Precious Ainsley

She is just too cute. I love it when she smiles and giggles. She absolutely loves this thing (the exersaucer). When I sit on the couch and she looks over at it, she gets the biggest smile on her face. However, she does not like being in it when we are out of the room.

Oh a few more tid bits about growing Ainsley. I'm not sure what it is, but she is never content for more than 15 minutes anywhere but in my arms. This means I am almost always holding her, which is hard to give Ellie some one on one attention. It is also hard to get much of anything done without a fussy baby in the background. I do feel extra special though, and it really has made me learn to give up on some things just to spend time with both my girls. Ainsley also is starting to suck her thumb a lot more. I'll be able to get a paci in her mouth occasionally in the car or when going to sleep, but most of the time she ends up knocking it out and sticking her thumb in. Oh well, it unavoidable I think. At least I try.

Enjoy the video. Warning: it's a long video.



(This video was taken a few weeks ago, she has a blanket in the exersaucer to help her balance since she still can't sit up completely by herself.)

Why I Choose Not to Take the Pill

Since this is almost the 50th Anniversary of the Pill I've been reading a lot about birth control and it has struck me that I never really have shared my opinion on this subject. I know that this blog is mostly about my kids, but it is also a place I can share my views. I like to look back and see not only how my kids have grown, but also how I have grown. So here it is, my view of the pill:

Way back in 2007, when Zach and I were engaged, I decided to address the issue or what we will use for birth control. I had been on the pill since high school for cramping and assumed that I would probably remain on the pill, however I wanted to see all the options. I'm not sure if I heard it somewhere or I just read how the pill works, but I found something that alarmed me.

The pill works in three ways:
1) prevents ovulation preventing any possibility of pregnancy
2) thickens the cervical mucus preventing sperm from reaching the egg
3) thins the lining of the uterus preventing a fertilized egg from implanting

The third is what alarmed me because I would consider this abortion. I believe life begins at conception, when the DNA is formed. Now if you believe life begins at any different point (such as implantation), then you would disagree. But I think a majority of my audience probably agrees. No one knows how often the third step actually happens while taking the pill, but we do know that sometimes even all three methods don't work (since women get pregnant on the pill all the time). I understand how women might find this alarming or question if this is really wrong since their intention is not to abort a child. I can't describe it any better than Al Mohler on why I choose not to take the pill because of the fact it can work as an abortifacient. Here is his blog post about it: Can Christians Use Birth Control?

After discussing with Zach about my concerns, we agreed to use another method (condoms). He didn't really share my view on this matter, but is up in the air. Tonight I actually told him he needed to do more research on the subject. You might be thinking, well they didn't use the pill and they ended up getting pregnant one month later. Yea we messed up (twice, even with Ainsley), but I'm kinda glad we did. We might have gotten carried away with the views that we needed this or that before having kids, or needed to do this before having kids, or even the typical I'm not ready yet. Now don't get me wrong, I definitely feel that there are good reasons for waiting to have kids, but we probably wouldn't have had any. I'm the first to say that having kids is definitely hard work, with tremendous sacrifice. However the blessings they are to me and all that I have learned from them are incomparable to the "burdens". Our society views kids more as burdens than blessings, which has led many astray.

From a biblical stand point, I think God intended sex not just for pleasure but for procreation. Therefore if you are having sex (which should be done within marriage), you should always be open to having kids. So even though we have not only one, but two surprises... they were both planned by God. However this does lead me to question how open I should be to having kids? Should I completely surrender all forms of birth control, surrender everything but Natural Family Planning since there is nothing to stop procreation except abstinence, or are non hormonal contraceptives (i.e. condoms) okay? I still have yet to conclude that any birth control that is merely a contraceptive and not an abortifacient would be theologically inconsistent.

Feel free to share your opinions.

Ellie Rolls

Look at what Ellie has learned to do:



Just a note: this video is from a few weeks ago. I have taken the birthday banner down, although it did take me another week after Ellie's bday.

Double Date- Minute to Win It

Last Thursday we had a double date with our friends, Laura and John Baumeister. We had a yummy dinner, put the kids to bed, then played Minute to Win It (stole this idea from the Shelton's).

We played a total of 8 games. How you play: you have to do the activity provided in one minute or you loose. Zach won with the most points, which we made up how to score. A few of the games: sorting candies in order, rolling a ping pong ball on a tape measurer into a shot glass, spinning around 5 times then tossing a ball into a hole, make 3 golf balls stand on top of each other (no one was able to accomplish this, however John did do it while we were just hanging out afterward), keep 3 non-helium balloons off the ground (extremely difficult), toss a ping pong off a wall and catch it in a bowl on your head 5 times, and more...

We did play a game where you have to make a candy elevator. Here are some picture from that:
John went first, had a hard time. I'm pretty sure he never got them in his mouth. Next, Laura B:
She got the candies in her mouth, took a little fixing of the elevator first. Up next, Zach:
Zach won this game, he got the candies immediately. Last, me:
Yea, I lost. Never could get them into my mouth. Oh well.

We had a lot of fun! Thanks to the Shelton's for the idea, and then to the Baumeister's for a great time!

Ainsley's First Taste of Solids

I won't say first taste of food because I feel like rice cereal isn't really much of anything. I decided with doctor's advice to go ahead and start the solids. We documented this experience:


I don't think Ainsley is quite ready. As you can tell from the video, all of it I'm pretty sure came out of her mouth. I tried again at lunch time and she only got one bite. I just don't want to cram the stuff in her mouth, that's not the point. So I think I'm going to wait a few more weeks and try again.

With Ellie I made most of her babyfood except the veggies. I definitely want to do that again, I actually enjoy it. I think to make it a little bit easier I might invest in one of those babyfood processors which cook it and puree it all in one! I'm going to enjoy seeing how Ainsley likes each new food. I love this stage... they don't make much of a mess because you control it all and they will eat anything that you put in their mouth (although they might not like it much).

Red Lights

This past week while riding in the car, every time we have had to stop at a stoplight Ellie starts yelling. At first I could not figure out what she was saying, so then she started using some more words in her sentence. She was telling the cars in front of us to go.

So we would pull up to a stoplight and stop behind a car. She then says, "No car, go. Car going, go." As she says this to the car, as if it was going to obey her, she motions her hands as well. I find this hilarious, but after multiple times I realized I should probably teach her what's going on. I usually tell her we can't make the car go, but today I taught her about the stoplights. Didn't really work, because she said it again, but I'll keep explaining that the lights, not Ellie, are what tell us to go or stop .

Learning to Potty

The past few months Ellie has been interested in the potty. She has asked to sit on the potty, and recently is starting to want to sit more frequently. She finally has used the bathroom on the potty, number 2. It occurred Wednesday night right before bedtime, Zach and I were shocked! We were super excited, got out the potty chart, put a sticker on the chart, and gave her a lollipop (which took FOREVER to eat).

I'm just not sure if I'm ready for this next step. I'm really excited that my little toddler is desiring to be a big girl, but it's exhausting! Now that she's wanting to sit on the potty more frequently, we are having to go in the store, the library, the gym. Now I don't think I would mind so much if she actually did go potty, but this is not the case. So I have to lug everybody into the bathroom, take off the pants and diaper, sit there for 3-5 minutes waiting for something to happen while making sure Ellie doesn't fall into the toilet and Ainsley is somewhat entertained, then we skip the wiping and flushing since nothing occurred and wash our hands (which Ellie is still not too good at). It just stinks to go through all the trouble when nothing happens! However, I highly enjoyed this morning after trying to potty and asking her to get a diaper, she came in with two pairs of underwear on. Of course both of them were on completely wrong (one was up around her tummy, the other covering her bottom, but both of them were put on with both legs through one leg hole). It seems that most of the time at home we can rarely have a good moment to potty. I either have to stop what I'm doing (i.e. cooking), or leave her on the potty because Ainsley starts to fuss or cry. This afternoon right before her nap, she runs into the kitchen while I'm washing a few dishes and hands me her dirty diaper (fresh poo inside). She then proceeds to tell me she wants to poo poo in the potty... she'll get it soon enough. Oh boy, if only it was easy...

Not only am I not ready, I also feel like she's not quite ready. She doesn't quite understand the "got to go" feeling, but I don't want to discourage from using the bathroom. I'm conflicted in what to do. I guess I'll suck it up and deal with the inconvenience, she'll learn eventually (but the question is, how long will it take? can I deal with it that long?).

Let me know if you have any tips, I would love to hear thoughts on this.

Lalalalala

Just a glimpse at Ellie's singing ability:

Ainsley 4 months!

Can you believe Ainsley is 4 months? It's hard to remember life without her, but then again it just felt like yesterday when she was welcomed into this world! We went in for her 4 month check up today and she still is growing strong. She weighed 16lbs. 3oz. (94%), measured 24.5 in. (50%), and head circumference of 42.2cm (80%). She's still a chunky little girl, I love it!

So let me tell you about this little sunshine. Ainsley LOVES mommy. She loves being in my arms, looking at me, laughing with me, smiling with me... and I LOVE that! The other night I had her giggling up a storm and Zach said that she only does that with me. I said I doubt that and told him to try it. He was doing the exact same thing I was doing, and barely got anything out of there. He was right, she was only laughing with me. Don't get me wrong, she doesn't seem to mind other people either, but you can definitely tell she's a mommy's girl right now. She also LOVES her sister. Ellie always makes her smile and giggle, and Ainsley just loves to watch her run around. Ainsley is a very happy girl and is mostly super easy! She cries occasionally when she is hungry, tired, or is left alone (she wants to be right beside mommy and Ellie), but most days it's only when she's tired and we're trying to put her down for a nap. She had two shots today for her vaccinations, and we didn't get a single tear! She gave us a frown with the second shot, but nothing more. She did show her distaste to the oral vaccine, but was still very content. I couldn't believe how easy the doctor was! Ainsley is such a sweetie and I can't wait to see more of her personality.


It's so funny how when you become a mom your excitement comes from just a simple smile, a single word, spit bubbles, or even a burp. It's just so exciting see your little one learn new things. Here is what Ainsley can do, which I get super excited about:
-hold her head up
-smile and giggle/laugh
-squeal, babble
-blow spit bubbles, and occasionally will do some raspberries (vibrating lower lip)
-sit with support
-spend 5-10 minutes on tummy, lifts her head completely up, props herself up on her hands and elbows
-roll from back to tummy, although she doesn't do this everyday.
-grab toys and put them in her mouth
-drool all over herself! I think she's teething, but we'll see when this first tooth comes.
-sleeps 9-10 hours at night, nurses 6 times a day
-sometimes will go to sleep completely by herself for naps, but most of the time I still rock her until her eyes start to close, then I lay her down.
-sits in exersaucer for up to 20 minutes.
-stand on her legs with all her weight and even stand up by herself while holding onto my fingers

Schedule:
7:00-7:30a - wakes up when Ellie wakes up, eats, sits at table for breakfast with us
8:30a- nap
9:30a- eats and plays until we go out to play
10:00-11:30a- takes a cat nap while we're out
12:30p- eats then plays
1:00p- naps
3:30p- I usually have to wake her up to feed her, then she plays
5:30p- naps
6:30p- eats then plays
7:30p- bed time
8:30p-9:30p- I wake her up to feed her one last time and she goes back to sleep immediately

Her naps usually last about an hour except for the afternoon nap which can go up to 3 hours sometimes! This is awesome because that's when Ellie takes her nap, and sometimes I take mine :) Sometimes she will take a longer nap in the morning while we're out, which ruins her afternoon nap (she usually won't sleep but 30-45 minutes then). This schedule is pretty much our normal right now. I'm going to start solids soon, so I'm sure that will change things up!

I love you sweet Ainsley! You bring so much joy to my life!

Some think she looks a lot like her Papa:

Frisbee!

Ellie won a frisbee at the Raleigh Easter Egg Hunt. She seems to enjoy playing frisbee. She is learning how to throw it, she's got a pretty good throw for a 2 year old girl.

Summer Chairs

Ellie has been playing with one of these chairs for almost a year. We got this last year, but only brought one of the chairs out. Now that Ainsley is almost ready to sit in the chair, I decided to go ahead and put it together. Ellie seems to enjoy it. The umbrella is super fun.


(Ainsley isn't quite ready to sit in the chair, I had to get a picture though.)

Don't Forget to Laugh

Love the Babycenter e-mails, especially the "Don't Forget to Laugh" section at the end. This week's:

I didn't feel like this with only one baby so much, but now with two it's a never ending list. Most of the time I forget the list and end up taking a nap (and the list keeps growing)... and that is only if they end up both sleeping at the same time (otherwise it's me taking care of one of them tired beyond the point of exhaustion, trying to find patience somewhere, and trying to forget about the list that is growing). Does anybody else relate?

Blow Up Pool Time

Since the neighborhood pool isn't opened yet and it's basically summer outside, we decided to get our blow up pool out. Zach was out of town the first day I got it out and I wasn't sure how in the world I was going to blow that huge thing up. So during nap time, I took it out and gave it a try. After about 20 minutes with no progress visible, I decided to google how to blow up a pool. I found out they have pumps for these things and there was even one at Walmart. The girls barely took a nap, which ended up being perfect because it gave us enough time to run to Walmart and still have plenty of time to play in the pool before dinner. So I bought the pump and it was AMAZING. It was only $5 and took about 5 minutes to blow up the whole thing. Life saver.

Thanks to the Bryant's for an adorable bathing suit!

She mostly just plays with recycled cups, fills them up and dumps/tosses the water out.

Ainsley watching, I think she's a little mad she can't join in on the fun:
Kayla relaxing after chasing the water ball. Ellie liked pouring water on Kayla, especially her face. Kayla didn't seem to mind too much:
2nd day, sporting her new bathing suit. Super cute:
Kayla and Ellie love the pool. What a helpful dog:

We haven't played with it this week since it's been a tad bit colder, but last week when it was in the 90's we highly enjoyed it! Ellie will play in the pool for at least an hour, I'm the one that tends to get bored in it.

Bug Locket

I absolutely loved catching bugs as a child. We had a creek growing up in our backyard, so my sisters and I were always getting down and dirty every chance that we got. Me and my sister, Carla, were talking the other day and we said we weren't sure what our kids were going to do without a creek in the backyard. We had so many memories catching frogs, salamanders, crickets, lightning bugs, crawfish, tadpoles, caterpillars, anything! So of course when I was in the dollar spot at Target the other day and saw the bug locket, I had to get it. Ellie has loved it! I took a video of the first bug we caught:



Since then we have caught caterpillars, a beetle, an ant, and more spiders. She's very good about keeping the lid on. I tell her we don't touch the bugs, I do not want to touch them! If I could only keep her from putting it in her mouth, disgusting.

This bug talk reminds me of something somewhat unrelated. The other day I was opening a box with tissue paper in our house and found a caterpillar. I got completely grossed out, I had to call Zach in to get rid of it. I don't mind them outside, but for some reason I can't STAND them inside things in our house. I think it's because I don't like the idea of bugs inside things surprising me. They could be in anything... I hate that.

Tricycle

Ellie is trying to figure out how to ride the tricycle, she's just not quite interested enough in learning. She'll sit on it and she'll let us push her most of the time, but when we try to teach her how to ride it she only wants to get off. We're really excited about this little tricycle though. Our neighbors gave it to us about 3 weeks ago and it's the perfect size! We have one at Nana's house that is too big and every one we have found at consignments were too big. I can't wait for her to learn, I think it'll be soon.

Ainsley rolls over!

Ainsley rolled over twice yesterday (April 12)!! I was doing some laundry and had her laying on her belly on the floor, then left the room to put clothes on the bed. When I came back she was on her back! I think ran into the garage/Zach's office to tell him. We put her back on her belly to see if she would do it again for daddy and me to see, she did! She wouldn't do it for the video camera though.


I was able to get a mini photo shoot of Ainsley during tummy time, and of course Ellie too. I love that Ainsley likes tummy time, I hope this means she will crawl sooner than 10.5 months. Well, maybe I don't hope that because I know that will just bring me more work trying to keep track of her! Oh well, enjoy the pics.


I forgot to mention Ellie fell face down on the back porch which is whyshe has a scratched up nose. No Ainsley didn't push her, neither did I. She did it all by herself, tripping on her own two feet (which seems to happen a lot more recently).

Easter Recap at Summit

This past weekend was a pretty awesome weekend at our church. Here is a recap video:

Easter Recap from The Summit Church on Vimeo.

We are excited to be a part of a church with not only an awesome vision but which continually challenges us each and every Sunday. We are not content in where we stand, we want to continue to know God better, grow in our faith, and the gospel continued to be heard in every city/town/village.

Our pastor also wrote a blog with some pretty awesome stories from Easter Sunday. You can check it out here: http://www.jdgreear.com/my_weblog/2010/04/sunday-night-download.html

More Birthday Pics

Here are a few pictures of when my family came up to celebrate Ellie's birthday. Zach's family came up as well, but for some reason our camera never came out. Hmm... I hate that we didn't get any shots of Gigi or Memaw. We do love you, maybe you'll give us the pictures you took :)

The yummy cake:
The pretty balloons:
Ellie enjoying the cake:
Ellie opening her presents (she's real good at that now):
Zach and Ainsley watching Ellie open gifts (well, maybe just Zach. Ainsley seems to be checking mommy out):

Ellie's Party

Ellie had a little party on Saturday with 3 of her friends: Addison (of course), Grace, and Hannah. I think she really enjoyed it and loved having some friends over. I tried to make it very low key and low stress. We ended up having pizza, salad, and a delicious cake I made myself! We just had a few activities for the girls such as coloring, water painting, and bubbles. Here are some pictures from the day:

Hannah, Ellie, and Grace water painting

Ellie, Hannah, and Addison enjoying pizza and juice

Ellie dazed by all the attention and singing. (one of our friends commented that this is the first time she had seen Ellie not talking)

Blowing out the candles!

All the girls helping Ellie play with her new mower!

It was so nice to have friends over to celebrate her special day! We got to enjoy some special time with each of our families Easter weekend and on her actual birthday (Sunday). Thanks for everyone who made her birthday extra special... she definitely received a lot of birthday cards! She has so many people who love her!

Happy 2 Years Ellie!

Ellie turned 2 years old yesterday! It's hard to believe that it has been 2 years since she's entered our lives, it happens way too fast! Although my life is crazy right now and most of the craziness is because of this little girl, she truly brings me so much joy! I love hearing her talk, sing, smile, learn new things, and love on her friends and family (especially her sister).

When I look back at when Ellie was a baby, I can't believe how much she has grown. She hasn't changed a whole lot, I can see so many actions and behaviors she does now in the videos of her as an infant. Some of these include her expressions, how excited she gets over simple things (screaming and kicking and giggling), and how much she loves people (she really doesn't know a stranger, although she will act shy). The other day we were driving in the car with the windows down, she absolutely LOVES this. She started laughing, screaming, and kicking her legs and I couldn't help but share the joy with her. It reminded me so much of the times when she was little (we played peek-a-boo, make silly faces, play games in the car, etc.). Those don't happen nearly as much anymore, she is in her defiant stage with a lot of not fun emotions.

Today we went in for her two year check up. She seems to enjoy going to the doctor, meeting friends in the waiting room, and playing with the trains. She hates getting measured, checked out, and definitely the shots. We had a great doctor this time and she was fabulous while he checked her out (until we got to the mouth, she did not want to open her mouth). When shot time came, I was prepared! I got a lollipop beforehand to give to her right after her shot. She cried for a minute, but then the lollipop did the trick. She looked very healthy and no concerns for her development. She weighed in at 24 lbs (15%), measured 34 in tall (50%), and had a head circumference of 48.5cm (75%).

Other facts about Ellie:
-can say well over 50 words, I'm thinking around 100. We're working on trying to say words with 3 syllables (like disobey, tricycle, forgiveness, etc.) However she can say names with three syllables: Addison and Madison
-put three words together (she loves saying happy birthday Ellie)
-sings Twinkle, Twinkle, Row Row Row Your Boat, Good Morning song, Wheels on the Bus, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Lollipop song (due to this awesome card this weekend), Farmer in the Dell, Old McDonald, Ring Around the Rosy. She doesn't get all the words, but does sing along and do motions. Her favorite by far is Farmer in the Dell, then next Good Morning song.
-play pretend with her dolls, cell phone, barn
-counts, but not quite right. Right now this is how she counts: 1, 2, 8, 9, 10. She first started counting and left out 3, 4. Then she started leaving out 5,6. Now she leaves out 3-7... she'll get it someday.
-knows her shapes: square, rectangle, triangle, circle, heart, star, diamond, pentagon
-still working on colors. She goes through phases. First everything was purple, then blue, then pink, then black (that only lasted a day), and now red. Sometimes she'll get the colors right, or I'll ask her to hand me an object of a certain color and she does it right. I think she still doesn't quite get it.
-still working on the abcs. She just seems to hate letters for some reason, she never is interested. I got somewhat "jealous" if you would say when I saw a few kids younger than her saying all of alphabet. So after that I tried to work really hard with the letters, but she never cared. I gave up after a few days and said oh well, she'll learn it eventually! No rush now...
-loves to play hide and seek (sometimes I feel like she mostly enjoys counting for the game??), she also likes books where she "finds" the objects
-loves to put wooden puzzles together, she also loves to read goodnight books and animal books
-definitely an outside girl. I'm so glad the weather is finally warm enough to be outside (sometimes too warm). She loves just going outside. I can just open our back door and she'll just stay on our back porch doing her own thing for hours (really). She'll ride her tricycle (a neighbor gave us), change her baby or teddy, clean the chairs and table, pick grass, sit in her chairs, or just walk around. I do some activities with her that surprisingly keep her attention for at least 20 minutes. She loves to play with play-dough, paint with water, draw with chalk and color. I'm gonna get out her easel and try real paint with her soon. I think she'll love it, just not sure if I'm ready for the mess.
-loves shoes. My shoes, her shoes, Ainsley's shoes. She definitely has her favorites, but she is a shoe girl. Doesn't care much about clothes, but wants specific shoes. Her favorite pair by far is her pink crocs (too bad they no longer make those because they were perfect!). I bought some sandals at target that were awfully cute that seemed to come in 2nd, but then my mom got her these purple gellie sandals from Gap and she is obsessed with those (we have to exchange them though because they are way too tight, she is not happy she can't wear them again).
-loves her sister. She was asked in the store the other day if they could take Ainsley home. Ellie immediately replied no. They asked, "You want to keep her?" Ellie, "Da." (english= yea). I asked her, "Do you love your little sister?" Ellie replied, "Da." She loves her very much and I definitely can tell. She loves to help her, will bring her toys, wipe her face, or bring the paci. Ellie is also very concerned when she cries (she'll run to where she is and say it's ok Annie, no crying, it's ok). If Ainsley is laying down on the bed or the couch, Ellie usually comes and lays next to her. Sometimes she'll read a book, other times she'll give her a kiss, and the rest she'll just lay there. I can't wait until Ainsley can show the love back :)
-loves the bath or shower. I can stick her in the bath and she would stay in there for a whole hour! I think she was in there around 40 minutes tonight... we got distracted by Memaw and Gigi who talked with Ellie during her bath. Good thing we only do bath/shower 3-4 times a week!
-loves to dance. I don't know if you remember this from when she was itty bitty, but she still loves to move to music.
-eats extremely well I would say for a 2 year old. I can usually get her to eat all her broccoli, green beans, corn, rice, potatoes, and definitely fruit. She still struggles eating chicken, but it's getting better. The only thing I know she won't eat is lasagna or lettuce.
-favorite places: Target and Starbucks. (probably because mom loves target and dad loves starbucks).

Wow that is a lot to read, sorry. Ellie truly is a happy kid, who loves people. It's such a joy to see the little person she's developed into, and I know there is so much developing and growing she will do. I only hope I get to share many more years with this little one. I love her deeply!

Ellie Mimics Mommy

We were about to put Ellie to bed the other night, when Zach came in and told me that Ellie was reading my magazines. I had taken some of the ads from the Sunday paper to read and was reading them on the couch right before we put the girls to bed. She decided she wanted to be like mommy:


You gotta love the upside down sunglasses (these were an addition by Ellie). Priceless moments.

Colorado

Zach and I went to Colorado at the end of March for our friend, Devin Dickel's wedding. We decided to make this a mini vacation just the two of us. It started out with Zach sick (throwing up the night before and on the airplane/in the airport), then the next day I got sick and had to stay in the hotel all day. Luckily Zach had friends to hang out with so that he wasn't bored out of his mind while I was in bed. We were both able to go to the wedding (Zach was in the wedding), and it was a beautiful wedding. The mountains were in the background, the food was delicious (although we weren't able to fully enjoy it), and the couple just perfect for each other. Congrats to Devin and Brianna!
Of course there was not much picture taking, but here is a picture of the night Zach and I went out on a date to a really good restaurant in Boulder, The Med.
We ordered half price appetizers and sampled many items, all delicious. Our favorite place was definitely a breakfast place known as The Buff. We went there twice. Zach tried their saddlebags pancakes (pancakes with bacon in them and eggs on top). Man vs. Food (a tv show) was there for that dish the day before, pretty impressive.

Although it was spring, it was pretty much still winter there. It was hard leaving NC with the flowers blooming and warm weather, for cooler weather and snow! Winter is not my season at all and I was so ready for warm weather, but I did enjoy seeing the snow covered mountains. We didn't pack our ski apparel, so we didn't go skiing. We sure did regret that thought, it's hard going to CO and not take part in skiing in the awesome snow. We'll be back for that though. We forgot (of course) to take the camera when we went up in the mountains, but I did get a picture of one view (the worst) of our drive to our hotel.
The mountains were gorgeous! The land is completely flat and then there are these big mountains. We drove up highway 36 to Boulder, you are driving directly at the mountains and it was such a nice view. We did get two pictures of both of us, one at the wedding which turned out awful and the other at the airport.
We asked people to take the pictures and I hate that it seems when we do that, they always get a huge background! I don't want to see everything behind me (not unless it's the mountains or some awesome view)! Oh well, at least they took a picture of us! Glad one of them turned out well.

Our trip wasn't all that we hoped it to be, but it was nice having a break. We sure did miss our girls. Hopefully next year when we get away we won't get sick!

Becoming a Parent...

Got this from a Babycenter e-mail, gave me a laugh and totally goes along with what I feel.

You didn't know becoming a parent meant...
• Stacking today's unread newspaper on top of yesterday's unread newspaper.
• Eating dinner like we're trying to break a world record for the most pasta swallowed in the shortest amount of time. Standing up.
• Letting your partner choose between poop and laundry as a topic of conversation.
• Figuring out how to pee without putting the baby down.
• Wearing a bra that looks like something from a 1930s catalog.
• Spending three hours getting the baby to sleep and then waking her up two minutes later to make sure she's still breathing.
• Forgetting what you were...

I was just saying tonight to Zach that I feel like I am in this surviving mode, not thriving. I mean most days I barely get to go potty, and half of the time Ainsley is on my lap while I do. Chores definitely only get done when absolutely necessary, I rarely remember to plan what's for dinner, and I stay up late just to get to have time to do what I want.

Another funny note, I watched Grey's Anatomy on my computer tonight and one doctor asked the question to another doctor, "When is the best time to have kids?" The reply, "Never." There is never a good time to have kids, they are difficult. They make you lose your patience, your sleep, your time... but the joy they bring to your life, the love that you experience for them and from them, the better person you become because of them. Totally worth it. So although my life is crazy and difficult, I wouldn't trade it for anything (and I've only gotten to experience just the beginning of what is to come). I just have to rely on my Savior for grace, my Father for strength, and the Spirit to continue this race. Praise God that he "will supply every need" (Phil. 4:19)... and of course for these beautiful children:

My loves

I love my family more than words can say. I am so blessed!

Easter Pics

It seems that I never get the camera out for events, just for moments around the house. Any who, here are a few pictures we took from Easter time:

They look just alike :)

Ainsley during the egg hunting, at least Ellie shared!

Finally, a real egg hunt at our house. She actually had to find the eggs this time, but don't worry I didn't hide them very well.

I love that Easter brings so many fun activities like egg hunting, but I hate that too often because of those activities we lose sight of what it is all about. I am super guilty of this, I got super excited 3 weeks ago when I saw all the egg hunts and activities we get to do and completely forgot to talk about what Easter was about to Ellie until last week. So I definitely tried to "make up" for it and pounded it in Ellie every chance I got. She knows at least who her savior is, although she definitely doesn't understand the death and resurrection thing yet.

I hope you were able to reflect on the amazing love our Father has shown us by sending his only son to die for us. It never fails, I am continually humbled by Christ's death and overwhelmed with joy by his resurrection. Because Jesus conquered death, I no longer am enslaved to sin and can have eternal life... hallelujah! He has risen, HE HAS RISEN INDEED!