What's new?

I tend to concentrate on the kids a lot in my blog posts. They are the biggest part of my life (and take up the most time, too) so that's to be expected I suppose. But there are 2 other people in this family and you might often be wondering "What's new with you?"

If not, I'm gonna tell you anyway, hahaha! Plus, I have worked 3 nights this week therefore I am being a night owl lately. I get in the "zone" about the time everyone has gone to bed. Even though, I myself, have slept only 3 1/2 hours out of the last 40. Which leads me to my first update.....

We have spent the last few weeks finishing our house to have it ready to sell. I know this is something I haven't really talked about, mainly because it seems to be up in the air as far as the details go. It still is really. Living for God is kinda like that I am finding as I surrender more and more to Him. We feel God moving us in a different direction and we still aren't sure where to yet.

Many doors have opened and shut lately, with some still remaining open. Every since we moved into this house we have discussed where to send our kids to school. We aren't zoned for bad schools necessarily but we just don't have a great/perfect elementary around us that we feel warm and fuzzy about. Moving to a different area has always been in the books for that reason. To add, Nana and Poppa bought some property in a great school area and offered to let us build on it. Still the same county, just in Sale Creek near Dayton. So that lead to the idea of building and sending them there. And for now that is the plan. Like I said, other doors have opened and some of them have already shut since that thought but for now we feel that is the path God is directing us towards. In order to build, though, we have to sell our house first. Which means, in the in between, we will be renting most likely. Where, we don't know! When, we have no clue! It all depends on when this house sells and where we find most suitable.

As I was originally saying, we have been busy doing finishing touches and repairs in order to sell our house. After many to-do lists and lots of sweat (mainly on Tyler's part), we got the house on the market today! I am excited yet sad. We have a lot of memories in this house bringing both our babies home to it. I think the business of getting it ready has masked the idea of actually leaving it until today when we actually put the sign up.

In other news, ITS SUMMER! Garyn is really excited about it this year. He is able to understand that school is out for him and daddy. He also gets that its hot outside and that's when we spend more time in the water. We have a busy summer ahead of us and I just hope it doesn't go too fast! The beginning starts with the best trip of all, too! DISNEY! We leave in a little over 24 hours and I am actually supposed to be packing right now. But aren't you glad I'm not?! :)

Garyn still has no idea. I can't believe we have made it this long without slipping up. We have said a few things in front of him thinking, "Oh, no!" but he hasn't asked or said anything about it. Our plan is to let him know once there or almost there. We are leaving in the middle of the night to make the drive go faster since Ansley hates the car! I.CAN'T.WAIT!

Back to house things.....I am notorious for killing plants! lol! My husband and father n' law always rag me about the dead plants that sit around our house until I finally throw them out. I am out to prove them wrong though! But before I do I must pay homage to some of my victims....

This was my longest living plant actually. I bought this African violet to put in our first house when we put it on the market, ironically. I had even thought about that just days before killing it. It had gotten so big that I had to transplant it into this larger pot. I felt I could do no harm to this one being that it had made it through droughts and neglect over the last 5 years. But for some reason, I got the crazy idea to set it out on the deck. I even knew it couldn't stay out there forever since it isn't a full sun plant. However, it had been a little gloomy its last few weeks of life and I thought maybe it needed more sun. Two days later, I remembered and saw that I had scorched the poor thing! I brought it back to its home, the kitchen windowsill, to die in peace. And now my father n' law actually has it. Not sure if he thinks he can revive it but I'll be grateful (and surprised) if so.

This is a grave site for another plant I had, a Peace Lily. There have been several of them in this pot actually over the last few years.....maybe its the pot???? Or maybe its just me, the plant killer. Anyway, this pot has sat in the foyer for the last few months like this. I was trying to give it's remains peace, I guess. But not anymore!

I bought and planted this today, as well as a couple other plants. I am out to prove the boys wrong! I have got to keep these plants alive or I will never live it down. We were making bets when leaving Lowe's today as to how long they would live. Garyn gave me a month. (Yes, even he knows how bad I am.) But Tyler said he must not know me too well because they wouldn't even last that long! My goal is to make it waaayy past a month! So I will keep you posted on how they are doing!

And I can't do this update without mentioning that my baby girl turned 13 months yesterday. I am bummed knowing the monthly updates are dwindling since she won't be going to the doc as much, probably will grow a little less fast, and her age will now be referred to in years and not months. But I intend to still update because she has changed in this last month and... well...... it is my blog! :)

One of her biggest changes has been in her eating. As you can see in this picture, she loves to feed herself....anything and everything. I didn't realize there were Hershey kisses in this bucket until I found her sitting here having a snack and making a mess!

She is eating mostly table food and less baby food. She has most recently tried macaroni and cheese. I have found she isn't too fond of fruits yet. Which is exact opposite of Garyn. I don't think she can chew them well yet, though, so I will keep trying. She will eat some banana. She has become quite the beggar, too, wanting whatever you are eating. Garyn thinks it's funny when she makes grunting noises at you and points to your plate. Grilled chicken, cheese toasts and crackers are her favorites. She is also drinking better from her sippy cups getting more milk down. But she still nurses in the morning and at night right now.

Speaking of chewing, she just today got her second tooth! She also has another that is so close to busting through. So she has her bottom right and top right teeth now to hopefully chew things up better. Although, you would never know she didn't have teeth in that she tries to eat chips,crackers and other hard stuff. Some times she can mash them and other times she just spits it out if it isn't working out for her.

Her vocabulary has expanded some in the last month. She now says "pee pye" when playing peek a boo. And she seems to say "EI EI O" when we sing Old McDonald. She also puts "Hi" with names sometimes. Like "Hi Nana" She uses all the words appropriately now, too. Her favorite thing is "uh oh". I laughed the other day when we were out on a walk. She kept saying "uh oh" and I didn't think much about it. Then I noticed her looking for something to realize she had dropped her pacifier a ways back! Guess I'll listen more often now. Other times, we feel she is just jabbering as if she knows exactly what we are saying to her and she is answering us back. Its too funny to carry on a conversation with her little expressions and such.

Here is a little snippet of her saying ball. And I want to say that I totally know she looks unsafe in half this video! I don't typically leave the side of the buggy when she is standing in it. As you can tell, she is still a climber and will climb everything to get to what she wants. I put her in the seat of the buggy only to have her climb out quickly so putting her in the bigger part is how I get by! Don't judge!

Alright, I think I have updated on every member of the household now. And I really need to get busy so I can go to bed soon!

Won't be back till we are back from Disney!

Spring Break Beach Trip

Back a month and a half ago we took a short but fun beach trip courtesy of Nana and Poppa (my in-laws). It was one of those last minute, spontaneous trips. They said "Hey we are going if you want to tag along" and we said "Hey, why not!" We went to Gulf Shores, which we had not been to. It was a very relaxing trip. We loved just hanging out together and eating out at some fun places.

The trip down was loooonnngg with a 11 month old who doesn't like the car very much! But we made the most of it and Garyn couldn't wait!

Once there we did all the typical beach trip fun.......

Garyn still prefers the water over the sand.

This was Ansley's first time actually in the ocean. Her first trip she slept most of the time we were on the beach. Anyway, she seemed to like it for a minute. But then once the water got too high on her she changed her mind and wouldn't ever go back in without clinging to us.

So Ansley is the opposite and likes the sand.

I think I am going to have a new tanning buddy! :)

While we were there we also went on a catamaran boat trip. We got to see a couple dolphins and lots of beautiful scenery. They had a net style sitting area that you could look through to see in the water.

     Ansley and Nana stayed behind so Garyn got lots of mommy attention! Love my little buddy time :)

                                                       He even got to drive the boat!

Me and my love :)

Philip, (Tyler's bro) Kadie (P's love), Jack (Poppa) and Tyler taking in the views

We ate at some fun places too!

This is at Lulu's which is Jimmy Buffet's sister's restaurant. It was really a fun atmosphere.

                                                            Nana and goofy Poppa

                                                                 Philip and Kadie

Then we also ate at Tacky Jack's. Another laid back family atmosphere.

   This was a sand pit play area for kids at the restaurant

Goofy boy!

Examples of what happens when I try to get a pic of both of them.

One smiles or acts goofy and the other turns away.

We also did Garyn's favorite thing....mini golf!

And of course, more fun beach and pool time....

Ansley surprised me and didnt' try to get away from us in the pool. Think she had a healthy fear of the water. She loved splashy and watching big brother jump.

Must have those sunglasses on!

Annnddd we get to go to the beach again in June plus next week we are going to Disney World!!! SSSsshhhHH don't tell Garyn! I am definitely feeling spoiled this year. Love spending time with my family though!

Ansley is 1 year!

Its official....Ansley is one! She is no longer an infant but a toddler. She will always be my baby though.

 

We celebrated on her birthday at home as a family with a cupcake Nana brought.....

She never got really messy, but enjoyed the icing. She didn't like the cake though, which surprised me.

We enjoyed our small family dinner and she did, too, more than I realized.......I'll explain later

Here are some of her monthly pics.....

{my favorite}

{I was sad thinking this was the last of the monthly updates while taking these 12 month pics}

{wouldn't stay still for this shot}

{They think the other is just hilarious}

{my sweeties!}

 

Monthly updates:

• She is blossoming into a toddler quickly.
• Her hair is longer and thicker, she walks well and runs.
• She climbs too well!
• She has started eating small bites of food and drinking milk from a sippy cup.
• She mimics; she loves to "clean" wiping everything with a rag and sweeping floors, too!
• She is saying more words: ball, uh oh, nana, hey, baby and dog.
• For a couple weeks, she has been sleeping from 8 or 9 til at least 6am.
• Her naps are also longer & sometimes only takes one for 2-3 hours!
• She waves, claps and dances on command.
• Still only has one tooth!
• Weighs 19 lbs 4 oz and 30 1/2 inches long = tall and thin
• And has started a ear piercing squeal when happy :)

 
This is from her actual birthday in her party outfit, I hadn't put the big bow on her til now and just thought it was so cute and fitting!

{This was my rocker :) }

Now for party day pictures! I must mention, Garyn was confused on the fact that her party was not on her actual birthday. He kept asking "So is it her birthday today?" "Why can't we have her party?". I thought I had explained it,but then on the party morning, he started telling her happy birthday and saying she was one year old now! It was cute.....and another side note : He wanted to get her a wii remote, go figure!

{One of her 2 beautiful cupcake-cakes}

{My niece Lorna and Ansley}

{Gamama, Ansley, & cousins: Lindsey, Hannah and Mandy}



Back to her disliking the whole event, she didn't seem to enjoy her party nearly as much as I would have thought. Yes, I know she is only 1, what can you expect? But being that she has always been a social butterfly grinning ear to ear at anyone and everyone that would look her way, I was surprised. The all familiar, shy and bash full attitude you typically see with older babies has surfaced. In fact, on her party day, she wasn't just bashful, but more like hysterical when those she didn't recognize tried to hold her or much less talk to her. Again, I was surprised, just not having seen that side of her. There were 25 or so people in her house that were all up in her face, so I can understand! She settled down easily when we distracted her thankfully. 

However, daddy didn't take this into consideration very much when it came to cake time! After we sang to her, which she didn't seem to be too bothered by, she was not touching her cake that had been placed in front of her.

So daddy decided to help her out by smashing her hand into the cake for her. That's when she got hysterical!

Of course, we all started laughing, which only made it worse! So she had to get out and cuddle for awhile. Her doll seemed to help.....

Once the crowd died down Nana was able to slowly get her interested in the cake. Turns out she wanted to use a fork to test it out.....

In the end, she got back in the high chair and played around with it. We kept saying she was being a lady about it not wanting to get too dirty. She didn't even mess up her outfit!

She enjoyed the present opening part a lot more...

She got a lot of cute things and has been playing with them all a lot. I know I have bombarded you with a lot of pictures, but I must tell you about one last thing.

Remember when she was climbing onto the side of her bed? Well the night of her party at about 2:30 am, I heard her crying, opened the door to her room and WHAM BAM she hit the floor. I just barely saw her little body up on the rail and quickly on the floor crying. It was pretty horrific! We stayed up with her for about an hour, consoling her, putting pillows around the bed, and making sure she was ok. She thankfully only had a bump and a black eye. I felt horrible about the whole thing but after talking to friends, realized it isn't that uncommon for them to fall out of their bed. Nevertheless, her mattress is now on top of another one on the floor with the crib still around it. When she stands, the rail is at her forehead. I don't think she can pull her self up and over enough to do it again, but hope if so, we can at least get a few months time under her belt. I just don't feel comfortable putting her  in a toddler bed yet!

{Bump on her head}

{Black eye and some poofy hair!}

Now we get to enjoy her one year old days!