Such BIG Talk!

Andrew has started to take on some chores...not by his own desire mind you. One of those chores is to set the table for supper each night, that which we refer to as napkin duty. He begrudgingly tells me almost very night that he does not want to do napkin duty. Last night, instead of telling us how much he does not want to do napkin duty, he came up with an alternative solution.

Andrew: 'When I'm an grown-up and Ainsley is a kid, she can do napkin duty."

Josh: "What will you do?"

Andrew: "I'm going to go to work!"

Oh how little minds think big. I so wish that Josh and I were not laughing so hard that we could have continued to quiz him on this whole "work" issue! Gotta love the boy. :)

One Day at a Time

(No, I am not talking about the cheesy 80's sit-com.) I saw on the news the other day that a man has run everyday for 31 years. Wow! If he just ran 1 mile a day, that would be 11,315 miles. I am guessing he runs more than 1 mile a day. The distance around the Earth is 24, 901 miles. He has made it all the way around the world plus some...For him, it would only take about 2.5 miles a day and he's got it.

Well, I ran today. Not much, but I did. I am shooting for running everyday this week! Then we will see how things go from there.

It only took 4 years!

To say that Andrew is a bit apprehensive before trying new, which he considers "BIG", things would be a bit of an understatement. He is a lot like his Daddy...he is really going to think it through before just haphazardly jumping in. Well, this is a prime example. Andrew finally drove the tractor with his Poppy!

Gammie is the one who saved the day...if you look very closely, you can see cotton in Andrew's ears. One reason he is not real fond of the tractor is because it is loud. Gammie convinced him to put in "ear plugs" so that it would not hurt his ears. Hence the cotton balls. We all know they did not do too terribly much to ease the loudness of the tractor, but in Andrew's mind...they made all the difference.

Onto 9 months!

Off to the doctor went today for Ainsley's 9 month check-up...if you can believe that one! She passed with flying colors...29 and a quarter inches tall (91st percentile), 17 pounds (14th percentile) and her big ole head 17 and a half inches in circumference (66th percentile). I guess I never realized that she has a big ole head...it at least looks proportional (to me, but I am a bit biased). The doctor said no shots, but he did want to run a complete CBC on her. I do not remember this part when Andrew was 9 months. This meant drawing blood...on a 9 month old. Not a job that I would want. It took the lab tech 2 tries, one in each arm to finally find her little vein. Andrew hid around the corner so he did not have to watch (bad memories for him going through the same thing not too long ago) and I sat in the chair holding Little Miss as she screamed. Daddy owes me BIG! Anyway, we all survived and came home for a walk to the park. That makes everyone feel better!

Life with a 9 month old is such fun. Ainsley is right in the middle of it all and loves being there! She helps her brother put the silverware away as we empty the dishwasher. Ainsley pulls the silverware out, raises it in the air, Andrew grabs it and puts it in the drawer. If Andrew's timing is the slightest bit off, Ainsley drops the silverware on the floor and moves on to the next piece. She's kind of like a conveyor belt gone bad. Also, Andrew enjoys pushing her in her swing at the park. It is just neat to see a relationship forming between the 2 of them...at the times when my camera is not the least bit accessible. I am trying to get all this on the camera so I can show them in 10 years that they were really kind to one another at one point in their lifetimes!

To the Highest Bidder!

OK...let the bidding begin. This is our TV. A 50" Panasonic HD plasma and it is up for bid! Mama and Daddy Shields are no longer in the TV watching arena. The time is here...the light at the end of Josh's schooling tunnel is getting nearer. He is in his last semester of grad school and should walk this May. Josh is taking his last 2 classes, both online. One is an ethics class and one is a CPA exam review. Once the kids are in bed, our house is in quiet mode. I read and he studies. I enjoy it. There are 2 books, The Shack and Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters (I know I am the mom...but it is a good one), that I have been trying to finish. With a whole semester of this quiet evening time, I am sure to finish them. I did have to inform Josh that I am going to need more books...so if any of you have some suggestions, I am open...and so is the bidding! :) Just kidding about the TV, but not about the book recommendations...send them on!

NBA...Make Room for Mr. Andrew

Well folks...here he is. Mr. NBA himself. Andrew started Pee Wee basketball last week and to say that he loves it would be an understatement. We have a daily countdown that starts Tuesday evening when basketball is over until the next time we go. So we hear in the car all the way home...7 more days until basketball. A good time is had by all. It is set up more like a little camp or basketball clinic. They rotate through 4 stations, each working on a different skill: dribbling, passing, shooting, and running/coordination. Here is little man posed and ready to take off dribbling.
He seems to be improving. Here they are working on shooting the ball at the target, handing the ball to the next person in line, and then getting at the end of the line. Unfortunately for most of the little one's, the basketball stuff is the easiest. Its the whole getting in line and being ready to go that gets them. :)

For your viewing pleasure...please excuse the number of videos, but what's a blog about him playing basketball without some action! Enjoy...

The kids always start with a warm-up. This would be part of their warm-up. Contrary to it may appear, Andrew is doing jumping-jacks...he has the jumping part down, never mind the fact that his little arms are missing the jack part. But throw in a good clap and you fit right in. I guess he comes by this honestly...in aerobics, I could never get my arms and legs both doing what they were supposed to be doing! :)

Here they are working on coordination and ball handling. He is supposed to be circling the ball around his waist and then switch and go the other direction. In the end, Andrew got this one...he can't do it quickly, but he got it. I think its the hip action that gets the job done. Maybe we should have him in hula lessons! Wouldn't Daddy love that one. :)

As long as the ball does not hit his foot, Andrew does pretty well dribbling. He sure has improved...and had a good time doing so. And Daddy and I have gotten a few grins watching and helping along the way! They always end the practice with a group circle, everyone puts their hand in, and they yell "Pee Wee Basketball" on three. I love it!

The Girls Got Skills...

Well...the Girl has got some skills and the are a multiplying (a little "Grease" reference for ya!). Here is Ainsley newest and definitely most unattractive skill. She has found the roll of toilet paper. And boy is she good...she can spot the roll in any bathroom in about 2 seconds flat and before you know it the whole thing is pulled out. Not just pulled out, but shoved in her mouth! Safe to say we now have to keep the bathroom doors closed.
Let me tell you...her future us so bright, the Girl has got to wear shades. You would have thought Santa brought her some new sunglasses and not mama! It was hard to get them from her once she got them on. She was not fond of wearing them though as much as she was getting her finger prints ALL over the lenses.
No more just hanging out on the floor. She is a walking around thing woman. This is so much fun to watch. We keep our toys in toy tubs. She gets in there and picks stuff out until she finds just what she wants and then plop she back down on the floor chewing. That seems to be her favorite past time. With all her chewing, one would think all her teeth were in. Well, still only the bottom 2. Her top 4 look as if they could pop through on any day!
The greatest trick of all! Ainsley got a baby stroller from her Gammie and Poopy for Christmas. Any day now she will be strolling herself! And check out the wave...now if only we could get her to do it on the "Hello" or "good-bye" command!

Merry Christmas to All!

A spoon full of sugar and a bottle of Lysol!

This is the chemical compund of Omnicef!!! We know it well. There are 2 bottles of it sitting on my kitchen window sill...one for Andrew and one for Ainsley! Man sakes alive...my sweet little family has been rung through the ringer. I hate to break the news to my wonderful Panhandle family, but we are NEVER, EVER coming back to the panhandle for Christmas. I believe there is a bad germ infestation up there that decided to latch on to us! Before leaving for our Christmas excursion, Ainsley was diagnosed with ANOTHER ear infection. The doctor said that was it and sent us to the ENT. When we got back from Christmas, Josh actually had to take a sick day on Monday...the third on our 9 years of marriage...he had some sort of strep funk. Ainsley had her tubes put in on Friday and we were back in the doctor's office on Sunday. She had bronchitis. Andrew started running a random low grade fever which manifested itself into Strep the next weekend. All I can say is we are paying the salaries of both our doctor and the pharmacist at CVS. Not a good month for the medical budget! Knock on wood...I am not getting much sleep, but I think the end of green boogers is close. :)