Ainsley's 1st Birthday

We celebrated Ainsley's 1st birthday on June 27th. We were so excited that my parents and my sister Tara, her husband Ben and my nephew Maddox were all able to make it! We had a wonderful time together. This visit was when we realized Ainsley might have a little trouble adjusting to her baby brother, Salter, who is due to arrive December 27th. As you can see from one of the pictures below, she wasn't too crazy about me holding Maddox unless I was also holding her. Floyd and Lisa got her a baby doll for her birthday and she does the same thing with the doll. She gets excited when she sees it and immediately wants me to hold it. She does not want to hold it or play by herself. She just wants me to have it, but only if she can crawl in my lap, and if I hug the doll she leans in to get a hug, too. The first time I tried to teach her how to take care of her baby doll, I rocked it in my arms and started singing to it and she started bawling crying. Not an angry cry, but the most pitiful heartbroken little cry, like "Mama, how could you sing to another baby!" She wouldn't stop until I hid the baby doll and held her for awhile! So I have a feeling we are in for it when we bring her baby brother home!

Anyway, back to her birthday. Karen Burriss made Ainsley's cake and it was delicious and adorable - it even matched her dress! We had immediate family and just a few close friends over to celebrate. Ainsley loved seeing her cousins Floyd and Anne Craig, as well as Floyd and Lisa, and her friends Miller Calhoun and Camryn Joiner. And of course her first birthday party wouldn't be complete without Moss' parents and his grandfather. She has loved playing with the toys she received. Thank you all so much! We had such a wonderful day! Below are some pictures:

Tara and her family and my parents got here a few days before Ainsley's birthday and my mom stayed a few extra days, which was wonderful. Maddox is the cutest little boy! It is still amazing that he blonde with blue eyes when my sister is so dark - black hair and dark brown eyes! Maddox's dad Ben is in the Army and he and some of his buddies decided to try putting Maddox's hair in a mohawk one day. It worked, so we asked Tara to put it in a mohawk for us when we went to the Meltons for dinner. She even did Floyd IV's hair in a mohawk before the Stars and Stripes festival - wish I had a picture of that! Anyway, we had so much fun together and loved seeing Ainsley and Maddox play together as well. It was only the second time we have been together since Maddox was born in November - Christmas was the first time we saw Maddox and he was only a month old, so he had REALLY changed since then! Hopefully we can all get together more often!

Here are just a few pics from their visit:

Sweet Maddox and his mohawk.

My sister Tara with Ainsley in her pigtails and Maddox in his mohawk

Maddox and Ainsley playing in the pool

So much fun!

Ainsley crawling in my lap while I'm holding Maddox.

Beach Trips

Okay, first I need to apologize for taking FOREVER to update this blog. We have been having major computer issues when it comes to uploading photos this summer and I just haven't had a chance to really sit down and figure out the problem until this weekend. I hope to do better. So this is the first of a few posts to update everyone on what we did all summer!

We were fortunate enough to make it to the beach twice this summer. Our first trip was with Taylor, Allison and Miller Calhoun in mid-June. We went to Seagrove Beach and it was my first time to the Florida panhandle. It was beautiful and we had a fantastic time! We stayed at One Seagrove Place and really enjoyed being right on the water with gorgeous views and easy, quick access to the beach and pool. With two 1-year-olds we could not have chosen a more perfect location. Ainsley and Miller had lots of fun experiencing the beach and a big swimming pool for the first time. We found out that Ainsley is definitely a water baby. She LOVED the swimming pool and also loved going out into the Gulf of Mexico. Her first time in the pool she kept putting her face in the water and kicking like a little frog. It's amazing that she just instinctively seemed to know what to do. We need to get her in swimming lessons! She did not like the sand, though, and we were lucky to get a few pictures of her with her feet in the sand before she started screaming. We quickly found out that the best way to keep kids this age happy on the beach is with food. We made sure to have plenty of snacks! Moss and Taylor were chefs for the week and made most of the meals. We ate a lot of delicious fresh seafood and even had a shrimp boil! Thanks guys! We went to Seaside for our one night out and ate at Bud and Ally's. I fell in love with Seaside! It is such a pretty town and is so family friendly! They have a large amphitheater surrounded by cute little shops and when we left the restaurant a great band was playing and the grass was filled with families. Ainsley loved listening to the music and watching all the kids dance and blow bubbles and run around. Our 7 days of vacation flew by with perfect weather (although it was record heat by the end of the week). We had a wonderful trip and can't wait to go back!

Our second trip to the beach was in July over Ainsley's birthday. Floyd and Lisa were so sweet to invite all of the Meltons to Lisa's grandfather's condo in Perdido. We had a wonderful long weekend with family and had a small birthday celebration with the family and good friends the Pedigo's. We also got to see Lisa's brother McLean and his family who live in Fairhope. We all enjoyed some beach time together and went to see The Hangover which was hysterical! Unfortunately Ainsley started running a fever on our second day in Perdido so she didn't feel well most of the trip. We didn't get very many pictures because of that. But we still got in lots of good family time, even with her feeling under the weather and refusing to eat normally. She loved being with her cousins Anne Craig and Floyd, as well her Moms and Granddaddy, Uncle Floyd, Aunt Lisa and Aunt Blewett. Thanks so much for a great family trip Floyd and Lisa!

Ainsley on her real birthday, July 9th, in her birthday outfit.

Floyd, Anne Craig, Elizabeth and Walker Pedigo singing Happy Birthday to Ainsley.

Ainsley in her birthday hat which did not last long before she took it off.
Talking to Grandma and Grandpa in Ohio who called to wish Ainsley a Happy Birthday!

Family beach time

Ainsley and Mama (notice the snacks again)

Moss and Ainsley with Floyd IV, Mary McLean, Anne Craig and Patten

Floyd and Anne Craig with Ainsley on the beach.

Floyd with Ainsley at the condo.