Ansley
Ansley – 3 years old
Monday, March 15th, 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Sweet Ansley,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! You are 3!!!! We have been celebrating your big day since Friday. The fun started with your birthday party at Ms. Katrina’s house. Your friends Drew, Evan, JoeJoe, and Ben were there to help you celebrate. Then, Sunday, we had a Princess Party with your friends and family. All of your family (including your cousins) were there plus your friends Laura Brown, and Fern, Rosa, and Lily Schroder. We started the party by making tiaras, of course. Your castle cake was beautiful and was perfect for our little princess. Today, we continued to celebrate your birthday by taking a “special trip” to the Aquarium in Chattanooga. Your favorite thing seemed to be the jellyfish.
Wow, THREE! What a year this has been! You have grown so much this year. You now weigh 32.4 pounds and are 38.5 inches tall. Your hair is getting longer and thicker. (You have had 2 hair cuts this year.) It is golden blonde and still curly.
You are a very smart, articulate, and opinionated little lady. I love to listen to you talk. You never know what will come out of your mouth these days. You are always quick to tell us that you love us, that Mommy is a “great girl” and Daddy is a “great boy”. You have such a big heart. You usually use your manners well by saying “please” and “thank you” when appropriate.
This year has been filled with quite a few changes and milestones that could have been challenging for you, but you have handled them very well considering. One of the biggest changes was finding out that you would be a “big stister”.
In September, your bedroom got a makeover and you got a new “big girl bed”! You were SO excited about it. You transitioned without any trouble (as you have with everything so far). You do a great job staying in your bed when it is time to sleep.
You became a big sister on November 3rd and what a great big sister you are. I could not ask for a better big sister for Chloe than you. You love her so much and she LOVES you. You have told me on many occasions that “Chloe’s my best friend”. I pray that will always be true. You have not shown a bit of jealousy with Chloe even though she takes a good bit of our time and attention. You have been very patient, understanding, and loving toward her. You hate for Chloe to be sad and always want me to “get her” if she is upset or crying. You are so sweet to share your “buddies” with her or to get her a “blanky” if you think she is cold. She has always enjoyed looking at you and no one can make her smile like you can. I know that she feels like you are her best friend too.
We have been working on potty training too this year. Of all of your transitions, this one seems to be the most challenging. You have made significant improvement lately, though.
You love to play! One of the sweetest things is when you look up at me with those big, blue eyes and say, “You wanna play with me?” You love books–always have–and we read two every night. You also love to work puzzles and are very good at them. This year, you have started to understand the concept of “pretend” and make believe. You love to play with your dollhouse and your kitchen set. You love to “watch a show” and movies. Some of your favorite shows include Imagination Movers and Charlie and Lola, and favorite movies include Finding Nemo, Barbie and the Twelve Dancing Princesses, and most recently Veggie Tales. You enjoy putting on your “ballet skirt” and dancing with Daddy. Watching you play, dance, and sing is so much fun!
I love you SO much, Princess! Happy 3rd Birthday!
Love, Mommy
Ansley and Chloe
Thursday, November 5th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
One of the most common questions that I have had since Chloe has been born is what Ansley thinks about it. She has been a big sister for 2 days now and has been amazing with her new sister. She is already very protective of her. When Chloe has her eyes closed, Ansley makes sure that we are all quiet because “Chloe sleeping”. She is beginning to learn that Chloe communicates by crying and tries to help me figure out what might be wrong with her. She told me yesterday that Chloe was hungry and I should “give her you pizza”. She has held her both days and seems to be very proud of the fact that she is a big sister. Chloe has taken to her sister pretty well. She has held on to Ansley finger and has not cried when she is holding her. She appeared to be looking at her a few times as well. I can not wait to see how their relationship grows and changes over the days and years to come. I truly hope that they are best friends…they are off to a pretty good start if you ask me.
Silly girl!
Friday, September 18th, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Ansley never ceases to make me laugh. Today, she had one of those moments that I just had to laugh. We were in the car running errands and the baby kicked me pretty hard. I said, “Ouch, that hurt my belly.” Ansley replied, “My belly hurts too.” I inquired as to where her’s hurt and the cause. Her response was, “Sydney’s in my belly button!” (Sydney was the other name we were discussing using for “baby sister”.) I asked her who was in my tummy and she said “Chloe’s in your belly button.” So funny!
Perplexed by Potty Training
Monday, August 17th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Most of the things that I have had to face as a new parent have not been that overwhelming or frightening to me because I have had some kind of exposure to it. Potty training, however, is a different thing altogether. Ansley got a potty for Christmas from Santa. She began playing with it and liked to sit on it (backward at first…like a motorcycle). It is one that talks and sings. When we thought it might be time to start working on potty training, it did not go as well as we would have liked. She liked to sit on it with her diaper on, but trying to take it off, well…that was not okay. I have tried to get her to sit on the potty, but she is just not interested if it involves not having a diaper on. I succeeded once by getting her ready for a bath and asking her to sit on the potty and take off her shoes and socks. She sat there that time, but even that has not worked again.
We decided that we really need to start making a more purposeful effort to encourage her interest in the potty. So, Friday, Ansley and I went out to get new potty things. We got the seat that just goes on the big potty (in case she is afraid of messing up her “toy”), pull-ups, potty treats, etc. We talked about all of the new things we were buying, but since we were going to be gone for the weekend, decided not to try anything until today.
It has become very clear that this will be a very long process. Baby steps! The first one to overcome will be sitting on a potty without a diaper on. Wish us luck!
Very Vivid Vocabulary Evolving Every Day
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
It has been a while since I have updated with any of Ansley’s words and phrases. She is currently working on sentence structure. It is so funny to listen to her begin a “sentence”, put a few grunts in the middle, and end the “sentence”. She is beginning to show that she understands a sentence has more than a few words in it. It is so fun to watch her vocabulary transform.
Current words and phrases (the favorites):
“Su-why” (Super Why)
“Me-e” (I want something)
Me-e, pease (I want fudge or other treat)
“Gootness Daddy/Mommy” (response to a cough)
“Bess you Daddy/Mommy” (response to a sneeze)
“Aww, Lamb” (usually when playing with Daddy)
“Hey…that’s mine” (when something is taken away or, oddly enough, when we comb her hair)
“No, no, no cryin” (not sure exactly what she means by this, but it has become a frequent line)
“See ____?” (This is her most common question. Fill in the blank with a name or object, like see Rachel? See fish?, etc.)
“Read dit”
“Lap”
“Tank oo” and “ ’elcome”
“Dowww-m” (down)
Ansley knows a lot of animals and the sounds they make. Among my favorites are “hoe-see” (horse), “ef-nt” (elephant), “o-psss” (octopus), and “fwhy” (butterfly).
She can sing her ABCs with almost every letter included. “A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-K-K-L-I-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W (dub oo)-X-Y-and-Z.
Halloween with “Fiends”
Saturday, November 1st, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Ready to go...
- Fiends
Halloween was so much fun this year with Ansley.
It was the first time she was really able to participate in it. When we got home from school, I got Ansley ready. As soon as I opened the door, she was ready. She was on the look out for “fiends”.
Le French
Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Apparently, there is some recessive French genes in either Scott or me because our daughter surely thinks she is French. It cracks me up and I honestly do not know where she has gotten it, but she frequently puts a “le” in front of her words. For example, I am “le mommy,” when she is tired, she wants “le bankie,” etc. So “le” cute!
Such a talker
Friday, October 24th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
I get comments all of the time about how articulate Ansley is for her age. She never ceases to amaze me with some of the things she says. I wanted to take a few moments to record some of the things that are among my favorites right now.
We have always done a lot of “can you say…” with names. One of her favorite lists to repeat has been her friends from school:
“Drew, Ky-gle, Rer-ree, Leena, Eb-ee, Trina”
Since our beach trip, one of her favorite words is one of her favorite things to do:
“Curs” (translation: colors)
There is one phrase that will probably stick with me because I just absolutely love it:
“You sunny” (translation: You’re funny)
Of course, the two that are the most precious to my ears are:
“Mah-meee” and “Da-deee”
Favorite Songs to sing:
“A, b, c, d, d-i-d, h, I, k, k, l-i-p……qrs, t, v, now I know I know I know” (usually followed immediately by Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star as the second verse).
“Itsa-pider ‘gain. YEA!”
Tate Farms Fun
Saturday, October 18th, 2008 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Today we took Ansley for her second trip to Tate Farms to pick a pumpkin. As soon as we arrived, she started announcing “punkin, punkin”. It was amazing to me to see her in the same settings as last year. She looked so big. She just soaks up everything and is excited by all of the new things that she sees everywhere, but that seemed to be especially true today.
2008
2007
"Look....punkins...."
Ooo Mess!
Monday, October 13th, 2008 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
This week I was out of school for Fall Break so Ansley and I got to spend the entire week together. We spent the first half of the week running all over town. The last part of the week, we traveled to Fort Walton, Florida with Nana, Poppy, Uncle Robby, Aunt Rachel, Emily (or as Ansley would say, Bailey), Bailey, Josh, and Nate. This was Ansley’s 3rd trip to a beach, but really the only one she remembers. At her first beach trip, she was 6 months old and spent the entire time asleep in the sun hut. The second trip to the beach was part of our trip to Charleston. We went to the beach, but it was for about an hour at night.
When we got to the condo, she could see the ocean from the balcony and immediately started saying, “Water, look, water”. This would continue for the entire trip. When we went down to the beach, it was a little less exciting for her. She was not sure about the sand. As long as she was holding hands with Scott and I she was fine. She just kept right on walking. However, when we stopped, it was a different story all together. She quickly decided it was, “ooo mess” and wanted it off of her right then. Our little princess was fine and enjoyed the beach as long as she did not have to touch the sand. We ended up taking a towel to lay down for her to stand on, her little folding chair to sit in, and a book to read…she was good to go.
The other hit of the trip was the water fountain play area at the condo. She really enjoyed running up and trying to “catch” the water. She did not even seem to mind too much when it sprayed in her face.
The beach is made for reading.
Emily and Bailey have no problem with the sand.
"Catching" the water at the fountain
The look on her face says it all.