Galveston, etc...

We had a wonderful time in Galveston and Ainsley did pretty well on her first plane ride!! On the way there she did great going up and coming down (no ear trouble) but had a little crying fit in the middle of the flight (which had Mommy and Daddy hiding in their seats- not making eye contact with anyone!!) but a bottle calmed her right down. On the way home she had a bottle as we went up then played a little bit in Mommy's lap and then slept the entire flight (in Mommy's lap- talk about my legs and arms going to sleep!) and woke up when we landed. We were so proud of her. Such a big girl. In Galveston she had her first Popsicle (she liked it but was not sure about how cold it was!), got in a pool for the first time and put her toes in the sand and gulf water for the first time. She seemed to really like the pool and the beach! All in all, Ainsley had a great first vacation. Mommy and Daddy did too...although I had a run-in with a sunscreen spray bottle that didn't spray too well (and I didn't rub it in too well) and I had a polka-dot sunburn after the first day! But we did get some sun and really enjoyed the time with family. MeMe and Aunt Kelley were very helpful with looking after Miss Ainsley some and allowed Reggie and I to have a little time at the pool alone every day. I really appreciated their help. Above are some photos of the trip and some other random photos of Ains at home.

Boy, it's gettin' hot in the afternoons here. (And being in Denver a lot of homes don't have A/C- we are one of them. Ugh.) Luckily thunderstorms pop up almost every afternoon and cool things down a lot- there's usually a very nice, cool breeze (sometimes actual wind!) that blows through the house with the windows open. I say "luckily"we get thunderstorms but some are pretty scary. About two weeks ago we had a hail storm that tore up a screen on the guest bedroom window upstairs and caused enough damage to our roof that we are getting an entirely new one. (Which is okay by us as we needed some work done to it anyway!) Ainsley's sitter, Jessica, started her maternity leave last Thursday- a bit earlier than we thought-so since then Reggie and I have been alternating working from home until MeMe gets here to help out this Wednesday- and boy, it gets hot in the house during the afternoon. We didn't realize just how hot as we are not usually there at that time of day. I think MeMe may have to take Ainsley for an outing in the afternoons just to get out of the heat! Her room is on the top floor of the house and it just gets too hot to for her to nap in there during the afternoon. She'd probably be better off snoozing in the car with the A/C on, riding around! But we have moved all of her toys and contraptions down to our family room- the level above the basement- as it is the coolest room in the house. We think it should work out just fine for the rest of the summer as her "play room". Thank goodness her sitter has A/C as Ainsley is pretty hot-natured! We are planning to install A/C before next summer.

Ainsley is almost sitting up on her own and is scooting and rolling around everywhere- not quite a crawl but a kind of scoot-pull with her arms. We think crawling is just around the corner so we have to finish up babyproofing the house. That little girl will be everywhere and into everything before we know it! She's also eating lots of solids throughout the day (in addition to her beloved formula) and is especially fond of her oatmeal cereal with bananas and green beans. She has been through the whole array of Gerber 1st foods and is now working on trying out all the 2nd Foods. She loves all the fruit mixes as well. As you can tell by the pictures, she is definitely not starving!! Chubby little thing! (But it's mostly in her legs and arms- her little tummy is slim!)

We head to Breckenridge for our rescheduled mountain trip in 4 weeks...once again, I cannot wait. I am ready! Why can't we always be on vacation??

Anyway, that's the story at this point. Hope you enjoy the sweet photos!