Child-like Faith

Over the past few months of what is commonly referred to as the "treacherous three's", Ainsley has been schooled in the concept of grace. (We as parents are also learning this concept through a new set of eyes.) We are thankful for God's blessing to our family in Ainsley and the way she is introducing us to a new found joy in trials and the fruit of God's word in her life. Here is the latest example, looking at grace through a child's eyes:

Setting: On the way to story-time at the library.

A: Mom can we please get fries and prites (Sprite) today?
M: We'll see. Fries and Sprite are a special treat. Perhaps if we are happy-hearted and good listeners today throughout errands we can.
A: Okay Mom.

Setting: Costco
M: Ainsley, you may sit in the basket or at the front of the cart.
A: Mom, I have an idea, how bout I stand on the basket?
M: No, that was not one of your choices. In the basket or the cart.

Whining begins (by Ainsley.) Mom picks her up and places her in the basket.

A: Mom, No. (Now screaming as we head toward the Costco bathroom.)
A: Screaming and crying. (At the entrance to the Costco bathroom, she proceeds to throw her shoes at me.)
M: Ainsley, this is not showing Costco that you love Christ. We will get our things and go to the car to discuss this.
A: Calming down and asking what are next errand is. (I'm seriously debating continuing the errand list or going home.)

Setting: The car

M: A quick review of what the expectations were and how they were not met. Including, that fries and sprite have now been taken off the table.
A: Whining about no fries and sprite.
M: Setting the expectation for Wal-Mart grocery shopping. "You will sit in the cart and say 'Yes, Mom.' There will be no snacking of any type in Wal-Mart."
A: Yes, Mom.

Setting: Wal-Mart (Everything goes smoothly and we are out of there.)
Setting: Car

A: Mom, will you please forgive me. (Mom, is thinking this is good. It didn't even require prompting.)
M: Ainsley, of course I'll forgive you. But what are you asking forgiveness for?
A: For throwing my shoes at you, screaming, and disobeying.
M: Yes, sweetness, I'll forgive you.
A: Now mom, ask me if I deserve fries and sprite.
M: Ainsley, do you think you deserve fries and sprite?
A: No, mom I don't deserve them. Mom, will you please show me some grace?
M: Complete silence as I realize my daughter is actually putting together a complete picture of grace from her point of view. As we are driving, my car wanders into the McDonald's drive thru. A order of fries and sprite is made, and I say: "Yes, honey, I'll show you grace."

Enjoying the Deck

We've been out on the deck quite a bit lately watching the sprouts grow. Yes, we have sprouts! In fact, quite a few. We've got 7 green bean sprouts, 2 wax bean sprouts, 2 pepper sprouts, and 3 carrot sprouts. We will see if we actually get to the harvesting point or not, but we are making a valiant effort.

Here's a fun picture of Ainsley. It capture's a side of her personality I see often. Happy yet curious, smiling yet looking for the next adventure.

From The Rankin Family

Andrew's First Swim

Ainsley is a bit of a splasher, so I got out the old baby pool today and thought I'd let Andrew take hid first dip. I let the water heat up in the sun through nap time, it still wasn't quite bath water and Andrew was not a huge fan of it when he first stuck in his toes. After a bit though he really enjoyed "chillin" with his sister in the pool.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

He really got into it when he got down on his tummy. Ainsley started to teach him how to splash with is feet by kicking. She did it first and splashed him pretty good. He wasn't quite sure about that so she proceeded to demonstrate by moving his feet for him, this got a few giggles.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

After she was back in her own pool, Andrew just hung out for a while. He seemed very serious to me. (This was a bit concerning to me, he didn't have a diaper on.) But despite a few bubbles, he was really just watching the birds at the bird feeder.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

I think this hat is a bit too big mom! But this picture shows how strong I am getting. Hopefully, I'll be sitting up soon without the help of anything!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Man this was fun! I can't wait to get over to the real pool at Papa and Gigi's house!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

It's Summer Time

Ainsley has been letting us know that now Memorial Day has passed which means it is summer! According to her, summer means that the pools are open. She loves the pool, any pool, big or small. So, now that the hotter weather is here, we finally could get out Ainsley's official, "I'm Potty Trained", present. She had picked out a Whale Spray Pool and has very patiently waited to break it in.



Here she is enjoying the cool water with dad.

From The Rankin Family

This was also "garage sale" weekend in the Rankin garage. We didn't do to bad and if Ainsley would have had her way, I think she would have sold the whole garage! She is quite a little sales woman as I heard, "Please look around, we have everything you could want." We actually didn't have that much out, but she did manage to sell a few things and make correct change with a bit of help. She also earned a few quarters on her own with that smile of hers and some very kind words to older patrons that paid us a visit.

Growing Boy

I had my check up today and mom saw that I'm growing, growing, growing! I'm weighing in at 13lbs. 8 ounces and 24.75 inches tall. That puts me at 16% for my weight and 31% for my height. So in the past two months I've grown a lot taller than rounder. I guess that's a good thing. It still puts me pretty much in line with how my sister grew these first months. In fact, I'm only about 4 ounces heavier than she was and the same height at this time.

Mom's been snapping a few pictures of me lately. She's getting pretty creative with the camera and is saving up for a newer model I think. Something she can take with her everywhere and is small.

Here we are at Nana's back on the 23rd. This is the day after the first hair cut. I was spent! Or so mom thought, I woke up right after she had snapped this and I had just fallen a sleep!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Oh yes, I am sucking my thumb. Really and truly sucking it and mom is even letting me. Well, she actually lost the battle on this one. I am happier and more content now. Though it doesn't seem to be really helping with the evening sleep pattern. (That's probably because I'm rolling over now in bed and can't figure out how to get back over.)

Here I am taking a break on Nana's bed. I really like the just diaper look. This is truly when I am happiest.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Toes, Toes, Toes

Andrew has finally found his toes. It has been a big weekend for him! The original discovery was made on May 21st, and there has been no going back. It's pretty hard for to get him to let go of his feet. This has made diaper changes particularly challenging as of late.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Big sister was really proud. She's been working with him quite a bit regarding this so when I heard, "Mom, he did it." I came running with the camera.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

A Bird's Eye View

From Andrew's First Haircut

Photo journalist Ainsley here, giving you an up date on the first hair cut that Andrew received. Here is pre-cut. Boy did he need it! That hair in the back was going to catch up to mine if mom wasn't careful!

From Andrew's First Haircut

Here we are prepping for the hair cut. I'm not sure that Andrew is quite sure about what he is about to participate in. Let's see how he does.

From Andrew's First Haircut

He's hanging in there. So far no tears with the spray bottle or the scissors. He may be more concerned that mom is his only support during this haircut. Hopefully she won't get teary eyed. She needs to be able to hold him still, we don't want a crooked hairline or anything.

From Andrew's First Haircut

With a bit of product the finished look is done. I think this is the first time I have ever seen Andrew's hair not spiked up.

From Andrew's First Haircut

(FYI, the spiked look was back by the end of the car ride to Nana's, despite the hair goop he got.)

Fresh Trim

We made it through Andrew's first haircut! There were no tears, by Andrew or mom! Can you believe it. I got to play photo journalist (Ainsley's view of the haircut coming soon!) since mom had to hold Andrew during the cut. This is Nana's view of the big day!

From Andrew's First Haircut

Miss Scarlet even used the electric trimmers and didn't get a reaction out of Andrew!

From Andrew's First Haircut

He looks like such a little boy!

From Andrew's First Haircut

What a great trip! Thanks Nana for taking pictures as well!

From Andrew's First Haircut

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