He's here!

Sorry for those of you who only keep up with us via the blog. As you can imagine, I haven't had a whole lot of time to post anything, but I have put updates on Facebook. But for the non-Facebooker's, Duncan Layne Ballard is here! He arrived, as planned, on Friday July 10th at 7:55 AM. He weighed 7lbs, 7ozs. and was 20.5 inches long. It took us a good 4 or 5 hours to name the poor guy as we were debating 2 names. Anyway, Duncan won out and is, thus, his name. He is mostly a calm and sweet baby. Still not sleeping as long as I'd like, but we are definately making progress. He is, however a hungry little booger. He would eat all day everyday, if I would let him, but since I'm nursing, we have to set some boundaries.

As for his big sister, she seems to be adjusting just fine. I mean, don't kid yourself, she has her very jealous moments and we've had a meltdown or two, but for the most part, she is taking things in stride. As predicted, she loves her new brother, only perhaps a little too zealously. She's just not a gentile child, so we have to watch her like a hawk. But I can handle that. At least she's not trying to hurt him. And she is better than any monitor you can buy. If he is crying anywhere, she's the first to alert you by saying, "Baby, ka-whying." It's quite helpful.
Things with two are going pretty well. It's a juggling act, but not going to be nearly as messy as I had feared. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes. They have certainly been felt! And yes, for those of you wondering, I will begin with the monthly updates of Duncan again for his first year. So you can expect that first installment about mid-August. If you didn't receive Ada's monthly reports when she was a baby and would like to receive Duncan's, just leave your e-mail address in a comment and I'll add you to the list!

Swimming with Daddy and Fun Day with Mommy

Ada has definately not been much of a water bug this summer, but over the 4th we did attend a party and she finally got in the pool a bit to play with her daddy. Mind you, it wasn't much or for long, but I think watching some of the other kids encouraged her a little. That and her onriness. Once Daddy got out of the pool, I told her "No more swimming." Nevermind it practically took begging her to get in. As soon as I said that, she took one look at me, walked over and got in the pool. I guess that's the way to get her in; tell her she can't.

Today, I wanted to take Ada to do something fun since it's her last week as an only child. I know I'll love this new baby just as much as I love my firstborn, but lately, I've been feeling SO guilty about bringing another child home; like it is somehow unfair to Ada. I'm sure all of these feelings will pass but right now I just want to cherish each little moment I have with just her. So we spent the day at the Dallas World Aquarium. I wasn't sure how she would like it or if she would even get it, but it was such a fun trip. Animals are the thing I probably work with her on the most so it was very fun to actually see some of the animals we talk about in books and on TV.

We LOVED the flamingo's! They were so pretty and pink. But a little smelly.

Here't the jaguar just like in "Tarzan." Although Ada called him a "kitty"


Good thing she doesn't seem to share her Mommy's extreme fear of sharks!

And of course the penguins. Who doesn't love the penguins?

Naturally, as a Tolles' girl favorite, we finished the day off with a snow cone which I failed to capture in photograph. It was certainly a fun filled day. Even now, Ada is still napping.

I know she won't really remember this day or what it represented in my life, but I will. And I'm so glad we spent a little extra special time together, just the two of us. Because the next time we get to do something like that, there will be another Ballard in tow.

Speaking of, no more progression news. I've been the same for the last 2 weeks so I'm not real optimistic I'm going to go into labor in the next 36 hours which means Cashew will be delivered via c-section Friday AM at 7:15. Coveting your prayers and thoughts! Will post soon with our new addition!

A Mega Post

Ada is so full of new things these days, there is an endless supply of blog possibilities. However, she also keeps me so busy, I end up running out of time to blog about any of them. Since I'm not optimistic that my blogging is going to get more frequent in the near future, I'm going to post as much as I can now. If you are one who likes regular updates, then just read this in istallments.

Ada's Room

I have more or less finished Ada's room. At least to a point that I am really happy with. I still have a few commissioned art pieces coming, but for the time being, I think it has turned out really cute.


The best part about her room is there is plenty of room to play. And I have finally been able to move most of the toys out of the living room, where they are a complete eye sore, into her room, where they just look as if they belong. And she loves it. It is so cute when Matilyn comes over and they run into her room and pull out all of her toys. And then fight over them.

First Real Haircut

As you all know, I first cut Ada's bangs back in February and have been doing them myself ever since. But lately, I've come to realize that her hair is becoming unruly and in need of professional grooming. And since we like them to do everything together, Miss Katy thought the same for Matilyn so we took them to have their first real haircuts.

This turned out to be a tiny bit saddening as it made us realize they are such big girls. Seriously, time, SLOW DOWN. Unless, of course we are talking about bringing on this next baby; in that case, hurry up.

4th of July and Miss Priss

We had a fun-filled, albeit labor-free, 4th of July weekend. We went to a couple of backyard cookouts and watched lots of fireworks. Ada has not been nearly the water baby this summer that she was last year and getting her into the pool has been difficult, at best. But I did purchase a great blowup pool in which she is very comfortable, and BONUS: it is plenty big for me soak in as well. Anyhow, we took it to the neighbors so all the kids could play. Ada hopped right in with all the boys, and her sunglasses, and just lounged. It was hillarious.

As for the fireworks, I thought they might scare her a bit, or get her attention at the very least. Not a chance. She hardly even noticed they were going off. Of course, it was 9:30, a good 1.5 hours past her bed time and she was so exhausted, she couldn't even stand up straight. Maybe next year.

In other news, she seems to now be going through a pushing phase, which is mortifying for a parent. She pushed a little boy in the face at a party last night and when I demanded that she tell him she was sorry, she looked at him, then at me, and clear as a bell said, "Not sorry." Wha-what?! I had no idea she has come to a place where she had now has an opinion on whether or not she is sorry. Needless to say, I yanked her behind out of there and gave her a spanking when she continued to refuse to apologize. Turns out, she was being pushed around at church last week and figured out maybe there is something to this pushing thing. No matter where or how she learned it, it won't be tolerated. But it was shocking to discover.

I think I can safely say the Terrible Two's have arrived. And just in time for a new baby. Yay.

Happy Father's Day

This post is dedicated to Ada's daddy. Poor Kyle. If this pregnancy has been uncomfortable for me, its been downright unbearable for him. Cranky, crazy, you name it; I've been it. And he has been a rock through it all. He also has complied with my every demand regarding projects around the house. His all time best though, has been the bookshelf I asked him to build Ada. It is perfect, functional and quite beautiful to boot. I mean seriously, what started out as a pile of lumber turned into this in just 3 short days.

Impressive, right? Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you to Kyle for all of his hard work and for putting up with me for the last few months. I wish I could say its all going to get better in a few short weeks, but I know it probably will get worse for a short time once this baby arrives. Nevertheless, it'll all get better someday, right?

We all love you very much and are so grateful to have you in our lives. Happy Father's Day!

Evolution of a Nap

I went to check on Ada during her nap time today, but was unable to open the door. I could hear her snoring and deduced that she was indeed asleep in front of the door. So I went through the bathroom door and this is what I found.

All of her toys and books were pulled off the bookshelf and she was…

Sound asleep in front of her door. Just as I suspected.

Guess she had a big ol’ time before she fell asleep.

Who's a big girl?!

In preparation for Cashew's arrival, we've been playing musical bedrooms at our house. We've moved the nursery down the hall to one of the guest bedrooms, turned the main guest bedroom into Ada's room and have turned what used to be the nursery into the main guest bedroom. Whew. Anyway, last Friday, Ada began sleeping in her big girl bed. I was very nervous about how this might go. For those of you who know Ada well, she is somewhat rigid when it comes to her sleeping routine. Sleeping with us has never been an issue because she really only sleeps well in her own bed. I didn't know what she would do with the freedom of no bed rails or anything to keep her in, but alas, this child just keeps suprising us!



The first night, she got out of bed once just after Kyle put her down. He went back in, put her back in her bed and said goodnight. Not a peep out of the child until 8AM the next morning. In fact, we were making breakfast Saturday AM and Ada reached up to where the coffee mugs rae and said "Cahckee," which is her word for coffee. One night in her big girl bed and she thinks she's ready for a morning cup of coffee!

Every other night she has slept just fine, but has started getting up at 6AM. This does not bode well for her 8 month pregnant Mommy, or "Maudi" as Ada has named her, who is up 1/2 the night anyway with pregnancy insomnia and Braxton Hicks contractions. Today, she made it until almost 8, so maybe we're on our back to a 12 hour sleep cycle. For her, not Mommy.

There's still some decorating left to be done in her room so I'll post photos of the finished product later. And for those of you wondering, Cashew is only 7 weeks away from making his/her debut. July 10th is the scheduled delivery unless he/she arrives earlier. So Matt and Danny, if this baby holds out...looks like you'll have a new one to share your birthday with from now on!

Mother's Day Weekend with the Fam

We haven't had a Tolles' family fun weekend in s good long while, so it was just time. In fact, we haven't even seen Grandma and Grandpa Tolles since Aunt Courtney's wedding almost a year ago. And since Mother's Day and Grams' birthday fell at the same time, we could think of no better weekend to all get together at our house.

Wow. Ada just hams it up. The moment Grandma and Grandpa arrived on Friday morning, she lept into their arms and played with them all day long. However, once Dee-Dee and Papa arrived a few hours later, she said hello to them and then went and told Grandma and Grandpa "Bye," sealed with a kiss. It was a little unclear as to whether she thought since new visitors arrived, the others had to go; or if since her Papa was now here, she probably wasn't going to see much of anyone else, so she thought it only polite to say her goodbyes then. I'm leaning towards the latter.

Anyhow, we had a great time of fellowship. Ada danced her heart out to her "Elmo" CD, her new favorite character, for those that don't know. And it was certainly good to catch up with grandparents who we haven't seen for such a long time. The Shaha's all came over for a Fish Fry on Saturday night and Aunt Lindsay brought fun 3-D sidewalk chalk and actually let the other kids color with it! Or "cully," as Ada says.

Thanks to everyone for making the drive here! We enjoyed the visit and look forward to more!