Baby dedication and more

I'm a little late posting about Ansley's baby dedication at church since in was last Sunday. But, it was such a sweet time and we were so happy to share it with our family and friends. We stood at the front of the church with the other families and listened as our pastor explained the importance of raising our children in a Christian manner...the whole while Ansley was fussing and putting on a show for the congregation. At one point Butch said something about strong willed children and Ansley took the opportunity to scream. Needless to say, everyone thought that was pretty funny.

I've also posted a photo of Ansley sleeping with her stuffed animals. She's gotten to where she wants to be holding onto at least one of them, but sometimes all of them. Jeff said the other night when he put her to bed she longed to her pile and collapsed on top of them. Unfortunately she hasn't really taken to her doll that I was so excited about giving her for Christmas. Someday she'll love it though. I'll make sure of that!



Ansley assuming her regular position when Grandpa is around.


Ansley and BFF Avadelle

Ansley's photos

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Ansley had her photos taken last week by Ryan Price. He did such an amazing job and we're so happy to have these pictures of our sweet baby girl at eight months old. We hope you enjoy them!

A girl loves her bath!

This may be no surprise...

...but I let Ansley open one of her Christmas presents a little early. We had someone from church come over tonight to photograph her and I really wanted her to have the doll I ordered in some of the shots. It's precious and is just as sweet as I hoped it would be when I ordered it. Anyway, the photo shoot didn't go as smoothly as I hoped it would. Ansley was difficult for most of it, but Ryan was confident that he got some good ones. I can't wait to see them...he does such an amazing job. I've decided that I'm not going to wrap the doll back up because there's no use. Ansley's been doing the sweetest thing lately...when she sleeps she holds the stuffed animal in her bed and she's been carrying around this little horse for two days. Since I've given her the doll she's been carrying it all over with her. Precious.

I also have to include this photo of the homemade yeast rolls that I made last night. You have no idea what trouble I've had with yeast rolls. They are the most finicky things ever. Well, I've finally gotten it and this photo is proof. They taste just as good as they look. Unfortunately. My mother-in-law will be proud. It's her recipe and she knows how much trouble Jeff and I have had. I may sound crazy blogging about yeast rolls, but I usually don't have so much trouble with things I cook. So I'm excited that I finally got it!


Can you believe that Christmas is only a couple of weeks away? How did THAT happen and where has the time gone? Shopping with an 8 month old is quite an experience, especially when it's cold outside. This morning at Kroger, I had a real mom moment. Ansley spit up and of course I didn't have her bag with me, so I had to go open a roll of paper towels to clean her up. And then she started having a meltdown and we didn't have her pacifier either, so I went to that aisle, opened one up, and popped it in her mouth. I laughed to myself because I saw three different moms walk to the granola bars and open some for their children. HA! I ended up running into a sweet friend from church who offered to take Ansley for a little bit while I finished my shopping. So, I'm not sure how I'm going to get the rest of my Christmas shopping done. I may be doing a lot of online shopping tonight.

Photo with Santa

Favorite Christmas Memories

Last night I got to share one of my very favorite Christmas movies with Ansley. I pulled her chair into the living room, right in front of the TV, and let her watch Rudolph while I fed her. As you can see, she was much more interested in Molly, but I'm looking forward to years of watching the movie with her in the future. I want to start holiday traditions that she will someday treasure. My favorite memories of Christmas are of making ornaments and cookies with my mom, going to my Grandma and Grandpa's house for Christmas Eve, and waking up as soon as Santa was finished putting out the gifts to open them with my sister, brother, and parents (yes, it was in the middle of the night). I can't wait to see Ansley's excitement as she finds the gifts that Santa has left for her. But I also want to make sure that she understands that the importance of Christmas is not Santa or the gifts, but her Savior and His birth. And I want her to have a joyful heart for giving to those that are most in need. These are all precious lessons that I look forward to teaching.




A friend of hers came to visit yesterday. His name is Sterling and his mom and I used to teach together. He's 10 months old and is walking very well. Ansley was so taken by him and just watched him walk all around the room without any help or furniture to hold. She must have been thinking it was so cool and wondering how she could do that herself. The last time she saw him he was just beginning to crawl. I know it won't be long before she's doing it herself. In just four months my sweet baby will be 1! Where has the time gone?

8 months old

Another month has quickly come and gone and Ansley is changing so much. Here's a little bit about her at 8 months:

-She has two bottom teeth. It's amazing how quickly they grow...one day they weren't there, then all of a sudden they were. Now you can see them when she smiles.
-Sleep is a touchy subject. This child thinks she doesn't need it and it's only gotten worse since travelling for the holidays. It's going to be a long month.
-Ansley loves dogs. She chases Molly around the house and laughs when she gets close enough to touch her. And Molly is so patient with her, even when Ansley gets a little rough.
-She's wearing 12 month clothes.
-She loves being outside, especially sitting in the swing or rocking chair with Grandpa.
-Ansley eats really well and has gotten the hang of puffs.

I had to take her to the doctor yesterday because this sleep situation is out of control. I found out that she's not getting enough liquid and we may have to go to formula. I'm holding off on that as long as I can. I had resolved to go ahead with the formula after we left the doctor's office, but then I got really emotional thinking about it and am not ready. So, I'm following the doctor's advice to put diluted apple juice in a bottle once a day and then transition to a sippy cup. Ansley loved it when I gave it to her yesterday. I did try a bottle of formula for her last feeding last night, but she would have none of it. I guess she wasn't hungry enough to like it.

Thanksgiving

We have had such a fun and busy week. We visited Jeff's grandmother and aunt and uncle in San Antonio Sunday through Wednesday. Tuesday night we took Ansley to the Riverwalk and ate at an amazing restaurant and visited the Alamo. We headed to the Dallas area Thursday for a delicious lunch at my Grandma's and had another feast Saturday night. There may have been a little Beatles Rockband involved too. Let's just say that my mom really should stay away from the mic.

So we have only a month until Ansley's first Christmas. We're trying to talk Daddy into putting up the lights on the house soon. Our whole street is lit up by Christmas lights.

Aggie gameday in the rain

Want to know what we did today?



Ansley enjoyed mixed vegetables and pears with pineapple while watching the Aggie band march into Kyle Field.



Then Daddy tried to take some pictures of us, but she was only interested in trying to pull my nose off my face. She loves this game.



Then Daddy finally got a good one.




It was so cold and rainy that we decided not to go to the game, so we came home and enjoyed our first fire of the year.




With the house smelling like cinnamon and the tree lit up, it feels a lot like Christmas here!

What's New?

Lots of new stuff going on here:
-Ansley has a tooth!
-She's eating puffs now and loves them. They'll keep her entertained for a while and that's really good. It's so funny to watch her eat them because they sometimes get stuck to her hands and she has a hard time getting them off. She also tries to stick her entire fist in her mouth.
-She's learned how to feed Molly puffs (and Molly really likes them too).
-Ansley has really mastered pulling up to standing and is constantly working on that all day long. She falls a lot though. Not hard or enough to hurt, but I wonder if she gets tired of it.
-I found her standing in her crib this afternoon, crying, pacifier on the floor. UH-OH!
-She has started begging for food like a little puppy dog. She does this thing with her mouth that makes her look like a catfish out of the water and does that when she wants a bite. Every time I put my spoon to my mouth today, there she was with her little eyes looking up at me with her mouth open.

She and I decorated for Christmas this past weekend and we're really enjoying it. I have loved showing her the Christmas tree and her stocking. I even wrapped some of her gifts and put them under the tree. She was really quiet earlier today and I found her trying to open one of her boxes. She definitely is my child. I ordered her the most precious doll from www.babybeblesseddolls.com and it's supposed to arrive this week. This is the most special Christmas gift we've gotten her and I can't wait to wrap it up and put it under the tree.

We got dressed up tonight (when I say dressed up, I mean out of our pajamas) and went to the Thanksgiving potluck at our church. The food was all so yummy and we enjoyed seeing some of our friends get baptized. I love our church family! And we're looking forward to more Thanksgiving food next week!

More with Ansley

So, I haven't written in a while because not much has been going on here except for chasing after Ansley. She's gotten really quick and has realized that she is not confined to the living room and has an entire house to explore. I'm having so much fun getting ready for the holiday season. In fact, I'm decorating for Christmas this weekend. I know it's pretty early for that (especially since I just finished decorating for the fall), but Jeff will be hunting and I'll have lots of time to fill and figured why not now. I LOVE getting the house ready for Christmas and can't wait to share it with Ansley. So, I know plenty of people will think I'm crazy for doing it, but I'm excited and will get to enjoy it all even longer this year!

Oh, one more thing. Ansley is pulling up to standing on her own. It's one thing after another here!

This one's for you, Mom!

Okay, Mom. You've been asking for recent video of Ansley crawling and here it is. Wow...she's been fussy today.

7 months old

Ansley Grace,

You are seven months old! Your personality is so sweet and your smile is infectious. Here's what you're up to these days:
-You are crawling all over the house. Fast!
-You still love your bath and now that you can sit in the tub, you could spend an hour in there playing with your toys.
-There are tons of toys for you to play with and you love doing that as long as Daddy or Mommy are sitting on the floor with you. You love an audience.
-You have lots of friends, but they're all a little too young to play with yet. Mostly they just stare at you as you talk and squeal.
-You are ALWAYS talking or smiling.
-You pulled up to standing twice yesterday all by yourself.
-You are such a Momma's girl. Your eyes follow me all over the house and you love to be held. I love it when you crawl over and pull on my leg.
-You love hanging out with Daddy too. He's so much fun. You love it when he holds you in the air or holds you upside down. You just giggle and giggle.
-Sleeping is getting easier. You've slept through the night twice in a row, but the time change has your schedule mixed up.
-For your first Halloween, you dressed as candy corn. You had a lot of fun seeing your friends dressed up too.

I love you sweet Ansley Grace! I can't believe seven months has gone by so quickly.

Trick or treat!

We had so much fun with Ansley today. She learned how to carve a pumpkin and how much fun it is to trick or treat. We can't wait to take her in the future.