. If you know me, I like things very quiet and very dark when I sleep. My sisters often refer to my sleep patterns as cave like. I was always trying to remember what it was that he said to me in the middle of the night but usually forgot.

There was one night that I will never forget. It was somewhere in the middle of the night when it began. I started to feel my head being lifted off the pillow. I opened my eyes just in time to see Ryan above me. He was getting ready to head butt me. No joke. He picked my head off my pillow and head butted me, a full on head butt. He then proceeded to roll over and fall back asleep. Since I was still mostly asleep myself, I just rolled over and went back to sleep, although I was a tad angry. In the morning, he nicely pronounced to me that his head hurt. No kidding. Mine did too. This is exactly what a girl dreams of when they start sharing a bed with their husband.

What is the weirdest thing you have experienced in the middle of the night?

TGIF

I am back in the world where Friday makes a difference. Through my maternity leave, I didn't ever know what day it was. Today it mattered. I made it through my first week of work.

I am very glad to be back at work. I forgot how much I enjoy programming. I know I'm a nerd but I am who I am. Being that I am only working part time, I do feel like I need to get a ton done while I am there. I have been very tied to my desk this week (minus my pumping sessions which I already hate). My brain is taking a bit to remember how I do what I do but its getting there. I guess by mid next week, I will be going a hundred miles an hour again in a hundred different directions.

As I picked up Ainsley today, I was again overwhelmed by how good my situation is. Anne has been great this week. She took over for MaryBeth so wonderfully. I am glad that the schedule is going to be a normal one next week though. I don't want to wear Anne out.

Now I'm off to make a dessert for tonight. We are having friends over to play cards. It's some game that has a game within a game. I don't remember the name but I know its fun. What game within a game wouldn't be fun.

Here's a picture of Ainsley with Grandma Anne (as we are calling her). She did have a nicer outfit on when I dropped her off but she peed herself.