Everyday in Atlanta G-A

Time with Grandpa

2010-06-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

Andy's grandma died last month so we headed up to Indiana for the funeral and to spend time with family. Rest in peace Patsy.

The Last Month and a Half

2010-06-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

Bye bye Ainsley. On our way to the hospital.

All packed and ready to go!

Just got home from the hospital. 2 days old.

Daddy and his girls (2 of them anyway!).

Cute little strawberry outfit from Heidi.

First bath!

Helping wash her little sister.

What a little cutie patootie!

First ride in the double stroller.

My little baking assistant taking a break to eat some batter.

Ainsley and Jasper reunited. :)

Sarah, Soren (4 months younger than Ains) and Joseph (4 mos. older than Alexandra).

One month old.

How cute.

There's a little smile.

Picnic with the family. Now here's ALL of daddy's girls! :)

Propped on the couch.

I love the swimsuit!

First bottle. Go daddy!

Baby Story

2010-06-12T12:43:00.000-07:00

Well, 6 weeks have passed since Alexandra joined the Odle family. I cannot believe it! I was so uncomfortable and had such a tough pregnancy that I could not wait for the birth day to arrive. She was due April 25th and on the 29th I was induced. Thankfully Andy's parents arrived the day before so they took care of Ainsley for us while we were at the hospital, etc. They stayed for a week and were a HUGE help to us the whole time. Now, on to the story... At 8am I got an IV, at 8:50 the doctor checked me and broke my water, at 10:30 I got an epidural, at 10:45 I was 5cm dilated and at 11:15 I was fully dilated. They actually asked if I could hold off pushing for about 20 minutes because I went so fast that the head wasn't as far down as they'd like. So every time I felt the pressure I would kind of suck in. It was crazy. Around 11:45am I started pushing and Alexandra was born at 12:20pm. The doctor had to give me an epesiotomy but thankfully there was no extra tearing. Although this pregnancy was much more difficult, the labor and delivery were much easier. Maybe next time (if there is a next time) the pregnancy and birth will both be easy! Wishful thinking right?
Alex, Lexi, Alexandra (we're not sure what we're going to call her) is a sweet little girl. She loves to cuddle and be held. Of course I LOVE this but also find it very frustrating at times because she often cries soon after you set her down. Since we have another child to pay attention to and stuff around the house that needs done it can be difficult. Alexandra is a good eater and sleeper and she's growing like a weed! At birth she was 7 lbs. 7 oz. and at 5 weeks old she weighed 10 lbs. even. That's pretty good but the real kicker is this... Birth: 20 3/4 inches, 5 weeks: 23 inches! She's grown 2 1/4 inches in a month which puts her in the 95th percentile for her height.
Ainsley is a very sweet big sister. She LOVES to hug and kiss Alexandra and help mommy and daddy with her too. She doesn't like it very much when she cries but we try to explain to her that's just what babies do sometimes. I'll be in the kitchen or something and Alexandra will start crying and I hear Ainsley going, "Patience honey, patience. Mommy's coming." or "It's okay little girl, it's okay." It is so cute! I wish I had a video camera on at all times to capture the moments. Of course there are times, too, where Ainsley goes, "UGH! She's crying AGAIN!" or "Mommy can you just get her? She's crying." I love watching Ainsley with her. We're already gathering memories. I love my beautiful girls.
I had my post pardum checkup last week and everything looks great. I got the clear to exercise and do whatever I want now which is good because although I've lost 30 pounds already I still have a bit to go (only 6 pounds until my pre pregnancy weight but hoping to lose about 10-12 more).

Welcome to the World!

2010-06-12T12:26:00.000-07:00

Alexandra Eve Odle

Born 4.29.10

7 lbs. 7 oz.

20 3/4 inches

We're in love!

D Day- April 25th

2010-04-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

Well, my due date came and went. This is seeming all too familiar as Ainsley was 7 days late. I got checked yesterday and am only 1cm dilated. Going back tomorrow to be checked again and we'll take it from there. These pictures were taken on my due date. Ainsley is so sweet, always wanting to kiss my belly and asking when baby sister will be here. Tonight was the first time she actually said to me, "I don't want a baby sister". It broke my heart. I don't know if she is just finally realizing that she won't be the only one anymore or if she realized for the first time that I'm going to have to be away from her for a couple days at the hospital or what the deal is. But, I hope it passes because soon she will have no choice but to have a baby sister! Wish us luck. :)

Mommy Daughter Day

2010-04-27T18:55:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago Ainsley and I went for a morning at the zoo. Because Ainsley likes to ride the "up and down" and play on the playground and I have not been getting around the best these days we spent all of our time in these two places (although we did manage to make it over to pet the goats too). We have an annual membership there so I didn't feel bad that we saw very few live animals since we are able to go as often as we'd like. We rode the "up and down" 3 times (yes, I managed to hoist myself up on one of those animals...don't ask me how!) and had lots of fun. I love my big girl!

Happy Easter

2010-04-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

Ainsley found her first Easter basket and had her first Easter egg hunt this year. It was very fun to watch. We had a great day.

Monkey George Live!

2010-04-22T19:54:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to do a few fun, memorable things with Ainsley recently before her baby sister arrives. She LOVES Curious George (Monkey George she calls him) so when we saw that Monkey George was going to be in Atlanta live at the Fox Theatre we decided to get tickets to the show. She was so excited. We got a little dressed up for the Friday morning show and walked to the theatre (it's only a few blocks away). Ainsley had a great time. She was talking to Monkey George throughout the show at one point yelling, "Monkey George...see my shoes?!" She then turned to me and said with a big smile on her face, nodding her head, "Mommy, Monkey George likes my shoes." It was very cute. She also wanted to try the "big lollipop on the man's tray" that she saw for sale. That actually turned out to be blue cotton candy so we got it and she decided that she liked it until it got her fingers sticky and dirty. Then she didn't want anymore and she still talks about how she doesn't like it. Of course that's fine with us since it's PURE sugar! We'd rather her not like it but we think it's funny how she doesn't like it because it makes her sticky and dirty. Not a normal reaction for a 2 year old (I don't think). I'm happy she loves her fruits and veggies though!!

Baby Bump

2010-04-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken 3 weeks ago (the dress I'm wearing was bought when I was 4 months pregnant with Ainsley). As you can imagine, with only 3 days until baby girl's due date I'm MUCH bigger now. I'm feeling very ready to have this baby. I think Andy is probably ready for me to stop moaning and groaning every time I move as well. I know Ainsley is ready to be a big sister. The first thing she said to me this morning when she woke me up was, "mommy, did baby sister come out yet?" She'll be great! We'll keep you posted.

Our Big Girl in Pictures

2010-04-22T19:12:00.000-07:00

Happy Durpy Dada!

2010-04-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

Indiana

2010-04-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

The first week of March we took a last minute trip up to Indiana to visit Andy's grandparents, his grandma in particular who is not doing very well. Although it was filled with trips to the nursing home and hospital we still had time for visits with friends and family, a couple trips to Gene's Rootbeer stand and even a baby shower! It was an emotional but great time.

Gaga and Papa's Visit

2010-04-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

My parents were finally able to come visit in the middle of February. It was great to have them here. Ainsley of course loved it and wore them (especially Papa) out every day. You can see from the pictures that we did a lot of playing!

XLIV

2010-02-07T12:00:00.000-08:00

GO COLTS!

We're all ready to watch the Super Bowl tonight.

Hoping for a blue victory!

A few videos

2010-02-07T11:13:00.000-08:00

The Moonwalk. Talking on the phone. Dancing the night away. Singing "Happy Durpy Bapes".

A little piece of the last 3 months

2010-02-07T07:03:00.000-08:00

Baby Bump

2010-02-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

20 weeks

28 weeks

29 weeks

Friends

2010-02-07T06:26:00.000-08:00

Ainsley took this picture of "Cha Cha" when he was visiting her kitchen.

On top of Stone Mountain.

We have said goodbye to a few close friends in the last few months. Sara "Chucha", our neighbor, moved to Chicago in November and we were SO sad to see her go. Then in December Charlie moved away. Although we were glad to see him go because that meant he was going to get some help to get off the streets. Also, just last week Ainsley's best buddy Jasper (and his mom Jana and baby sister Scarlett) moved to Washington. We already miss them but will see them in June when we go there to visit. These pictures are just a few we took of our friends (plus a few that Ainsley took on her own-you should be able to figure out which ones those are).

Long Overdue Update

2010-02-06T12:49:00.000-08:00

So once again I've been neglectful of this blog. Where does the time go? Three months have passed and we've been very busy (of course, how can you NOT be busy with a 2 1/2 year old?). Last time I left a post was before Thanksgiving so let me update you from that point on...
My parents were supposed to come visit for Thanksgiving but the day before they were to get on the plane my dad had a heart attack. For obvious reasons they could no longer make it out our way. We were disappointed but are extremely thankful that he survived and now seems to be doing well. So, despite having bought all of the fixings for Thanksgiving dinner we decided to make a last minute drive up to Indiana to be with Andy's family instead. Then 3 weeks later we turned around and drove right back up there to spend Christmas with them as well. Both were great trips but we were glad to be done driving for awhile once we got back to Atlanta just before the new year. Since we've been back the time has been filled with work, doctor's appointments, potty training, building houses (some would call them forts), going to the zoo and children's museum, swimming at a couple different hotel pools, cooking, cleaning, talking on skype, playing in Ainsley's awesome kitchen she got for Christmas, teaching abc's and counting, giving and getting lots of hugs and kisses, trying to come up with a name for the new baby (we found out it's another girl!!) and just being plain silly.
AINSLEY: She continues to grow like a weed and she makes us laugh constantly. She has her little routine in the morning where she likes to watch "Monkey George", Dinosaur Train, Sid the Science Kid or whatever PBS cartoon is on when she wakes up. She speaks in full sentences now and although still sometimes a little bit difficult to decipher everything she's saying it is so awesome to be able to have a conversation with her. She is very artistic (by way of drawing, photography, singing and dancing) and has a great imagination. She loves to help me bake and cook leaving a nice little mess when we're finished. She has the sweetest little laugh and I love almost nothing more than hearing her and daddy play and giggle together every night. She always wants to call Gaga and Papa and Gig and Bapes on skype (LOVES her grandparents!). She is so caring, sensitive, nurturing, etc. She's always making sure mommy, daddy and baby are all okay. If I say that I'm sore or in pain she says, "oh, I know mommy, heating pad make you feel better". If she bumps into Andy's head or something when they're playing she says, " oh sorry daddy, band aid?". She often waves, says hello and gives hugs and kisses to my belly saying, "hi baby". We've definitely got a big sweetie in the family. Ainsley is almost completely potty trained! For exactly one month now she's been in big girl panties all day right up until bed time and stays dry while we're out in public and through her naps. It's only night time now that we're working on. She's determined to do it too. She always says, "big girl panties tonight, wake up dry?". We're hoping by the time that her baby sister comes she'll have conquered that too but either way she's doing a great job!
BABY GIRL: This pregnancy has been 100% different and much more difficult than when I was pregnant with Ainsley. So naturally we thought it must be a boy but on December 15th we went to our ultrasound appointment and were amazed to find out we'd be welcoming another little girl into the family around April 25th. We have yet to name her but time is fast approaching so hopefully soon we'll have it figured out. I'm about 30 weeks now and often in pain from my sciatic nerve pinching, my back hurting and leg cramps in my calves and shins. I'm also not sleeping well at night and am tired during the day. But all the negative is fairly quickly removed when I feel her kick or hear her heartbeat. What an amazing gift this is!! I'm not quite ready for her to join us yet but I am ready to not be pregnant and I am ready to meet her and see what she looks like. April will be here soon. Of course we'll keep you posted.
ANDY: He recently got an office so moved all of the bookshelves and books out of our bedroom
over there. Our room seems huge now! Also, he started "Saturdays on the Streets" which is a consistent outreach every Saturday for churches, individuals and people from the local community to come volunteer and serve with Church on the Street. It's been going well but unfortunately the weather has not cooperated and been freezing and/or rainy every Saturday since it's started.

Recently we've had a couple visits from Andy's parents on their way to and from Florida for vacation. That has been great. We always enjoy the company and look forward to the excitement Ainsley has when she sees Gig and Bapes. One of the visits was just a couple days ago when they were on their way back down to Florida to go to the Super Bowl. Tomorrow we will watch to root on our Indianapolis Colts and look for them in the stands of course. Go Blue!! In about a week and a half my parents are coming to visit so we're also looking forward to that. Ainsley is also very excited about Gaga and Papa coming and can't wait to show them her kitchen, take them out to eat, wake them up in the mornings and play all day with them. I think we might make a Thanksgiving dinner while they're here to make up for the one we missed in November too. On another note, my brother was in a snowboarding accident last week and is in bad condition. He'll have a total of 3 surgeries, one of which was yesterday to repair his knee at the bottom of his left femur and another of which will probably be next week to repair his right heel. Then once the one from yesterday is healed they'll go in and do the third surgery on his torn left acl. He's doing all right but is bed/wheel chair ridden for about 6-8 weeks and will probably have about a year's worth of rehab and recovery. Ugh! It's tough to be far away when these kind of things happen. I wish I could be there to help in some way. Speaking of being far away, Andy's Grandma was put into a dementia care community and it's also been difficult not being in Indiana to help out with the details of that and to be there for his Grandpa. So, life has thrown at us some tough situations to take in but overall we're doing great and are very thankful.

Baby Shower

2009-11-14T10:28:00.000-08:00

Jana and Ron are expecting baby girl Scarlett to join us any time now so we went to their baby shower last weekend. Ainsley and Jasper are best of buddies and they play so well together. It was a beautiful day so they had fun playing outside in the yard most of the time we were there. They ate "happy cake" at the table, slid down the slide, played in the water and pushed around the little mower on the grass.

The Atlanta Zoo

2009-11-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

Ainsley and I had a day at the zoo and it was so much fun! We rode on the train (or "choo choo Thomas" as Ainsley calls it) and the carousel (or "up and down"). We saw monkeys, giraffes, zebras, elephants and pet the goats. What a great day.

Good News

2009-11-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

I'M PREGNANT!!!! :)

(more to come)

The Beautiful Bride

2009-11-09T18:32:00.000-08:00

One of my good friends from high school, Tama Leach, got married on October 24th in Destin, Florida. We happened to be in Panama City Beach (which is only a 40 minute drive) at that same time so we were able to make it there for her special day. It was so great to see her, her parents and a few other people I hadn't seen since we graduated (12 years ago!). It was my own little mini reunion, seeing that I missed the actual high school reunion a couple years ago. The setting was gorgeous, right on the beach and of course Tama looked beautiful. Congratulations Mrs. Curlee! :)

Florida 2009

2009-11-07T12:25:00.000-08:00

All Ainsley Shots

2009-11-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

Homecoming

2009-11-07T12:05:00.000-08:00

The weekend after my 30th birthday (that's right, I'm a real adult now!) we drove up to Indiana. Andy did a radio interview for Church on the Street and it also just happened to be Anderson University's homecoming so that was great. Andy got to see some

people he hadn't seen in years and

we got to hang out with some friends.
Although a very quick weekend it was
a good one.

Uncle Li Li Comes to America

2009-11-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

Liam came to visit us! We had so much fun showing him around the city and just hanging out like the good 'ol times. ;) It only took Ainsley about 2 minutes at the airport until she was holding Liam's hand and wanting him to sit in the back seat with her and be everywhere she was all the time. Needless to say, Ainsley loved having him here. Of course we did too. :) Besides, he looked so cute carrying her little pink backpack everywhere! Liam went to his first baseball game. Until then it was only what he'd seen in the movies so I think he had a good time. He even ate a huge hot dog (of course a must at the ballpark). We went to the CNN center, Martin Luther King, Jr. center, Emory University, took a horse and carriage ride through the city, ate at The Varsity, etc. There was a slight change in normalcy when Andy ended up in the hospital one of the nights Liam was here. Liam ended up playing babysitter for a day while Andy was still there and I had to work. I'm sure that was not quite his idea of a vacation but it was very much appreciated and, of course, Ainsley had a blast with him when they went to play at the park and eat lunch together. On the Andy note...... the story is: he woke up in the middle of the night with pain and pressure in his chest and wasn't sure if he was having a heart attack or what was happening. Eventually, after a long while he was able to get back to sleep and it wasn't until the next afternoon when I got off work that I knew about it. Around 4:3o pm we were off to the emergency room because he still had some chest pain. After an EKG, chest x-ray, urine sample, blood draw and 5 hours in the ER they decided to keep him overnight for constant observation. He was hooked up to a monitor and had an IV which, in the end, gave him 3 liters of fluids when all was said and done. Then, the next morning he had to take the PET test where they pumped radioactive material into his blood stream, took some MRI's and then waited for a reaction. Once he had a reaction they took more MRI's then gave him some kind of antedote to return him back to "normal". He then spent a few hours waiting for results and was released. So what happened was he did not have a heart attack. Thank God! He did have an increased level of creatine in his body which normally flushes itself out of your body if you are drinking enough fluids but is a toxin if not flushed from your body. Well, he was extremely dehydrated causing this toxin to effect his body in the way that I described above. While having all these tests done they noticed that his cholesterol was too high as well. Although all the test results seemed to not be cardiac related he needs to watch his diet and drink plenty of water in order to regulate the cholesterol which over time could build up plaque in the arteries and cause a heart attack. So, the bad thing is that Andy had to go through all of this but the good thing is that we found out some things we wouldn't have known otherwise. It has caused us to be much more healthy already so it turned out to be, although a scary and expensive experience, a good one. Thank you so much to Liam for all of his help with Ainsley during the fiasco! We were sad to see Liam go. Now when we see airplanes Ainsley says, "Lum airplane bye bye?", "where Lum go?".

September in Indiana

2009-11-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

All clicked in and ready to go!

Andy had a couple of speaking engagements this summer and one of them was in Tennessee for a couple of days. Since I have to be off work to be with Ainsley when he's away anyway I decided to just take Ainsley on up to Indiana to visit Gig and Bapes for a few days. We had a great time. These are some of the pictures from our trip there.

Her buddies, Ian and Soren.

Cha Cha, KK and Brady. What great cousins!!

A few more summer pics

2009-11-06T18:50:00.000-08:00

These are a few random pictures from the summer. We made it to a few Braves games. Now every time we drive by the stadium Ainsley starts saying, " baseball, go Braves go!". Also, here's Ainsley with her little buddy Jasper (or Jasso/Jappa is more what it sounds like when she says it) and a picture of me with my friend Jana (Jasper's mommy). One more picture I had to throw in was my "nakey baby". Whenever Ainsley gets undressed she runs around saying, "nakey baby, nakey baby!". It's pretty cute. :)

Pictures galore

2009-08-24T20:09:00.001-07:00

With Daddy on the couch (had to wear the boots)

At the Atlanta Dream WNBA game

Holding baby Malakai (Ki as she calls him)

Pretty shoes

Pushing her "groceries" at the Children's Museum

Driving the tractor

Ready to go. Boots (again) and all!

Daddy painting some toenails.
She didn't want me to do it!

Fishing at the Children's Museum

With Isaiah at the Atlanta Dream game

Playing with Konnor

Cool fire engine chair Ainsley could've sat in for her 1st haircut.
She sat in it afterwards, of course!!

First haircut. A little bit scared (hence sitting in my lap and not in the cool chair)

At Stone Mountain

The big cheese

Beautiful girl

Martha and Kelsey McFadden spent the night with us on their way down to Florida.

Gig and Bapes

2009-08-24T19:31:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely visit from Jack and Rebecca (aka: Gran and Gramps, aka: Gig and Bapes) at the beginning of the month. Our time together was spent playing in the pool, going for walks and out to eat, going shopping, to the aquarium, Stone Mountain and Coke museum and just playing in the apartment. Rebecca and I even got away one day to get pedicures. She knows how I LOVE that!! Also, Andy and I went on a date. It was so much fun (and great to get out)! Besides, I think Gig and Bapes really enjoyed staying with Ainsley and doing the whole nighttime routine with her. Boy, would it be nice to live near family......

Since I mentioned our date, I must mention that it was in celebration of 6 years of marriage! My how time flies! We've done a lot in 6 years...... lived in Indiana together, then Georgia, then back in Indiana, Andy completed his Master's degree, we moved to Scotland, travelled all over Britain and some of Europe, travelled to Florida, Washington, California and Hawaii, had a baby, Andy completed his Ph.D., we moved to (and now live in) Georgia, travelled back to Washington and Indiana a few times, etc. We've celebrated joyous moments with each other, family and friends and we've also suffered great heartache in losing those dear to us. Through it all Andy has been an amazing partner, supporter, friend and husband. My hope is that I have been and can continue to be the same for him (except insert wife at the end...haha). I am so thankful for the last 6 years and look forward to MANY more to come.

2 years ago......

2009-07-27T18:22:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe 2 years have passed since our beautiful baby girl joined us in this world. We celebrated on Thursday by going to the aquarium, out for pizza, to the toy store, out to dinner then back for cake and ice cream. Busy day! Our neighbor Sara and her mum Trish joined us for cake and ice cream and they even brought a gift. We talked to Grandma and Grandpa Bahrt on the phone and we talked to Gran and Gramps Odle on Skype where Ainsley opened up a couple cards and a present in front of them. It was a very fun day. Ainsley got a backpack which she LOVES and takes everywhere with her. She got a book and a doll to dress up as well as a new swimsuit, sunglasses and a couple water toys. Thank you everyone! On Saturday we had a little birthday party at the park. We invited a couple friends, ordered pizza, ate cake and played. It was also a fun day and once we got home all three of us took a 3 hour nap! Oh yeah, Ainsley went to her first Braves game last week too. Enjoy the pictures. I am overjoyed and so thankful when I think of what a true blessing God has given us in Ainsley. She's my little sweet pea, munchkin, monkey moo, baby girl, beauty queen, etc., etc., etc.

More Summer

2009-07-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

I realized I forgot to download pictures with my family in the "Summer (so far) in Pictures" post. These pictures were all taken when we went to Washington for my Grandma's funeral at the beginning of June.

Our Summer (so far) in Pictures

2009-07-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

Durham

2009-06-13T18:37:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we went for a little weekend trip to Durham, North Carolina to visit our dear friends, the Brocks. We had a great time. Ainsley loved playing with Adam and Caleb, Andy loved having intelligent, theological conversations with Brian, I loved being with friends. Stephanie (and Brian too, of course) has taken to the southern culture very well in terms of hospitality. They were great hosts. We went to the river to play, drank coffee from Joe VanGoghs coffee shop, sipped on some nice scotch (some more than others), went to hear some local music, played at the playground, ate popsicles from Loco Pops, toured Duke University's campus and, possibly the highlight of the trip for Andy was meeting Stanley Hauerwaus (a world renowned theologian...see picture of Andy and the man you probably don't recognize). One of the nights I gave Caleb and Ainsley a bath and Caleb said (pointing to Ainsley), "She has the wrong body. " I said, " Well, it's not wrong, it's just different. Boys and girls have private parts that don't look the same." He responded, "It just looks like the wrong body." He may not quite understand yet what I was saying but it was so cute! Anyway, it was so great to see all of them. We loved being with friends. Thanks for everything Brian and Steph! We miss you.

Laughable

2009-05-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

This is Ainsley's new laugh. We were looking at pictures of her cousins' Penelope (Mimi) and Phoebe (Beebees) and for some reason every time I would say their names she would laugh. I think it's hilarious. Enjoy!

Slippers

2009-05-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

Ainsley put her slippers on then went and got ours for us to put on. Hence, the slipper picture. :)

Big Girl Bed

2009-05-24T18:14:00.000-07:00

Ainsley waving bye bye to her crib
Of course helping to change her bed from a crib to a toddler bed

The finished product

Mum and Babe

2009-05-20T18:18:00.000-07:00

Just a couple mommy pictures. At the park and at the aquarium with the big clown fish.

Random Pictures

2009-05-14T20:27:00.001-07:00

Here's just a few random pictures from the last couple weeks. As I've said before, Ainsley loves to wear our shoes around the apartment. I caught her walking around in my heels the other day, so cute! Another thing she loves is the computer. The computer was on the coffee table one day and I left for a few minutes to do something in another room. When I came back I found Ainsley on the couch with the computer on her lap. She's so smart! Last week there was a pretty rainbow so I took a picture of it from our balcony. A couple nights ago we went to visit Becca and Tony now that they've brought baby Antonio home. Ainsley just loves him! She was so distracted by the baby being there that she would hardly eat her dinner. We all got a kick out of how sweet she was with Antonio. Also, today Ainsley and I went to the Georgia Aquarium. The pictures are of Ainsley hugging the seahorses and looking at the jellyfish. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. On another note, Ainsley went pee pee today on her training potty!! We haven't really started seriously potty training her yet but she really wanted to sit on the potty today. We were in the bathroom for a long time and she finally starting peeing. You should have seen the look of surprise on her cute little face. I cheered and clapped then daddy came in and did the same and there were high fives all around. It was pretty cool. My baby's getting so big!

Mother's Day Weekend in Asheville, NC

2009-05-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

I love ice cream!
The Grove Park Inn where lots of famous people, i.e.: presidents, actors, musicians, etc. have stayed over the years.

A small portion of the "wall of fame" at the Grove Park Inn. Is that Andy Odle?

The Biltmore House. It's America's largest home so this picture doesn't even do it justice. It's pretty amazing, on 125,000 acres, has a winery, a farm and from the entrance of the estate to the house itself is 5 miles!

In the garden.

Washing her hands in the fountain.

Ainsley helping me hold baby Antonio, only 12 hours old, at the hospital. We stopped by to visit on our way out of town last weekend.

Becca and Antonio.

Fun Times

2009-05-14T19:22:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday Ainsley and I went to run a couple errands and at our first stop we made some new friends. Yay!! This is how it went...... When we pulled up to the shop we saw a little boy playing with his Grandpa and a woman sitting at a table nearby. Ainsley got excited when she saw the boy (Eli) and I asked how old he was. It turns out his birthday is only 5 days after Ainsley's and he'll be 2 as well. Then the woman, who is Eli's aunt (Katherine), said she recognized me from the day before when she came to Starbucks. Ainsley was having so much fun playing with Eli and his Grandpa that she stayed outside and played while I went into the shop to take care of what we had gone for. Eli and his mom and dad (Liz and Joey) live in Italy 9 months out of the year but will be buying a house here in Atlanta for the summer months so we'll get to hang out with them once they're back for good. Katherine nannies for a 3 year old girl named Chloe so we'll also get to hang out with them. In fact, later that day we actually met Katherine, Chloe, Liz and Eli at the park to play and had a great time. I am excited for Ainsley to have some playmates but I'm equally as excited to have a couple new friends myself.

New things

2009-04-30T19:30:00.000-07:00

Daily there are new things happening here at the Odle household. I've included pictures of just a few things that I'll briefly talk about. At the top is a picture of Ainsley's light-up princess sandals. She probably wears these the most now that it's in the 80s every day. Anyway, yesterday I said, "Ainsley, can you take off your shoes please?" (not actually thinking she would do it since she never has before) and she proceeded to sit down, unvelcro and remove both sandals! It was so cute and very impressive. Next... every night before bed Andy and I both go into Ainsley's room with her while she picks out a book for one of us to read to her. Now, she seemingly puts a lot of thought into this process, standing on her little step stool and scanning the shelves until she comes to her final decision. The last couple of weeks she has chosen "My Brother Martin" majority of the time. The reason this seems so funny to us is that it's a thin book (mixed in with big books) and it's totally not age appropriate (probably suits more like a 6 or 7 year old) but she just loves it. It's a short story about Martin Luther King Jr.'s childhood written by his sister. The next pictures are of the new overhead light in Ainsley's bedroom (I love IKEA) and the potty we bought for her. She hasn't actually started using it yet but it sits in the bathroom and she knows exactly what it's for. I'll keep you posted when there's progress in the potty training department.

The Dogwood Festival, A baby shower, Last swimming lesson, New friends and Old

2009-04-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

My friend Tama, from high school!
Playing at the playground.

Ainsley's new friend Jasper (his mommy is an old friend from Washington that I played softball with who lives here now!)

Nothing like a hard earned sucker!

Miss Laura the swim instructor.

Becca and baby bump (she's due May 12th).

Just resting and playing with some dirt at the Dogwood Festival.

Dagmar Midcap, our 'Channel 2 Action News' weather lady.

Hair blowing in the wind.

Cool shades.

Easter Sunday

2009-04-24T18:05:00.000-07:00

Our little Easter bunny

Seattle

2009-04-13T18:04:00.000-07:00

Bye bye Seattle!!

Well, we had a great time in Washington. 2 weeks came and went quick, as always. It was Ainsley and I to fly solo on the 19th of March as Andy had to stay in Atlanta for work (he joined us a week later). The placement of our seats on the flight to Seattle could not have been better. We sat right across the aisle from a lady with two kids. Ainsley sat with them for take off and landing and played in the aisle right next to me with the 4 year old boy, Gavin, the entire time! When we arrived, my mom and dad picked us up and we headed north to Birch Bay where we stayed at our timeshare. Birch Bay is about 15-20 minutes outside of Bellingham so we went into town several times to hang out, including a couple of the times to see one of my best friends Heidi and meet her new baby. While in Washington we also went to a surprise 60th birthday party for my Uncle John and spent time with family, my brother and his girls came up to Birch Bay for a couple days and we went in the pool/hot tub and played at the beach (in the freezing cold wind), we saw some other really great friends Meghan and Mike and met their new baby and we visited my grandpa and grandma a couple of times. We also drank lots of coffee from all the yummy drive-thru espresso stands, ate burgers from one of my favourite places, Dick's, went to the INN (the college ministry I worked for in Bellingham the year before Andy and I got married) and saw our friend Julia and her daughters (you might remember hearing about them in posts from Scotland...they were in town at the same time as us!). Of course there was friends and family we didn't get to see which was very disappointing (sorry we missed you Aunt Berta!) but hopefully we'll visit again sooner than later. Overall it was such a relaxing time and I was so happy especially that Ainsley got to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa (or Gaga and Gapa as she affectionately calls them). The pictures, which for some reason have uploaded with a HUGE space in between them and the bottom of the page, are in order of what we did on our trip. I didn't label them all but you should be able to figure out what they are based on what I wrote in the blog. Also, at the bottom of the page, after the HUGE space are two videos taken of Ainsley. One is on the airplane going to Seattle and the other is at the timeshare. Enjoy!

What a difference a day makes

2009-03-15T13:34:00.000-07:00

Raincoat and cool sunglasses.
Andy and I at the Hawks/Pacers game.

Happy Birthday to Andy!

Ainsley petting a dog with our neighbour Sara.

There's that headband she loves!

Snow picture off our balcony.

2 Sundays ago we had snow and temperatures in the 20s. 2 days after that it was in the 70s and one day even hit 80 degrees! Now this weekend it has been in the low 50s and rainy. Weird weather! Here's some pictures from the past couple weeks including Andy's birthday. :)

2009-03-14T19:26:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago Ainsley started swim lessons. We go on Mondays and Wednesdays for 1/2 hour sessions. I am in the water with her the whole time and she has so much fun. There are 2 other kids in the class so it's nice and small. So far she needs to work on her breast stroke but her butterfly is amazing!

Okay, really...... she has learned how to put her face under water, climb out on the side of the pool, jump to mommy on the count of 3, splash her hands, blow bubbles and kick her feet. She especially loves putting the side of her head down to the water to "hear the fishies" and doing the backfloat in mommy's arms.

A few things to live for

2009-02-23T16:09:00.000-08:00

Milk, cookies and crackers. Water and grapes. Her baby doll stroller. The green headband and pink slippers. Her chair and stool.

A "romantic" Valentine's Day lunch at one of our favourites, Ippolito's.

Indiana

2009-02-23T13:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a bunch of pictures with some of Ainsley's favourite people...... Mommy, Daddy, GG, Grandma Great, Soren, Charlie, Gran and Gramps. Daddy and Ainsley have been sick all week so you can tell in the picture of them that they're feeling a bit under the weather. :( The rest of the pictures were taken on a recent trip to Indiana. Andy was asked to speak at Anderson University's "Impact Your World Week" so Ainsley and I tagged along to support him and, of course, spend time with family since all expenses were paid. Can't beat that! We had a great time despite the terrible weather (negative wind chill and a blizzard...froze us right to the bones!) Andy did fantastic speaking and received very positive feedback from students, professors and even the President of the university. As always, I was very proud of him.

Conversations

2009-02-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

Ainsley:"I want to go in the business center
Daddy." (Of course that actually sounds more like, "Ooh, ooh, ooh" while pointing to the door)
Andy: "No, come on sweetie, Daddy needs coffee. Let's go in the clubhouse."

Ainsley: "How about the gym? I love to walk on the treadmill and look in the big mirrors."

Andy: "No sweetie. As long as there's noone in there we'll go in there in a few minutes. Come on. We'll play some putt putt."
Ainsley: (reaching for the golf clubs) "Can you get those for me Daddy? I need both of them to start with. I also must have all 5 balls around the hole at once."
Andy: "Can you show Mommy how you hit the balls in the hole?"
Ainsley: "Of course I can. Mommy, watch this! (Hits the balls in then claps) Yay!"

This is just a sample of what the routine is like every morning. There's also stairs which she loves to climb up and down several times and would gladly try to do on her own if we weren't watching her every move. As you can see in the picture, it is a steep set of stairs so we prefer she doesn't attempt it solo for quite some time. Also, whenever we are walking to the car she has to be sure she's holding the keys so she can press the unlock button and hear the "conk conk" or honk honk as we adults like to say.

Our Sweet Pea

2009-02-22T19:24:00.001-08:00

Praying

Hiding

Lounging

Talking

Playing

Riding

Posing

Bouncing

Walking

Hello

2009-02-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

I'm not actually sure where to begin since it's been over a month since I've written anything. So, here it goes... After 6 good years our oh so faithful camera broke. It's been a great one and provided us with years of memories but we finally bought a new one. I am just now figuring out how to load the pictures onto the computer so that's the main reason I've slacked on updating the blog. :(

Ainsley update: She says new things every day and now repeats things very well. She is becoming a great communicator. She has a lot to say and one of these days soon I'm sure it will come out in the form of full sentences. She has the best, most fun personality and is very outgoing. She waves and says hi to every single person she walks by. She LOVES other kids. She is over the 90th percentile for her weight and "off the charts" for her height (don't know where she gets that from!). She blows kisses and plays peek a boo. She can point to her body parts when asked where they are. She loves to put on other people's shoes and walk around in them (especially loves Daddy's slippers and Mommy's heels). She loves to Skype with people on the computer. She's down to one nap a day now and usually fights that one nap (leaving her often to either fall asleep in the car [hence the 2 pictures below] or fall asleep on one of our chests while watching tv). She loves to drink out of big cups (see pictures above) and is very clear in letting you know that she wants to do it herself (by pushing your hand away and pointing to the table for you to set it down). She loves to sit on the counter and "help" cook. She also helps unload the dishwasher and load the washing machine. She can open the door to the hallway and reach the down button for the elevator (so we're afraid if we forget to lock the door one of these days she'll end up in the lobby or parking garage and we won't even know it!). She's one smart cookie! When we say, "Ainsley, want to brush your teeth?" she puts a hand to her mouth and says, "Aaaahhh" while running to the bathroom. She loves to push things around, including the laundry basket, her dump truck and baby doll stroller. She is very good at sharing and often shares her food and drinks with her dolls too. She likes to flip light switches on and off. When she poops she pats her bum and says, "poopoo" then runs to her bedroom and comes back with a nappy so we can change her. She loves bread. She LOVES milk. When we sit down to eat she reaches both of her hands out to hold ours so we can pray. It is soooo cute! And the list goes on and on and on.

Ainsley's vocabulary (some of it) along with translations when needed: Belly Button= Beba or, sometimes, Bb, Blanket= Bb, Car= Conk conk, Duck= cack cack, I Love You= Ya Yo, Baby, Hi, Bye bye, Knock knock, Night night= Nigh nigh, Banana= Nana, Nappy(Diaper)= Nana, Pretty= Ditta, Mama, Dada, Hot, Hat, Eye, Eeeewww (waving her hand in front of her nose), Poopoo, Peepee, Bum bum= Butt, Coo coo= Her private parts, Cookie= Cook cook, Bonk= Bonbon. I am now drawing a blank on all the other things she says but believe me there are lots. It is really a joy to watch her grow and learn. Each day brings new and exciting things!

Surgery Update

2009-01-13T17:23:00.000-08:00

Just thought we'd update you on Ainsley's surgery today. It went well. We were very happy with the care. Everyone was very helpful and nice. The surgeon found a urachal cyst behind the belly button which he removed and stitched up an umbilical hernia he also found while in there. One of the risks of doing the surgery was that he would go in there and not actually find anything. But of course we wouldn't have known if there was anything to fix unless he did the surgery. So, anyway...... we're thankful that it was done because we wouldn't have known about the cyst or hernia otherwise. But we're glad it's over and hope that we never have to experience it again! Ainsley's been pretty sore all day and very calm and cuddly. We sat/laid on the couch and watched tv all day (which, if you know Ainsley, is very unusual as she is a BUSY girl!). We gave her some pain medicine before bed and are praying that she sleeps all night and wakes up less sore tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray for a speedy and less painful recovery.

Surgery and a Prayer

2009-01-08T18:01:00.001-08:00

Ainsley is going to have surgery on Tuesday morning. It will be a minor surgery which should have us in and out of there within a couple hours. We are confident in the abilities of our surgeon but, nonetheless, it is still surgery and it's our baby girl who's having it! She will be under full anesthesia and the doctor will go in through her belly button to either remove something (if he finds anything to remove) or just close the hole which should have already been closed once her umbilical cord detached. Thus removing the little "bubble" thing from her belly button and it no longer will ooze. The only way to know exactly what the problem is, is to explore inside. The reason to do the surgery is two fold: 1) If we were to leave it, it will eventually get infected which could be painful and cause more of a problem. 2) If it was left as is then down the road (like when she's in her 30s or so) it would probably become cancerous. So, we decided to air on the side of caution and just get the surgery out of the way. The healing process is short, only about 2 days, and it shouldn't be too sore (however we will have medicine for her just in case). Anyway, like I said before, we feel she's in good hands but we are still a bit upset at the idea of the whole thing. Please pray that the surgery goes well and that Ainsley will be as pain free as possible. Thank you. I'll let you know how it goes.

Happy Christmas

2009-01-03T19:18:00.000-08:00

I am so thankful I have a job that's so flexible. Because of that we were able to go to Indiana for 12 days for Christmas. We hopped in the car and headed north for a 9 hour drive (which is driven over 2 days now that we have a little one that gets a bit antsy after sitting for too long). It was great to get there but unfortunately our first 3 days were spent staying in because Ainsley had the flu. Once we did venture out we had a memorable experience in the good 'ol Indiana winter weather. After visiting with some friends in Indianapolis we left to drive home and have dinner with some other friends. We knew an ice storm and very very cold temperatures were in the forecast so we left plenty early to get to Anderson. What should have taken us 40 minutes to get home took us 5 hours due to the highway being closed and extremely slick roads. That's right.... 5 HOURS!! Needless to say, we didn't make it to dinner and we were ready to be home once we finally got there. Apart from Ainsley being sick and our "great adventure" we had a wonderful time with family and friends. Ainsley had a blast playing with her cousins, turning Christmas tree lights on and off, opening Christmas presents, decorating cookies, etc., etc. Andy and I even got to go to a Colts game with Jack and Rebecca while Andy's sister and family watched/played with Ainsley. We had a great time and so did our little girl.

Tons of Fun

2009-01-03T18:47:00.000-08:00

Just a few days after the play date we went to Reid's 2nd birthday party at Gymboree. Ainsley didn't know what to do with herself. There was such a big space filled with pads and toys that she was not afraid to run around and jump and play on everything. She was laughing out loud and throwing her hands in the air. She had so much fun.

New Friends

2009-01-03T17:43:00.000-08:00

I've been told more than once now that I'm overdue for a new blog entry. So finally I have the time to sit down and update everyone. First, let's back up to the first week of December... Ainsley and I had a play date! We went over to our new friends' house (Chris, Sarah and Reid Sanders) where Ainsley played with Reid (2), Jake(2 1/2) and Ella (21 months) as I visited with their moms. It was so nice to meet and get to know new people and for Ainsley to be around other kids. Ainsley was a bit shy at first but then made herself right at home- lounging in Reid's armchair and playing with any and every toy in sight. She shared very nicely and it was so sweet watching her smile at and want to give kisses to all of them.

After we left Ainsley was exhausted and it didn't take her long to fall asleep in the car on our way home. We got home and she continued her nap until I had to take her to the Pediatrician that afternoon. Dr. Elliot seems very nice. He checked her out and said she looks great. She's in the top 95th percentile for both her height and weight! She had to get 3 immunisations that day too. Andy has always been with Ainsley for shots as I sat in the waiting room but that day I had no choice because Andy wasn't with us. Ainsley was very tough and I only got a little bit teary. On another note, Dr. Elliot referred us to a surgeon which Ainsley will see this coming week. She will have an ultrasound of her belly button to see if it needs to be fixed. Let me explain: Ever since her umbilical cord came off her belly button has not looked normal. It has a little bubble on top of it which sometimes oozes clear puss. As far as we know it doesn't bother her but it definitely bothers us as we know this should not be happening. The doctor said he's not too worried about it but it could possibly be a problem in the future so he'd like a surgeon to look at it just in case. I'll let you know how that goes.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T18:57:00.000-08:00

In the kitchen preparing the big meal.
I always have a helper!

Admiring the food.

Here it all is. Just for Andy, Ainsley and I.

I love olives!

The day after Thanksgiving. Our apartment is now very festive! :)

Well, I had a great time preparing all of the food that is a "must have" for Thanksgiving. The problem was trying to prepare enough for just 2 adults and a baby. Impossible for me to do! I made mashed potatoes, sweet potato balls, green bean casserole, stuffing, mixed berry pie, pumpkin pie and, of course, turkey. I took the turkey out of the oven when it was done (or so I thought). Andy was carving it as I heard him say, "um, Amy, is this okay? It looks like a vampire turkey". It wasn't okay, still very bloody...oops. Everything else was done and ready to eat though so we went ahead and ate anyway while the turkey was back in the oven. We were so stuffed we didn't have room for the turkey. Good thing because when I took it out again it STILL wasn't finished! I was so annoyed and we didn't have the patience to keep waiting for it so we ended up throwing the whole thing away! Can you believe that? Of course Andy thinks it's hilarious while I am upset because of all the money we spent and the time I spent preparing it, etc. Oh well! I guess it is pretty funny that we had Thanksgiving dinner without the main ingredient. We still enjoyed it all and had leftovers for 3 more meals after that.

Our baby's getting big

2008-11-14T18:16:00.000-08:00

Every day Ainsley is doing something new that amazes us. When we say, "what does a ducky say?" she says, "quack quack". She also says, "ooo ooo ooo" in a high pitched voice for what a monkey says. My favourite though is that whenever we open the door to the oven or take something out of the microwave she goes, in a kind of loud whisper, "hot, hot, hot" and makes a blowing gesture with her mouth. It is so cute. Her favourite toy seems to be our laundry basket which she first empties of dirty clothes then pushes around the house and adds new items (such as a roasting pan and cooling rack that she loves to remove from the drawer, pillow, stuffed animals, etc.) to it. She likes to get in it and play too. She also knows where the books in her bedroom are so she points to them for us to get one down and read to her. Once she has it in hand she either climbs up on a chair and waits for us to sit down with her or she walks over to a chair, pats it with her hand and points to one of us to sit down with her. She is very clear about what she wants and she loves to read books or at least look at and kiss the pictures. She has 14 teeth and is working on 2 more. Her hair is getting very long. She loves to slide. She's wearing 18-24 months and 2T size clothing! I'm sure I'm forgetting tons of things but this is just a small snapshot into our busy days.

Chomp and Stomp

2008-11-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we met our friends Liz, Anthony and Ella at Grant Park in Cabbagetown for a festival. There were at least 40 booths set up by individuals and local restaurants serving what they claimed was over 1000 gallons of chili! There were also tons of art vendors, other food booths, beer stations and live bluegrass music. We paid $5 for chili spoons and could eat as much as we wanted from each booth. My favourite was from a restaurant called Javavino and was made using organic espresso and organic Mexican chocolate....sooo good! Daddy had fun chasing Ainsley around the park while I did a little shopping too. It was a good time had by all.

YES WE CAN!

2008-11-05T20:57:00.001-08:00

We just witnessed a historic day and Andy and I are quite happy with the outcome of the election. Yesterday we took Ainsley over to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King memorial to spend some time there and get some pictures. We know she won't remember this day but we want her to be able to look back and realise the significance of electing America's first African American president. What a day!!

Florida

2008-11-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

At Pineapple Willy's to watch the Colts' game

What a cutie!

Playing in the sand with Daddy

In the pool with Gran

Still on the beach

Being silly with Gran and Gramps

Getting attention from Alli and Alaina

Getting more attention from the Abney family

The boys played football and although the "big boys" won by a touchdown they showed their age...lots of time outs, sore backs, etc.

Alli and Alaina cheering on the boys during their game. They taught me a cheer and I felt like I was in high school again! :)

Ainsley was in love with Austin! Here she is giving him kisses.

Ainsley with Austin and Alli, wearing the shirt they bought her. How sweet!

Every year Jack and Rebecca go to Panama City Beach, Florida for two weeks in October and this year we joined them for their second week there. October 24th we drove down and spent a week relaxing and enjoying the company of Andy's parents. There was also a couple other families down there who Jack and Rebecca have gotten to know over the years so we spent time with them too. Ainsley was the center of attention ALL week which, needless to say, she LOVED! We feel like we need to make friends here in Atlanta quickly so she can continue to have people to play with and get attention from people other than just mommy and daddy! While in Florida we realised we have a fearless daughter. She loves the pool and ocean. We think it's great but it just meant we had to keep a really close eye on her or otherwise she would have dove right in. On November 1st we drove home. On the way down and back we only stopped once, both times in Eufala, Alabama ("The Big Bass Capital of the World"). Not that there's any significance to that last piece of information, we just thought it was kind of funny. Anyway, hope you enjoy the pictures.

Back home again

2008-11-05T18:34:00.000-08:00

Although we don't live in the same place as either one of our families we're fortunate that at least we live just a drive away from Andy's family (okay, it's a 9 hour drive but none the less...). So we took advantage of that closeness a few weeks ago and drove up to Indiana for a few day visit with family and friends. It was great. I took a few pictures of Ainsley with one of her future BFF's Soren (Jeff and Sarah's daughter, who turns one in a week and a half). They were cute together but I think sometimes Soren wasn't quite sure what to think of Ainsley running all around her! The picture on the left is of the girls giving each other kisses. :)

My 29th birthday...at the zoo

2008-10-07T20:58:00.000-07:00

We spent a few hours today at the zoo. It was so much fun. They even named a theater there after me in honor of my birthday (wink, wink). Ainsley liked the animals but was usually more interested in the other children standing around her. We went into the petting zoo so Ainsley could pet the goats and brush their hair. It took her a couple minutes to warm up but she did finally walk over to the goats and pet them. At one point we were walking to a new group of goats, Ainsley still had the goat hairbrush in hand and as I looked at her I noticed she had started brushing her own hair with it! Yuck! As my immediate reaction was to say, "No!", she was quick to turn to me with her hand holding the brush in the air toward me with a look, as if to say, "what have I done wrong mommy?" It was so cute I couldn't help but smile and bend down to give her a kiss. Speaking of kisses...Ainsley loves kissing everything and everyone! So of course every time we saw an animal she would point, bend forward and make the kissing noise. Since she wasn't able to actually kiss any of the animals we had to be the substitutes. Thankfully she didn't mind at all because I LOVE getting kisses. Anyway, the rest of the day was nice too. It was just spent, as I wanted, with the two people I love most. I got tons of birthday phone calls, messages, emails and wishes and felt very special. To top it all off we got Chinese food with the birthday money my grandma sent me (Thanks Grandma!) and watched the Presidential debate. Now here I am telling you all about it. So until next year (the big 3-0!)...... Love you.

Italy pictures...finally

2008-10-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

Here's those Italy pictures I promised. We took over 300 so even narrowing it down this much was tough!

A few more pictures

2008-09-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday my Aunt Berta had a 3 hour layover in Atlanta so we went to the airport to have dinner with her. It was so great to see her. As you can see, Ainsley was not interested in having her picture taken but we snuck one in anyway!

Here's the messy girl after eating spaghetti for lunch. She didn't seem to mind!

She is so pleased with herself now that she can climb up on the chair and sit in it like a big girl.

Here was a rare moment, a picture of just the 2 of us (please excuse the terrible mess in the background)! Our friend Becca came over the other night to watch Ainsley while we went to see Les Miserables the musical at the historic Fox Theatre. We had a great time. I love date nights!

Here's our very helpful daughter unloading the cart after a trip to Costco.

I told you she loves to help. Here she is helping daddy hammer (her little plastic hammer doesn't quite do the trick but that's okay!)

Always has to be right in the middle of things!

Dancing Queen

2008-09-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

I think I mentioned before that whenever music comes on Ainsley starts dancing. Well, it's more of a bounce but it's so cute! A couple nights ago we were watching Dancing with the Stars and I was able to catch a little bit of it on video. If she's not dancing she's walking around kissing everything and everyone. She's definitely a little sweetie, so much fun!

Here we are!

2008-08-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

WELL... no we have not fallen off the face of the earth!! It's just been a busy couple of months. So, here I am to fill you in. June 20th was my last day of work in Aberdeen. I got several gifts, lots of hugs and shed a few tears. It was a good day but a bit sad to say goodbye. On June 21st we got on a plane and flew to Rome. From Rome we took a train to Florence where my mom and Uncle Don came and picked us up and drove us to the villa in Tuscany where they'd already been for a week along with Aunt Linda, Uncle John, Aunt Nancy and some friends Don and Donna. It wasn't until the next morning that we realised the beauty of our surroundings. This villa we were staying in was in the hills of Tuscany, so picturesque. The swimming pool was down some steps from the back porch overlooking all the olive trees and grape vineyards....very peaceful. Ainsley loved the swimming pool. Thank goodness we had it too, because it was sooooo hot in Italy! Anyway, I'll spare you every little detail and just be sure to add in a few pictures. All in all we spent 10 days in Italy, 7 in Tuscany and 3 (on the back end) in Rome. The Rome part was just us and my mom and it was so much fun. Andy's not sure there's beauty outside of Italy now that he's been there. As for me and Ainsley, we don't think there's good ice cream outside of Italy. The gelato (which we had every day at least once) is amazing! Ainsley took her first steps at the villa in Tuscany too, yay! So we got back to Scotland on July 1st, spent 9 days hanging out with friends and enjoying our surroundings then we flew to America, where we now are for the unforseeable future. We flew into Indiana and spent a very busy couple of days there. The days included: buying a car, renting a Uhaul, buying new mattresses, loading everything that was in storage the last 3 years into the Uhaul, getting my hair cut, hanging out with friends and family and having a 1st birthday party for Ainsley. It was very tiring but so much fun. We love our friends and family in Indiana so it was such a blessing to have almost all of them under one roof to celebrate Ainsley's birthday. Our daughter LOVES chocolate cake we quickly found out. She ate a whole piece herself then started licking and chewing the plate. When I took the plate away she was not happy. Although a huge mess she was so cute to watch dig in! So after a couple days in Indiana we headed south to Atlanta. Andy's parents drove down to spend the week with us and help us move in. It was so great to have them. Of course we didn't want them to leave though! Out of 9 grandkids spanning over 16 years Ainsley gave Gran her very first black eye. We probably shouldn't have taught her to head butt people at this young of an age should we? Oops! Anyway, the move-in experience was not great as our apartment was not ready for us when it was supposed to be, amongst other things. So our "getting settled" started a couple days later than planned. It did resort to us getting use of a corporate apartment for the week though which worked out very well since Jack and Rebecca were here. Something kind of cool happened...the first person Andy met when he walked in the building was this girl named Carol from Scotland! She lives only a few doors away from us and also happened to be selling a lot of home furniture type items, which we needed all of them (a tv, tv stand, dvd player, chair and footstool, coffee table, lamp) so the timing of it was perfect. And... we're able to get a good dose of the Scottish accent whenever we like. Our apartment is very nice and in a perfect location right downtown. I was able to connect with a Starbucks less than a mile away before we even got to the states so I started working less than a week after we got here. I am only working part time as a supervisor now which I totally love! It means we still get a paycheck, benefits and tip money (I forgot how good tips are in America, I love it!) and I get to be home with Ainsley more. It is fantastic. Andy also jumped right into work. He has been working and continues to work really hard to fulfill the vision he has for Church On The Street. He walks the streets every day as well to get to know these men and women he's serving. He never leaves home without a backpack full of clean socks and other essential items and almost always comes home with an empty backpack. Ainsley and I are getting to know some of the guys too. Ainsley is affectionately known on the streets as "blue eyes", "beautiful" or "pretty". Anyway, part of what Andy's been working on is updating the website so please look at it when you have a chance and you'll get a better idea for what goes on here. It is: http://www.churchonthestreet.com/

At the end of July just Ainsley and I flew out to Seattle for a week. One of my good friends Meaghan got married so that was the main reason for the trip. But of course it is always great to have an excuse to go to Washington since that's where most of my family is. We had a great time being with my family and friends. We missed Andy terribly though.

Speaking of missing Andy, we did once more last week when he flew over to Cambridge, England for his viva (oral defence of his dissertation) and a conference. First of all, he PASSED! Of course, who didn't think he would? He does have to make some corrections but the important thing is he is now officially a Doctor of Philosophy. Add that to the C.V....pretty impressive! :) He also had a great time with friends from Aberdeen who were in Cambridge for the same conference.

We've already had a few visitors which has been great. Troy and Katrina (who visited us in Scotland too) were the first as they had been living in Atlanta for the last year and stayed with us before they moved back to Indiana. One of Andy's best friends Mark lives over in Athens, Georgia and has come to stay with us a few times already. Our friend Jon was in town playing a show at Georgia Tech and he stayed the night with us. Then, over Labour Day weekend one of my best friends Colleen and her husband Dave and son Jake flew down from New York. We had so much fun! When Andy was in England our friend Shelli came down from Woodstock, Georgia to spend one night with Ainsley and I as well. As you can see our apartment is always open to visitors so come on! We love it.

Now for the "Ainsley update". When we got her weighed 2 months ago she was 24 pounds! She's cute as can be, has a great personality. She has started throwing mini tantrums though which I'm not happy about. We're trying our best to deal with them appropriately. She is walking really well and fast might I add. She claps when we say "yay!" or when she knows she's done something well. She gives high fives. She can reach and turn the handle on our front door (we always keep it locked so she can't escape). She walks to the door and says "bye bye" to let us know she wants to go play outside. She dances whenever music comes on. She says, "tick tick" for tickle tickle, "baaa" for ball, "bap bap" for clap clap and holds our cell phones up to her ear while babbling like crazy. She's got a lot to say! She reaches up to press the button whenever we see an elevator. She loves "helping" us unload the dishwasher. She loves to sit on the counter and play with utensils while I cook. Ainsley loves her bath. When the water turns on she reaches in to touch it and puts her arms up as to say, "take my clothes off!". After bath is always fun too. We usually spend a few minutes chasing her around the room while she giggles and steals things away from us. She sleeps 11 to 12 hours each night (in her own room finally). Her room is pretty cute too. We painted it a pale pink colour and are in the midst of "accessorizing". She loves to play in her room and is very good at opening the toy box to get toys out. We're still working on putting them back but that's okay. We live close to a few different parks and walk to them to play. Centennial Park has a water fountain of sorts which is always packed with people running through it. Ainsley loves it (as you'll see in one of the pictures). In the last 2 weeks she's gotten 3 new teeth for a total now of 11! I'm sure there's a million other things I'm forgetting so I'll be better now to keep updating as things happen. We love all of you and can't wait to see you soon. Also, stay tuned for the Italy pictures. They're not downloaded on this computer yet but once they are I'll add them.

A Beautiful Day

2008-06-08T03:32:00.000-07:00

On Thursday afternoon we walked down to the Uni. Andy printed off three copies of his thesis while Ainsley and I played in the grass just outside. We then walked over to the bindery for Andy to have all three copies bound. We ate a snack while waiting for them to be completed (found out Ainsley likes salt and vinegar crisps...wasn't expecting that!) then walked over to the registrar to hand them in. As we were walking in at 4:39pm the girl was quickly closing the window and curtain (their closing time is 4:30). But, as Andy ran up to the counter saying, "come on, please let me turn these in!" she had mercy upon him and opened up the window to let him do it. So, there we have it... nearly 3 years of blood, sweat and tears (as they say) and now the Ph.D. has been submitted!! Yay, CONGRATS Dr. Odle!!! Of course I got a picture of the momentus occasion (a moment of embarrassment, a lifetime of memories). :)

Roller coasters, swings, hot dogs and more!

2008-05-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

Recently Ainsley has experienced a couple of new things. One is that she went on her first roller coaster ride. Down at the beach there is a little amusement park which has a few rides. We went there one day with our friends the Brocks and the Prathers. The caterpillar is for children so it goes quite slow but there are a couple dips where it speeds up a little bit. She never cried but her facial expressions showed she was very unsure about what was happening. Andy got a picture of all of us that went on it (the car in front and behind the one we're in) so I've put that on for you to see. Also, Ainsley rode on the swing for the first time. Her reaction to that was pretty much the same as the roller coaster ride. After the swing we sat down in the sand to play. She loved the sand. She kept picking it up, letting it run through her fingers, dropping it. In fact, when we took her away she fussed a little bit because she wanted to play more. Unfortunately I forgot the camera that day so we've got no pictures of that experience. The weather's been lovely lately so we've gone to the beach a couple of times for hot dogs. The international market was in town a couple of weekends ago so we also went down there with Scott and Molly and got a bratwurst. You'd think we're pork fanatics by the way I'm talking about hot dogs and brats! Oh well, they're quite tasty. Mmmm...! Anyway, Ainsley also has gotten a couple more teeth too. 8 in total now! In the picture to the left you'll see a few of those teeth right up close. Ainsley was wanting to eat the camera rather than stay still for a picture! Also, she's so funny whenever we push her in the stroller. She just lounges and puts both her feet up on top of the front tray. Takes after her daddy in that respect! You'll see in the two pictures at the top that she gets into everything (literally, the washing machine and figuratively, whatever is on shelves that she can reach). We definitely have to keep all small objects out of her reach now because everything goes in her mouth too. For example she likes to go over to the window sill and pull leaves off the plant that sits there. A few days ago we noticed her gagging on something and couldn't figure out what it was. After one throw up nothing came out then after another out came a small leaf! The plant no longer sits on the window sill she can reach.

Headed south

2008-05-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

We're coming back to America. Andy has gotten a job in Atlanta, Georgia so that's where we'll soon be calling home. It's farewell to Scotland on July 10th. It is so hard to believe we've lived here nearly 3 years! We'll fly to Indiana and stay there for 2 days. Then we'll rent a Uhaul and drive the stuff we have in storage there down with us to Georgia. While we're there we'll have Ainsley's 1st birthday party (a week and a half early but that's okay!) which will be so much fun to do with family and good friends. Before we come back to the states we are vacationing in Italy for a week and a half. We can't wait! First we'll go to Florence for a week where we'll stay with my mom and two aunts and uncles in a villa. Then we're off to Rome for 3 days with my mom. Andy is sooo... excited to see Vatican City and the many other sights. I'm looking forward to beautiful weather, awesome sights and great food! Anyway, while we're waiting for that trip to arrive we are busy packing our things up here and selling lots of them as well. I am also working a lot. I can't remember if I said this in a previous blog or not but I was promoted to Store Manager for a new store opening in Aberdeen. Of course now that I'm leaving it will only be my store for about 3 weeks. :( But at least I'll get to see the outcome of all the work I've put into preparing for it. Anyway, my new store opens this weekend so the lead up to it is filled with lots of things to do in preparation. Hopefully everything will run smoothly and let's hope I didn't forget to order anything really important! :) I'll let you know how that goes. Most importantly though, Andy is submitting his dissertation this week! Yay! His oral examination (Viva, they call it) won't be until September unfortunately but after turning the hard copy in this week a major weight will be lifted. I am so proud of him. What an accomplishment. Pretty soon here we'll all be calling him Doctor Odle. Although he'd actually prefer the Reverend Doctor Odle I'm sure. I think I'll be sticking with Andy. :) Anyway, that's a brief update on our lives at the moment. We're looking forward to this next chapter but are feeling sad to leave Aberdeen as well. After all, we do have some good friends here and lots of great memories. Not the least of which, of course, is that we added another member to our family whilst over here. Came as 2, leave as 3. We couldn't be any happier about that!

1st shoulder ride

2008-05-10T04:41:00.000-07:00

Here's the first time Ainsley's been on a shoulder ride (well, it wasn't much of a ride but she was on top of Andy's shoulders anyway). As you can see, she seemed to love it! :)

It's been a while!

2008-05-04T02:48:00.000-07:00

This post is LONG overdue but computer time (for me) is not much these days since Andy's nearing the end of writing his thesis. So, I'll take what I can get and fill you in briefly. All is well here. I'm still working full time and, as I said, Andy is working all the time as well. Just a couple days ago we took a small break and headed down to Glasgow. It was a very expensive trip since we hired a car, got a hotel and paid for Ainsley's visa... the reason for going down there in the first place (she's been living illegally for the first 9 months of her life). None the less, it was nice to get away from Aberdeen for a couple days. Also, a few weeks ago I went out with a couple girlfriends for drinks and dancing which was so much fun. I don't think I caught up on my sleep for about a week though! Besides when I gave birth to Ainsley I don't remember the last time I was up until 4 all in one go! A week or two later Andy followed in my footsteps and stayed out until 4 with "the guys". He had a great time as well. Ainsley is now crawling faster than ever and pulling herself up onto everything and everyone all of the time. She also stands alone momentarily then slowly lowers herself to the ground. She's quite clever. I wouldn't be surprised if she started walking soon (although I can wait a bit longer for that). She holds her own sippy cup when drinking from it now. She rides in the shopping cart. She has her 6th tooth. She understands "NO" although doesn't always obey it and throws a little bit of a tantrum when she doesn't get her way. It's quite interesting. She seems to have lost her cute little laugh (not all the time though) and replaced it with a cackle. It's really funny...where do kids learn these things?! She continues to eat her little finger snacks and loves them. She has also tried a few other big girl foods too. Cheddar cheese...not a fan. Cous cous... also, not a fan. Cheesy scrambled eggs...unsure about it. French toast...likes it but finds it hard to chew. Chips (french fries)... likes them. Cooked peas...loves them (and they're fun to throw on the floor too!). She wears 9-12 month clothing now too. She's getting so big! After her bath we take her onto our bed to get dried off, dressed and to play a little bit. She loves being naked and almost immediately (before we can get a nappy or clothes on her) crawls to the end of the bed, pulls up on the bars and starts walking from one side to the other (see pictures above). She is so much fun!Anyway, of course I've attached several pictures of Ainsley for all to see. Hope you enjoy.

She moves

2008-03-25T00:07:00.000-07:00

Milestones

2008-03-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks here in the Odle household. Let's start with Ainsley...she finally rides in the "big girl" stroller now. To be honest, she's probably been ready for that for a while now but I wasn't quite ready to give up the infant carrier which allowed us to look at her while pushing. She started going into the creche at church during the service. She said "mama" twice one day (or so I thought...she hasn't said it again so maybe I was imagining it). She pulled herself up to standing. She eats finger foods... little organic corn flavoured crunchy rings, organic apple flavoured rice cakes and today we tried cheddar cheese. She also started crawling on Friday!! It is so cute to watch her crawl and to hear her make little grunting noises while she does it (that's hard work!). She also uses the edge of her crib as a teething ring. Now she has her 5th tooth. All this in the last 2 weeks! Ainsley is now learning the word NO very quickly since she's constantly reaching for things that she shouldn't be. We've loved our flat here for the last 2 1/2 years (and we still do) but we're quickly realising how "unbaby proof" it is. For instance, we have a fake fireplace which, for some reason, has real coal in it that Ainsley loves to grab and chew on. That makes for a really fun time of cleaning (her and the carpet)! Also, our coffee table has very sharp corners which about gives me a heart attack every time she goes to pull herself up on it or to grab something off of it. Anyway, like I've described, we've been busy watching our baby grow and develop. She's pretty amazing at 8 months old! As for myself, I was given a store manager position at Starbucks. There's a new store opening next month and that's the one I'll be at. So, I've been really busy interviewing, hiring and training new people to work for me. I'm enjoying it for the most part and really looking forward to the store actually opening. Now, probably the most exciting news is that Andy has finished writing his dissertation. He just printed off a complete first draft yesterday and gave it to his advisor to read and critique. Now begins the process of making corrections and preparing for his viva (oral exam/defense). I'm so proud of him. This has been a lot of very hard work and determination and it's great to see the end in very near sight. After all, that is the reason we came to Scotland in the first place! Finally, yesterday was Easter, the end of March, and we have had nothing but snow showers on and off for the last 2 days. I just can't believe the weather has been so terrible. Good 'ol unpredictable Aberdeen! You'll see the bottom picture that I took this afternoon out our living room window. Aaahhh!

Happy Birthday Andy!

2008-03-17T23:27:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, the 9th, was Andy's 35th birthday so we planned to celebrate over lunch with some friends. Where else but our old faithful, Pizza Hut at the beach? Unfortunately I missed the whole lunch due to work. I haven't worked on a Sunday in about 6 years but was asked if I could come and help out for about an hour. I agreed but what we thought would take 1 hour actually took 5! I was so disappointed to have missed out celebrating Andy's birthday. He assured me it was fine though and he had a great time hanging out with a few friends. The important thing is that he enjoyed himself (I still felt bad though). He also received a few cards and phone calls from friends and family, along with a couple nice gifts. In the morning Ainsley and I gave him the cards we got him. It was really cute, Ainsley had her card in her hand and handed it right to Andy. Of course when he went to grab it then she wanted to keep it to play with (apparently envelopes taste good) but oh well! Andy's gift from us was a gift certificate to get a massage. We thought he deserved it since he is such good daddy and works so hard! The picture above is of him with Ainsley in her "I love Daddy" onesie, fit for the occasion.

Our little smiler

2008-03-02T13:41:00.000-08:00

Not many updates at the moment. Except, Ainsley is pretty much doing everything but crawling. She gets on all fours, scoots herself along on her butt or tummy, etc. We don't think it'll be too long before she figures it out. Just thought I'd put some new pictures on here since it's been a couple weeks.

Dinner time giggles

2008-02-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

It's been two weeks now that I've been back to work and I think we've got some sort of routine going. It's been all right being back at work but believe me, I'm happy when the day's over. I just can't wait to get home because I've missed Ainsley so much. Anyway, each day now looks a little bit like this: I wake up at the crack of dawn and get ready for work while Andy and Ainsley are still asleep. I go to work. Andy becomes Mr. Mom anywhere between 7 and 8:30 am when Ainsley wakes him up (usually closer to the 7 o'clock side). I come home from work and take over the mommy duties while Andy works for a few hours. After I've fed Ainsley dinner she gets a bath. She likes splashing and playing with Mr. and Mrs. Duck, Ally, Elly, Freddy, Dougy and Hihi (well, that's what I have affectionately named all of her bath toys anyway). When she's ready to get out of the bath then Andy comes to help. We play on the bed for a little while and get her dressed for bed. Then we brush her teeth (of which she has 4 now!!!) and give her a yogurt snack. Between 8 and 8:30 I take her in the bedroom and give her a bottle (we're done breastfeeding now as of the beginning of this week). She then goes to sleep for 11 or 12 hours and we do it all over again. It's very tiring but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way (besides of course not having to work at all)! Anyway, here's another cute video for you to watch. It was actually taken a couple of weeks ago but I kept forgetting to put it on here. Again...enjoy!

Silly Girl

2008-02-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

I forgot that we could take short video clips with our camera until this week. So I've taken a couple and here's one from yesterday. Ainsley is such a happy baby. This video is just a small dose of what we get to experience all the time. Enjoy!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho......

2008-02-03T12:50:00.000-08:00

......It's off to work I go! Today was my last day of maternity leave. Tomorrow morning at 8am I will return to Starbucks, although not to sit and sip a cup of coffee with one hand while feeding my daughter with the other. Nope, it's back to the daily grind (no pun intended). I simply CANNOT believe that I've been off work 7 months and have a 6 month old baby ALREADY! I have to say I've been dreading this day. Being home with Ainsley all the time has been amazing and although I feel blessed to have even had this long before returning to work, I am still really sad to leave her. The great thing is that Andy will be watching her (it could be worse). There are some things that make me a little more excited to go back but I'm pretty sure that, especially tomorrow, I'll be watching the clock for my 8 hours to be up. Anyway, the pictures I included are a bit random but just wanted you to see how the vacuuming gets done around here now. Ainsley's getting so heavy though

that by the time I'm done I'm wishing we had the money for me to go get a full body massage! The other picture is of Ainsley sitting up playing yesterday. Look how cute she is...you'd have a hard time leaving for work too when your other option is kissing those cheeks all day long!

What it's like

2008-01-26T13:05:00.000-08:00

<---Before the meal, just lounging in the high chair.

After the meal, you can barely tell which one's Ainsley

and which one's

the high chair! --->

<---Typical, she's always getting distracted by her hands these days.

She's starting to sit up on her own and, as you can see here (getting ready for bath time), she's quite pleased with herself. She sits for a while before she falls over too so she's doing really well. --->

<--- We saw the health visitor and she said

now that Ainsley has teeth we need to start brushing them straight away. So here's our big girl getting used to the toothbrush.

Ainsley loves to think she's feeding herself so we usually have two spoons at every meal, one for eating and one for holding. Yogurt is her favourite food, strawberry, raspberry and apricot, but she loves every food she's tried. She's a great eater. ----->

We couldn't be more blessed, although she has her moments, Ainsley is the happiest, most laid back baby and very independent too. Also, I'm happy to announce that she is sleeping through the night! It took us letting her "cry it out" in the middle of the night one night (that was terrible, we felt like the worst parents in the entire world because the crying lasted for 55 minutes and all we wanted to do was pick her up) but, none the less, she does it! The average is 10-11 hours but we've had a 12 and a 13 hour night as well. So, all is well in the Odle household. I'll write more soon.

A few random shots from this week

2008-01-16T04:23:00.000-08:00

Mmmm... I love my vegetables...

Look mom, 2 teeth!

Daddy's always tickling me with his beard.

I'll be fine right here with my monkey.

I feel so free in the bathtub and I love how my hair just flows in the water!

What did we talk about B.A. (Before Ainsley)?

2008-01-11T15:34:00.000-08:00

As you can see, we have no shortage of pictures of our daughter. I can't help it... every outfit she wears, every new thing she does, every cute smile she gives us...I have to capture it! Everyone says, "make sure you enjoy it, they grow so fast". It's true, Ainsley is almost 6 months old already. She's in a crib now because, you'll notice, she's much too big for her moses basket. She sat in a high chair for the first time this week, ate vegetables and drank from a sippy cup for the first time tonight and loves bouncing around in her new door bouncer. Yesterday she got her third set of immunisations (3 shots, ouch!) and did great. She also got weighed and measured and pretty much slept through the night (I feel like that's too good to be true though so I'll keep you updated on whether or not that continues). She's now topping the scales at 17 pounds 3 ounces, exactly 10 pounds gained since birth and she's 26 inches long, 6 1/2 inches longer than at birth. She's in the 75th percentile for both height and weight. Also, every time we lay her down she strains her neck to try and sit up before actually giving in and putting her head down. It probably won't be too long until she's sitting on her own. But don't worry...we'll take pictures! Anyway, that's the latest with the Odle family. Hope everyone is well. I'm sure there will be more to update you on soon so keep looking!

Indiana

2008-01-11T12:59:00.000-08:00

Nearly 3 weeks went by and we were off to Indiana, on November 29th. The first week was not that exciting because Ainsley was sick (first doctor's visit, with a chest infection, had to take antibiotics...boo) and we didn't have a car to use. So, we stayed in the house and did nothing but watch tv, take naps and do laundry. The rest of the time was great though. We loved spending time with Andy's family and some great friends, who we miss so much. Our friends Todd and Theresa had a bunch of baby toys that they lent us while we were there which was a huge help. Ainsley got use out of every one of them every day. Grandpa and Gran Odle loved having the baby girl around and of course she loved them too. She also loved all her Aunts and Uncles and cousins. She is such a happy baby, we couldn't be more thankful. Ainsley also had a few more "firsts" while we were there. I already mentioned the first doctor's visit, her hair started laying flat, she ate rice cereal and bananas, we left her with babysitters so we could go to lunch and a movie (okay, it was the grandparents but it was still a little bit hard for me to do...I managed though and we had a nice time at the movie), she discovered her feet, she watched her first Colts game, she had her first Christmas, saw her first snow, experienced negative temperature windchill for the first time, opened her "first" present and she got her first two teeth (the bottom two)! I'm probably even forgetting something, there was so much that happened in the last 5 weeks. She's changing every day and we're still loving every minute of it. Another thing that was so much fun was spending time with some of our best friends Jeff and Sarah and Troy and Katrina. Jeff and Sarah just had their baby girl, Soren, on November 16th. It was crazy to think the last time we were together neither of us had babies and now we both do! We also had fun playing Dance Dance Revolution with Troy and Katrina, playing games with Tabby and all the girls that rent our house, hanging out with Uncle Jon and Aunt Amy (Ainsley actually calls all these people I've mentioned Aunts and Uncles...she's got lots of them!), hanging out with Travis and Brooke, Todd and Theresa, Andrea and Nick, Uncle Brian, Aunt Becca, Grandma Martha and Grandpa Lee, bringing in the New Year with Grammy and Grampy Mac, etc., etc., etc. I could list every single person we saw but you're probably already getting bored with the amount on here as it is so I'll spare you. Needless to say, we had a brilliant time in Indiana!