It's My Birthday

Well, today's celebration was for me. Turned 42, and despite not being able to see as well as I used to, life is good!  Mimi, L, Ashley, Addi, Ashton and I went to Chuy's for my birthday dinner. Chief stayed behind with Gran; she wasn't up to another outing after church, and Mexican food isn't her favorite anyway. After dinner, we had cake at Mimi and Chief's house. As usual, everyone sang, and Addi blew out my candles - lol. So, Chief re-lit them, and I got another chance to make a wish.

Great evening watching team USA at the Olympics, topped off with a few phone pics from Ash! Addisyn wasn't in the mood for pics - a rare occasion.

Birth Announcement

Long story, but I finally get to post Ashton's birth announcement!

Bev was back with me this time; we concluded that boys don't dig props as much, so we struggled with getting a variety of quality shots - lol. No video this time, but a great 2-sided card thanks to Bay Photo, Photobucket, Gimp (a free, compatible version of Photoshop because I'm cheap and need lots of practice), and of course Beverly!  I couldn't have done it without her.

First Visit to Tainty's House

Addi has become a regular, but yesterday was Ashton's first visit to my house - one of many more to come, I'm certain. Ash had a doctor's appt., so I had the crew for a bit.

Making Progess

So yesterday, Ashley called me after picking up Addi from school. She wanted Addi to share some good news with me. However, all she could get out of her is that she "was mad at Junior." Junior? Some kiddo in her class with braids whose momma thinks Addi likes him... :-/

Anyway, Junior apparently pushed some kids in class and got in trouble, so that's why Addi was mad. Toddler drama. What I finally learned was that Addisyn received a glowing report. For the first time since starting summer school, she didn't cry ALL DAY! This was a big deal. Though she had become accustomed to school last fall, there was something about Ashley dropping her off (with Ashton in tow) instead of Chief that didn't sit well with her. Like Ash abandoned her every Monday and Wednesday; like a party at home went on without her - lol.  Problem solved: Chief is back again taking her to school. Time for more learning, fun, and Junior???

They went for ice cream to celebrate!

And Here We Are Today

Back on track, it's July 15, Addi's actual 3rd birthday and Ashton's 1-month-old birthday. I'm furiously typing trying to "catch up" and get everything posted. It's Sunday evening, not typical though. Momma took a trip with some friends to the casino, Les stayed at home, but the rest of the crew is here.  Addi and Chief are outside watering plants, Gran is watching TV (Secret Millionaire), and AshLEY just finished feeding AshTON.

This BEGINS the journey of Tainty's Crew. Keep in touch!

Thanks for these pictures, Daddy!

Addi's 3rd Birthday Party

After the last affair, Ash vowed not to host anymore parties at home, so this year's site was at The Little Gym in Arlington Highlands. It took her a while to warm up to the joint (and the "teachers") but she had a blast!

Here's a recap.

4th of July

Addi is still getting used to sharing Ashton with Mommy and Daddy; some days are better than others, of course, but she really does love her little brother.

 

And on Independence Day, it was all about HER fireworks! Thanks Nay-nay!

Adjustment Period

Needless to say, Addisyn's new world was rocked. For almost three years, she was princess of the kingdom, and now - some new prince was demanding everyone's attention.

Not good - can you say rebellion? Anxiety? Confusion? Anger?

No one was getting any rest in that house, so after talking with my sister, I thought it would be good for Addisyn to stay with me for a few days. We went to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History and watched "One World, One Sky" at the Noble Planetarium.  She enjoyed seeing and hearing some familiar faces, Big Bird and Elmo, talk about the sun, moon, and other stars. I really liked it too. We also went to the park, and played outside, and played games, and watched more Sesame Street, and colored, and made more digital bugs.

Terrible iPhone pic - I know.

 
After two nights away from home, Addi was refreshed and ready to return.  Ash missed her terribly, but both were able to get a lot of much-needed rest.

The Next Few Days

Lots of visitors strolled with Harris Methodist Hospital.  Ashton Davon Allen was the center of attention, and everyone wanted a piece of the action - even Addi.

She was finally able to hold her brother for the first time.

 

And Ashley's plan to leave the hospital in 3 days worked. On June 17, they all went home; Ashton wore his first real clothes - though they were a tad bit snug...

 

He's Here

I was concerned that something would happen, and Junebug would have to be delivered while I was in Washington, D.C. But, he waited for me! I created another Twitter account to capture all the details again - this time cross posting to Facebook as well.  Something happened with the hospital's wifi, and a big chunk of my posts got lost in cyberspace.

Junebug's Twitter

My Ladybug was struck with a bug - fever actually, so that through a loop in everyone's plans. She was supposed to spend the night with me, but ended up staying with Mimi and Chief, so I could be at the hospital early that morning. It was another fun and exhausting day for all.

I really can't believe she let me take these!

And here he is... all 9 lbs. 1.7 oz

Back in the room -

My first hold with the chunky monkey!

And he just thinks he tired now - LOL...

Later that afternoon, Junebug gets a little tending to by one of the nurses.




Addi's fever breaks temporarily, and she gets her first peak at her baby brother.  Her life changed FOREVER!

And builds another bug on my iPad

In Anticipation

Everything was set, and everyone was anticipating Junebug's June 15 arrival. It was a scheduled c-section; Ashley picked the date. Her birthday is January 15, Addi's is July 15, so why not June 15? Yep, that left Red the odd man out, but he'll get over it ;-)

Ashley was having a much easier and "prettier"(her words) pregnancy, so she agreed to take some "expecting" pics -aka belly shots. She regrets not have more photos of her pregnancy with Addisyn. So, here's what we came up with one Sunday afternoon.

I even used a few at her baby shower. Family and a few close friends joined us at Los Vaqueros in The Stockyards.

 

 

 

Junebug's Nursery

This time around, we didn't have to worry about a gender neutral theme.  So, now it was just a matter of which theme. I pinned lots of things including dogs and other animals, but was really trying to stay away from that since Addi's alphabet animals were still intact. A modern city-scape from Dwell Studios finally won. From there, I took on construction/trucks as accents.  Clean lines, simple, but boyish.  Check it out:

Originally, I was going to paint the cars/trucks on the walls.  Nathan decided that he would take a shot at building them out of leftover melamine boards we had from Addi's wainscoting.  Glad he did.  They turned out fabulous, and really add a nice dimension to the walls.