The Balzer Family Bio

Happy happy birthday to Ainsley Christianna!

2011-05-31T21:05:00.000-04:00

I love love love this little girls enthusiasm! Anything Ainsley does, she does with spunk and figures out a way to have fun while she's at it. :

Take being "So Big!" for instance.

There are so many ways to be "So Big!" that I couldn't pick which picture to post!

No matter how many times the play kitchen gets picked up during the day, it almost always looks like this. I'm over it though - toys are meant to be played with!

Sadie Beth was thrilled when we first got out this outfit for Ainsley since it was her favorite. She would have worn it 7 days a week and I think enjoyed it almost as much each time Ainsley wore it. And to think I almost didn't buy it because I thought $3 was too much to spend on an outfit (even though it was OshKosh) at a yard sale!

Ainsley opening her birthday presents! She got a puzzle from Daddy and Mommy and a baby doll from Sadie Beth.

Sadie Beth was quite proud of her present. She bought it with her own money and was so excited to give it to her sister.

Sadie Beth wanted nothing to do with her puppy birthday cake. Ainsley on the other, didn't hesitate at all.

Nobody's surprised, are they?

Spunk, enthusiasm, fun....that's our Boobear!

I think she could have played with her cake for quite awhile. Even if she didn't eat much.

We had friends over to celebrate Ainsley's birthday. The Mobley's were such fun to join in on making a big deal over our girl. She loved having her friend "Buhbuh" (Lorelai) and Lorelai's big sister, "JuJu" (Julianne) to party with!

On her actual birthday, we went out as a family to Los Aztecas. Can this girl put away Mexican food!!! We have to cut her off every time. After Mexican we went for a birthday ice cream cone at Krispy Kreme. After every bite Ainsley exclaimed, "Num-a-num!! Mmmm!" She is serious about her food!We love you Ainsley Christianna and can't even begin to describe the joy God has given us because of you!!! You have brought so much fun, sillyness, smiles, love and happiness to our family!

Our hard-working 3 year old! Putting away the silverware is one of Sadie Beth's jobs and she does quite well at it. We have been spending lots of time talking about being a hard worker who does her work "...heartily, as unto the Lord and not for men." She even has a little song she sings while working, "Whatever we do we our best...whatever, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and NOT for man!"

Such a goofball. I know this is far more pictures than anyone else cares about, but I love them!

She looks innocent, but don't let her fool you. She's full of sneakiness!

Family pizza and movie night! I think on this particular night we enjoyed a Sesame Street sing-a-long with a lot of our fun vintage favorites!

We had so much fun putting together a couple of boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We made a boy box and a girl box and Sadie Beth must have packed and repacked the boxes a dozen times. What a great opportunity to learn about generosity and giving before Christmas. Our ball girl - Ainsley alternates between loving balls and baby dolls. They are definitely her favorites. She goes nuts every time we walk past the big ball bin at Target!

Ainsley loves her "NAK" - aka "milk." When we come home after supper time as soon as we pull in the driveway she starts asking for it because she knows she gets a cup while she gets ready for bed.

Thanksgiving program = total disaster! Sadie Beth is one that needs a lot of preparation for what's coming at her. We talk through things - over and over and over. Well, for this first program of the year, the kids only practiced their songs in their classrooms. We talked a lot about what to expect with her at home, that they would be in the sanctuary, there would be parents there, etc. So it wasn't at all what she expected and she totally freaked out. Thankfully, preschool is awesome and she got to sit on the directors lap for most of the program until she got her wits about her and stood up for the last few songs. By the time the Christmas program rolled around, she was a champ!

It was about this time we stumbled upon some big news for our family! We found out the night we got home from Thanksgiving Day with family that this little Boobear was going to be a big sister!!! Hooray! We were so so excited and thankful God has blessed our family with another little one....and this blessing came just about as soon as it could have...quite the surprise, but we were so thankful!

Highview Harvest Party

2011-05-10T20:02:00.006-04:00

Somehow I missed a whole bunch of pictures in my first Harvest post and didn't want to leave these out!! Sadie Beth and I so enjoyed the Fall season this year. We talked and learned a lot about the reasons for the different seasons, how God made the world perfectly for us, and did lots of observing as summer turned into fall...(a little ironic that I'm posting this as spring is turning into summer once again!)

One day we decided to go on a special walk to enjoy how beautiful it was outside. We collected leaves to bring home and make a collage. When we we got home Sadie Beth put together this lovely collage and was so proud of her work. Our theme for the day was the verse from Genesis, "All He had made was very good!"

Around this time Sadie Beth decided she was big enough to start eating spinach salads like Daddy and Mommy. She tried...really she did, but it didn't last too long. She just couldn't quite adjust to the taste and texture. Considering her mommy was offered a brand new Teddy-Rupskin doll just to eat one bite of salad when she was a little girl and still wouldn't do it, I don't push it. She'll grow into it!

And this little goof eats her weight in peas just about every week.

I love fall! Thought this was a particularly "fall-ish" looking day. So thankful for our home, lots of room to play in the backyard, and a peaceful neighborhood.

We had a blast at Highview's Harvest party this year! Sadie Beth dressed up as Abby-Cadabby, one of her favorites from Sesame Street...and it just so happened that a friend had made an Ainsley-sized Abby-Cadabby costume for her daughter a couple years ago. I loved that they got to match!!

It's amazing how much difference a year can make! Last year at the Harvest Party, we eagerly anticipated Ainsley's arrival and Sadie Beth wasn't so sure about all the activities.

This year, Sadie Beth loved participating in each of the different games and we had this silly little thing that was nearing her first birthday!!!

Take note - this picture was taken on Nov. 2nd...and it wasn't the last bowl full of tomatoes I pickjed for the year! I was quite proud of my cherry tomatoes....though I certainly needed a confidence booster after something went terribly wrong with my cucumbers. Every cucumber that grew on my plant had some sort of odd tumor shape and turned bright orange. yikes!

Don't let this one fool you - she looks innocent, but is quite the little stinker.

Wedding bells and celebrating the harvest!!

2011-05-10T20:01:00.002-04:00

Wedding fun filled the air in October as we got to celebrate the marriage of one of my oldest friends. Lauren and Lance had the perfect day for their wedding at a beautiful location on the Ohio River.

These pictures don't do it justice. It was truly breathtaking with the fall colors, gentle breezes, and warm fall sunshine.

I'm so blessed by these girls. Lauren and Abby have been a part of my life for 15 years and walked with me through it all - the good, the bad, the ugly, and the incredible.

After the wedding festivities, we jumped into celebrating the fall and harvest time. We try to move the focus off of halloween, though we do let our children have fun with costumes and trick-or-treating. We spend lots of time talking about thankfulness, how so much of what God provides for us grows from the ground, and we need to be thankful for that harvest.

Ainsley was just along for the ride. Note the packnplay in the background: pretty much gave up on pack and play time. I would put her in it and she would SCREAM and WAIL until rescued. Messed up on that, but she is actually doing better with it now. She does time outs in the pack and play now and sometimes if I ask her if she needs a time out, she signs please and goes to get in a for a few minutes. Ha!

This one adores her Daddy. That's about all that can be said about that.

Sadie Beth thought carving the pumpkin was pretty much one of the coolest deals ever.

She named him "Carvey the Harvest Pumpkin."

We had so much fun trick or treating with our little Abby-Cadabby. She was definitely into it this year and as we walked through the neighborhood kept exclaiming, "Let's try that house!"

Ainsley was actually pretty miserable the entire trick-or-treating experience. She hadn't napped well and was tired. However, at this point I believe I had just given her a reeses cup to eat and that temporarily improved her outlook on life.

Fall Fun!

2011-05-04T15:12:00.006-04:00

We had a lovely Fall season, and were so blessed to get to enjoy wondeful weather into November! The girls had so much fun with the extra zoo and park time during the not-so-stifling hot days we had in October and November.

I was thankful to be able to nurse Ainsley for a full year, but both of us were glad to be done with the time came! A little smarter this time around, I decided to give Ainsley milk starting around the beginning of October to get her used to drinking something other than water out of a cup. To this day, Sadie Beth has never drank a cup of milk. She was probably 2 1/2 before she decided to actually like anything but ice water. Ainsley took to milk pretty quickly and though she doesn't have it every day, she gets pretty excited when I give her a cup full. It was also around this time we started really working with Ainsley on folding her hands...both to play and for self-control. The "self-control" bit hasn't worked nearly as well as it did for Sadie Beth, but I still think it helps her regroup from time to time when she gets a little rascally (whiny, screeching, demanding, impatient,etc...). With Sadie Beth, it was like a magic trick. If we asked her to stop and fold her hands for a minute, she would amost instantly "get herself together" and become very pleasant within a couple of moments.

Getting ready for a day at the zoo - and in the background you can see pretty much the status quo in our living room. We usually pick up before bedtime, sometimes naptime too, but I don't mind. Toys are meant to be played with.

This was one of those perfect zoo days...plenty of sun and a light jacket was all we needed to stay comfortable! These two have become quite the buddies. Sadie Beth and Julianne play so well together...90% of the time. And the other 10% of the time they become 2 firstborns (within 2 weeks of each other) who feel the need to exert their will upon the other and be the boss. So thankful for the Mobleys, their sweet girls, and all the fun we've had together in the past year!

And the great thing is we each get our own friend! Not only do Sadie Beth and Julianne have playmates in one another, but Ainsley and Lorelai are only about 8 weeks apart. Ainsley adores Lorelai. Around this time she referred to Lorelai as a puppy dog, panting whenever she saw Lorelai...but not to worry...we've progressed much since then. Now (starting around 16 months)she lovingly calls Lorelia "BuhBuh" and gets very excited about any opportunity to play with her friend.

And even though I don't have a picture, I rather enjoy spending time with Julianne and Lorelai's mommy, Allison. Our most of the time weekly playdates have become one of the highlights of my week, as we enjoy watching the girls play and having some grownup conversation ourselves.

Believe it or not, we actually didn't have to work to hard to get a decent picture of the girls, and they all happened to be so color coordinated that day! I'm sure we couldn't repeat this experience if we tried.

Ainsley seems so teeny in these pictures...I think we were right at the beginning of a 6 month long growth spurt.

After a super fun zoo day with friends, we were all very ready for a rest!

Compliments of Ainsley Christianna - this happened at least daily for awhile in the Balzer house. It was Ainsley's favorite sort of mischief, but thankfully we trained her out of it.

My little lady - love seeing the heart God has given this little one. It's such a great responsibility to train her up...my prayer is that she will continue to have a soft heart for the Lord. Some days can be so exhausting and you can feel like such a failure as a parent, but that makes me thankful that it is only His grace and power alone that makes us fit for such a huge task as raising children...

One of the sweeter moments of our family worship time...

A Little Rascal.....

2011-02-23T15:37:00.004-05:00

It was around this time we began to really see the differences between Sadie Beth and Ainsley, and each day we started to see signs that we have quite the little rascal on our hands with Miss Ainsley Christianna Balzer. She went through a real fun baby phase where she took care of babies all day long. Then it passed and now she wants nothing to do with them.
Every time I see this picture I'm taken aback for a minute because my mind flashes forward about 15 years...can't you envision a very similar picture being taken before this beautiful little one gets whisked off to prom by some young lad?

We really had so much fun during Ainsley's morning naps this fall and tried to spend as much of it as possible outside. On this particular day, we were riding her tricycle and chasing after our neighbor's cat.

She could have done this all morning.

Ainsley's first tail-wiggle. It didn't last long. She started screaming shortly after the picture, and then boycotted anything in her hair for the next 4 months.

I tried to get some nice pictures after church one Sunday. They didn't go so well.

Stinker! I was in the kitchen taking care of something and I heard squeels of sheer delight.

Ainsley had struck gold and was delighted with her accomplishment because she could not get enough veggie straws.

Knowing her window of opportunity while I was taking pictures would be short-lived, she was furiously trying to cram as many in her mouth as possible. And notice the background mess. I can't say I miss the "search and destroy" phase Ainsley was going through at this time. It took her about 3 minutes to totally wreck whatever room she was playing in and she would do this as many times a day as I would come behind her and clean. So I just stopped picking up until bedtime for awhile. She's our little rascal!

Happy Birthday Sadie Beth!!!

2011-02-23T15:16:00.004-05:00

Birthday time!!! Sadie Beth so enjoyed celebrating her 3rd birthday with lots of friends. Obviously, both girls felt very excited...Ainsley so much so she decided to run around in her birthday suit.
The weather turned out to be quite precarious on the day of her "outside-water-fun" party - after a week in the 90s, it cooled down and got real windy, but not enough to ruin the fun. The rain held off after all....a true blessing because there was no backup plan and 10 small children running around our house would have made me have a nervous breakdown.

Watching the kids run around and play on the swing set made us so glad we went ahead with getting a new one. The old one that was in the yard when we moved in wasn't safe to play on anymore.

Owen was one of the lone boys amongst a great big group of girls - he and his family moved to Michigan recently, so now we have quite the squad of girls. Here's the whole crew! From left to right: Owen, Reagan, Julianne, Becca, Madison, SB, Morgan, Allison, and Abigayle in the back.

Look at that happy birthday girl! She had such a happy, thankful heart the day of her party. She thanked each of her friends with a hug for the gifts they brought after she opened each one.

And oh, the cake!!! Sadie Beth a long time ago requested a Sesame Street birthday cake with a rainbow on it. Call me lazy, but I'm no cake decorating diva, so I checked Kroger and Walmart to see what they could come up with. Apparently they are very limited in the licensed characters they are allowed to put on a cake. I searched the city for affordable figurines that we could use as cake toppers, but couldn't find anything for less than $25. I thought we were going to have a Sesame Street cake flop, but Mrs. Anna saved the day! She was so awesome to give so much of her time and energy to make this awesome Zoey cake for my sweet girl. And it was so worth it when we got to see Sadie Beth's ecstatic reaction to her Sesame Street cake.

Ainsley entertained herself at the party by eating some streamers; hence, the blue mouth.

Sadie Beth had so much fun opening up a box full of goodies from Grandma and Grandpa in Oregon. She loved her new dress up clothes!

We wrapped up birthday celebrations with a round of cupcakes at preschool. By this time, I was a little relieved the partying was coming to a close. It's really something to see how much these kiddos have grown up since starting in Mrs. Filbert's class in September.

Preschool!

2011-02-22T20:28:00.007-05:00

I cried. I couldn't help it. Sadie Beth was so excited about her first day of preschool. And we were so excited for her.

Not a hint of hesitation...I would have been okay with maybe just a bit.

And what a blessing preschool has been! She's loved it from Day #1.

I think this was about the point I welled up with tears real big as she took off down the sidewalk with her great big "froggy" backpack on that she thanked me for buying at least 15 times just that morning.

She told everyone she was wearing her special rainbow shirt because she was going to Rainbow Preschool.

And I cried the entire ride to school....(from the front seat, so she couldn't see me). I got it together by the time we got there.

It's at a church about 5 minutes away from our home and I'm so glad it worked out for Sadie Beth to go this year. It's been really good for her and I love that she is being taught by the same wonderful ladies that taught me in preschool (at another school).

She jumped out of the van with a cheerful farewell and didn't even look back! She was so excited to go be with her teacher Mrs. Filbert. It makes me happy that she got off to such a good start with school.

She might not have looked back but thankfully Mrs. Decker was sensitive to this reluctant to let go Mommy and let me get one more picture!

We had a special afternoon after we picked her up.......a happy meal, kite flying, and playing at the park!

Boobear loved it too!

We were glad Aunt Darla could be here for all the fun!

The next day after preschool we made a quick trip to the zoo!

It was quite a bit chillier all of a sudden, but not too chilly for Ainsley to enjoy her firt carousel ride. Always a special treat when Daddy comes with us to the zoo!

And we had an early birthday celebration! Aunt Darla decided a Dairy Queen cake was in order.

Next up....birthday parties and more!!! Things slow down quite a bit after September...

Hanover hail to thee!

2011-02-21T20:20:00.010-05:00

Oh goodness, I'm so behind. I know I should just skip ahead but I can't let too much go unrecorded since this is my only scrapbook. So here goes....
Our sweet second born - it's amazing how different two kids can be. God gave me an Ainsley lest I become to prideful in my parenting skills! This little one can be quite the rascal and even still I love her more than life itself. She can infuriate me, make me smile, make me want to pull my hair out, and make me laugh in a five minute time span.
And my big big girl - she's grown up so much in the last little bit. It's hard to believe Sadie Beth was hesitant to even slide down a slide by herself a year ago. And by the end of this last summer she had assumed the role of "play ground director." We spent so much time at Jtown park that Sadie Beth had made a whole little crew of friends that she only saw at the playground, and she enjoyed leading many rounds of imaginary play during our visits.

We've discovered over the last few months one thing Ainsley takes very seriously....her FOOD. She has been such a good eater, so much so that we often have to cut her off. At church I have to ask the nursery workers not to let her have too much snack so that she will make sure she eats her lunch when we get home.

So thankful for our swingset, and I can't wait for the girls to get back out there when the weather warms up.

When Aunt Darla came to visit in September, we traveled up to mine and David's alma mater for the day. It was one of those "perfect" days.

The weather was absolutely beautiful.

The girls were in good spirits.

And we had a Snow White kite....what could possibly make things better?

Well, David would say lunch at his all-time favoriate Chinese restaurant, Empress. So we did that too.

I love my family. That's all.

And this little girl brightens up my life in so many ways. It was hard to believe we were getting ready to send her off to her first day of preschool right after this trip.

She adores her Daddy. The sun rises and sets with him.

Sadie Beth kept talking about how this was a special place because "College" was the place where Daddy asked Mommy to get married.

And it's around this time that Ainsley decided too that Daddy's one pretty cool guy...moreso every day.

We had a great time on Labor Day at Family-palooza, the highlight for Sadie Beth being the pony ride!

Sweet sisters

2010-11-01T21:45:00.000-04:00

Back to the beginning of August....it started off with a bang...2 sick girls. Round 3 of Hand, Foot, and Mouth virus struck our home - Sadie Beth's 3rd time and Ainsley's 1st. It was awful...talk about pitiful girls. I can't think of any minor illness I would want less in our house. I thought I might pull my hair out, but we survived.
Ainsley recovered much more quickly than Sadie Beth, but she ended up with sores on her two sucking fingers, which was pretty sad.

Ainsley decided to start standing up in the beginning of August - around 9 months old.

Sadie Beth has been quite the bear each time she has come down with hand, foot, and mouth. She feels crummy for a few days while she has a fever. Then, the fever breaks and the sores come, which cause incredible pain in her mouth. She feels better and wants to eat, but the sores make it too painful. She then refuses to eat ANYTHING we offer her, with the rationality only a 2 1/2 yr old can demonstrate, which in turn causes her to act like a crazy person with no sense whatsoever.

Unfortunately, the sores can last for 3-4 days, which means 3-4 days of hunger, refusal of food, and awful behavior from my sweet Sadie Beth.

It takes about 6-7 days for the entire illness to run its course. UGH.
If hand, foot, and mouth never visits our home again, we'd be alright. Unfortunately, it's incredibly common and VERY contagious.

I suppose, however, if it weren't for HFM, I wouldn't have been able to capture this incredibly sweet sister moment between my girls.

Thank goodness for Sesame Street and Super Why! I'd never survive HFM without them.

And thank goodness for these smiles, or I might have run for the hills.

David was great while the girls were sick - he would make me leave the house for a little while each night after they went to bed to clear my head.

Ainsley didn't have it nearly as bad as Sadie Beth did.

Ainsley really has started taking more of an interest in whatever Sadie Beth is up to.

She ADORES Sadie Beth...it's so much fun to see how they are so different in so many ways as Ainsley grows and shows more of her personality.

Dressing up in what were once my window treatments from college.

Ainsley enjoyed this for a minute.

But decided she wanted nothing to do with it just a few minutes later. Now I think if I put her in their I wouldn't be able to get her out without a fit. She LOVES the bathtub now...

Sadie Beth played outside with this baby one day by herself for a LONG time. It was so much fun watching her through the window when she didn't know I was peeking.

I hardly have any pictures of me and the Boobear. Most of the ones we've attempted have turned out terribly.

We had fun after naptime one day while Sadie Beth was still asleep.

Ainsley is such a fun girl. She brings us so much joy and her smiles just brighten up the room.

Sadie Beth wore this dress for her first birthday party.

Look at those sweet baby feet. Love'em.

How can you not smile when you see this?

Ainsley can't get enough of this book. She LOVES it. If David starts reading it from the opposite end of the house, she will come crawling as quickly as she can to hear him and turn the pages. They've realy been able to bond over it.

Ainsley is serious about her food. She would have given up pureed food much earlier than Sadie Beth, but it's so much easier to make sure she gets her veggies this way. She eats by the handful.

Sadie Beth was taking care of her babies - one of them being "Crabby the kickboard."

Standing up on the activity table - and quite proud of herself.

And now we've officially entered into the "getting into everything" phase.

We never had to childproof really with Sadie Beth. Ainsley is an entirely different story.

I love watching Sadie Beth care for and nurture her babies - it's so neat to see how God just makes little girls with that innate drive.

Ainsley has since moved on from sitting at the bookshelf to destroying the bookshelf area - it is her goal to see how many times a day she can pull off every single book. We're working on it.

This was how she was sleeping one night I came in to take her potty. We had company over that evening, so my guess is Sadie Beth had a hard time falling asleep knowing fun was being had downstairs without her. We were proud of her though, because she went right to bed without any protest or us having to go back up to settle her down.

Who knew a sack of potatoes could be so much fun?!?

Sunday morning photo shoot with our neighbor's pretty flowers.

Such a beautiful girl!!!!!

And of course a very pretty little sister too!

I love those big blue eyes!

Ainsley LOVES sitting and watching the outdoors. Now she sits and watches our crazy squirrels, excitedly shouting, "Dogdogdogdog...." She thinks all animals are dogs.

Ready for preschool! And so excited for her backpack! She still occasionally says to me, "Thank you Mommy for my Froggy backpack. I really like it and I'm glad you got it for me."

A Busy Day

2010-10-13T21:48:00.000-04:00

David took off one Thursday at the end of August and we had a very special family day! These girlies are so precious to me - they make my days brighter and my nights sweeter (though perhaps shorter). We started out the morning with a visit to Sadie Beth's preschool open house to meet her teacher, Mrs. Filbert. She loved her classroom and jumped right in to playing and making friends. She acted so polite, introducing herself to her teacher and some of the other children. We felt so proud of her. She wanted to wear this shirt and one other shirt every day for the first month.

I see this picture and really just can't believe how big my girl is....such a huge responsibility childrearing is! Knowing that God has entrusted this sweet little one into our care, that it is up to us (by his grace) to raise her and Ainsley in the knowledge and fear of Him.

After preschool orientation, we came home to let Ainsley get a quick morning nap...and then off to the fair we went! This was the day before my birthday and it proved to be a wonderful way to celebrate with my family. I just wish we would have had more time. The weather was PERFECT - low 80's and sunny with a crystal clear blue sky.

Sadie Beth got a big kick out of some of the fun inside things - unfortunately, I didn't get many good pictures. I think our favorite was watching the duckling slide.

We tried to get a family picture. Oh well....

Watching Sadie Beth try a few of the rides made my day...she got such a kick out of it and was such a brave little girl. It was so neat to give these things a try with no fear whatsoever - Sadie Beth has always been a little timid when it comes to these sorts of things - playgrounds, slides, etc - so it was fun to see how much she has grown and changed in the last few months.

She did these swings all by herself! As excited as I felt that she was being so brave, I thought I might have a nervous breakdown.

We went over and over and over the rules: hold on tight, keep your legs dangling down, and no matter what, don't stand up.

Sadie Beth grinned ear to ear the entire ride, squealing with delight. There is just something about seeing your children have fun that is far more fun than doing something enjoyable for yourself! My parents gave me so many wonderful, fun experiences growing up, and I think now I understand a little more why they did so many of those things.

Our poor sweet Ainsley didn't have quite as much fun at the fair as the rest of us. She felt poorly but was such a trooper. She started running a fever that morning, and I think she had some sort of tummy virus...she hadn't eaten any solid food practically the entire week. The fever went away a day or two later and she went back to normal.

Sadie Beth beamed with pride after the swings and loved telling people about her "big girl ride."

I think the guy running ride thought I was a little nuts. Just one proud mama!

First roller coaster ride!

Sadie Beth called it her "alligator car" and again, all smiles the entire ride.

The little girl sitting next to her didn't enjoy it so much and for the life of her, Sadie Beth couldn't figure out why.

The ferris wheel was a Sadie Beth and Daddy date!

I love watching Sadie Beth get to do fun things with her Daddy. I'm blessed to spend all day every day with her, so we try to let Daddy do some of the extra special things. And boy does she love her David. He is such a great Daddy.

After the ferris wheel, we gave the Tilt-O-Whirl a try. I used to ride this with my Dad. Two things I discovered: 1 - I felt a lot older physically after riding this and 2 - I'm really glad I hadn't eaten anything yet. I used to be able to ride these rides without a second thought...not so much anymore.

Some people gave us a few extra tickets as they were leaving, so we had enough for one more ride. This one seemed pretty tame compared to the others.

Before we even got out of the parking lot, both girls were fast asleep. Evidence of a full, fun, family day! We are blessed indeed.

A backwards update...

2010-08-30T20:03:00.007-04:00

Hmm, I accidentally downloaded all my pictures in backwards order. July was fun. We kept busy, though not too much exciting news to report. This one started trying to climb up onto things at the end of the month.

And perhaps as a result of her new tricks and continually increasing mobility, she went through quite the streak where nursing was not at the top of her list of priorities. I honestly wondered if we might have to stop, but the situation has much improved since then. We did this a lot, much to my exaspiration. Seriously Ainsley?

This past Friday, we hosted several of David's coworkers and their spouses for dinner. Sadie Beth was so excited about "her guests" coming over, and I think she was genuinely convinced they were coming to visit with her. At one point, I was upstairs laying Ainsley down and David was in the kitchen, I heard her tell everyone sitting in the living room, "I'm getting bigger everyday! It makes my mommy a little sad..." Then, after putting on quite the (well-received) show, as she marched upstairs to bed, she called out in a sing-songy voice, "Goooood-niiight everybodyyyyyy! It was nice of you to come OOOOOver. Don't forget to save me a piece of caaaaaaake, and I'll eat it after my naaaaaap."

To say Ainsley is a mama's girl is a bit understated. She's going through such a clingy stage right now. I love love love having a cuddler, but this scream every time mommy sets me down and follow mommy around the house crying stuff is enough to make anyone crazy.

We have had great times at the zoo this summer. One particularly HOT day we went with my friend Allison, Sadie Beth's friend Julianne, and baby sister Lorelai. Look at these red faced girls - not sunburned, just HOT.

It was a perfect day for the splash park. It's fun watching the girls play together. Here's a little ring around the rosey. Sadie Beth got to celebrate Julianne's birthday with her at her ice-cream party last week.

Cooling off - I wanted to just sit in one of the fountains myself. I think Allison and I both ended up drenched by the end, so I might as well have done that. This was Ainsley's first time playing. She liked crawling around in the baby area for awhile.

David's favorite summer treat is stopping for slushees, so we did one Sunday after church. Sadie Beth drinks as much of Daddy's polar bear cups as we will let her.

Doesn't Ainsley look like she is getting ready to go play croquet or polo? :)

My little performer - Sadie Beth singing and doing motions to If I Were a Butterfly... - I know, she needs a little more attention, doesn't she? She thinks she's a little Shirley Temple.

"Ainsley, meet your Bunny-Bear." It's not been quite love at first sight with Ainsley and her Bunnybear as it was with Sadie Beth and her bb.

She wasn't quite sure what to think at first, but Sadie Beth insisted this was a good thing.

I think Ainsley was a little leery - for the entirety of her short life, touching bb was often met with scolding from the older sister. A bb of her very own? Whatever would she do?

She's growing more fond of bunnybear as time goes on. I'm hoping they will continue to bond. Ainsley needs something in addition to me to which she is attached.
Stuck!!!

I think Ainsley thinks she is equally as big as Sadie Beth here.

I sure do love my girls.

Girls and Drama...

2010-07-28T21:11:00.008-04:00

The drama just keeps growing at the Balzer house. How quickly we go from this....

...and these sweet smiling faces....

...to this....and then in just seconds...
this! Something tells me we will have no shortage of drama and emotions over the next 18 years.

Sadie Beth is on a huge dress up kick. We need to increase our dress up clothes because she would play dress up all day long.

My sweet Ainsley. She likes to feel big.

One big difference between my girls is how they play. Ainsley entertains herself SO well. She plays and plays, explores, and just finds all sorts of ways to have fun. Sadie Beth really would just prefer to sit and talk with you. I'm constantly telling her, "Please go PLAY!" God made them each so different and special. I can't wait to see what He does through them.

She's working pretty seriously on some teeth, and Ainsley's favorite thing to chew on is spoons of all sort. Give her a spoon and she is as happy as a clam.

Sadie Beth likes to dress Ainsley up too!

Ainsley's classic sleepy pose - two left fingers in the mouth and right hand in the hair...even if she's eating. This makes for a messy girl. And don't try to pull the fingers out; she will just be one mad girl. So, we eat with fingers. Food goes down easier that way maybe?

Noah's Ark playdate! These kiddos LOVE being together. Sadie Beth loves playing with her friends Henry, Lilly, and Callie, and they play sooo well together. We've done all sorts of things this summer - Noah's Ark, the zoo, splash park, parks all over, library story times, and more. I'm so thankful to have such great friends. It's such a blessing to be able to hang out with them - it makes outings so much easier when there are 2 adults...even if that means 5+ kids rather than my two! Here they are eating their lunch at the "big kid" seats. We eat lunch together all the time, and the kids are all so sweet about sharing their food (most of the time). It's really funny to watch them eat and pass their food around.

Ainsley let me put headbands in her hair for about a month. Then she figured out they were removable. So much for headbands....

I love watching my girls' relationship grow. Ainsley wants to do everything Sadie Beth does already. Sadie Beth loves "helping" and sometimes gets a little carried away - which usually results in Ainsley getting exasperated about being squeezed too tightly, knocked over, or having a toy taken away from her.

Happy Fourth of July from my all American baby!

Love the activity table - this has been a fun, new, much enjoyed activity lately....

A Little Substance...

2010-07-20T14:53:00.009-04:00

Every day after naptime, Sadie Beth asks me if we can go downstairs and snuggle in the "brown chair." She usually wakes up a little...um...we'll call it emotionally fragile (some might call it cranky), even if she's taken a great nap. While I don't love that she wakes up like a basket case (it's not really that bad), I do treasure our chair cuddles every afternoon. It only takes a few minutes and in no time she is her back to her sweet self. I understand. Her need for post-nap Mommy lap time isn't all that different from my need for Diet Mt. Dew.
Saturday proved to be a typical afternoon for after nap chair snuggles. As we cuddled and chatted, I thought about how precious that time is to me and how she is growing up so quickly. Jokingly I asked her, "Sadie Beth, when you are 15 years old, will you still snuggle Mommy like this?" I fully expected her to either answer yes enthusiastically or to just giggle at my silly question. You just never know what to expect with girls though, do you? She suddenly burst into tears and cried in the most pitiful sad voice I think I've ever heard, "Noooooooo!!!"

(Me) "Sweetheart, what's wrong? Why not?"

(SB) "Because....(sob, gulp for air)....I'll be too big...(another sob, gulp for air)."

(Me) "Oh, Sweet Pea, you'll never be too big to snuggle with Mommy."

(SB) "But we won't fit in the chair! (More tears, sniffling, and gasping for her breath)

(Me) "Don't worry about that, Honey. I think we'll fit, but if not, we'll get a bigger chair."

(SB) (Still sniffling, snuggling and pitiful) "Let's go do it now...."

My sweet girl. She certainly has a flare for drama, doesn't she? I love her heart. She just loves people and loves being loved back. All she wanted was to be safe in her Mommy's arms, to be close to me. The idea of not being able to have that closeness made her genuinely sad. It is amazing how interacting with my children so often teaches and convicts me in my walk with the Lord!!! Shouldn't that be how we feel about God? How long has it been since I've longed so desperately to be close to Him, to spend time with Him that the idea of being unable to do so makes me feel as Sadie Beth did when she thought about not being able to snuggle with me? She didn't respond half-heartedly, but with eagerness and urgency. When she realized a solution to her dilemma, she didn't want to wait. She wanted to take care of whatever was going to get in the way of her time to be close to me. I can only hope and pray that as they grow, my children will see in me the same sense of urgency to walk closely to the Lord.

Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Messy Faces!

2010-07-09T19:56:00.029-04:00

Such fun we've been having in the Balzer house these days!!! Summertime has been a blast and we enjoy the sunshine and outdoors every chance we get. Our girls are growing so fast. Sadie Beth acts like she is almost 3 going on 17 and Ainsley just loves life....unless you are taking to long to feed her, or walk away from the table when she thinks you should be giving her food, and then she just growls at you to let you know what she thinks. Ainsley adores Sadie Beth and nothing gives me more of a warm fuzzy feeling than watching there relationship blossom. Now that Ainsley acts more like a person all the time, Sadie Beth delights in her....giving her toys, reading her stories, and lots of hugs. This afternoon while playing with one of their musical toys, Sadie Beth called me from the kitch and told me, "Me and Boobear are singing and dancing Mommy."

Unfortunately, we left this swimsuit at the splash park at the beginning of the summer. Every few days, Sadie Beth pretends to call the zoo. Her phone calls usually go a little like this: "Hello, zoo? Have you seen my blue butterfly swimsuit with the pink straps and the bow? No, that's a BUMMER." Then she puts her phone down and tells me, "Nope, the zoo says I can't have my swimsuit back."

This little girl gets sillier every day. She is easy going most of the time, but can get quite opinionated at meals. Often, in one meal she will dance, whine, growl, laugh, grunt, cry and inevitably end up with food all over her face. Honeybee graduation!!! My little happy honeybee is now an Awana Cubby. I was so proud of her this year. She always participated with such a happy, cooperative spirit and learned all of her Honeybee verses. Wednesday nights were pretty much the highlight of her week this year. I'm sure some of that was thanks to my good friend Anna (pregnant belly above), who taught Sadie Beth's class. Sadie Beth thinks Anna is pretty much the coolest person in the world.

Roomtime with both girls together. Boy I need to get Sadie Beth a bedskirt. That mattress is less than becoming First time for Puffs! She wasn't sure what to think, but that lasted for about 2 minutes. Then, if she could talk I think she would have asked why we'd been holding out on her.

This was back in May - she's FINALLY able to get them in her mouth by herself. Took awhile for that pincher grasp to kick into gear.

Oh goodness....

There we go, that's better.

Meet my 2-finger sucker....all the time. This is why when you see my kid she ALWAYS has food dried somewhere on her face. She eats with the fingers in her mouth and then rubs her face. Makes me kindof nutty, but there is no stopping her. If you try to hold them down, she might be pleasant for a bite or two and then she will SCREAM until she gets them back. She is polite enough at least to take them out of her mouth for bites. It's ridiculous.

But this is fun too. My girls are both definitely "mouth kids." Everything goes in there.

It's about time to retire the bouncy seat.

I love Sunday morning photo shoots. David, however, not such a big fan, as it usually ends means we end up being even later for church.

Sadie Beth is in such a fun stage right now - singing, dancing, dressing up, and talking ALL THE TIME. I bet I answer a record number of questions each day.

We were blessed to enjoy a beautiful afternoon at my friend Jenn's in-law's house awhile ago, which was amazing. A lovely day in every way...

The kids had such fun splashing and then a picnic lunch. No comment, however, about my run into with law enforcement on the way home. Thankfully, I was shown incredible grace by the officer who pulled me over for speeding (a lot). He asked me if there was a good reason why he shouldn't give me a ticket. I answered truthfully, that there wasn't one. He told me that was the best answer he's heard all day and then let me go. Sadie Beth was very fascinated by the entire event and asked numerous questions. I explained that Mommy had disobeyed and that it was the police officer's job to help me to obey the rules just like I help her to obey, but also how he showed Mommy grace and though I deserved to have a consequence for making a bad choice he let me go. I think she got it.

Example of why eating with 2 fingers in your mouth is messy business:

We finally got the sitting thing under control.

And now Ainsley is really on the move - not crawling yet, but trying REALLY hard. She's chunked up quite a bit since this picture. Ainsley has gained 2 lbs in the last 2 months!

We had a wonderful visit with Aunt Darla over Memorial Day weekend....we've been so blessed to see Darla in December, January, May, and soon again in September! Getting to see her so often has made the distance seem not so far.

I just want to kiss those cheeks.

Memorial Day weekend not only included a visit from Aunt Darla, but also from Aunt Bridget, Danny, and Aunt Sarah! I think Sadie Beth really believed they all came to see and play with her. She told people that her friends had come to visit and cried that she wanted her friends to come back after they left.

Sadie Beth loves this book ($0.10 from a yard sale) because it has animals you count and stick into pockets on each page. Some of them are squirrels, it occurred to her that she should share the book with the squirrels in the yard.

She was very serious, and tried incredibly hard.

Boy I love these girls. I NEED them in my life. Sarah and Bridget were my roommates in college, and over those four years we became like sisters. We keep moving farther away from each other so our visits are fewer and far between with husbands, kids, and busy jobs in the picture, but I'm so thankful for them.

Sarah brought down some tomato and cucumber plants and we had fun planting. This is becoming a yearly ritual with Sarah and Sadie Beth loves it.

I will have to post updated pictures because the cucumber plant has grown up and over the fence and we have one cucumber growing - it's kindof yellow though, so I hope it's alright. We are getting tons of tomatoes.

Sadie Beth takes watering the flowers very seriously. She uses her little hedgehog watering can and makes sure each plant gets some. Our daisies we planted as seeds in the front by the mailbox look nice too!

Sarah's a natural at this gardening stuff - all of the plants she brought us started as seeds from her garden. Quite a few of them are taller than Sadie Beth now.

I think next year we might turn this entire little square of our yard into a garden. I don't know though - that might be a little overly ambitious.

My little stinker. I heard laughter from the kitchen and came to see what Ainsley thought was so funny. She'd rolled over to my can, knocked it on the floor and was tapping her hand in the water with one hand and rolling the can around and around with the other. She was so proud of herself. It was quite an accomplishment.

She's a rock start....or at least will be one day. She wears her sunglasses everywhere. Even when she is sick she wears them to the doctor. Her pediatrician asked awhile back if he could take a picture of her because he thought she was a riot.

So long Sentra! One of the biggest developments in our family is that I am officially a minivan mom. And can I just say that I love it?!? We purchased a van I found on Craigslist from a man who actually worked for Humana who was moving back to India with his family. We got it for a great price and it has been such a blessing already. I posted the Sentra on Craigslist for about $500 more than we were hoping to get for it (but still a fair price). Within 24 hours it sold for the full asking price!!! I bet I got 15 emails in the first couple of hours. It is awesome to see God's provision for our family in so many ways.

No peas please!

2010-06-30T22:08:00.003-04:00

Sadie Beth ate anything I put in her mouth, pretty much no questions asked. She didn't really like eggs and still doesn't to this day unless it is some sort of casserole, but other than and avocado that didn't protest much to anything I fed her as a baby. All in all, she is a MUCH easier baby than Sadie Beth, but Ainsley's taken me for a bit more of a ride when it comes to the great wide world of food....
I fought starting foods until just before she was six months old - it is just so easy to stick with nursing only. But she was starting to wake at night to eat, so I knew she needed more. I honestly didn't mind (and even treasured) those 4am feedings but didn't want to reinforce bad habits for the long term so I finally gave in. So much changes it seems when I start my babies on food - they just start growing up so fast. Ainsley started doing all sorts of developmental things and it just so happened to coincide with dropping her dreamfeed and starting solids that she stopped sleeping til 8am and started waking at 6:30! What's up with that?!?

Not so sure what she thinks, but she'll stay all smiles for a little while at least. It's kindof a game to figure out what she wants to eat - because it changes all the time. And if she isn't in the mood for what you try to give her, WATCH OUT!!! But don't worry, just because she's not in the mood for it now, doesn't mean she won't want it later...probably even the next meal.

Except for peas, she never is in the mood for peas. :) Or greenbeans. But spinach, oh yes - she and Sadie Beth gobbled up a jar of spinach and carrots yesterday. It was one of the strangest things I've seen in a long while. "Yuck" was my only thought, but I told Sadie Beth I would get her some more if she wanted it - who cares if it was pureed, my 2 year old was begging me for spinach. Who am I to get her way?Right now, she's a little orange tinted - because she LOVES her sweet potatoes, squash, and peaches. And sure, Jesus said that man cannot live on bread alone, but Ainsley thinks she can live on applesauce alone. She would eat it all day long if I let her.

Ainsley's my sweet girl. Even if I make her mad during mealtime - which often seems to be the case - she never stays mad for too long. Before you know it, she's back to her sweet smiley self. :)

April fun....

2010-06-02T19:58:00.011-04:00

We love springtime, warm weather clothes, playing outside, and being with friends! The zoo and park have been calling our names. This little girl has grown up so much since last spring. Last spring she was a baby...now she has long pigtails, sings crazy songs, and climbs all over the playground without hesitation.
We had fun dying eggs this year, though they didn't turn out very colorful. Sadie Beth loved having our eggs at the table; David loved eating them.

I'm not very arts & crafty, so this was quite the feat for the Balzers.

Saturday morning cuddles....in the bathroom? I think I just happened to be walking by with camera in hand. Since this picture in early April, we've retired the potty-seats. Sadie Beth can officially go potty all by herself, now that she's coordinated enough to get on and off by herself. It's amazing how helpful this is.

She's still playing with those eggs...

Some of the last days with the old swing set. It's in terrible condition. The wood was rotten, it was infested with insects, and rusty nails and screws were starting to detach from the wood all over the place. We couldn't let Sadie Beth play by herself on it at all.

Climbing like a big girl. We've officially entered the "I'll do it all by myself stage."

No hesitation this year....

Sadie Beth adores Ainsley, and I think it's safe to say the feeling is mutual. Unfortunately, Ainsley does't always appreciate her demonstrations of affection. They are a little intense.

We enjoyed an picnic end of the year celebration for my mom's group from church. Here is Sadie Beth with a bunch of her church friends...most are right around her age.

It was at a lovely home in Taylorsville. Ainsley was hot....but such a trooper.

After we got home it was definitely past nap time, but Boobear was in such a good mood that I couldn't help myself. I put Sadie Beth down for a nap and we had some fun.

In case you didn't know, we believe Ainsley thinks her name is "Boobear." She responds to it more quickly than Ainsley.

Sadie Beth has called her Boobear from the very beginning and it stuck. The other day she told me she wanted to go to the zoo with "Mommy, Daddy, and Boobear Christianna."

She will tell you, "Ainsley's a boobear and I'm a bug-bear,"...one of her first nicknames.

She is a Boobear if I've ever seen one. We are so blessed to have this sweet, sweet girl in our lives....truly she is a gift from God. She is so much fun, so easy going and easy to please...as long as you don't feed her green vegetables. I just want to kiss her cheeks off.

Here she's trying to convince me that she's too much fun to lay down for a nap. It almost worked, but then the sense that God gave me kicked in and off to bed she went.

She woke up just as happy though.

And still a little red-cheeked, but don't worry Grandma - she had sunscreen on and wasn't really burned. Just pink and flushed for awhile....it was HOT.

Sadie Beth enjoyed spending time with Kendra one morning. They both were definitely into Sesame Street while munching on their goldfish.

Ainsley feels big in her new bath seat and very proud to be sitting up like Sadie Beth. This was the primary fix to Sadie Beth's bath anxiety that I had previously blogged about. Once we got the baby tub out, things got better...with the help of a few new bath toys too.

Either Ainsley keeps getting bigger or the bouncy seat keeps getting smaller. It happens so fast.

It's a Grammy night - we've started having dinner with Mom every other Sunday night. Sadie Beth has loved getting to spend this time with Grammy. If Ainsley could talk, she'd agree.

I never realized it was possible to love as strongly as I do my girls and David. My heart just feels like it is going to burst sometimes.

I finally gave in and started solid foods.

I think I delay it for so long because it means my babies officially aren't tiny babies any more. And it is so easy just to nurse and not have to worry about feeding them...not that I would EVER forget to feed my child (at least not for very long).

Needless to say, she wasn't a fan of the rice cereal. I think she hoped that if she closed her eyes it wouldn't be in her mouth any longer.

We don't just do one puzzle at a time at our house. Nope, we dump them all out and then put them ALL back together. It's not hard for her, just time consuming because she goes completely ADHD during the "putting back together" phase.

Boy I sure do love them. Being a Mommy is exhausting, fun, overwhelming, invigorating, heart-wrenching, fulfilling...and so so so much more. So thankful for each moment...

Up from the grave He arose!!!

2010-05-20T15:34:00.005-04:00

Yes, I realize Easter was over a month ago, but Sadie Beth still is singing this hymn with great enthusiasm at least 10 times a day. So, I figured it was a good title for our Easter pictures.
Ainsley looks excited about going to church, but little does she know, this is going to be her first week in the nursery.

And here we are at church....notice....we are not in the nursery. It didn't last so long that first week. Instead, we are in the nursing corner of the ladies room. I'm happy to report, she has acclimated and Sunday mornings go much more smoothly. I've not been paged for a couple weeks now.

Ainsley says, "Do you see this innocent face? I've been so good to you. How could you leave me?" Sorry pumpkin. (haha - actually I worry the entire time she's there - ridiculous I know).

This picture attempt didn't go so well. But look at our pretty tree!

We got this dress as a shower gift before Sadie Beth was even born! It worked out quite nicely.

She was most excited about her new sandals. Girls are fun...

With her Easter basket before visiting family in Indianapolis.

Easter egg hunting with her "chicky-poo" bag-(as she called it). I love the Target dollar section.

There were lots of kids and lots of eggs.

Ainsley got to hang out with Grammy while I took pictures.

She wanted to hunt for eggs too. Next year, Ainsley.

He arose...he arose...Hallelujah! Christ Arose! (somehow, it doesn't get old hearing SB sing it)

Marching on...

2010-04-28T18:16:00.008-04:00

March was lots of fun - especially as Ainsley is being awake more and more and as we anticipated spring's arrival! Ainsley says, "Bring on the sunshine, I'm ready!" Sunglasses compliments of Sadie Beth.
Ainsley lights up when David comes into the room. She sure loves her Daddy.

We've had some bathtime drama at our house lately....Sadie Beth became terrified of her bath toys floating under Ainsley's tub while they bathed together. After about 2 weeks of letting Sadie Beth bathe in the shower downstairs, new bath toys, and retiring Ainsley's tub for a bath seat, I think we are back in business. Shoo, talk about exhausting...every bath time was a total melt down/near panic attach for Sadie Beth. This has been our first "fear" experience with her and I'm thankful we survived. It's always difficult finding that line between genuine emotion and inappropriate responses requiring discipline with little ones. While Sadie Beth would be melting down (because she became anxious whenever Ainsley got a bath, regardless of what she was doing), Ainsley pretty much looked like this. Truthfully, it was hard not to laugh at that part. Sadie Beth would be screaming (again, b/c Ainsley was getting a bath not her) and Ainsley would be sitting in her tub just chattering and laughing.

My beautiful girl - this fall/winter was really the first season we've needed to go out and buy clothes for Sadie Beth. Until now, we've enjoyed lots of hand-me-downs and all of the gifts family and friends so generously bestowed upon us. It was kindof fun getting to pick stuff out! And fun hearing Sadie Beth's opinions. This curdoroy dress was my favorite, and it looked so cute with her polka-dot tights from Grandma!

Our first walk outside for the year! The girls love riding in their double stroller together. You can definitely tell Ainsley feels big. Unfortunately, the walk didn't end this happy. Sadie Beth had strep throat and was a cranky pants by the time we got home.

A new fun game. She is always asking me, "Mommy, can you shut the door please?"

My kitchen helper...

Ainsley loves this ball. She always "mouth attacks" it...pretty funny.

Mouth attack in progress!

yikes!

One of the highlights of Sadie Beth's week is Honeybees. She loves her teacher (Miss Anna) and singing the Honeybees song. Apparently she's one of the only kids still wearing her shirt. I figure we paid for the silly thing, might as well keep wearing it.

Sunglasses are pretty much always a must in the car these days - even on rainy days.

I know, this is probably the 5th exersaucer picture - I just can't get enough.

It's a special hair day - then again, the argument could be made that every day is a special hair day for Ainsley.

This box provided endless fun for whatever reason - I guess it is just the right size to play in. This is how I found her one day after nap.

My bigger kitchen helper! Sadie Beth thrives on getting to help in the kitchen. I try to let her help whenever I can and need to let her do more. She gets uncontainably excited. Funny how letting her help usually results in twice the amount of work for me....so worth it though. Here we were making taco cups - a great recipe from Kraft.com if anyone is interested.

Ainsley's wants in on the fun too.

I hope they are best friends. I'm definitely already hearing on a regular basis, "Mooom, Ainsley's touching me!" Sheesh.

Sadie Beth went on a very special date with Grammy - to see Sesame Street Live! If you know my kid, you know this was quite possibly the highlight of her short life.

She seemed so big walking away from the car with my mom. David, Ainsley, and I got to enjoy dinner at Spaghetti Factory during their show...(and by enjoyed, I mean waited for 30 minutes, Ainsley screamed for 15 in the restaurant and fell asleep just as we were getting ready to pack up our food, and then we rushed out to pick Mom and Sadie Beth up in time). Hey, it was sortof a date!

One afternoon while I was making dinner, I heard Sadie Beth in the living room talking to Ainsley about P.U.s...(Miss Anna's label for stinky diapers). I didn't worry too much but then went in to check things out when I heard Ainsley squealing with excitement. This is what I found. (Note: Ainsley did not, in fact, have a dirty diaper.) I clearly informed Sadie Beth that this should not happen again - and then I laughed and took pictures.

Just for fun....

2010-04-28T09:32:00.002-04:00

Sadie Elisabeth- 5 months and 3 days old.

Ainsley Christianna- 5 months, 12 days old.

More fun every day...

2010-04-21T19:46:00.011-04:00

....at least that is what Sadie Beth thinks about Ainsley. It is so much fun watching their relationship change as Ainsley grows. She's already starting to "boss" Ainsley all over the place. Unfortunately for Sadie Beth, I can't think of a single time this has gotten her anywhere. This little girl just melts my heart. That's all there is to it. I would do cartwheels and backflips just to see her smile.

Sadie Beth used to lounge on this blanket all the time, just like this and Ainsley HATES it. She immediately wiggles off.

I also happen to love crazy baby hair...pretty much one of my favorite things. Thanks God, for baby girls with wacky hair. It definitely suits their personalities well.

I've never posted many pictures of our house because, well, it's always a mess. One day I pretended to be on top of things and was "crazy cleaning lady" for a day. And while it's ridiculous how much I did not get done, here are a few pictures of our home. Crazy to think we moved in a year ago last week. Please excuse the beige closet doors with the white trim. I was hoping to replace them, but think I might brave a can of spraypaint since we just recently figured out how to take them off and put the back on (read: I accidentally pulled the door off and David figured out how to get it back in place).

I wish I had an updated picture of my kitchen since I organized my refrigerator because it seriously changed the look of the entire room. I felt quite proud of my accomplishment. I'm glad the walls don't appear to be hot pink in these pictures.

I think I was most pleased with the way our bedroom turned out of all the paint colors I chose for the house....Sadie Beth's room too.

I joke with David that it is our "swimming pool room" because of the way the light fixture makes the light reflections dance on the walls.

Meet Ainsley's bug friend, aka "Ralphie." If you pull on the end, it plays the sweetest music that fits Ainsley's personality perfectly. We joke that it's her theme song. It will almost certainly make her smile, even if she is mid-wail...which is quite a sight to see. Sadie Beth often pretends he is "Ralphie" a parrot parrot off of one of her favorite Sesame Street episodes.

Maybe I'm a terribel mother, but it never occurred to me to buy Sadie Beth a snowsuit for this winter. But, we were blessed to borrow one from one of Sadie Beth's most favorite people in the world, us and grandparents aside...Miss Anna. Anna is one of my good friends who has a little girl 7 months older than Sadie Beth. These were Reagan's snow close from last year and they fit Sadie Beth (just barely but we made it work)...it was much more fun playing in these than in the many layers I would dress SB in for the snow.
I think I've said it before, but I'm SO glad David likes to play out in the snow. That will be his job from here on out I think because I don't like to be cold or wet (unless it's 80 degrees outside), so snow play is not on my list of favorite things.

Though I reconsider that strong opinion when I look at these pictures, like maybe just maybe I'm missing out on something really fun and precious with my girl.

Maybe next year when Ainsley can be out too - this year I was inside with her.

Have I mentioned what an amazing daddy Sadie Beth has? Here he is trying to teach her how to make a snow angel. I laughed heartily from the deck with my camera.

I'm very thankful David can work from home sometimes when the weather is really bad. Here Ainsley was stopping by for a visit. Have I mentioned I love her hair?

And when it gets to cold to play out in the snow, bring the snow inside!

This was a pretty clever idea, if I do say so myself.

Once again, Sadie Beth was "sharing" with Ainsley, who was quite the sport about everything.

We've had a blast playing with Sadie Beth's new food baskets.

Both of my girls have LOVED this bouncy seat. I've probably said it before, but it's pretty amazing. It entertains, soothes, distracts... Exersaucer time! The person who invented the exersaucer should be given the mommy version of the Nobel Peace Prize. Seriously.

Talk about Ainsley becoming much more fun for Sadie Beth - this opened up a whole new world.

Another great baby item we borrowed from Miss Anna - the Bumbo. She's just about outgrown it, but it was fun while it lasted. Note to all concerned: Ainsley was never left unattended on an elevated surface while in the Bumbo.

Sadie Beth came up with this game for her and David where they would "play" birthday party. Not all-together original I realize, but the hilarious part of the game is she would INSIST that they play in front of every single door way in the house, and on the bottom of the stairs as well. They would follow the exact same "pattern" of play each time and then pack up all their supplies and move to the next doorway. In our hallway there are 4 doors - so that means....4 birthday parties! David is much more patient that I when it comes to this stuff.

How did this happen? When did she get so big?

One Sunday morning photo attempt. It didn't go so well. Ainsley doesn't love hats, as you can see. This is why we are always late for church. You can imagine how David feels about these impromptu photo sessions.

My little Davids....

2010-04-05T15:22:00.005-04:00

I actually had to think twice about which picture is Ainsley and which is Sadie Beth! I like this comparison because they are taken very close in age. Can everyone tell who is who?

One thing is certain...my girls sure start of looking like their Daddy!

It was snowy.....

2010-04-03T09:48:00.010-04:00

...but now it's warm and we love spring!!! However, for the sake of persistance - I'm going to keep trying to catch up.

She's a lot bigger now - but is there anything better than a sleeping baby?

Aunt Bridget came to visit - twice actually. The first time Bridget got to see a not so happy baby. This was before Zantac. :)

Sadie Beth often "feeds her babies" just like she sees me feed Ainsley. It just so happened that Snow-bear was hungry here. And she's a multi-tasker, reading and feeding simultaneously. Lately, when Sadie Beth "nurses," she will sit on the floor close to where I am sitting with Ainsley, sit perfectly still with the Boppy pillow around her and feed her baby, saying to me occasionally, "I'm a good mommy."

Like I said, lots of snow meant lots of time playing outside with Daddy. Usually, she just wanted to swing. Thankfully, David takes this job. I personally, am not a huge fan of playing in the snow. Guess I need to work on this.

Warming up inside for a bit....

Ainsley is NOT one for wearing hats. They last for about 30 seconds before she gets mad at them. Sadie Beth wore caps all winter long when she was a baby. Not my Ainsley....she'd rather be cold I suppose.

Any one know what to make of this rash? One late afternoon / early evening Sadie Beth got all splotchy. We gave her a dose of Benadryl before bed and she was fine the next morning. We have no idea what it was. It is hard to see in this picture. Poor Ainsley - for a long while she got most of her baths in the sink just like this. Our baby tub wouldn't fit in the sink like it did in the condo. I needed one of those bucket tubs. Don't worry, I scrubbed the sink before each bath. We've since moved on to bigger and better ways...

We had a great visit with Grandma and Grandpa Balzer and Aunt Darla in January. As you can see, Sadie Beth was completely neglected the entire time.

Wearing Grandpa's hat...

This was fun, but I wish I'd thought about it a few weeks earlier. I decided to have playtime with Ainsley in Sadie Beth's doll stroller.

I did not let Sadie Beth in on the fun. (Nor has she seen the pictures - I don't want her to get any ideas). Ainsley's not so sure...

I just love baby-hairdo's...and baby tummies...

Ainsley decided on Aunt Bridget's second visit that they could be best buddies...

Ainsley's eyes are lightening up. I think they will end up quite similar to Sadie Beth's.

We are so blessed to have such sweet girls.Ainsley just makes us smile. She is the sweetest, most easy going baby most of the time. I'm so thankful she just goes with the flow....

Can't get enough....

2010-03-17T19:55:00.003-04:00

...of this ridiculously sweet smile.

I could literally just sit and smile at her all day without getting bored.
And every once in awhile she might look at me like this...

...but most of the time....

...this beautiful grin is never too far behind.

I could just eat her up. That's all.

Pretty girls in pink!

2010-03-05T14:17:00.002-05:00

Sadie Beth loved modeling her pretty pink winter wear - especially her favorite "Penguine PJs." I think she'd wear them every night. Who can blame her? I wish they came in my size.
She seriously cracks me up all day long - what a riot. It's so hard to discipline when you can hardly maintain a straight face yourself.

This child is definitely lacking attention - you can tell too, huh?

She was pretending to play out in the snow - like she does with Daddy. A favorite activity this white winter.

I love her infectious smile and enthusiasm. I hope it never fades, that she continues to get excited over and find joy in the very small things in life. And we certainly don't want to forget my tiny other pretty in pink girl. She has her own pink jammies to get excited about.

I'm not sure how it's possible, but this smile just keeps getting bigger every day. We just sit and smile at each other for way too much time....but how can you expect me to accomplish anything around the house when I have this delight to smile at? After all, she'll grow up and leave me before you know it.

My dad would be so proud - and would love to see his granddaughter sporting her blue. Sadie Beth calls it her "Nana Helen" sweatshirt because that is who got it for her.

I walked in to the living room to find Ainsley having this very serious conversation. Ainsley looks less than amused.

More soon hopefully!

Christmastime...8 weeks later...

2010-02-20T20:04:00.005-05:00

Way late....story of my life...but here we go anyways. Can you believe in just a year you can go from this little thing....
...who still is so much a "baby"....

To this grown up 2 year old big sister?!?

...and was so proud of herself for "decorating" the Christmas tree? She loved being a helper and putting the ornaments on. And I must admit...being a bit of a "Christmas tree perfectionist," I was a little worried about how I would handle Sadie beth hanging the ornaments. After all, each year I move them all around 47 times after hanging them until they are just right. But Sadie Beth has quite the knack for Christmas trees! Just like her mama I guess. She actually did a pretty good job. I only rearranged a few....

I love Christmas decorations. I never feel very proud of the way my house is decorated the rest of the year, but when it is time for Christmas I love having people over because of how nice things look. It's crazy to think how many ornaments we have. David and I have a ton from our growing up years and we've accumulated quite a few since getting married. And now we are collecting them for the girls too. If we ever have space for 2 trees - one representing our past and one for our family now.And let's not forget this stinker. Talk about sweet babies....I just want to kiss her cheeks all day long. And I love it when she kisses back with those big open mouth baby kisses.

Just in case anyone was wondering, Ainsley sported the same "white tongue" as Sadie Beth for quite some time, but I think we've solved the mystery. Shortly after Christmas, we started Ainsley on Zantac for silent reflux. She's not a big spitter, but boy she would get fussy after eating and just looked uncomfortable a lot of the time. The Zantac has done the trick! She is MUCH happier, sleeps better, and the white tongue is more or less gone. I mentioned something to the doctor about it, and he made a casual comment of "Oh that's probably what Sadie Beth had too..." I had to keep my mouth shut - you mean a simple medicine might have been able to help her sleep better, no projectile vomit all over the place every day, and fix her scary looking tongue!?! Sheesh.

Ainsley likes to contemplate Sadie Beth's various "friends" - (Mickey, Minnie, Sesame Street muppets, etc). For awhile this would keep her happy for as long as we wanted.

This was definitely still a time of adjustment for Sadie Beth. We'd spent lots of time talking about what it meant to have a sister and how we want her to have a sharing heart with Ainsley and her friends that she likes to play with. One day I decided to take a chance and let Ainsley be on the floor in the living room while Sadie Beth was playing and I was in the kitchen. Sadie Beth had been clearly instructed not to touch Ainsley. All seemed to be going well when Sadie Beth called in several times, "Mom, I'm sharing with Ainsley!!!" Each time I would respond with some sort of, "That's so sweet Sadie Beth, I like your sharing heart! Make sure you aren't touching her!" Sadie Beth would always call out "I'm not touching her Mom!" (sidenote: for about 2 months I was "Mom" - I'm so thankful my 2 year old is back to calling me Mama and Mommy).

After a few minutes, Ainsley started to fuss a little. I went in to check things out and the above picture is what I found. Of course, I couldn't "rescue" her until I got a few pictures. Sadie Beth was so proud of sharing her friends with Ainsley.
One of my friends got this flower pot hat for Sadie Beth. Isn't it a hoot?

Here's the first official picture of Evie and Ainsley. My friend Abby and I seem to have a knack for getting pregnant at the same time. Sadie Beth and her daughter Amelia are 11 days apart. Evie and Ainsley are 14 days apart.

I would like to offer a huge thanks to Fisher Price and the creators of this amazing bouncy seat. Both my girls have been mesmorized by it. If you don't have one, it's been discontinued - but you can still find it online and through Craigslist. It's amazing. Sadie Beth and Ainsley will both go from screaming their heads off to blissfully silent in a matter of seconds when placed in it with the vibrations. And the toy bar is super fun too - more on that later.

Here is Ainsley's first intentionally smiling picture. She is such a happy girl - smiles all the time now. It doesn't take much. Just look at her long enough and you're bound to get a grin.

Christmas morning was lots of fun! Christmas at our house has lasted for weeks both this year and last. Sadie Beth gets so excited by just one present that we saved the rest and open them over the next couple of weeks.

And what was the most exciting? Why, the gloves, hat, and sunglasses from the $1 stop at Target that were in her stocking.

We loved Christmas with our girls. We try to keep things simple and focused on Jesus. David and I are looking forward to establishing some traditions as our family grows. It's only going to get more fun in the years to come!

Oh December...

2010-01-25T12:49:00.010-05:00

It' a good thing Ainsley's been a pretty easy going baby. As I mentioned earlier, December was a pretty challenging month for us. We spent a lot of time at home and a lot of time trying to make our sweet Sadie Beth as comfortable as possible in the midst of her surgery recovery. We were exhausted and to be honest - discouraged. After the initial recovery stage, I think the stress of having a new sister, having lots of people around, and feeling like crud really caused her to fall apart for awhile. We struggled with finding the line between being comforting and understanding of all the change/discomfort and figuring out how to lovingly discipline her for behavior that was completely out of line - while not going overboard because of all the stress. She also starting having night-terrors (or whatever you might want to call them), where she would wake up between 9-11pm just as mad as a hornet. She would scream and cry and hit and kick and flail and growl (literally). There were times where she was awake during them and times where I don't think she was. Usually they lasted about an hour, sometimes more. It was scary and emotional - nobody likes to see their babies in that state. All that to say....praise God for his faithfulness to bring us through such a trying time! And even in the midst of all that, we still had some pretty sweet moments during this Christmas season....

Still scowling...but notice it is starting to diminish a little. And we started getting teeny smiles here and there.

Oh the bottle - Ainsley will take a bottle a little better than Sadie Beth at this point, but it is definitely a love/hate relationship. Can I just take this moment to mention how "unhelpful" most people are when talking about getting your baby to take a bottle? Most of the time, the Mamas I've encountered are just looking for a little sympathy. They've probably heard all the "advice" in the world on it. Please don't make a mom feel guilty for her baby not taking a bottle...she probably really wants the baby to take one as well. It means freedom. Unfortunately, some moms don't pump well and have to make sure they can keep their milk supply up (which means not doing too many bottles if they don't pump well). Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Our sweet Ainsley - she continues to sleep in her carseat like a champ! This makes it so much easier for Sadie Beth and I to continue doing all our fun weekday activities - like playing at the Ark, All About Kids, Storytime at the library, playdates with friends, and of course - the "red ball" store. (Target). Doesn't she look miserable? Poor thing. Note to self: for all future Balzer children, start training them early to like ice cream, pudding, jello, etc. in case they need their tonsils out at 2 years old. 2 year old logical reasoning leaves much to be desired - hence, she at pbjs the entire time she was recovering which isn't the softest food I can think of.

But we knew our sweet girl was still in there somewhere...every once in awhile we would still get a few of these to keep us going. I'm so glad my girls will grow up with a sister close in age. They won't realize what a blessing that is for a very long time I'm sure, but I am so excited to see more of this...

What a serious girl. She takes her "swing time very seriously. That green whale leaves a lot to contemplate.

And just in case you were wondering if they are truly related.....Sadie Beth just a few days old......and Ainsley just over a month old....

Sometimes I can't get over how much they resemble each other and then other times I don't see it nearly as much.

Daddy brought Sadie Beth a balloon home from work one day. A coworker didn't want it. She was tickled to have it, but would get SOOO frustarted when it wouldn't cooperate with her. :)

I think we spent 3/4 of the month in our pj's....perfect attire for wintertime.

This sleeper is the only piece of clothing I've bought for Ainsley, and it was 75% off at Meijer. So, it's one of my favorites.

oh dear....poor Ainsley. (I think I say that at least once a day)

You can start to see as the month goes on Sadie Beth starts looking a little more like herself. And on a side note - she got down to about 24 lbs after the surgery. We were at the doctor a few days ago - 27 lbs! My girl's been catching up!

Each day I think Ainsley is starting to grow on Sadie Beth a little bit. After the initial time of infatuation wore off, she wasn't so sure for awhile. She knew she loved her sister, but not so much sharing Mommy. She is handling that SO much better now and even is starting to enjoy Ainsley a bit here and there.

Cultivating a love for Sesame Street is important in the Balzer home - so Sadie Beth is starting Ainsley out early. Ainsley, meet Elmo and Cookie.

Sadie Beth loves watching Sid The Science Kid on PBS. It is a pretty great show. Here she was recording her "obser-gations" in her "science journal," or so she says.

"Mommy, Ainsley's touching me!" (she really did say it). Boy that starts early.

Finally, a picture of Sadie Beth's "big girl" bed made up nice. I fell in LOVE with this bedding set and was so excited I found it used for a ridiculously cheap price. Sadie Beth calls it her "happy flower cozy big girl bed." Now I'm just looking for another used quilt so I can have a matching set for Ainsley.

The End

Another trip to the "hoss-a-pital"

2010-01-08T13:28:00.006-05:00

A trip to the ENT doctor in late November brought a very unexpected turn of events in the Balzer household. We went per the recommendation of our pediatrician, and I was so thankful to finally be going because Sadie Beth has had so many ear infections this past year. I fully expected the doctor to say it was time for some ear tubes, but no need to hurry. Well, to our surprise, he decided that Sadie Beth needed her tonsils/adenoids out and ear tubes put in...and that we needed to do it ASAP since her current ear infection wasn't responding to antibiotics. That was 11/23; surgery was scheduled for 12/2! Not only was it a much more serious undertaking but it also involved an overnight hospital stay since she is only 2 years old. Being the mommy that I am, I couldn't bear to think about leaving Sadie Beth at the hospital without me overnight, so that meant a hospital stay for Balzer, family of 4!
So, off to Kosair we went early the morning of 12/2/2009.
Sadie Beth was such a good sport about everything. We had processed over and over again how she was going to the hospital, the doctor was going to take her tonsils out, she was going to have ouchies in her mouth for awhile, but that Mommy and Daddy were going to take good care of her and give her lots of hugs and kisses. She was very excited to wear the new "jammies" we got her for the hospital and also to wear her "special hospital dress." She still calls her pajamas her "special hospital jammies"
The pre-op room was lots of fun! Especially after they gave her the Ver-sed to make her drowsy before taking her back to the OR. She was a total goof.

The surgery went fine and Sadie Beth did amazingly for being such a little thing. The nurses all fell in love with her and Kosair was wonderful. Initially we were going to have to be in a shared room, but when the recovery room nurse found out we had Ainsley with us, she pulled some strings to get us a private room, for which we were so GRATEFUL. Then when the floor nurse saw I was a nursing mom, she got me on the meal rotations which was very kind of her...and the food was great! They also got a bassinet from the nursery for Ainsley, who was a champ the entire stay. She ate well and slept even better at the hospital than she did at home at the time.

Unfortunately, the week to follow was no so much fun - top of the charts as far as awful weeks can go. Sadie Beth's recovery was awful. We had such a hard time getting her to eat "sick food" - we tried and tried to get her to eat jello, ice cream, pudding, etc. - if it was soft, we tried it. David made her so many "special treats" that were total duds. So he got to eat a lot of lemon pudding...and is still trying to this day to convince her that she wants to eat his pudding. It's become the running family joke.

My poor sweet girl picked up a stomach virus from the hospital and threw up for 3-4 days straight - which wasn't good since we were already concerned with her being dehydrated. We attributed the vomiting to her pain medicine though and stopped all that (per our pediatrician) - which made her pain so much worse. Then we realized it was a stomach virus because I got it too. Let me tell you what isn't fun - taking care of a 2 year old recovering from surgery who only wants, "Mommy hold you"; nursing every 2-3 hours; and throwing up all day yourself!

We would never have made it if it weren't for Darla so graciously flying out from Seattle to help. I seriously would have lost my mind. Seriously. It was so wonderful to have her help for a few days. Unfortunately, Darla was the lucky winner of our stomach virus when she got home. Way to take one for the team, Aunt Darla...we are thankful for you! We were also so thankful for our friends (from church and some of my old friends) who blessed us with meals so we didn't have to cook for awhile! That was also such a huge help. The week was awful, but we are so blessed.

Sweet Ainsley - just along for the ride. I'm so thankful to that she has been a pretty low maintenance baby throughout all the chaos. I've struggled with feeling guilty during that time for not being "with" her more - but know that God has certainly taken care of us all!

A Special Day...

2010-01-08T12:21:00.006-05:00

Sadie Beth got to go to her first "not at a home" birthday party. Her little friend Meredith Daniel was turning two and invited Sadie Beth to her birthday at All About Kids gym. Even though she didn't understand what was going on to start with, Sadie Beth had a great time and now talks about birthday parties all the time.
We had never been to All About Kids before, but what a fun place! It was so much fun we asked for a "Fun Zone Pass" for Christmas, so now Sadie Beth gets to play 10 more times! I'm thankful to have something to do during this cold winter.

Here's the birthday girl!
Meet Reagan. She and her sister Morgan are some of Sadie Beth's most frequent playmates. The Sauls live down the street from us - it's great having friends so close! Reagan is about 7 months older than Sadie Beth.

Look at all the fun stuff to do! Playing here will be great for Sadie Beth so she can build up her confidence when it comes to physical things.

Trampoline lane + 10 crazy kids= chaos, but boy did they have fun. I hate that this picture is blurry but love to pigtails bouncing along with Sadie Beth.

Getting them all to line up like this was quite the task! I don't have a picture but Sadie Beth braved the trapese and loved it. We had to tell her to let go to fall into the foam pit.

After playing in the gym area, the kids had time in the "inflatable fun zone." Sadie Beth took a particular liking to the ball pit.

After the playtime we celebrated Meredith's birthday in one of the party rooms. Sadie Beth was tickled pink to sit next to Ty, who is "her favorite boy." One night awhile back at dinner, David was being silly with Sadie Beth. He asked her who her favorite boy was, fully expecting her to answer "Daddy!" Well, after concentrating and thinking for a minute, she gets this huge grin on her face and mischievieously/bashfully answers, "Ty-yyyyyyy." Totally took us by surprise because we never saw it coming. Ty is the sweet boy of our small group leaders. He is always playing with Sadie Beth and has such a sweet spirit to him. She was thrilled when Ty called for her to sit next to him at the party.

Longest post in the history of blogging....

2010-01-02T14:12:00.020-05:00

Boy I wish we had a laptop - then maybe I could blog every now and then. With Ainsley sleeping in the office it's just hard right now, but this will change. I am also making a sincere effort to be more productive around the house with my time during naps, so this leaves evenings. If I choose to write in the evening then I don't get to spend time with my wonderful hubby since the computer is in the office. Hence, a laptop would solve these dilemmas....maybe someday. Not a big priority....that's for sure.
I love my girls, that's another for sure thing. Here are some fun pictures from November.

Ainsley takes a nap upstairs every now and then. I need to be doing this more often so she can get used to her crib. She's so tiny here! It's amazing (and a little sad) how fast the "tiny" stage passes. I wish I could just bottle it up and hang onto it.
Sadie Beth loves waking up the "boo-bear-squeaker" - her chosen nickname for Ainsley.

Here is Sadie Beth's most favorite outfit in the whole-wide-world. It's 18 months, so it is starting to get a bit small for her (finally). She would wear it every day if we let her. The white shirt has a "girl" sewn on it, so she calls it her "girl shirt."

David with his girls - seeing this makes my heart well up with joy and gratefulness.

Sadie Beth loves to hold her "little bitty teeny tiny baby boo bear." She asks to all the time.

What I love is that she acts likes she's been holding newborns forever, like she's an old pro.

Poor Ainsley. I've developed a sincere sympathy for second borns.

Ainsley was such a snuggler at first. Now she has decided I'm much more useful as a source of nourishment only and just pecks at me any time I try to snuggle or rock her. Makes me sad - if only I didn't smell like sour milk all the time.

My little scowler...she's always evaluating. Maybe she will be very analytical like her Daddy.

Such a goof with her silly faces.

Does it get any better?

Time to start using the SwaddleMe! It didn't take her long to get out of the hospital swaddle blankets. I don't think we will need to swaddle her as long as we did Sadie Beth...fine by me!

Sadie Beth's "job" is to get me a diaper and take care of the dirty ones. Sometimes, she loves it...when she's not too busy.

At this point, Sadie Beth still thought having a baby was a great idea. That changed some for awhile, but she's coming back around.

Still scowling....

Sadie Beth loves to "love" on Ainsley. Most of the time we try to encourage her. Then there are the times we remember she is 2 year old...like when she she pinches her nose or her cheeks and says, "Choke!" Who knows where she picked that up? Or what she thinks she's doing? She's definitely not trying to be mean and thinks it is hilarious.

Sadie Beth decided she no longer needs supervision while holding Ainsley. She orders us as serious as can be, "Mommy go into the KITCHEN." When you say, "No, Mommy needs to stay and help you...." she tries again, "Mommy needs to go into the KITCHEN." Then she smiles really mischieveously (sp?)...I wonder what she's thinking...

Again, acting like she does this all day long. Who's the mom here?

As illustrated in the background, we seriously need some toy storage/organization help - we are looking for some shelves or something - it's all so expensive though!

Still scowling....

"Choking" Ainsley's ear - again, not sure what that's all about. Neither is Ainsley.

My poor second born - so we get home from the hospital and we realize we don't have anywhere to put her! We always let Sadie Beth lay on the floor on blankets, but the floor is no longer a safe place with our busy firstborn on the loose. So, for awhile she got to hang out on the kitchen table. I don't think she holds it against us. Now we have her a bouncy seat and a swing so no more kitchen table for Ainsley!

She was such a sleepy head in the beginning that we always stripped her down to keep her awake. Then I would worry she was cold and cover her up.

Sadie Beth loved her pumpkin she got from a local fall festival and insisted that Ainsley wanted to look at it. Shortly thereafter, she felt nervous about the whole "sharing" deal emphatically declared her ownership of the pumpkin...

First tub bath! Ignore the scowling, she was definitely a fan.

Another sharing attempt...we encouraged Sadie Beth to "share" her Mickey with Ainsley. She did a great job and the rest of the night talked about sharing with her baby.

We often catch Sadie Beth, who thinks she being a big helper, trying to "bounce" Ainsley. Again I say, "Poor Ainsley." She'll either grow up to be super laid back or decide to fight back. We'll see.

Ainsley isn't even 2 weeks old yet in these pictures, but I thought it was kindof neat how she was holding onto Mickey - even if it was totally unintentional.

hehehe...

Princess clothes and Elmo - for Sadie Beth life was great at this moment.

Getting our tree up this year was quite the fiasco. About 2/3 of our fairly new pre-lit tree decided not to light up. We were so excited to decorate but this temporarily killed our Christmas spirit so we decided to postpone while I pouted for a day or two. Then I sucked it up and just wrapped lights around the uncooperative sections. It actually looked nice when all was said and done.

I'm not sure....maybe showing her baby the lights?

Already getting so much bigger in her bouncy seat!

Still intrigued by the fish....

One of her first smiles...or was it gas...I don't know.

This was my first Thanksgiving not at our big family get together, which was definitely a bummer. We have some fun traditions that I definitely missed. But Ainsley was just too small for such a big day. So we enjoyed some time our small group Thanksgiving...just down the street from our house.
We are SOO blessed by our friends from Highview. We love our ABF class and our small group.

Between the 6 families in our small group, there are 14 kids I think....

And Sadie Beth has a blast playing with them.

Ainsley wearing one of her first official "outfits." Babies are fun to dress up, but sleepers are so stinking easy...and warm.

Aunt Sarah came to visit!!! Sarah is one of my most favorite people in the world and she was so sweet to do lots of driving just to spend a few hours with us the day after Thanksgiving. Made my day.

Sadie Beth loves her Aunt Sarah and her Aunt Bridget very much - even though she doesn't see them too often she must know they are special to me because she takes to them right away every time.

Ainsley says, "Are we finally done?" Yes, sorry for the ridiculous post. If you made it this far, you should win a medal. If you didn't, well I understand.

Just the hoss-a-pit-al....

2009-12-10T14:24:00.005-05:00

Have you completely given up on me? I hope not. And I sure hope my sweet Ainsley doesn't feel unloved since I've not posted for so long. What a crazy month we've had! More on that later...let's get on with things.
Even though I really wanted to go into labor on my own, and spent several days trying everything I could think of within reason to do so, we decided to go ahead with an induction on November 5, 2009, when I was 39 weeks. My growth check ultrasound had her measuring pretty big and while we figured it was just margin of error, I just have this fear of having a really big baby. Silly I know...
We were delighted to find out the hospital would be ready for us at 7am, which meant we didn't have to wait all day for a bed. We got settled and got started on pitocin about 8am - I was already 3cm dilated which was encouraging for the journey ahead. My contractions were coming regularly by the time Dr. Nett broke my water around 9am and then I was already 4cm! I labored on my own for awhile before deciding epidurals are awesome and pain is not. Maybe someday I will go into labor on my own, without pitocin, and will get to be out of the bed and try the whole natural childbirth thing. Until then, anesthesiology is my friend....(though I won't comment on my anesthesiologists this time around. They left a little to be desired). Got my epidural around 11:30 and was able to get some rest. It was amazing how much different the rest was from my first labor. With Sadie Beth, I didn't feel a thing. My epidural was AMAZING. This time, not so much. Around 2pm, I was feeling ridiculous amounts of pressure and told the nurse that I either needed more drugs or was going to have to start pushing. Since I was only 8cm, I got more drugs. I can't remember what time exactly I started pushing, but I know that didn't last for long. My doctor happened to be in the room and told me to push for a few contractions just to see how far that would take me before she got all ready. So, I started to push and before the first contraction was over she said, "Stop pushing, I need a gown!" One or two contractions later we had a baby! Ainsley sure didn't waste her time!
On a very serious side note....we are so incredibly thankful for a healthy pregnancy, baby, and delivery without any complications. I didn't find out the details until afterwards, but after I pushed through a contraction or two, my dr. said urgently, "You aren't having a contraction right now, but PUSH." While I did just that, basically my doctor reached up and pulled her out. Thankfully I wasn't aware enough to panic at the time, but the cord was wrapped around our girl's neck twice and she wasn't handling it so well as I pushed. God was so gracious to us to protect our sweet baby throughout the pregnancy and delivery.
So, that's the scoop....on with the fun part! You see that look on Ainsley's face? It basically hasn't left since. Not the crying, but the scowl. She came out with a scowl and pretty much scowled through the first month of her life. She is the sweetest, cuddliest thing in the world and heart melts every time I look into her big dark eyes - and she's done it all with her little eyebrows furrowed like she wonders why we evicted her from her cozy little home.
7 lbs, 13 oz....just a few more than Sadie Beth (7lbs, 9oz). Silly ultrasound estimates....

More grumpy scowls....but still soo soo sweet.

Daddy loves his girls....

I wanted a picture so I could remember the details...my nurses were AWESOME this time around. Very attentive and on top of things...

I loved that Suburban let us spend so much time in the delivery room after Ainsley was born. At Baptist we were so hurried and that was really frustrating. Here we got 2 hours of time for just David, Ainsley and I to be together. The nurses really just let us be and it was a very special time.

Here's a bunch of our sweet girl...Note the constant grumpy face. Or maybe she's just very analytical and has a lot to think about?

Our first night at the hospital was a piece of cake, but not so much the second night as so often is the case. After being up a really really long time, David finally took over and let me get some rest. This was the cute picture I woke up to a couple hours later! :)

My girls both had the biggest, darkest eyes when they were born.

I could just snuggle her all day long....seriously.

And what babies cheeks aren't endlessly kissable?

Ainsley, your Mama and Daddy love you so much. Know you were prayed for and eagerly anticipated. We can't wait to learn all about you and watch you grow. You've got a big sister who was so excited to meet you she hardly could stand it!

So that was the "hoss-a-pit-al." (According to Sadie Beth, this is where Mommy was going to get Baby Ainsley.) Sadie Beth had such a great time with Grammy while we were gone and was so excited when we got home. Unfortunately, we don't really have pictures of their first meeting because we decided to video tape it instead. Every once in awhile, Sadie Beth will say, "No more baby in Mommy's tummy. Ainsley come out." Guess she just has to make sure.

Ainsley Christianna Balzer!

2009-11-06T09:23:00.003-05:00

She's finally here! Mom and Baby are doing very well (though missing Sadie Beth immensely). 11/05/2009 4:33 pm
7lbs 13.4 oz
20 inches

Getting ready...catching up!

2009-11-04T15:10:00.009-05:00

One last catch-up post before baby sister arrives! We are so excited to meet our new sweet baby girl. But until then, here are some pictures of what our sweet Sadie Beth has been up to lately...probably not a lot to say about some...enjoy!
She likes wearing Daddy's work glasses...

...and Mommy's pajamas....

I'm not sure that there are many things in life more fun than listening to a 2 year old play...I'm loving hearing the things Sadie Beth comes up with these days. She told me when I found this that she was making oatmeal for her ducks....of course she was! :)

David was volunteered to be a pirate at work for some team-building activity. Sadie Beth enjoyed his costume....more than he did anyway.

And what is a pirate without her handy turtle-sidekick?

Sadie Beth has become quite the "helper" lately...she loves it and we love the opportunities we have to teach her the value of work and about having a sense of accomplishment. I guess here she decided she had accomplished enough and was done helping me change the bed.

Playing in the tub with her letters, a new favorite!
My poor red-faced girl was sick and running a pretty high fever....

Cheese-boo! Still one of Sadie Beth's favorite games - I think because she knows she came up with it. Doesn't she look so big! This part is where she says, "CHEESE!"

And then it's "Boo!"

We had a beautiful Sunday afternoon not too long ago and enjoyed a stop at the park after church.

She was particularly excited because Daddy got to be at the park too! And he is much more fun than Mommy.

It has been lots of fun watching Sadie Beth gain confidence at the park. At the beginning of the summer she wouldn't go down any slide by herself and practically had to be pushed even with someone to catch her....

Now she will go down every slide on this playground - even the curly slide!

Someone has become quite the daddy's girl over the last few weeks. I think it started while I was in Indy for the weekend. Sadie Beth adores David....I think the feeling is mutual.

Big girl bed!!!!!!!! Sadie Beth did really well transitioning into her new big girl room. We had a few rough nights, but I've been so proud of her.

I'm so thankful we were able to get the bedding and sheets that I fell in love with. I need to post better pictures, but her room is adorable and she is so proud of it. God provided so amazingly - the bedding was too expensive new, but I found it used on Craigslist for a ridiculously low price!

Sleeping for the first time in her bed. She fell asleep no problem! She remembered that Olivia the pig sleeps in a big girl bed and that was about all it took...we loves Olivia.

Cheese-boo on Sunday morning in a new dress. She thinks she's hilarious.

Very proud of her new "monster jamas." And of putting her shoes on all by herself!

While I was in Indy, David took Sadie Beth to a fall festival at a nearby church. It was a super-fun "daddy-daughter day" and Sadie Beth still loves her little pumpkin and talks about her butterfly cheek. Last weekend she told David, "I want...I need....Daddy-daughter day." He asked her when she wanted to do that and she said, "Right now." My sweet girl.

For Halloween Sadie Beth dressed up as a "lalalalala - LADYBUG!!!" We had fun dressing up. She got spoiled rotten trick-or-treating at my mom's work. I took her just so mom could see her in her costume and all of mom's friends had goodies for her - they were so sweet to do that. And Sadie Beth loved it. She's still telling people, "I trick or treat Grammy's work!"

Last Wednesday we also had fun at our church's fall festival. You know you are really pregnant when you are walking up a flight of stairs, a lady stops and looks you up and down, and says, "oh...ooohhh....wow." Yes, this definitely happened at the fall festival. I wasn't sure how to respond.

Our little ladybug loved the bounce houses - she would have spent the whole night in there if we'd let her....who needs candy when you can bounce!?!

And let's not forget trick or treating Saturday night. :) Sadie Beth got so excited about going from house to house. We probably only went to 10 houses, but she loved pointing to a house and saying, "I go to that one!" I think she picked the houses she thought would have dogs.

One morning not too long ago I found her sitting like this....I guess she decided her puppy was due for a hair-brushing. :) She is so excited about meeting her little sister...as are we of course. I'm not naive enough to think it's all going to be perfect, but she is ready!

A girl & her BBQ - fun times!

2009-10-22T14:45:00.003-04:00

A couple of weeks ago my mom brought over some pulled pork BBQ. The way Sadie Beth enjoyed it, she probably thought, "Why have you been holding out on me for so long?!?" :) Apparently, it's a winner.
Yes, most meals at our house do involve a shirt-less Sadie Beth. Saves money on SHOUT....btw - SHOUT advanced (in the blue bottle) is pretty amazing. I highly recommend it.

Too bad I didn't make it. I don't know that she ever gets this excited over my food.

Though I did make some pretty awesome cheesy potatoes with it that didn't last long on her plate. What a silly bug!

A girl & her ice cream-Happy Birthday Sadie Beth!!!

2009-10-13T14:44:00.008-04:00

September 18th is a big day for the Balzer family - both David and Sadie Beth's birthday! David feels like he has permanently surrendered his birthday to Sadie Beth, so I guess I will focus on her. (Though I did make David a fun birthday dinner the night before). What a special weekend we had celebrating with our big girl! We didn't do anything super big or fancy, but our goal was to make Sadie Beth feel like the most awesome kid in the world - and I think we succeeded! Sadie Beth's birthday started out with "special oatmeal." We get the variety pack and she loves both the "strawberries & cream" and the "blueberries & cream" flavors. So, we had "strawberries & cream" with fresh blueberries mixed in! Definitely a winner...
Sadie Beth proudly wore her "birthday girl" shirt pretty much all weekend long. Why not? I can't get over how grown up she is looking these days.

After David got home from work that evening we took off for his (and now I believe Sadie Beth's) favorite restaurant - Red Robin! Sadie Beth has been in restaurants many times, but this was a big day because it was her first time getting food from the kids menu. Call us cheap, but we've always just brought her food with us. Sadie Beth loved her eating her "big girl pizza" and talking about the "big red bird robin" statue in the corner of the restaurant.

The highlight of the night though definitely had to be the look on Sadie Beth's face when the staff came out to sing Happy Birthday and brought her her very own "ice cream cone cup!" Sadie Beth does 100% dealing with just about anything in her life if we "process" with her what is going to be happening (just like her daddy!). So, we told her what was going to happen and when they came out to sing to her she clapped and grinned like she was the star of the show! And you can tell she didn't enjoy her ice cream at all!

Keep track of the balloon. Notice it doesn't leave her hand the ENTIRE time.

She was felt big, that's for sure. And I think she entertained everyone in ear shot.

Still clutching the "orange balloon".....

Such a fun night. After dinner we picked out some new sneakers for Sadie Beth....hers were 1 1/2 sizes too small! No wonder she was always taking them off. :)

The next day we got up bright and early and headed for the zoo! Sadie Beth loves when we can go as a family. We did all the fun stuff - animals, carousel (aka - "up and down"), elephant show. When we got home, Sadie Beth managed to find herself a little "2 year old mischief" and got into my thank you notes box....I thought heard her in the living room saying, "I'm tryin - I'm tryin..." which is a normal phrase for Sadie Beth when she is trying to do something that takes a little effort. Then I listened a little more closely and heard, "I'm writin, I'm writin..." I knew that was trouble. So if you get a "scribbled" on thank you not from me in the coming months - it's just a little love from Sadie Beth.

After her nap, it was time for birthday presents!!!

Does it get any better than that face right there followed by a "thank you daddy, thank you mommy PUZZLES!" We are so blessed by our sweet girl.

Her other present was an ever bigger hit I would say - an AbbyCadabby doll! I knew she would love it, but we're talking new best friend status. Abby Cadabby has become a permanent fixture with us lately, doing just about anything we do.

2 friends! (AbbyCadabby and Elmo).

Sadie Beth wanted Abby-dabby to do puzzles too!

This little girl blesses my socks off....(and wears me out too!) We hope she knows how much her Mommy and Daddy love her every day!

Potty Trained!!!

2009-09-28T14:54:00.007-04:00

I am very happy to announce that Sadie Beth is more or less potty trained! We started doing the whole "big girl" panties thing about a month ago. She was doing pretty well. Then she went on an antibiotic and in my most sincere efforts to avoid yucky messes I decided to go back to diapers. That worked for a few days until my little miss decided she no longer wanted anything to do with diapers during the daytime. I kept replacing the diapers she kept removing until she finally looked up at me with those irresistible, blue eyes and said, "Please Mommy, I Sadie Beth wear big girl panties." What else do you do with that? So I got the girl her panties and we haven't looked back. Maybe only 2 (3?) accidents in the last 2 weeks - and each one of those times were actually my fault. I should know better than to tell a not-even two year old (at the time) that she couldn't go potty. What the heck is wrong with me? :) So, off we went and never looked back. We still do diapers for naptime and nights, but she hasn't been wet after a single naptime in over a month. And nights are becoming increasingly drier - even a handful of totally dry mornings. To be honest, I could do without those because they are the nights when she wakes up at 3:45am and starts shouting out, "I wear big girl panties!" which is code for "I'm not going back to sleep until I potty." As soon as she gets past her recent sore throat/cold totally, evening liquid consumption will definitely be limited.
So, all that to say, don't be alarmed at the frequency of pictures in which Sadie Beth is solely in her big girl undies....it's just been easier to not wear clothes these days. Now that cooler weather is upon us, she will be clothed more often than not.
Here Sadie Beth demonstrates her version of the "lamberaina" (sp?) - a hispanic dance performed by 2 professional dancers, Zoe, and a lamb on her most favorite episode of Sesame Street. She's a dancing fool when this segment comes on...though as far as I can tell, she has inherited my coordination and dancing skills...which doesn't bode well for her in the future.

My little girly-girl.
One pretty afternoon we enjoyed some time at Papa John's headquarters feeding the ducks and walking in the sunshine.

Sadie Beth always seems more interested in eating the stale bread we bring for the ducks than sharing it with them. Yuck.

The CHOICE of the day - which big girl panties to wear. I've been trying to teach Sadie Beth about making choices. Each day I give her 2 pair to choose from and it usually takes about five minutes of deliberation before reaching her decision. She will pick one, hand me other saying, "this one LATER" and then shouts, "I CHOOSED!!!!!"

So we've been doing this a lot...

Might as well be entertained...

One cup for each hand is Sadie Beth's motto...doesn't she look big?

Sadie Beth is very excited about her new backpack. She calls it her "honeybees" bag since she takes it each Wednesday night. One day my sweet girl is going to go to school...

Fun with friends!

2009-09-20T20:00:00.005-04:00

Sadie Beth and I have had so much fun playing with our friends this summer. She sure is blessed to have so many playmates - and I sure am blessed to have their mommies as friends too. What makes these friendships really special is that many of their mommies have been my friends since 7th, 8th, and 9th grade! Who would have thought that 15 years later our kiddos would be running through the sprinkler together?
On this particular day, we had our friends the Armours over to play. Henry, Lily, and Baby Callie belong to one of my oldest friends Jenn.

We've tried to get Sadie Beth "into" the whole sprinkler business all summer long. But for the most part she's not been so sure. I knew Henry would have a blast and thought maybe he would rub off on her.

I guess she thought Henry was having so much fun, she would at least touch the water with the tips of her fingers.

Lily didn't need any coaxing. I think she had the most fun at all.

Oops - her diaper got too full and exploded after playing in the pool.

This was a rough day for Sadie Beth. We let Baby Callie take a nap in her crib and Sadie Beth did NOT think that was a super idea. She was very concerned about it the whole morning. The next day, however, she reported excitedly to everyone that she "shared" her bed with Baby Callie...and now thinks its great.

We also have lots of fun on our park days. This park is nice because it is fenced in. Noone can escape too far. Between 5 of us gals, there are 9 kids with 2 more coming soon.

We are indeed fruitful and multiplying.

Henry's been the only boy for the longest time - now he's just thankful for Baby Jacob and probably ready for him to get big enough to play!

Sadie Beth loves Baby Callie to pieces - I've been thankful that it's been such a good learning experience for her and a chance to repeatedly talk about "teeny-tiny babies" and what it will be like when Baby Sister comes.

Two years old!!!!

2009-09-18T14:48:00.004-04:00

How is it even possible that my sweet little Sadie Beth is 2 years old!?!?!? I just love this little girl to bits. She is such a delight to David and I and we really and truly enjoy each day with her. I am so thankful to have such a sweet, polite, hilarious, well-behaved little stinker to take care of each day. Sadie Beth is a little girl who really just loves life - it doesn't take much to get her excited and she has such a sweet sweet spirit.

Two year old nicknames: sweet potato pie, love bug, Sadie Beth Elisabeth, boo-bear, Bugaboo...

Fun Sadie Beth things:
- Sadie Beth is a TALKER. She has lots to say all the time.
- Sesame Street is a staple at our house. She would watch "street" all day, every day if we let her. Her favorite episode is one about Baby Bear. She also LOVES Elmo, Zoey, Abby-dabby, Big Bird, Snuffy, and really the rest of the gang. She knows which shape is each characters favorite.
- She also loves Veggie Tales Silly Songs - best $0.25 I've spent at a yard sale....EVER.
- Sadie Beth loves talking about families. She knows that Daddies are "scratchy" and Mommies are "soft." She will talk about how Daddies go to work...and list every "daddy" she knows..."Daddy work, Phillip work, Grandpa work..." on a regular basis.
- BABIES!!! Sadie Beth loves all things baby...Baby Sister, Baby Callie, Baby Jacob...and talks about the regularly. She is tickled pink whenever we see a little baby ANYWHERE.
- Sadie Beth is, with the exception of sleep times, potty trained as of today, her 2nd birthday. She has only had 1 accident in the last 5 days of wearing big girl panties all day, has woken up dry from every nap for at least 2 weeks, and was even dry when I got her up this morning!
- As far as the potty training goes, she is ENAMORED with her Sesame Street panties - the excitement of the morning is picking out which pair she will wear for the day. I give her two to choose from and she picks one, informing me the other is for "LATER." (very seriously).
- Sadie Beth does great with pack and play time still, but doesn't always love playing independently. I think having a Baby Sister will do wonders for this.
- We've been working on sharing for a while now...at first "share" meant, "You give me what I want." I'm so proud of my girl though, she is growing such a sweet and loving spirit that often looks to others first.
- Big big hugs! Every day Sadie Beth waits for Daddy to come home by the screen door or watches out the window for him. She wants to give him "big big hugs" and gets excited about sharing their "poccosol."
- Sadie Beth is a "processor" - no matter what the activity is, she will do much better and seem to have much more fun if we talk about it in detail first. We learned this trick when it came to the nursery at church. We talk step by step about what will happen and she does a great job!
- My sweet Sadie Beth has such a thankful heart - she is so good about saying "please" and "thankyou" but also just seems to treasure gifts that are given to her or things people do for her. She will talk about them for days. "Thankyou daddy horsie store" or "Thankyou Grammy swimming pool." I LOVE seeing this grow in her.

A YEAR IN PICTURES

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008 - now she would say, "I help Daddy sweepin"
December 2008

January 2009 - this was a hard month for us...sick almost the whole month!

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009 - new house! (new "spot" for Sadie Beth)May 2009

June 2009 - Dancing with Sesame Street

July 2009 - Oregon trip

August 2009 - Big girl panties!!!

September 2009 - we love the park!

"I swim in potty!" ...and other fun things...

2009-09-17T14:27:00.005-04:00

I think I've blogged about this before, but babies are a pretty significant part of our life these days. Much of Sadie Beth's play involves "taking care" of her babies - feeding, putting to sleep, taking for walks, diapering, etc. Meet Prudie Sue, Sadie Beth's Cabbage Patch Doll. Her given Cabbage Patch name is "Prudence Suzanna," but we shortened it so it wouldn't be quite so much of a mouthful for a little girl. On this day, apparently Prudie Sue came back from her "stroller walk" very hungry for goldfish.

Isn't she grown up? My sweet baby is so much a little girl - for awhile now too - who loves to play dress up and wear bows, tail-wiggles (ponytails), and jewelry. She has to put lotion on her face whenever she sees me doing it and "stuff" (chapstick) on her lips as well.

I think she looks especially cute with her "tail-wiggles." Tail-wiggle came from when Sadie Beth was first starting to talk. She would sit while I fixed her hair and babble saying, "Tail-ioli -io - lio-tail-iggle-iggle-ioliggle." She thought it was hilarious and eventually it stuck as a "tail-wiggle."

Maybe I'll end up having a girly-girl after all. I hope so. I've always wished I was more of one than I am. :) It's just easier (albeit more expensive).

And time for some more baby-care. Here the box was the "changing table" and she was changing "stinky-poos." She went around to all her babies and bears, smelling them before deciding this baby was the guilty party.

And those runny noses! Any time I call her to take her allergy medicine. She calls out (to whomever is listening I suppose) - "RUNNY NOSES!!!!!"

We've had so so much fun at the zoo this summer. I'm so thankful we were able to get a zoo pass and look forward to doing so every year as long as we have kiddos at home! I only wish we hadn't waited so long to try out the splash park! Sadie Beth has had so much fun there. Only, each time we go initially she is hesitant to try anything on her own so I end up playing with her. Then I look like the goofiest mom there because I get just as wet as she does. Oh well, at least my girl has had lots of fun.

Don't be fooled. We actually have a love/hate relationship with the tricycle. I think it will go better next summer, but for now she's just not sure what she thinks. This was a gift from my dad for Sadie Beth's first birthday. David put it together awhile back and she wants to get on it frequently but then gets very disgruntled every time we try and push her. Quirky kid.

I think she would rather just do this on her own than have us push her - unless we are walking down the street to go see "Roscoe" - the neighbor's dog. "Oh Roscoe!" is what Sadie Beth says repeatedly when asked about him. He's a pretty fun dog.

Meet another new important figure in our household, "Skippyjon Jones." Who is that, you ask? Well, take note of the little Siamese cat on the book in David's lap. That, my friends, is Skippyjon Jones. He is a hilarious little rascal in a variety of children's books that gets into all sorts of trouble. Sadie Beth loves him, and I have to admit - he is a pretty funny guy if I do say so myself.

Have I mentioned before how much Sadie Beth adores her Daddy?

Well, it's true. They've developed a new routine this summer. On most days, when David gets home from work, he and Sadie Beth share one of those flavor-ice popsicles in the "other chair"...Sadie Beth's name for our rocking chair.

Am I blessed, or what?

Does it get any better than this? I don't think so.

You'd think she'd never of had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in her life. Not true. She eats them all the time, but what is really exciting is if we just have some toast with jam with our dinners. I said, "Say cheese Sadie Beth." This is what I got.

Here we are resting because she took a TERRIBLE nap the very first day of her Honeybees class at church, which she LOVES. The only downside to Honeybees is that she doesn't get to bed until about 8:45 - and that is if she settles down quickly which usually doesn't happen because she is so wound up by seeing all of her friends.

Oh goodness! Awhile back, David and I picked Sadie Beth up from Sunday school...not wearing the adorable little flowery dress in which we dropped her off but these sweatpants and t-shirt. Her teacher (and my friend, thankfully), looking slightly exasperated explained to us that Sadie Beth had snuck into the bathroom stall in the classroom and while climbing apparently fell in the potty and got completely soaked. As if this weren't funny enough by itself, as we were leaving church I asked Sadie Beth what happened, to which she responded, "I SWIM IN POTTY!!!" Now, every week when we drop her off, one of the last things she tells us or one of the first things she says to her teacher as she walks in the room is, "No swimming in potty" - in her most serious of Sadie Beth voices.

Coming up....

2009-09-09T16:07:00.002-04:00

...Father's Day, a picture of Baby Sister, and more!