Long overdue update...

So, it has been a really long time and a lot has happened. I have basically not blogged since "the Hunt" household went through a really big change. This will be kind of lengthy. I will start with some pictures.

Here is the Birthday Girl!

Ainsley's first Easter Egg Hunt. The year before I was 3 days away from having her.

Evan at the Easter Egg hunt for his 3rd year.

Kids having fun together.


Family trip to the Zoo one weekend back in March (I think).

First, an update on the kiddos. Evan, what can I say? There are a lot of ways to describe the stage we are in with Evan. He is no longer a child at times. When I have conversations with him, I can not always comprehend that he is only 4 and a half. Yet, we are still at the age, where he tries to test all kinds of boundaries with his transition from toddler hood to kid. We have the fits on occasion, the attitude on occasion, and the sibling rivalry more and more. I love how entertaining he is and that he has such a fun, playful personality. He definitely loves life! So far, Evan's summer has been filled with swim lessons and VBS.

Ainsley is running around now. She started taking steps around her first birthday, which was way back at the beginning of April. She is now 14 months old and pretty much keeps up with her brother. It is definitely interesting to see how different having a girl is and how different having a child with an older sibling is. I love watching the two of them interact and how Ainsley responds so differently because she has an older brother.

On to the big change that is happening, or has been happening for the past 5 months. As I preciously blogged, we finally get to move back home near family and friends and we are extremely excited! Freddie began his new job the first week of January and he seems to love it so far. It has been a very difficult time with Freddie and me having to be separated during the week and having to travel back and forth on the weekends. God has really provided and supported us through this time. So many moments that I struggled and whined and complained and God carried me through. I know God helped Freddie in giving him patience and helping him put up with me through this time. There are so many times that Evan, being as young as he is, stepped up and helped in ways I could have never imagined.

God has opened many doors for us and he is definitely, continuously teaching me patience. I overstress when I do not have a plan of action right when I want it. God has provided and done it in his time. I will be teaching in the fall for Bossier School district, and would have never thought much of it, if it were not for God putting such a joy in my heart about this particular job falling in to place with this district.

We are still waiting for our house to sell, but once again, God has a plan. I have been in lots of prayer, especially over faith, and God has surely started providing me peace over the situation. He is always good to us, whether we see it immediately, or in hindsight, so why are people (me) so slow to walk blindly while letting him lead?

I am more than glad that there is finally an end in sight. The first two weekends of July, we will move everything over and we will get to end the traveling back and forth.

:)

Happy 9 months!!!

Ainsley turned 9 months on the 6th! She is 3/4ths of the way through her first year, and that seems crazy to me. This post is late because I have been waiting to take her for her 9 month checkup, but she keeps getting sick. And because it has been crazy busy from the holidays and on. We had a great time during the holidays visiting with family. I have pictures of just Christmas with the kids that I will post one day, but I did not get any anywhere else. We have recently begun are hectic life of living during the week without Freddie, and getting stuff in line to move and make the transition back to LOUISIANA! I will be glad when it is all back to a normal routine. There are a few things I will really miss, like our house and jobs. Texas is definitely not a place for everyone. I love the idea of living other places, but when it comes down to it, I am NOT a person for Texas!

Back to the 9 month update- Ainsley is doing everything, but walking without assistance. She crawls, she cruises, she even stands and lets go of her support, she will take steps with a walker- it will be soon. Ainsley is more vocal using a variety of different sounds. She was switched to real food at school because they could not get her to eat baby food. She LOVES, and I mean LOVES meat, which is by far opposite of Evan at this point. She prefers meat and even pickles to sweet fruit. She is currently getting in 2 teeth, which will bring the count to 6. One of Ainsley's favorite things to do now is take a bath. She gets to take a bath like a big girl now, and when she hears the water turned on, she takes of to the tub, stands up trying to crawl in herself. It is hard to get her undressed fast enough! When I took her in for having strep and flu, she weighed in at 17lbs. 11oz. When I took her back almost 2 weeks later for ear infections, she weighed in at 17-14 and was 27 3/4 inches in length. I will be back to the Dr. with her this coming Wed. for her checkup.

One of my favorite things about her age now is how Ainsley and Evan can play more like siblings. She automatically goes to his room if he is not nearby, or if she hears his voice from that direction. And he loves the two of them going in one of their rooms toghter to play. One night, I was putting Evan in bed, and Ainsley came patting her way down the hall to his room, and I thought of how it seems so much more fun and fulfilling with two kids.

Sorry for the long post, here are a few pictures from my phone:

Happy 8 Months Ainsley!!!

Tomorrow, my little girl will be 8 months! I cannont believe it. It only feels like I was just going into the hospital to have her, and that she should not be crawling and standing already!

What she is doing now...

Ainsley has definitely taken off the last month. And by that I mean she is on the move! I guess that means I really have to up the baby radar and child-proofing. She pulls up everywhere she can. She crawls into different rooms. She is trying to cruise around some furniture.

We are still having a little trouble with the baby food. She is somewhat resistant to eating much. Ainsley is extremely stubborn when it comes to her eating habits (I wonder where that comes from?). She will only take a bottle from me or some baby food when it is warm- and that is not very often. I am fortunate to still be able to mostly nurse her. We have just recently switched to formula at daycare and just nursing at home.

One of Ainsley's favorite things at the moment is water bottles! If she spies one across the room, she is determined to get it somehow.

Ainsley will bang on everything and started spitting with her tongue this past week.

This is a picture of the very first time I watched Ainsley pull up. It was with my cell phone so it is not that good. She was just sitting there playing and then all of a sudden stood up.

This was the first time Ainsley got to sit on her own in the buggy without her carseat. She loved it!

Oh sibling fun at Sams. The benefits to the big buggy...my question is how long will it workout? You can already see what the future holds with Evan... :)

Since baby food is not working so well, we figured try real table food, like a french fry! She seemed to do ok with sucking on it.

I did not get pictures at Thanksgiving, but that was a first real taste of table food. She sucked on a little ham and ate a small bite of mashed potatoes and gravy.

I am a pro at the standing now!

First bath in the big bathtub!

And she loved it!

Pretty girl!

Hey mommy!

And last but not least, my little man!

I love him!

My Little Blessings.

The kids from our Fall Family pictures. I wish time would stop right now...so they can stay these sweet little angels forever. You cannot even tell, but Ainsley had been home sick that day and was running a fever from a flu shot she had also gotten that day. These were taken at 6 1/2 months. Ainsley had just started sitting. She is now crawling and pulling up.

Happy 7 months Ainsley!!!

Ainsley turned 7 months yesterday! We spent her 7 month birthday walking around LSU during LSU tailgating. And then we watched the game back at our friends house. She has been sick recently, so she has been trying to recover. Ainsley weighed in at 16.1 lbs. at her last doctor appointment around a week and a half ago. She is still not really in to eating baby food, yet. She is still nursing, which we have now surpassed our goal of nursing until 6 months. Now, we will try 8 months! She has made her first crawling movements, but she is not full-on crawling around the house. She is definitely mobile though!

Baton Rouge Weekend...