Bathing Beauty

Ansley had her first bath last night! I know, she probably should have had one a long time ago, but I have been comfortable with the sponge baths and reluctant to give her a real bath on my own. Last night my mom came over and suggested that we give her a bath. Ansley is great during the day, rarely cries unless she has gas, but in the evenings she is fussy and has a hard time settling down.We gave her a bath and I don't know that I have seen her this happy ever (granted she is only 6 weeks old). She absolutely loved it. I actually think that she was smiling during the bath. Grammie and Julianna helped bathe her in her Aveno and lavender bath (who wouldn't enjoy that?). After the bath I took Julianna upstairs for her bath and stories, by the time I came down Ansley was fast asleep in Grammie's arms. The rest of the evening was a lot smoother. I think that we have a new wind-down activity.

The PROTECT Our Children Act

Hey Everyone!
I am not sure how many of you watch Oprah (I really haven't since she had the "Pregnant Man" on the show last season, please don't get me started). But last week she had a program about sexual predators. It was disturbing to say the least. I haven't stopped thinking about it and just yesterday my neighbor and I were discussing it. She mentioned that she had written to her senator (as I had as well) and that she posted it on her MySpace page. I am not a MySpace user, but I am a mother who blogs, so I thought that all you other mothers could read this and write to your senator.

Hundreds of thousands of children are victims of sexual abuse each year. Due to the sheer lack of resources, law enforcement is unable to follow up on the majority of leads they have.

The PROTECT Our Children Act will:

• Authorize over $320 million over the next five years in desperately needed funding for law enforcement to investigate child exploitation.
• Mandate that child rescue be a top priority for law enforcement receiving federal funding.
• Allocate funds for high-tech computer software that can track down Internet predators.

You don't have to write your own letter, Oprah has one pre-written, just cut and paste. It only takes about 3 minutes. If you get a chance go to http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20080911_tows_predators

Thanks! I promise not to fill the blog with political information and stuff like this, but if you saw the show you understand the urgency.

You Spent $10 on What?

Today Julianna went to Festival in the Park with Diddy and Susan (my dad and step-mom). Festival in the Park is one of my all time favorite things to do in Charlotte and really gets me ready for fall- but with a newborn in tow we decided to skip it this year. Luckily for Goose, Diddy wanted to go and take her. I gave Julianna $10 to buy anything that she wanted while she was there. They have arts and crafts, kid's stuff, food, really anything that your little heart desires. Well her little heart desired tri-colored hair and a tattoo. Both of which she knew that she would not be allowed to purchase if I were along for the ride. As I watched her play outside this afternoon with her purple, blue, and pink hair, all I could think about was the fact that she may choose this same look at 15 years old with permanent dye. Let's hope not....

Check out these Wheels...

Julianna's buddy, Addy, got some new wheels for her birthday- a hot pink mustang. The girls have had quite a time driving up and down the sidewalk. Addy is sweet because she rides shotgun and lets Julianna drive her around. This little battery powered car may be an alternative to the high gas prices! Maybe I could borrow it to go to Target!
Speaking of wheels, Jason and Julianna have been practicing riding a bike without training wheels (Julianna is practicing, Jason is supervising). Sometimes she gets very frustrated and gives up, but yesterday as soon as Jason got home from work she told him that she wanted to try again. And she was able to do it. She was so proud of herself, and we are so proud of her!!! I'll take some pictures and post them soon!

Hanging with the Gmas

Friday night the girls and I went to have dinner with the Gmas. For those of you that aren't aware that is short for the Grandma's. We went with Gma Leete, Gma Linda, and Grammie. Grammie never misses an opportunity to see her girls (and no, I am not included in that anymore). If Julianna could drive I think that my mom would be fine with me sending the little ones on their way to visit. After dinner Julianna and I went to Target to get a birthday gift for a party on Saturday. The Gmas watched Ansley for us. It was really nice to just have the two of us in the car together. Usually when Ansley is with us I am trying to keep things relatively quiet so that once we get to the destination she is happy. But on Friday night I turned off the radio and Julianna and I talked- about what you ask? Well the topic of the evening was "If you lost all of your teeth, what could you eat?" My girl has lots of imagination! On the way back the the Gmas Julianna said how nice it was to leave Ansley while we shopped. I agree- we all need a little time away! But when I asked her if she just wanted me to leave her there for the evening she didn't. Thank goodness!

3 Week Checkup!

All went well today at Ansley's three week checkup with Dr. Williams. We LOVE Dr. Williams! Ansley is now 7 lbs. 10 oz. and 21 1/4 inches. All that eating is paying off. She is growing so fast. It is amazing that she is already 23 days old. The first night home seemed to last a year, and now the past two weeks have flown by. I am having so much fun getting to know her and spending time with her (and obviously taking pictures).
Julianna is doing really well. She is loving kindergarten. She has a new friend that she has been talking about for a week now, but she didn't remember her name. Today, the first thing that she told me when she walked in the door was "Mom, her name is Bella." She was excited that she had remembered it. She wakes up ready for school (no moodiness) and tells me all about her day when she gets home.

Too Cute...

1st Week of School

Julianna had her first week of kindergarten this week and she loved it. Her teacher is Mrs. Fenimore (from Ohio) and she is young and sweet. She loves to dance, she coaches cheer leading and she loves hugs- perfect for Julianna. Daddy took her to school each day and she rode the bus home in the afternoons. Her favorite part of her day is actually the bus ride. There are a couple cute pictures from her first day.
Last night Julianna cheered at the Porter Ridge High School football game as part of the cheer camp that she attended this summer. She didn't think that she should cheer in the rain, but we explained to her that cheer leaders cheer in the rain, snow, wind- whenever there is a game they cheer. She was so excited and she did a great job cheering the Pirates on (although no amount of cheering could help the score). My mom and dad came over and watched Ansley. I never thought that I would be the kind of parent that is nervous to leave her baby (especially with my own mother), but I checked my phone every 5 minutes and I called home once in an hour and a half.
All is well with Ansley this week. We have finally found a bottle that she will take (Born Free). Of course they are the only bottles that are not free. We were given Platex bottles, Avent bottles, all kinds of bottles that she will not take. But have no fear, mom found the bottle that she will take and we give her one bottle of formula once a day, just so she can start getting used to it. She can nurse for an hour and a half each time, so this gives me a little break every now and then.

She's Here!!!

Okay, well she has been here for 2 weeks now, but life is busy with a newborn. Ansley Claire was born on August 18 at 10:02 am. She weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz. and was 20 inches long. The labor was nothing like I expected- it went really well and was virtually pain free (I mean there were pains, but I was expecting a lot more). We came home last Wednesday and since then have had a lot of visitors and we are trying to get on a little bit of a schedule. Sometimes I think that she has her days and nights a little confused! At least I don't have to be anywhere in the mornings. We try to be really quiet at night so Daddy can still get some sleep. She is sweet and beautiful, and I can't get enough of her!
This weekend we tried using a bottle and finally found one that she would take. I just can't handle nursing for 12 hours a day which it what is feels like sometimes. So I figure a bottle a day will help a little, plus Daddy or Big Sis can help feed her.
I am not sure that you all really want to know all the details, probably just pictures, so here they are!!!