Container Garden

We have wanted to start a garden for quite some time now; however, with our home on the market, we didn't want to invest a lot of time doing a "real" garden. So, to get the same educational experience and hopefully some good veggies, we've started a container garden.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

We've got five pots and it's Ainsley's job to water and harvest. (New chores, plus homeschooling has begun.) We planted a tomato plant, dwarf carrots, wax beans, garden beans, and mini peppers. We'll see what type of bounty we have in about 70 days. Hopefully something will germinate and we'll see sprouts in 5 - 10 days. We''l post pictures of our plants as we see them growing.

Lots of Love!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

I've spent a lot of time making sure I get all of Andrew's first and making sure we have pictures. I don't want him to feel like a neglected second child or anything. However, in the process, I think Ainsley has felt a bit left out of the whole picture thing. She snuck in here for a quick shot.

After realizing this I quickly snapped a few photos of just her outside.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

I can't believe that it has been 3 years since I was taking pictures of her as a baby! She's so grown up in so many ways! She's definitely a joy and a wonderful blessing in our daily life. We give thanks for the lessons of patience she daily teaches us and can't wait to see what type of adventure she will take us on as we homeschool!

Oh the Hair!

Here's our last post with just straight baby hair. Mom can really get the mohawk going in the bath tub!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

However, she feels the mullet just has to go. She's been hiding it in my shirt collar for quite some time now.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

With summer coming and the weather getting warmer, my sweaty hair just isn't very attractive. So stay tuned for the first haircut pictures. We will be making the trip to Miss Scarlet on the 22nd! Mom is convinced she's going to cry because I'm going to look so grown up!

4 Months Old!

Laughing, rolling, and talking. The 4 month mark has brought about a lot of growth in both motor skills and cognitive. I've made a lot of accomplishments and boy are they exhausting!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Big smiles. I am so happy, most of the time....

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Not being able to crawl has proven to get the tears flowing. I'm trying so hard and I just can't quite do it. Mom's not rushing it, she likes to set me down and know I'll be there when she gets back. Check out the air I'm getting though. It probably won't be long before I can really army crawl!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Check out my videos. Mom is pretty novice at this and the camera isn't the best, but you can here my sweet voice and my real giggles. (Mom says that Ainsley never giggled like this as a baby.)

"Exercise" Walk

For a month or more now Ainsley, Andrew, and I have been taking walks with our neighbor. They provide some calorie burning benefits since I carry Andrew (I don't have a double stroller) but they were not REALLY walks if you get my drift, they were strolls. So, thanks to a dear friend of mine, I now have a double jogging stroller for the summer and to hopefully start getting the last few pregnancy pounds off. So, this morning Ainsley and Andrew tried it out for the first time.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

After 40 minutes we arrived back at home. I was definitely ready for a shower. There was only a brief stint of running (did I ever really run a marathon?) and a lot of walking. I think 10 minutes in I was already experiencing side-stitch. Hopefully, the ramp up period for getting back in shape will only take a few weeks. I would really like to jog with the stroller. However, the stroller alone provides quite a work out with the two kids in it. This gave a whole new meaning to "hill", they were more like mountains today. Once we were all in the house, Ainsley and Andrew did work outs of there own:

Here's Andrew working on neck strength. He's doing a great job now at tummy time and accomplishing this task. Though he is till frustrated that he can't move much when he's on his stomach. Rolling over is a cinch now and scooting on his back is his favorite. He can turn himself in a circle and make it about a foot if I'm not paying attention.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

And then there's Ainsley. She loves exercising with me and is all muscle. At a whopping 27 pounds, her exercise regimen consists of lifting food. A favorite breakfast, fruit with chocolate donuts. (A treat.) Usually the donuts are replaced by whole-grain waffles.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Graduation

Congratulations to Aunt Trish on graduating from UMKC with a degree in Business. We were all present for the celebration and it was a great weekend with many festivities. I don't have many pictures since my hands were full, hopefully I get some of Aunt Trish in her cap and gown soon. But the following picture captures the essence of how all of us felt:

Surprised, maybe. Shocked, not really. Thankful and Wow she made it, for sure!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Welcome Baby Shower

This weekend we were blessed greatly by a Welcome Baby Shower in honor of Andrew and another baby at our church. There were so many wonderful women there to share with us in the blessing of Andrew. Wonderful gifts, a sweet time of devotion, and a lot of loving on Andrew (and Ainsley) made the day especially memorable. We are very thankful to be part of such a caring and generous body. Here are a few pictures of the festivities.

From Welcome Baby Shower

From Welcome Baby Shower

From Welcome Baby Shower

From Welcome Baby Shower

The Bumbo Seat Returns

We are working on sitting up with Andrew now and we thought we would get the Bumbo seat out again. He loves it! But only for so long, without a ton of neck strength, he usually collapses after a period of time.

Striking a pose for the camera.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Adoring his sister.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Our always happy baby. Yes, God has blessed us greatly with children that have a smiley demeanor.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Wore Out

Well, thumb-sucking is no longer a necessity. It's become more like thumb chewing/fist chewing. I am a major drooler and putting my hands in my mouth makes this an even bigger problem. My chin is frequently red and chapped despite a constant change of bibs and dabbing of the chin. Mom doesn't think the teeth are coming in, but who knows. (Ainsley's teeth came in late but she worked on them for a really long time.)

So after a hard work out with my sister in the nice weather we have been having. Mom brought me in for a nap. And boy was I ready for it. Between all that fresh air and having to hold my head up in the Baby Bjorn, I slept really soundly.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

I'm sleeping in my crib now for at least one nap a day. The others seem to be spread between the car seat and sometimes my bouncy seat, but mom's getting me on track. I do really well through the night in the crib now, but afternoons and mornings are still shorter naps than mom would like. We'll both keep working on that though.

Check it out, lambie is sleeping with me again. Mom's been giving it to me to give me something to do with hands. I keep wringing them and bumping my face with them when I'm trying to fall asleep. Lambie seems to help with that a bit. Thankfully, the ears haven't found there way to my mouth yet. Who knows though, maybe that's the next thing I'm going to suck on!

Thumb Sucking?

Ainsley was never a sucker of anything plastic. Andrew has changed the routine up though for our family by taking to a pacifier, a bottle, and now his thumb? Amazingly enough, he can live without both his pacifier and his thumb, soothe himself and just carry on in general. Now, the pacifier doesn't bother me that much since I can take it away, but the thumb, that's a whole other story. (Yes, I want the control when it comes to lovies and suckie things.) So after a few days of kindly removing the thumb and replacing it with a pacifier, I happened upon this seen.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Sweet, isn't it? Holding his thumb in place to escape the removal of it. I let this moment go, but I'm still going to pull the thumb when I see it. Perhaps I'm making him into a closet thumb-sucker and maybe not. Time will only tell.

Jumping Man

After months of waiting, I'm now able to do some upright activities. Mom got the jumper-r-roo out for me today to see if I was ready. At first, I wasn't quite sure what to make of this new toy.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Once I figured it out, I sure was ready! We had to add some phone books, my feet don't quite hit the ground yet, but that sure didn't stop me. I got right to bouncing and jumping.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

I enjoying bouncing most first thing in the morning. I love the lights and the sounds. They give me great big smiles. My sister, also likes to assist in the jumping part. If the lights are gone for too long and I get frustrated, my sister makes those come on too. I can tell already that she is going to be able to teach me a lot of neat things.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Bike Riding

Spring is here and garage sale season is in swing. This makes mom very happy. She loves to go on the hunt and is always in a good mood after a couple good scores. I'm starting to catch the fever too! Check out my latest find.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

The bike needed a bit of help, some air in the tires, a good washing, and a crank arm rethreaded. Good thing we have a friend who owns a bicycle shop; we knew right where to take it. It was also a good thing he could fix it or mom would have gotten more than she bargained for. So if you're in the Kansas City area and need a good bike shop, I recommend Midwest Cyclery on Broadway Street in Westport.

So with my ice skating helmet now being used as originally intended. I got on the bike, and to mom's surprise, off I went!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

I ride my Radio Flyer now each day in circles around our court. I'm practicing for the bike ride to the ice cream store this summer. Mom keeps telling me I need to ramp up my endurance. The bike ride to the ice cream store is about 2 miles one-way! I think dad might have to get the car after we eat the ice cream!

Bath Time Fun

Every night we go through a routine. (This is probably not surprising to any of you who are diligent followers of our blog or close friends of ours.) So, each night Ainsley takes a bath, we get our pajamas on, we dry hair, we read stories and drink milk, we brush our teeth, we sing songs, and then we pray. Yes, that's a lot for a bath time routine. And of course, a three year old does not skip any steps.

Fast forward...we now have two kids and its a Monday night. Why is this important, well Matthew works late on Monday nights and it's one of those nights were both kids take a bath. This was never a big deal to me or to Ainsley until tonight...

Ainsley: "Mom, I have an idea. How about Andrew and I both take a bath."
Mom: "Yes, Ainsley. Mom will give Andrew his bath and then give you yours."
Ainsley: "No, mom. How about we take a bath together."

Matthew and I had talked about this; but, we had never come to a conclusion. So, since I thought well, I can save water, possibly time, and they are both still young, why not give it a try. (Before you even read on, I was spared any of those questions. You know the ones I am talking about.)

So, into the bath tub we go. (Andrew wearing a wash cloth as q pseudo bathing suit.) Ainsley was strictly lectured on bath tub etiquette while co-bathing. No splashing, mermaid-playing, and no bubbles. All agreed to without a problem.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Ainsley: "Mom, I have an idea. How about I wash Andrew and you wash me."
Mom: "No, mom will wash you both."
Ainsley: "How about I do his hair, mom."
Mom: "No, how about you pour water on his feet." (This was agreed to, though the pouring of water did make it up to the stomach. Andrew was a good sport about it.)

So, with Andrew bathed, I got him out and ready for night-time while Ainsley played. According to her "making pancakes". So how a soaked pink bath tub towel (that I told her not to touch) ends up in the tub and becomes a pancake, I will never know. Needless to say my fail proof plan went awry here. So, I now have a newly cleaned floor and some extra bath towels to wash tonight.

With Ainsley out of the tub, Andrew playing in his crib we proceed with our routine. Ainsley is chattering away about her new matching toothpaste and tooth brush. We return to her room where she asks where is dad. I let her know he is at work and will be home after she goes to bed. She lets me know the following:

"His first name is dad."
"His second name is Matthew."
"The next name is Matthew Dale Rankin."
"Andrew's name is Andrew Tyndale Rankin. Brother."

Checking on Andrew. This must have been more excitement then I realized for him. He's out (only for 15 minutes though, he wants in on the stories.) And yes, that's a lambie like Ainsley's there with him. He likes touching it but there have been no plays for sucking on the ear. The pacifier still works just fine.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

She's in bed. We give kisses and hugs. Andrew too. It's 8:30 both kids are down. Was the routine shorter. No. Was it less painful, not really. It still took an hour and a half for both, but tonight brought a few more laughs for me.

Easter Egg-stravaganza

Dad was away this Saturday and mom, Andrew, and I went to an Easter Egg-stravaganza event at a park. Mom, thought this could be a lt of fun for us, they had a petting zoo, face painting, egg hunt, and of course the fun playground equipment. When we arrived, each thing had lines of people. (Mom did not take into account massive amounts of people when planning this outing. Lots of free candy, of course there would be lots of people.)

The petting zoo was my favorite. I petted a goat, chickens, baby pig, and a baby goat. I also got to see a baby rabbit, duckling, and chick. Then we walked by face painting and the line for the easter bunny pictures. We did get to see the Wizard of Oz characters that they had there. Their costumes were amazing! I especially liked the ruby slippers. But, I also really liked the lion and tin man. Look at how great these costumes are!

From The Rankin Family

So, with all of the lines we made our way over to get our place for the egg hunt. We were front and center for our section. It wasn't much of a hunt, the candy eggs, and footballs were scattered on the ground. Parents weren't suppose to assist, but they all did and mom came with me to avoid getting trampled. What seemed like thousands of eggs and candy were picked in seconds. I came away with one egg and a handful of candy.

From The Rankin Family

These eggs were not full of candy. I was hoping though!

From The Rankin Family

It was an interesting morning. I had a lot of fun but mom was skeptical. We probably won't do this egg hunt again. We'll be heading to Joplin for Easter with Nana and Granddad. I'm guessing that the easter egg dying and hunt if we have one will be a little more low key.

Well Checks

Ainsley and Andrew had their well-checks today. Here is a snapshot of where our two kids are at now:

Ainsley:
Height: 38 inches (3' 2") that puts me in the 61 percentile
Weight: 27.6 lbs. I still haven't hit 30 lbs. but I am now in the 11 percentile. The Dr. was impressed!
Development - Definitely ahead of the curve. He said mom has her hands full. He was especially impressed with my balance, imagination, memorization, and vocabulary.

Andrew:
Height:22.5 inches that puts me in the 12th percentile.
Weight: 11 lbs 9.5 oz. that puts me in the 25th percentile.
My noggin is right on target with the others falling in the 18th percentile.
So overall, I'm a pretty proportional little man.
Development: Already hitting the 6 month milestone of standing while holding on to mom! (The Dr.'s eyes were pretty wide when he looked over and saw this feat of strength!) Otherwise I'm right on target with cooing, smiling, almost rolling over, and neck strength. I am getting more tummy time though and sleeping on my tummy at naps to help keep my head round.

Andrew also had his first vaccine today. Ainsley told him to be brave and that it would only hurt for a minute. EIther the nurse was amazing or Andrew took his sisters words to heart because he didn't even make a peep! The remainder of the day went smoothly with lots of napping and a very low-grade fever. Perhaps this is one of the benefits of only getting one shot per visit.

**Mom is going with an alternative schedule produced by Dr. Sears and tweaked by her. If you're interested in reading more about it, you can go to www.TheVaccineBook.com.