Sandman

Drew is tough to get to sleep.....so- I re-invented the sandman to work his "magic". He comes to our house every night after stopping to see Karli and Bailey and his other friends that live on our road. I tell him, "Hurry- the sandman is at Karli and Bailey's" and he squishes his little eyes together- still talking and tries to go to sleep. Drew says the sandman rides on a blue horse and pulls a carriage for the sand. Drew "believes" he puts sand in our eyes so we will have sweet dreams. Every morning, Drew wakes up and says, "Look, mommy- the sandman came" as he wipes the sleep from his eyes.

Thank you Jesus for wild imaginations- and for the "Sandman" getting Drew to sleep!

4 months old

Drew loving on his "bruder"

Malcom's sweet smiles!

My sweet baby is 4 months old today! Where does the time go? I have always wondered what I did at different ages and mom can never remember (however, now I understand- because it is hard for me to remember the exact age Drew reached milestones now that I have 2). So.......here are some facts about Malcom.

-Malcom is pure joy!
- He is sweet, loving, smiley. I could not ask for a more perfect baby. From the time his eyes open in the morning- he is smiling.
-He loves to watch his big "bruder" play and talk......and most of the time.....his big "bruder" is pretty sweet and loving back (Ainslie boys just love a littler harder than most).
-He is ticklish! He laughs out loud if you tickle under his chin or on his little legs.
-He is cooing, "running his motorboat", and kicking up a storm! He can also roll over from his stomach to his back.
- He LOVES to nurse and wakes twice at night to eat.

I cannot wait to see his full personality and what God has in store! I am just so blessed to have a healthy, happy, sweet baby- life is good!

Nursemaid elbow

Most everyone knows, I have one wild and crazy boy! Drew has had stitches, cuts, bruises, and more black eyes than I can count or remember- and we thought we were adding broken arm to the list. Thankfully- it was not a broken arm, but nursemaid elbow (aka: elbow out of joint- medical terminology- radial head was out of socket- mom terminolgy- lots of screaming/no fun!).

We got a call from Mrs. Barbara saying she thought Drew had broken his arm. He was playing on the back deck and ran into a chair. He was holding his arm across his chest and would not let her touch his arm.

So......we stopped by Dr. Zant's office first and then to the hospital for "pictures" or x-rays. He wouldn't let Dr. Zant touch his arm either- so we went to get some pictures before we tried to move his arm too much. Morgan Memorial was GREAT! This was one of the times I was so thankful for a small hospital. We went back quickly and got lots of help from friends- even a sly headshake no (sign language for not broken) from our x-ray department friends. Thank you Jesus!

Since we had the "preliminary" not broken, Dr. Zant asked Drew if he could look at his arm. After some screaming and crying to just straighten the arm- Dr. Zant could tell that his radial head was out of joint. Dr. Zant worked his magic and "popped" Drew's arm back in place. He had instant relief. Drew went home for the rest of the day with Grandy and Grammy (they brought all his favorites for lunch to the doctors office). As I was telling Drew bye, he gave me a BIG hug and said, "Look mommy- my arm is all better". He had stretched his arms out in front of him. It is easy to forget how things that seem so small- like stretching our arms out- are sooo good. It was also a Great hug- a "I'm all better mommy" hug, thankful for no cast, God is good hug!

Sally

Drew has a new puppy- Sally or as Drew says, "Sow- wee". She is adorable, cute, smart and thankfully lives at "D's " house. My dad, "D", told Drew that if he would go to the potty like a BIG boy he would get him a dog. Well..... Drew went potty.......and here is Sally. Drew has been so excited. He wakes up in the morning asking about her, wants to wear his "dog" p.j's like her, and even tee-tee's (goes potty) for Sally. He is precious as he potties- he says, "This is why I got Sally". He even calls "D" to check on her. The night he got Sally, we ate dinner at our friends house and of course Sally had to come. So...............here is Sally and the kids!

Tripp, Makinley, Karli, Bailey, Drew and Sally

Bailey, Drew, Karli and Sally slipping and sliding

My favorite...Drew and Sally- hopefully friends forever

Tug of War-Both tough as nails and not giving in

Thanks to "D" and Ju-Ju for getting Sally- and keeping her at your house- we will visit often!

Returning to Work

Today was my first day back at work and my heart hurt to leave my sweet Malcom. I had 12 wonderful weeks at home with my sweet boy, and I am so thankful and grateful for that precious time. Luckily, he had a great day and even took his bottles! I was so worried because he refused the bottle when my grandmother kept him a couple of days ago. Drew refused the bottle from age 4 months to 6 months and that made for some very long nights with lots of eating!

I was much more at ease leaving Malcom than I was with Drew. I think this is because I know he is in great hands with Mrs. Barbara. I am so lucky to have her! It makes it so much easier to work when you know your babies are in good hands. Malcom also had his BIG brother there with him. Drew was so excited that Malcom was going to be there "all t day" with him.

Drew gave me the report as soon as I walked in Mrs. Barbara's door, "Malcom had a good day, Mommy". I was so relieved! Once we got in the car Drew said, "Mommy- did you go to Greensboro today?" I answered - Yes. Then Drew said, "You got money- Yeah!". That's the reality- I work for my boys!

Zoo and Aquarium

During my maternity leave I have had the opportunity to take the boys to the Aquarium and Zoo. They were both LOTS of fun! Seeing Drew's expression and hearing the questions he asked put a huge smile on my face. He wanted to know where all of the animal/fish's babies were. I guess this is because he has a baby and thinks everyone else should too! He also wanted to know what every animal ate, drank, where they slept. He was very inquisitive. Me- Me went on both trips with us and was more help than words can express. One of my best friends from college, Ruth Ann, also went with us to the zoo, and was an angel helper too . Malcom was also a perfect baby- he slept-thank heavens!

At the Aquarium Drew loved the penguins (aka. animals with bracelets on), otters (they were all sisters), fish with saw and hammer on end (hammerhead shark and some fish with saw as its nose), and the BIG beluga whales.

At the zoo Drew loved the el-PH-Fants, giraffes, monkeys, pigs with hair that are NOT cute (aka wart hogs). His favorite was the petting zoo. He was not afraid at all. He would go up to the sheep, goats, and pigs and touch or brush their hair. It took A Lot of persuading to get him to leave the petting zoo. The zoo was also special because Drew's friends Tripp and Makinley went with us. They all had a great time and were all sweet most of the time. I love to hear Drew tell others about his trip- as always it is a Tall Ainslie Tale!

Making Memories

I have been inspired! I want to capture our family's memories. My goal is to be able to look back years from now and be able to relive these times through reading this blog. I want to document every first smile, tooth, accomplishment, struggle and joy. However, Drew is 2 years and 10 months- so I have missed a lot, but I plan to have many blogs that help us remember special memories of our "Wild Indian". Malcom is 12 weeks old, so I plan to share every "first" as we watch our "Sweet boy" grow up.

We are very blessed! We live in the town we grew up in and are surrounded by all of our family and friends. My hope is to share our family and document our crazy lives, our Tall Ainslie Tales!