2 Years (a little early)

Ansley,

Is it really possible that you will be turning two next week? That honestly was the quickest two years of my life so far, but I know that every year will seem that way now that I'm a mom. I've been reminded this entire pregnancy of my pregnancy with you and the memories still are so fresh that it's hard to believe in a few weeks I will be entering the hospital again and leaving with another precious little girl. God has blessed us with a life that I'm so thankful to live and there's not a single thing about it that I would change even if I could.

About you:
-You have such a sweet personality. You love to mother and are so polite, always saying please, thank you, excuse me, and bless you. Lately I have felt like we are on the downhill slide of the terrible twos since we've been in them for quite a while now. Maybe I shouldn't say that yet. :)
-My favorite thing you do is when you come in my room after waking in the morning and say, "Mommy, good morning! Did you sleep good?" Every single morning the words are so sweet to hear, even when I'm so tired and not ready to get up.
-You are talking so well and so much. I'm constantly amazed that I can say something to you once and you will remember it weeks later. You also love to repeat everything you hear.
-You're very coordinated with your movements and love to run, dance, spin in circles, and do front rolls.
-Your favorite things to do are color, play with play dough, carry your baby around the house and ask if she's wet and needs her diaper changed or wants to rock, play on the playground at the park, and do anything with Daddy (especially climb on him).
-You seem to understand that Heidi is your little sister and that she is a baby in Mommy's tummy. I love when you pat and rub my belly and tell her you love her. I think you're going to be a wonderful big sister and I know you'll instantly fall in love with her when you meet her.

It is such a joy spending every day with you, sweet Ansley. We are so in love with you and are thankful for the two wonderful years God has given us to be your mom and dad.

Ansley's halftime performance

1. Please ignore the dorky commentary in the background. I'm not sure who that is.
2. I LOVED the halftime performance by the Black Eyed Peas. Obviously, Ansley liked it too.
3. Ansley is still wearing Christmas jammies because she has a million pair.
4. I think Ansley got most of her moves from watching the Aggie dance team at the basketball games.

A little snow

We had a little snow last night and I thought Ansley would really enjoy playing in it. But, she didn't. She thought it was dirty and didn't want it on her boots. We only stayed out for a couple of minutes before she decided she wanted to go back in where it was warm.

Pics of Heidi and big girl room

On Saturday, my mom and sister took me to have the 4D ultrasound of Heidi done and Ansley spent the day with her Grandpa. I was excited to see whether or not she would look like Ansley and Jeff or resemble me just a little. Everything looked great with her and she's just precious, but I can definitely tell a difference in her photos and Ansley's. Still not sure if she resembles me at all, though. She wiggled and jumped throughout the ultrasound and kept her hands and the cord in front of her face most of the time. She moves so much! And constantly has hiccups like Ansley did.




In other news, Ansley has been moved to her "big girl room" and has slept in her toddler bed three times now. I cannot believe how well she's done. I just knew that I would have problems with her getting out of bed in the middle of the night. Well, she is getting out of bed, but only to sleep on the floor. I'm not sure if she's falling out or just prefers the floor. But, I get up a million times at night to check on her and then just put her back in bed. She loves her new room and has finally started playing in there. Lately she wants everyone in the house to play on the floor with her. She says, "Mommy, play, floor, yeah." Sometimes she calls me Mallory and her daddy Jeff because she's heard others calling us that.



Ansley's photo for comparison. See the difference in the nose?

Overdue updates

Here's what has been happening with us:
-Had a great Christmas with our families. Ansley racked up tons of toys and they're keeping her very busy these days. Her favorites for the time being are her baby dolls, kitchen, tea set, and tents.
-We're trying to get Ansley's big girl room finished so she can move over and get used to the toddler bed before her little sister comes. I KNOW I'm going to have trouble keeping her in that bed. I'm sure I'm going to get up in the morning and find all of her toys everywhere. Who knows what else I'll find...
-Heidi is growing a lot. Sometimes I feel like she's going to stick her feet through my throat. I can tell she's getting big already and I have about 3 months to go. I'm a lot more uncomfortable with this pregnancy than I was with Ansley.
-Ansley is talking so much. But, my favorite words from her are thank you, please, you're welcome, excuse me, and bless you.

Ansley's been having so much fun running around the house with a blanket on her head and pretending that it's her hair. How sad is that? It's going to be many, many years before she has long hair.


She's also having fun destroying the house. I can't count how many times a day I put all of her diapers back in the basket after she's "changed" her baby's diaper. It's such a joy watching her pretend and mother her babies.




This is a video of her dancing to her teapot's music. Sorry it's not rotated...I can't do that with my version of Quicktime.

20 Months and 20 Weeks

Ansley is 20 months old! I can't believe that in 4 months she will be two. I haven't posted monthly about her lately because life seems to be a whirlwind right now. She is SO active and keeps me very busy. Here's what she's up to these days:
-She is 26.6 lbs and I'm not sure of her height, but she's very tall for her age. She wears size 2T since 24 month clothing is too short.
-She has tons of teeth, but is working on the top and bottom incisors (I think that's what they're called).
-Her vocabulary totally amazes me. I can tell her the word for something once and she will remember days later. She loves to point at everything around her and tell me their names.
-Ansley loves baby dolls. I love watching her carry, rock, sing to, and share her drink with them. She's going to be such a great big sister.
-I'm afraid we've been in the terrible two's for several months now. She knows how to throw a good fit, and her favorite time to do it is when we're in the middle of a store and she will lay on the floor and kick and scream.
-But, my little girl also has such a sweet side most of the time. She loves to kiss and hug and still wants to rock and cuddle all the time. And she absolutely adores her daddy. She can hear the garage door open and runs to the door to greet him.
-Her favorite things to play with are still books. We have them from one end of the house to the other.
-You should see her pray. It's the sweetest thing I've ever seen. She will bow her head so far it's almost in her plate, closes her eyes, and it perfectly quiet as we pray. She doesn't say amen yet, but smiles and cheers when it's over.
-This spring will bring Ansley lots of changes. She's going to move to a big girl bed in her new room so her sister can have her room and crib. And, I'm pretty sure we're going to start potty training. I still need to do a little research about how to do it, but I really think she'll be ready soon. I'd love to try to get rid of the pacifier, but we'll probably wait a few months to get through these other changes.
-She has become so picky about food. I cannot get her to eat meat, so the only protein I can get in her is from scrambled eggs and peanut butter.

She is such a precious blessing to us. I get so tired sometimes and think I need a little break, but as soon as she's not around I miss her terribly. I really just can't get enough of her.

As for baby #2, we found out a few weeks ago that we're having another baby girl. Her name will be Heidi Reese and the name was chosen simply because we love the name. Even though Jeff is usually not opinionated about anything, he really is about the names of his babies. So, here's a little about Heidi:
-I'm 20 weeks
-She moves a lot and makes big movements. I hardly feel little flutters, but more like she's kicking and rolling and I can feel hard pointy hands, feet, knees and elbows. I'm a little nervous that I may have another active little girl. I just remind myself that God won't give me anything I can't handle!
-She weighed about 9 oz at our 18 week appointment.
-Although she measured one day behind at our last appointment, my doctor said that her due date is still April 25.
-Everything looked great with her and she seems to be perfectly healthy

We're so excited about Ansley having a little sister. I have a wonderful relationship with my sister and had always hoped Ansley would get to have the same someday. Something I think of often is helping my daughters pick out their wedding dresses and seeing them in each other's weddings. I can't wait to let them have slumber parties and everything else that comes with little girls.

Unfortunately, we weren't given any good photos of our last ultrasound to show off our sweet baby girl. Hopefully we'll get some in a couple of months.









-

Never Grow Up