a break in the clouds!

So you probably have heard a little about the crazy flooding we've been getting here in Iowa. I can't believe how bad it has gotten. They say it hasn't flooded this bad since '93. It hasn't affected us too much here, other than some roads being closed, but the bad part is that it just won't stop raining and storming!

Yesterday it was pretty nice for a few hours before it started up again. Ainsleigh and I ran out to get groceries and when we came out of the store, the sun was out, but it was raining really steadily, but not too heavily. I was explaining to her that sometimes rainbows show up when it rains and the sun is shining. As I was telling her about it, she points and says, "There's a rainbow Mommy!" We turned and saw one of the most beautiful rainbows I think I've ever seen. It was a complete rainbow, we could see all the way across it, and the colors were so bright. We just stood there, in the parking lot, being rained on, pointing and staring. Ainsleigh was in such disbelief. She kept telling me about all the colors she saw. We called Tim on the way home and he ran out to meet us with the camera. By the time we got home, it was getting dark again, so it didn't look quite as beautiful or bright, but it was still nice. Ainsleigh told me it was a sign from God. It kind of felt that way too! We spent last night trying to make our own eggplant parmigiana and it turned out pretty good, it just didn't get done until about 9 p.m. and we really weren't that hungry by then.

Today we made Tim cinnamon rolls for Father's day and have spent the day just hanging out. Last Fall Tim convinced me that it was okay for me to get a new sewing machine. It's not just any sewing machine...its a really, really nice one and it wasn't cheap. I used it quite a bit until I got pregnant again. So Tim has been bugging me all weekend to get sewing but I've got a lot of excuses not to.

We have a room dedicated to my sewing and Tim's computer habit. He left the computer room to come tell me that something amazing happened and I had to come see it. Apparently the sewing machine had lifted itself onto my table and took its own cover off. I asked him if it made a quilt by itself too.

So we didn't think much of it after that, but Ainsleigh ran back in the room, took a look at the sewing machine and, with complete awe, surprise, and belief in her voice, said to Tim, "SO IT'S TRUE!"

I think Tim laughed for at least 5 minutes! I love that she is so sweet and so naive right now! I have to admit, it was pretty funny!

Happy Birthday Tim!

So it is beginning to seem that a house is possibly not in the cards for us, at least not right now. I'm not ready to give up since the idea of apartment living with a new baby seems memorable but not much fun. I'm imagining the endless loads of laundry that will not get done in a timely manner, the stir-crazy jumping of a bored 3 year old who needs to play outdoors, and the joy of having too-close neighbors.

Tuesday we celebrated Tim's 32nd birthday. Ainsleigh and I made a cake and she helped frost it and decorated it by herself. She was really excited and that carried us through a bit.


But the best part was her card. Even I was amazed at how good her letters were. Check this out.


Here's a closeup:


She wanted Tim to have a good day and she greeted him at the door with the sweetest "Happy Birthday!"


Ainsleigh was so happy when Daddy volunteered her to help him blow out his candles. We pretended that there were 32 of them!


At least it is good to know that it doesn't take much to make her happy! Hopefully the right house will come along and we'll be celebrating Ainsleigh's birthday in our own backyard! We'll see...

to rent or not to rent

This week has held a lot of new things for us. Ainsleigh met new friends, held a guinea pig for the first time, and learned to hit a ball off a tee with help from a very good teacher. He's the little guy in most of these pictures. Tim and I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary Tuesday and, on the same day, got pre-approved for a home loan. Pretty exciting and overwhelming at the same time. We're starting the search for a nice, clean place in a decent location. It's crazy to think Ainsleigh will start kindergarten next fall but that's a big consideration. I think I've had real estate dreams all week. We want a lot for little money so we're setting ourselves up for a challenge. Hopefully, it will all be worth it in a few months, when we're relaxing in our own back yard, without hearing our neighbors or worrying about them banging on the ceiling if Ainsleigh decides to dance or skip across the floor.

I had a doctor's appointment Tuesday and we heard the baby's heartbeat again. It's heart rate has been considerably lower than Ainsleigh and Addie's so Tim's again convinced it is because it's a boy. We'll hopefully find out the gender on June 30th, when we have another ultrasound. I'm so nervous about it but hoping we'll come away with reassurance. It would be really nice to hear the words, "the baby looks healthy." Hopefully! It will be so nice to bring this baby home to a house, instead of an apartment.

So we'll probably be busy looking for houses. We only want, um, 3 bedrooms, central air, fenced in yard, garage, basement, nice kitchen with all appliances staying, washer/dryer, dishwasher, garbage disposal, lots of windows, energy efficient windows, new roof, and all in a good school district.

That isn't too much to ask for a very, very minimum price, is it?

some new photos

I finally uploaded some new pictures! Here's one Tim took of Ainsleigh a few weeks back. He took several of her, actually, in this same self-styled getup. I wish I could show the progression of photos because they're so funny. They sort of start out with serious gangster face and progress to laughing Ainsleigh face.


These next photos are of Ainsleigh doing her bead work. She has gotten so good at it! She first got them at Christmas and was sort of frustrated by the coordination it took to get the beads on and keep them from falling off. Now she's a pro. If only I could sell them....hmm, make some money....but that would require more expensive beads. Probably.



And guess what! I did take some pictures last weekend after all! I just forgot. I got this one of Ainsleigh and Grandma Debbie reading books (like always!). Ainsleigh had a great time.
Don't you sort of see the resemblance? You might if Ainsleigh wasn't leaned back being silly.


These I took today at our local museum. We met friends there and I think we could have stayed forever if it was up to Ainsleigh.
Here she's putting on a fabulous tap dance performance although it was cancelled later because, as she said, "the dancers didn't show up."


I had to post this picture because when we were at the museum I thought these girls looked so much older than Ainsleigh. But now that I look back at it, she sort of fits right in, doesn't she? She's really growing up and losing all things baby or toddler about her. Sometimes she still says, "I love you sis much!" We still have the th's to cover, but that's just about it.

a nice, long weekend

I can't believe the weekend is already over. We went to Knoxville Saturday evening for my nephew, Austin's 13th birthday party. They had a campfire and Ainsleigh had so much fun roasting hot dogs and catching marshmallows on fire. She loves and looks up to her cousins so much. I can't believe my little nephew is a teenager. I'm so old! I remember when he was a baby, we thought he was the smartest, coolest baby ever. I was only 18 and my sisters were just becoming teenagers themselves. We babysat a lot, Aunt Carly liked to teach him fun phrases that his Mom didn't really appreciate, but overall we just sat around admiring him. Time has gone by really fast. I can't believe that here I am, preparing for my own child number three. That sounds crazy. All of those years wondering if I even wanted kids, knowing I was never very good with them (I really wasn't. Ask my good friend Tara, or anyone I babysat for, I was so uninterested and bored and just plain awkward.), thinking I probably wouldn't be a good mom, and now I think its the coolest thing ever to have my family; this guy I love, and now an extension of us to enjoy, teach, and be so proud of. 

So back to this weekend. Tim's Mom, Deb, visited Saturday and Sunday. We all went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. It was probably a bit much for Ainsleigh but she really paid attention and explained the plot to us later the next day. Sunday we cooked out at Tim's Grandma Lois's house. It was a really nice Memorial day. Ainsleigh loved being outside all day. She has really warmed up to Grandma Lois. Watching them sit outside on the glider together, talking about flowers and being a ballerina was so cool. If only I'd remembered my video camera. I'd love to have captured that moment. She cried when we had to say goodbye. I'm really glad she knows her great grandma so well. I hope she remembers these visits when she's older. I never knew my great-grandparents and I regret not spending more time with my own grandparents in recent years. It's hard living so far away and not comprehending how limited our time probably is. My grandparents don't talk a lot about the past and there's so much I'd be interested to know. I'm afraid it might all get lost. They think it is just life, but to me it is so interesting and hard to imagine.

So overall, another good weekend lost to forgetting the camera. I hope you all had a good one and got to spend some time in the sunshine.

the sun is here, and so is the sunburn

Yesterday we met friends at the park. The kids were mesmerized by this fountain and sat there, getting a little bit sunburned, for the longest time. When we got home I noticed Ainsleigh's pink cheeks, nose and shoulders and I sort of sighed and said, "oh Ainsleigh, you've got your first sunburn." She quickly responded with, "I'm sorry Mommy, I won't do it again." I wondered if I am that mean that she felt like she had to apologize so quickly. Hers isn't too bad, but I was so happy that she's never really been sunburned before, now she has, but hers isn't nearly as bad as mine. Hopefully she's got Tim's skin and won't burn like I do.

Another little guy joined them. He saw them sitting there and just climbed right up. They were very polite and introduced themselves. It's like being killed with cuteness to watch this. 

So I've noticed that little girls can really tend to boss little boys around. Boys are much more boss-aroundable than other little girls. I thought it was just Ainsleigh but I'm starting to notice a trend. It just seems like little boys are a little more easy going and "whatever" minded than girls. I'm sure the rule doesn't hold true for all kids. Tim keeps insisting that this baby is going to be a boy and I'm not sure I'll know what to do with a boy. I mean, first of all, I don't have boy clothes, but I have LOTS of girl clothes. He was right the last two times. I was wrong. But can he be right three times in a row? Ainsleigh thinks its a girl and refers to it as "she" and "her." I really don't think it matters. Tim and I don't care at all, he just "has a feeling." Ainsleigh might be a little disappointed if it turns out to be a boy. On the other hand, she'll probably be able to boss him around, she might like that. 

Ainsleigh's definitely changed in the last 6 months or so. She's so much more outgoing, brave, very social, unafraid to introduce herself to anyone, and her vocabulary is impressive. Last night before bed she told us she was spiderman but she had to go to sleep so she could save people in the morning. She ran in to tell Daddy, at my prompting, and he laughed so she angrily told me, "See, I told you he would laugh at me." She got over it fast though and ran around the bed, explaining to Daddy that superheroes have to "dynamically" help people. Dynamically?

Twice now she has told people her name and followed it up by asking them if they thought it was beautiful.  I told her that wasn't very polite and she told me, "I just wanted to know if they liked it or not." 

So have we given her a big ego? I think she's pretty polite though, and she's been complimenting people too. She told a salesgirl at the mall that she had beautiful, sparkly eyes, and someone else that they had pretty hair. That balances it out, right?!

So she just asks me, "Mommy, do I still look be-you-tee-ful when I sleep, cuz I have those bee-you-tee-ful eyelashes?"

Oh, the life. Being a mommy to a girly-girl. Who knew?

to the zoo

Ainsleigh and I met a friend and her two little boys at the zoo Tuesday. We had such a good time. Ainsleigh immediately hit it off with her 5 year old and they set off ahead of us holding hands and telling each other how they weren't afraid of elephants. It was so sweet to hear them talking to each other so politely. He was Ainsleigh's best friend right away, or so she said. It helps that he has the same name as her cousin! He was so sweet and kind to her. He would pat her shoulder when they walked. They totally acted like siblings. We spent almost four hours there. FOUR HOURS! I think that's the longest trip I've ever taken to the zoo. But the weather was really nice for it and everything was green, not too stinky yet, and not hot enough for all the gnats to be gathering around the animals and their food.


I couldn't believe how brave Ainsleigh was. She fed the koi fish and ducks in the pond and then headed right over to the goats and wasn't afraid to feed them either, although I was a little nervous about it. She started with the little baby goats and then moved up to the larger ones. Good thing she didn't go by my example, because there was no way I was letting them stick their slimy tongues all over my hand. Sorry, but I'm going to plead nausea on that one.


I know they look less than thrilled here, but Ainsleigh was sort of sitting on his lap taking over the steering. The rest of the day they were really happy though. There were conversations about a kitty cat named Milo and some "gubbies" in a fish tank that are named sheddy, betty, and eddie. They both yelled "see ya later" to all the animals when we rode the train through the park at the end of the day. We actually saw quite a few animals - black bears, lions, bobcats, giraffes, parrots, wallabies, emus, bison, elk, bengal tigers, porcupines, and bald eagles but of course feeding the ducks and koi fish was Ainsleigh's favorite and most memorable part. So much for the exotic. I guess its to be expected from a girl who eats rice and pasta with nothing on it.

So here's her wingspan today. She's almost four. I'm kind of enjoying my 3 foot tall girl.