Ainsley and Chanie

I live in Austin, TX, and my cousin Chanie lives just outside Kansas City, MO, so we haven't been able to see each other yet. However, Dad made this little collage picture because he thinks we look pretty similar. 

Finally finished with that bath

Finally finished with that bath. I'm all wrapped up and Mom is holding me, so I feel much happier now. I don't have any teeth yet, so I try to smile with my mouth closed. 

Washing my hair

Now that I'm wrapped in a blanket, I feel better, but I still don't appreciate this whole bath thing. Grandmother Randall washed my hair for me and it wasn't too terrible.

First bath at home

Here's a picture of my first bath at home. You can see that it was so traumatic for me that it made Mom cry. I was screaming terribly. Even though the water was warmed up, I was cold and not very appreciative of having been woken up from a good long nap just to get wet.

Mom and Me

This is Mom holding me prior to my first bath at home. I'm just over two days old and Mom has recovered very well. One of the benefits of making it through birth without any medication during delivery. 

Napping with Dad

After all the excitement and effort of being born, I was glad to come home and take a little nap with Dad. He seems to be experienced at this nap thing. I'm glad that he doesn't roll over though. 

First holding by Grandmother Randall

Grandmother Randall flew in from Aiken, SC, today. She thinks that I'm very cute and is glad she made the trip. In fact, she called Papa Randall and convinced him to buy a ticket and come see me next weekend.

I'm not for certain how I will address Grandmother Randall, but I know that I'm not supposed to say Granma' with too big of a Texas drawl. However, I am native Texan, so it's to be expected a little.

Nameless No More

Well, I no longer lack a name. My parents named me Ainsley Elizabeth Rankin. I'm glad to have a name, since it's required prior to going home, and I'm ready to leave the hospital.

Baby Rankin Arrival

Well after a long wait, Baby Girl Rankin arrived punctually on her due date, Jan. 19th at 4:30AM. She weighed 7 lbs. 3 oz., and was 19.5 inches long. Jessica and baby are both doing fine. Jessica is recovering very well after delivering naturally with no medication. Wow! After Jessica gets some sleep we'll cut the short name list down to one. Until then she's just Baby Girl Rankin.

Baby Rankin's Zeroeth Christmas

Here's a picture of Baby Rankin at Christmas 2005. Still baking. I'll be ready for Christmas next year. 

Skeet and sporting clays

Last Saturday, Bret Mercer took me skeet and sporting clay shooting. First time I've ever shot a shotgun, and it was a lot of fun. With the sporting clays, I hit 25 out of 50 clay targets. Not too shabby for a beginner. Thanks Bret!

After having a little fun, I went home to start painting the nursery and do some house work. Since then, we've gotten the ceiling finished and the first coat in the closet and on the top part of the walls. We need to put on another coat and then paint two coats for the bottom part of the wall and put up the chair rail. As soon as it's finished, I'll post some pictures of the completed project. Until then you'll have to just look at the novice shooter.

Music in the home

Well, I've started taking piano lessons. So far I've had four lessons and I'm progressing pretty well given the limited amount of time that I practice (probably shouldn't admit that) and my natural musical talent (or lack thereof). It's fun doing something that's not technical and not work related. Jessica enjoys my practicing as well. Sometimes the only time I can practice is late at night when she's trying to sleep, which is added incentive to not make any mistakes that result in too awful a sound.

Last weekend Jessica's parents and sister were in town and we had a blast. First off, anytime I'm playing golf on a weekday is simply a great day. Tom and I played together and trailed the girls. We had a great time, and before you know it Tom and I were both putting for a 39 on the front. He made his, but unfortunately for me, my brain got the best of me and I ended up with a 41 (3-jacked it of all things to do on the 9th!). Good lesson in the fact that golf is definitely a mental game. It's not like basketball or soccer where you can just out hustle other people even if they have better talent or technique. Not in golf. Brain has to stay engaged. On the back I did pretty well, and ended up shooting an 84. Not bad considering that was the third round of golf I've played all year.

On Saturday we went up to Salado and then to Georgetown for dinner, which was a very nice time. After church on Sunday we squeezed in another round of golf. Lots of fun all around.

This weekend, Jessica and I are just relaxing and enjoying some time together. Aside from the cough that she has, she's been doing well. We're having trouble coming up with names for the baby but fortunately we have another 5-6 months.

Picture from California

Since Blogger has added the ability to post pictures, I thought I'd try this out. Here's a picture of Jessica and me at a winery in California.

New Rankin in the World

Speaking of babies in my previous post, Chanie (sp?) Lynn Rankin was born about 40 min ago. Sounds like Markie is doing well, and David is enjoying being a father again. William and Mom (Nana for Chanie) are on their way to the hospital to see their new sister/granddaughter. Congratulations and welcome to the world!

Great news

Jessica and I have great news in that she is pregnant. The due date is January 19th. We are not going to find out the sex (always a top question from people). A little over a week ago, we heard the heartbeat. Very cool! And very fast. It was around 160 bpm and the doctor had no problem finding it on the first time.

In preparation for this new person to join us in the world, we're working on remodeling what will become our sole guest room. We've painted the guest room, put up a fan/light, and installed half of the chair rail. Tonight I hope to put up the rest of the chair rail. I must recommend the Porter-Cable CFFN250N Finish & Brad Nailer Combo Kit. At $300 from Amazon.com, this is well worth the time and effort that it saves you. Plus, it's just cool using pneumatic nail guns.

Well, that's all for now. I'll try to be better about putting up posts, and I'll include some pictures as well.