one year ago

Today is a special day in the Overall house:) A year ago today was our first positive pregnancy test:)

It was a Thursday, Philip had just left for conference. I waited until he left and then took a test. I didnt want to do it with him home because I knew he would tell me 'it's way too early to be taking a test'. but i had bought the early ones that could show up 5 days before other ones:) 

Anyway, within seconds a faint line popped up 

so faint, but I could see it!  

I called philip and told him. he had just left. was barely our of the neighborhood. he was like 'did you just wait until I left?' i said 'yes, i did'.
so i sent him picture. and he said not to get too excited, we would take another one the next day. but I could not wait. so after he got home from work, i went and bought a digital one.

no faint line there! 

In the following days I probably took 7 tests. I wanted to be sure, and loved seeing the line!!! 

That night Jordan and Nick had their gender reveal party. and it was fun because we had a secret of our own:) 

Today our little bean is 17 weeks old!!!! so crazy how fast time flies. 

Pool Time

Ainsley is officially a water baby!!! I mean, Philip and I can't possibly have a child that doesnt love the water. We were encouraged by the fact that she loves bath time. And while she didn't love the pool the past two days, she by no means hated it. She didn't cry, even though the water wasn't that warm. So that is a good start. We will take it:) 

Wednesday we went to Matt and Rachel's pool. Philip and my dad tested out my dad's new scuba gear in the deep end. and the girls tested out the water in the shallow end. 

 Then we went to my parents for ribs to celebrate one of my best friends birthdays. Happy Birthday Birdie:) 

tired from her big day

Today the 3 of us (finally) made it to our neighborhood pool. It was a good day for it and Ainsley was, again, a rock star. She played in the water and then napped in the shade. 

dont worry we dont have to pay for a pass for her:) 

It was the perfect first official pool day. and there is maybe one awkward spot on my chest where I somehow didn't cover with sunscreen :/ 

Tonight we celebrated a late mother's day dinner with Joy and Brian at Guiseppi's (man we love that place). Brian got me a mother's day treat box from a bakery in richmond. i even sampled a cookie for dessert at dinner:) best brother-in-law ever. 

and of course, some randoms (outfits provided by some of her favorite people)

thanks aunt meg!

floridian in her flamingos, thanks to aunt whitney 

nana reading her a new book 

love this onesie, from Aunt Emily

girl loves flying

too cute in her dress from Aunt Ellen! 

Memorial Day Weekend

We had such a fun weekend! Despite the fact that I worked all day on actual Memorial Day, and Philip worked all that night, we made the most out of the 4 days before :)

We started our time off together by celebrating Jackson's third birthday! He is now 21 in dog years, so he got to drink a real beer this year:) 

I worked that day, but that night we had 'mexican night' and I made tacos and rice. We even got the white cheese dip and it was delicious:) 

The next day, my best friend Whitney was in from FL! she came to visit and meet Ainsley for the first time. We did two of our favorite things: got our nails done, and ate thai food. Philip and I did our best to convince her to move back home. I think we made some progress, but she still went back:( 

her new doll Lola from Pam's store!!!

Our pool opened on Friday and we kept trying to take Ainsley to the pool but it was too cold every day:( So saturday, Philip sold his car, Godzilla. It was a bittersweet day for both of us. He, obviously, loved the car. and I actually really liked it. what we both didn't like, was the expense and upkeep for the car. So philip decided to sell it and get a much cheaper sports car. He is becoming such the amazing family man;)

That night we met our friends Ryan and Kim for dinner:) We tried to work our persuasion skills again and get them to move to Lexington:) 

Sunday we went to church and then had brunch with my parents. That night my friend Jordan had a cookout. It was so fun. and my! how things have changed in a year. a year ago we would have stayed until 11 having some drinks and hanging out. this year, at 8:00 we were all packing our babies up to go to bed:) instead of empty beer bottles all over the tables, there were empty baby bottles :) it is so fun that all of us are at the same stage of life and get to go through it together:) and soo crazy all of us had girls! 

these onesies are how Alison told us she was having a girl. she gave us all onesies for our daughters and then pulled out a pink one for herself:) they all have 'BFF' on them :) 

Philip and I both had super busy days at work on Monday. but we survived:) Tonight we are headed to gtown to have dinner and play in the pool. Ainsley's first time in the pool!!! We are so excited and hoping she loves it:) 

and some random pictures of the cutest baby in the world:

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It's Friday night and my daughter is sleeping in my arm while I watch FRIENDS reruns. pretty standard night for me really. but i love it. i mean love it. she's growing so fast that I cant even bear to think about when she is too big to nap on my chest. so for now, I am cherishing. 

I ran across this post (below) on facebook and wanted to share with you all. not just for moms, for anyone who judges. I mean, I know I used to do it. still catch myself doing it at times. you see the kid screaming at Kroger and throwing themselves on the floor and think 'get ahold of your kid lady'. you hear the mom who complains about how hard it is to 'stay at home' and think 'seriously, that's not a real job'. like i said, I used to do that. but let me tell you, my perspective has changed. I see that kid at Kroger and think ' that will be me sooner than I think'. I have days when I can't seem to get a productive thing done other than love on and care for Ainsley and think 'this staying home all day is no joke'. life changes, your view of things changes. 

being a mom is hard. the hardest job I have had in my life so far. when I became a nurse it took me months and months to feel like I could do skills without my preceptor. I finally could put in an IV on my own. I could sedate a patient without having Teri standing next to me. Eventually, I could go into the room and talk to the family members and answer their questions confidently. every day I still have things I have to look up or ask someone about, but in general I go to work feeling like I can handle the tasks required of me. however, I still feel like I have a lot to learn. 

As a mom, I don't think I will ever feel like i've got this down pat. I dont think I will ever make a decision that I don't second (and third) guess. I feel so undertrained so many times. God is constantly reminding me He chose Philip and I to raise the precious baby he gave us. So i spend a lot of time talking to God about Ainsley. about our daughter:)  and that helps. However, I still have a lot to learn:)

I digress. here's the post. I appreciated it so I hope you do too:) 

To the mom who's breastfeeding: Way to go! It really is an amazing gift to give your baby, for any amount of time that you can manage! You're a good mom. 

To the mom who's formula feeding: Isn't science amazing? To think there was a time when a baby with a mother who couldn't produce enough would suffer, but now? Better living through chemistry! You're a good mom.

To the cloth diapering mom: Fluffy bums are the cutest, and so friendly on the bank account. You're a good mom.

To the disposable diapering mom: Damn those things hold a lot, and it's excellent to not worry about leakage and laundry! You're a good mom.

To the mom who stays home: I can imagine it isn't easy doing what you do, but to spend those precious years with your babies must be amazing. You're a good mom.

To the mom who works: It's wonderful that you're sticking to your career, you're a positive role model for your children in so many ways, it's fantastic. You're a good mom.

To the mom who had to feed her kids from the drive thru all week because you're too worn out to cook or go grocery shopping: You're feeding your kids, and hey, I bet they aren't complaining! Sometimes sanity can indeed be found in a red box with a big yellow M on it. You're a good mom.

To the mom who gave her kids a homecooked breakfast lunch and dinner for the past week: Excellent! Good nutrition is important, and they're learning to enjoy healthy foods at an early age, a boon for the rest of their lives. You're a good mom.

To the mom with the kids who are sitting quietly and using their manners in the fancy restaurant: Kudos, it takes a lot to maintain order with children in a place where they can't run around. You're a good mom.

To the mom with the toddler having a meltdown in the cereal aisle: they always seem to pick the most embarrassing places to lose their minds don't they? We've all been through it. You're a good mom.

To the moms who judge other moms for ANY of the above? Glass houses, friend. Glass houses.