Christmastime...8 weeks later...

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!