*sorry it's small. Click the corners-symbol on the vid and it'll go larger
We are already seeing her approach to new things, and to learning. She likes to practice new things - on her own - and while she enjoys applause, she practices whether we are watching or not. This girl just wants to be PART of everything and is just plain curious for curiosity's sake. So glad we caught a bit of her practice session before bed this week. :)
The ending makes this worthy of that old bloopers TV show from childhood! (is that still on?)
This is what our house looks like lately. All. The. Time.
First of all, THANK YOU to anyone reading this right now. Truly, you are DEAR and TRUE friends. I know because if you check this blog you've realized that I never post anything anymore! Yet here you are, loyally clicking on that bookmark to see if by chance I've pulled up the laptop and tossed some pictures up.
I have to tell you, I've been so very overwhelmed with LIFE these days. We have been LIVING. Forget about documenting the living... :)
Truth be told... I'm kind of intimidated to blog again. I mean, where do I start? So much to share. And life keeps tumbling forward at warp speed with the little ones and jobs. Also, I'm sure I'm experiencing some hormonal roller coastering these days (as I did after Ains turned one and we slowly started weaning). The night weaning occurred first. Blessed SLEEP here I come! But oh, the mama guilt, the fear of supply drop, the hormonal tornado. Sigh. And then - SHE TURNED ONE.
She's growing up so fast! We soak up every mess, every diaper change, every whimper and giggle and drool. Every babble, every sign-language attempt, every sweet-baby-smell-snuggle. And yet it goes. Just look, my first baby is so big! She's set her mind to learning the 'cup song' (haven't seen this youtube yet? you MUST).
So I finally recalled some advice a friend once gave me: 'just start'. He was talking about unpacking (when we moved to DC) but it applies to lots of things. including this blog. So, I'm back. I hope. I'm just gonna start. It's probably going to be messy, not in chronological order, not in any order... but so is my life right now. Stay tuned!
Ains answers all of the questions we want to know - Thanks, Dasha, for the questions!! (This interview was conducted BEFORE we knew whether baby was going to be a girl or a boy.)
Ains rockin' out to a steel drum band at Eastern Market:
I only wish I had vids of her singing ALL of the pop radio music she has picked up during our summer. (I've been a little lax on protecting little ears and have been blasting my favorite tunes -- which she promptly learned.). Her favorites?
Somebody That I Used To Know
Here's My Number, Call Me Maybe
Rumor Has It
Set The World On Fire:
Best way to learn how to ride:
catching fireflies:
El Derecho: the storm that marched through DC this summer and nailed the area pretty bad. We watched as it approached, then skirted, our KOA campsite:
And we told our baby girl. It was the BEST moment ever. We didn't even try to capture the initial family meeting moment on video - but Jasper wonderfully caught some of the processing directly afterwards in this video. Ainsley is SO. VERY. EXCITED. (happy sigh)
Boy, did it surprise daddy when his little girl came home busting out this tune every time she spotted an American Flag!! (Or even thought of one, really, I mean, let's be honest.) Part and parcel of traditional schooling at Nursery. :)
(I love it!... especially the 'oceans white with phone')
She also bursts into "You're a Grand Old Flag! You're a High Fivin' Flag" :) at the most unexpected moments. Wonder what her mental image of that one is like...
These are long vids, I'll warn you - but I just HAD to post them! (She didn't tire out until part-way through Pinkalicious and the Pink Drink... no vid for that one.)
It's no secret around here, that Ainsley craves a little brother. She announced that she was thankful for her baby brother last Thanksgiving, and absolutely lost it when her cousin Baby Cole didn't turn out to actually live here as her brother. Now she's asking for the brother of her favorite storybook character:
