Visit to Texas

Last weekend we took a quick trip to Dallas. Yes, we drove. Yes, it was long (13 hours). Yes, it was worth it. Yes, it went by way to fast before we were right back in the car on our way home! And will we do it again? Yes! In just a couple of months. We had a blast getting to see Mimi, Pawpaw, and family! They have not seen Ainsley since May when she was still less than 7 pounds, so boy were they surprised when they saw how much she's grown! I could not wait for them to get their hands on her and give her some lovin'. Ainsley did okay on the way there. We were able to stop in Memphis the night before and finish the drive on Saturday. I know that is only a 3 hour head start on a 12 hour trip, but that 3 hours helps a ton when you have a 6 month old with you! Ainsley luckily slept the entire way from Nashville to Memphis. And Saturday did pretty well sleeping a lot of the time from Memphis to Texas. We started off in Southlake at Brantley's Uncle Paul's house. We met Patty (Mimi) and Kenneth (Pawpaw) there for some relaxation, visiting, and very yummy steaks! Mimi and Pawpaw were SO EXCITED to see Ainsley. We spent the evening being entertained by her and catching up. On Sunday, Patti's family came over around lunch time to meet Ainsley for the first time. Also, Brantley's sister, Amanda, came over and got to meet her niece for the first time! We were really excited about that. Overall, Ainsley did pretty well. She had her moments of wanting Mommy, but after a little warming up she enjoyed the company. It was sad to leave because we probably won't be seeing them again until Christmas, but we were glad it worked out that we could spend a little time with everyone while we were there. We miss you Mimi and Pawpaw!

On the road headed to Texas. So far, so good.

Lots of toy choices to pass the time with Mommy in the back seat!

Getting to see Mimi and Pawpaw!

DELICIOUS steak dinner

"Hmmm, I want some of that....

and that!"

Pearce Family Photo

These next 2 of her crack me up!

(Pawpaw, Mimi, and Baby A)

Going for a stroll around the pool with Pawpaw taking it all in...

Finally meeting Aunt Amanda!

Nana (Patty's Mom) and Ainsley

Aunt Colleen and Ainsley

Aunt Rachelle and Ainsley (she's probably laughing at Aunt Colleen)

Can you tell if she got any attention?!?

Back in the car...

Sunday late afternoon we headed to our good friends, Neal and Cindy's, house to meet their baby boy, Camden! (Luckily this was only a 15 minute drive.) Camden turned 2 weeks old while we were there. It was so weird seeing a baby that size after being around Ainsley all of the time. He was so little! It was hard to imagine that Ainsley was half his size when she was born. I can barely remember her being that tiny! We always look forward to getting to spend time with these friends. We actually make an effort to get together at least a couple of times a year. It will be different now that we both have kids, but I hope we are able to continue seeing each other and watching our kids grow up together even though we live so far away. It's a wonderful thing to have such great friends to experience parenthood with. We cannot wait to see them again (hopefully at Christmas)!

Ainsley and precious baby Camden on their first date! Even better it was at Fresco's our favorite Mexican restaurant we terribly miss!

Cindy, Me, and our adorable kiddo's

"On the road again...."

Fun with Great-Grandparents

My Mimi and Papa came in town for a few days not too long ago. I have some cute pictures, so I thought I'd share them! They love them some Ainsley and are always anxious to get back to Nashville to see her again. What a special time they have together.

Play time with (Great) Mimi

I can't get over how big Ainsley looks in this picture!

Swinging with Papa

Just Because

I rarely have the time (time means energy in this case) to sit down and put up new posts as often as I would like. But I felt like it's been long overdue. So here is a bunch of randomness for those of you who care...

Ainsley started on cereal and then food this past month. Wasn't too sure about the cereal there for a while (although I keep hearing that's typical), but sure did appreciate it when we began adding food to it! She would actually eat it once we started doing that. So far she has eaten sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, green beans, and peas, along with oatmeal and rice cereal.

LOVES the sweet potatoes and carrots. She thought the squash was just okay and completely turned down the green beans and peas at first, but has started eating them a lot better. It just takes some getting used to I guess! It's been a fun and entertaining adventure starting foods. The first reaction to the initial bite of what we are feeding her always cracks us up. There are times I think I cannot feed her fast enough and joke with Brantley that he better get over there with a spoon too so we can double-time it. She will start fussing if I take too long in between bites. Next up is fruit, which I'm really excited about (and I bet she will be too!).

Cereal, hmmm....

She will try to grab the spoon and hold it in her mouth and suck/chew on it.

Mmmm....carrots! (Lesson learned: Do not feed orange foods right before going to church. You and the baby may leave church with orange clothes, bib, burp cloth, etc.)

I decided why use a bib when I will have to clean off both Ainsley and the bib. I've actually gotten the hang of it now and I no longer make this big of a mess!

Ainsley really enjoys bath time now!

A friend of mine, since Kindergarten, is due with her baby boy, Caleb, this month. She had a baby shower in Memphis a couple of weeks ago. I was glad to be able to go and see her and other friends I hadn't seen in a while. I actually hadn't seen Reena since my own baby shower in Memphis back in March. It was such a nice shower and we are excited for her to be a Mommy!

"Got my party dress on. I'm ready to go!"

Cole and Ainsley finally meet. It's been a long time comin'! However, Cole is not real sure what to think of Ainsley. Maybe it was the 'big pink poofy thing' in her hair that made him want to get away from her!? One day he will change his mind and they will be good friends...I just know it. Haha.

Erin, Cole's mommy, was trying to get him interested in sitting next to her so we could get some pictures. He has started learning parts of the body, so she asked him where Ainsley's eyes were. As you can see he got an A+ on his test and we got a funny picture out of it :)

Cole, Erin, Me, Ainsley

Erin and I have TONS of pictures with each other when we were babies and now we will have some of our own babies!

Harding Academy friends who were at the shower.

After the shower we headed to my grandparents house. They were so excited to see Ainsley! She has changed a lot since they last saw her. Aunt Cindy came over to play for a few minutes after church Sunday. Ainsley was showing her how she can roll over!

Exersaucer time...for about 15 minutes, give or take, until she's over it.

Okay Mom, I'm ready to get out of this thing! Ainsley definitely prefers to play on the floor.

That's it for now folks. We are headed to 'the great state of Texas' next weekend to visit family and our good friends, Neal and Cindy, who just had their baby! We are so excited to see Mimi, Pawpaw, Neal, Cindy, and Camden! Just pray for us as we drive 12+ hours with a 6 month old. The 3 hours to Memphis was hard enough! I guess you'll hear all about our trip on my next post, whenever that may be...