2 Years Ago

I am so in awe at how much my little family has changed in two short years. Ainsley is roughly at the same age Aubrey was in this picture. Well, she is currently two months older, but close enough. This picture also tells me I have a missing box of 2T clothes floating around. I must locate them!

A Little Me

The girls providing an opportunity to vacuum the couch

While I was doing dinner dishes tonight I observed the cutest thing. Queen Aubrey was sitting on the couch giving directions to Ainsley to organize the coffee table. I heard statements like "It's right in front of you Ainsley, I know you see it." and "You need to pick up five more things to be done." and "All the figurines too, Ainsley, they need to be in a basket."

Now the funny part is that Ainsley rarely picks up toys willingly. It is always a battle. But somehow, Aubrey got her to do it. Ainsley was even calling her "Your Highness." Dude. I was a little bit jealous at that part. Then I heard more, "Two more toys Ainsley and you can pick a treasure!" So Aubrey was bribing her... with bingo chips. Yup, that was the treasure! Aubrey was totally imitating all of my parent talk. Sheesh, nothing like a 4 year old parrot letting you know how you are performing your job. Luckily she was giving direction and offering incentives. That's good stuff! And don't worry. It's some sort of game so Ainsley has been the Queen too, just not while I was doing dishes.

Toddler Drama

Our little Ainsley is fighting hard for her rights.

... the right to suck her thumb.

... the right to use the potty for number one, but not number two.

... the right to leave her room continually after being put to bed.

... the right to sleep with Mommy and Daddy for a good portion of each night.

We are trying to fight back, really, we are. She is PERSISTENT and we are TIRED. The new saying in our home is "She won't always be two." April 20th cannot come quickly enough. We are anxious for the three year old version and praying that it resembles the sweet compliant girl we used to know. Sad side note. She has an "owie" on her favorite thumb and can't suck it currently. She is devastated and it does break my heart a little bit. At this point I would gladly have a thumb sucker if she would give up the other three vices.

Seriously?

Does life get any better than this???

Unexpected

So Ainsley flat out refused to have her picture taken. "I can't" translated "I won't" was on repeat. Her eyes swelled with tears, it was so sad. She told me she wanted me to take her picture with our camera. I am pretty sure picture places frown on this, for obvious reasons, but the photographer consented and let me take a few pictures of Ainsley. As long as I was snapping, she was smiling, and the real photographer got some great ones too. Here are my two out takes.
This one is actually really cute. If I was capable of thinking quickly, I would have actually zoomed my camera. I cropped this, so I am sure the quality would be grainy if I had a print made. Her crooked smile made a few of the shots, but there were several others that I fell in love with so I passed on those. Besides, I have 100's of that smile on my camera.

Geez!

This is Ainsley's current "smile for the camera" smile. It's so memorable that her CBS teachers have even commented on it. After nearly 2 years, I finally made an appointment to get portraits done, and this is her current smile. Lovely. Her bangs are a little crooked, she has a little scratch on her nose, and I have no idea what she will wear, but we're doing it. Finally. I hope it turns out well!

On the mend

All four of us are through the worst of whatever that was. It was a special kind of virus that just kept kicking us when we were down. Although we still have stuffy noses and lovely coughs, our voluntary quarantine is over. Wash you hands and take your vitamins, these germs are nasty that are going around.

Harvest Parade

Since Thursday was a snow day, Aubrey's pre-school had their Harvest Parade today. I hate that schools feel the need to call Halloween "Harvest" but that is a different post altogether. I'm pretty sure they ate cupcakes and then marched around in their costumes. I don't think they harvested much of anything. Thanksgiving may be a great opportunity to celebrate "Harvest" but I digress. Unfortunately, the director told me that Aubrey hit her wall about 15 minutes before the parade started. She seems to be back under the weather. She just wanted to go home and is now laying on the couch waiting for death.
I totally rocked the fairy hair today. I guess Halloween was my trial run, because I did way better today. And yes, this is Ainsley's costume, but I didn't want Aubrey wearing a full length dress to pre-school so she happily became everyone's favorite tinker fairy. And yea for me buying their costumes a little loose. There is plenty of room to grow into them which will provide hours and years of dress-up fun!
Here she is from the front. I love Halloween, err, I mean Harvest.

Mommy Brain

I had planned on making Butternut Squash Soup for dinner on Halloween, but I had neglected to buy heavy cream at the store so I made Tortellini Vegetable soup instead. Today I bought heavy cream so I could make my butternut squash soup, BUT, I used my stock making the Tortelini soup on Saturday. I guess we're having fish sticks instead...

Pumpkins

Colorado had several deep freezes this month and it really affected our pumpkins. If pumpkins freeze, they mold and turn to mush. I bought our pumpkin after the first freeze, but from an inside display at Walmart (that must have been outside during the freeze). So yeah, we went to carve our pumpkin yesterday and it was soft and moldy on the bottom. We figured burning a candle in a moldy gourd was a bad idea and threw it out. Here we were on Halloween with no pumpkin to carve.

Then I noticed the two very small pumpkins the girls got on our pre-school field trip to the pumpkin patch the day of the first freeze. They were about 6 and 8 inches tall. We crossed our fingers and went for it. Aubrey wanted a sad pumpkin, which looks kinda scared. Ainsley wanted an angry pumpkin. Although they refused to help scoop out the seeds, they enjoyed the activity. Carving small pumpkins is really fast which is great for a short attention spans, mine included.

Trick or Treat

Cinderella

My version of Cinderella hair

Tinkerbell

My version of Tinkerbell's bun

My costume from a party earlier in the week. This one is for my mom. :)

Wow!

Schools were closed for three days this week due to a crazy "winter" storm. We got nearly 2 feet of snow in our town. Here's a picture of our backyard after a half day of melt.
This morning, Halloween, we played outside and let the girls sled in the front yard. Mike even built up a ramp for them with all the snow that was on our driveway. Aubrey was not a fan of the ramp and eventually found her own path.
Ainsley was a big fan. The faster the better for our little dare devil. And yes, the kids are not healthy, but we couldn't let an opportunity like this pass up by. It may be January before we get another storm like this! I realize this is most likely a sign of things to come, but last winter our sledding days were limited and it was a bummer to wait for the perfect storm.

Can't Fight It

Aubrey got sick too. Here's to hoping she recovers quickly!

Winter Cold

Ainsley has her first winter cold, in Fall, and I don't like it. She is battling a temperature of 103.6, is increasingly fussy, and we are both sleep deprived. There were about 5.5 hours that I attempted sleep last night. Ainsley was next to me the entire time. She woke up continuously, each time screaming at me, crying, or trying to bolt from the bed to go downstairs. I would wager that the longest period of uninterrupted sleep was 20 minutes. It turns out that lack of sleep makes me rival the Wicked Witch of the West. Aubrey refuses to play by herself and avoid exposure, and I am done trying to stop the inevitable. Meanwhile we are in the process of getting 10-18 inches of snow. I'm tired. Did I mention that?

Healthy Start to the Day

I tend to cycle through different breakfast foods. I used to be addicted to Special K cereal. There was also the oatmeal with raisins and sliced almonds stage that lasted through the summer. Last month it was whole wheat toast with cinnamon sugar. I know, not the best start to the day, but oh so yummy. Now I am on an eggs kick. I have been making egg sandwiches daily for a few weeks. I think I perfected it this morning, cutting out a few extra calories. Today it was half of a high fiber english muffin, a slice of warmed canadian bacon, and an egg over medium. That's only 135 calories, which leaves lots of room for coffee creamer. :) This week I plan on adding a side of fruit too. I am loving this combination and hope I can get my kids to try it out. What is your morning breakfast ritual?

Meeting Cousin Mary!

Here's Ainsley holding her newest cousin, Mary Lucille, a whopping 9 days old! I had to remind her that she is real, you know, since she is the size of some of our dolls. She is precious and slept through our visit while being passed around to multiple willing hands.
Aubrey was awe struck by her sweet cousin. She is actually playing "baby Mary" right now. She is swaddled in her blanket and Ainsley is tending to her care. I love having new babies in the family, especially knowing my sleep isn't impacted by their presence. Happy Auntie signing out.

How do you celebrate having a car again? Even if it is just a borrowed one...

We checked out a place called Monkey Bizness about a half hour from here. The kids were slow to warm up, but I joined in the fun and all of a sudden they were loving it and ready to explore the whole place.
Ainsley was all about the journey and loved to explore all the aspects of each jump house. Aubrey was more destination driven and just ran through the obstacle course to get to the giant slide at the end.
Ainsley was so willing to do this huge slide by herself. I love her daring spirit!
And here's the girls at the top of a wall that they jumped off of. So fun! Well, except for the part where I ended up going to the wrong location and missed out on a few hours of time with one of my dear friends.

Boo!

Here's Ainsley showing off her new Halloween shirt compliments of her Great Aunt and Uncle in California. Something tells me that she will still be wearing it come Christmas. She loves the kitties on the front and was so happy to put it on this morning. That's her "I'm so proud" expression.

Making Cakes

The girls took advantage of an abnormally warm Fall day yesterday by playing outside. They made Birthday cakes out of sand, used rocks for frosting, and leaves for decorations. I think this is our last hurrah with the sand box (turtle). It is just too small to really play in, and sand coming out causes lots of clean up drama. They had a blast and that's the main thing. There is a possibility for snow tonight, we'll see...

#1 Reason to go to a Barn Dance

To get pictures like this

and this

and this.

Mommy Daughter Time

taken at one of the last Rockies games of the season

Aubrey's class earned a pajama party earlier this month. All the kids wore pj's to school today and had a popcorn party while they watched Veggie Tales. Mike's not sure why we are paying for our kid to watch movies, but I assured him that 30 minutes of Veggie Tales doesn't negate all the good pre-school is doing for her!

When I picked her up (solo, since Mike and I are sharing a car and he was working from home) we had some Mommy Daughter time. I also brought a change of clothes so she didn't have to go all over town in fleece pj's. We went to Michael's, (not a great idea since she wanted everything) the Dollar Tree, (where she did get to pick one thing, a Halloween Poster Painting kit) Fantastic Sam's, (where she got a trim and I got some unsightly hair removed off of my face) and the grocery store. It's amazing how much I truly enjoy my kids when they are not together!!! It's also a pleasant surprise to see that Aubrey dropping her nap isn't the nightmare I imagined. She does very well with her quiet time and enjoys having time to herself.

Sadly, I didn't really have any quality time with Ainsley today. She watched The Never Ending Story while I paid bills and sorted through stacks of papers. She was thrilled though, for some strange reason she loves that movie.

Pumpkin Fun

We painted small pumpkins to get us in the mood for Fall.
I had envisioned cute little faces and perhaps yarn for hair. They envisioned something else.
Ainsley joined Aubrey's class on a field trip to a pumpkin patch. Here they are going through the straw maze. Oh, and it was kinda snowing and below freezing. Fun times in the Rockies!

Well, that wasn't on my To Do list!

Last Friday we were involved in a four car accident. I was in the middle, so I have damage to the front and rear of my car. Thankfully, it is getting repaired and should be back to us in a few weeks.
The Honda Pilot is a tank and was virtually damage free, not so much for my Odyssey. So if you are looking for an SUV, I would recommend a Pilot for sure. Thankfully my girls were able to walk away with nothing more than a slight burn from their seat belts and a healthy respect for cars and how dangerous they can be.

Costumes

Aubrey has told me with great conviction that she would like to be Cinderella for Halloween this year. I've made comments like "We have so many princess dresses, wouldn't you want to be something else?" and she has relented and discussed fairies, witches, and a cat costume, all with princess style dresses. Today I was convicted. There is nothing wrong with Cinderella. I just hate how expensive and poorly made Disney costumes are. I also seem to be pushing Aubrey to abandon princesses. Why? She's four. Their is nothing wrong with it. So today I picked up a Cinderella costume to surprise her with after school.

And for Ainsley... she was conflicted between Darth Vader and the Incredible Hulk. I totally played the gender card and told her those are for boys and directed her to the girl costumes. After some debate between a storybook witch and Tinkerbell, she choose Tinkerbell. Now we just have to get a warm day at the end of October to wear these. Chances are I will be pushing the cozy monkey costume for her on the actual day.

Fall

Mike and I have been trying to catch the Aspens at their peak for 5 Falls! We are always too early or too late. Well this year we seem to have timed it just right at higher elevations. The lower elevations, you know, like 7,000 feet, still have a week or so left before they are perfect. Mike took the picture above in a grove of Aspens. That's pretty much his happy place. He loves these trees.
This was taken at a lower elevation so you can see the leaves are just beginning to change. It was still stunning with a creek racing by under our feet. It was a much longer outing then we planned, just over 6 hours with the majority of that being in the car. We definitely want to do this again next year, we will just be better prepared with a full picnic and several layers of clothing. It got very cold at one of our stops, but more on that in a few days.

sNOw

When we had our first snowfall on Monday. I was giddy with excitement. The kids were happy and we made a fun wintery day of it. I even woke up this morning anxious to see if we got the 6-12 inches that was forecast. We didn't and I was crestfallen. Today has brought rain, sleet, and snow. I am cold and ready for my friend, the sun, to return. 70 degrees forecast for Saturday at least.

Almost a Date Night

Mike and I had an almost date on Sunday. We attended the Groundwire Banquet where Mike had the honor of being the Emcee. So fun! It was a great night of celebrating the the successes of 2009 and looking forward to what 2010 will hold for this amazing ministry. Ainsley was also kind enough to take our picture before we left. Aubrey also took one of our heads so with a little tape we are good to go!

Not Her Too!

My weekly Bible Study started up a couple of weeks ago so Ainsley is now a pre-schooler too. It isn't official pre-school, but it is a two hour program with Bible Stories, scripture memorization, music class, craft, and lots of other fun activities. She is thrilled to get to go to "school" too.

To Do List

I keep adding more and more trips to my To Do list. There are many, so maybe it is a 10 year plan. The order is irrelevant, just how they popped in my mind.

Getaways for Mike and I
* Wine weekend in Palisade, Co
* A mountain getaway that includes climbing a 14er
* And of course, a return trip to Hawaii, but that dream lives outside my current scope of possibility.

Family Trips (excluding trips visiting family).
*San Diego! I so want to take a trip with the kids to Sea World, The Wild Animal Park, San Diego Zoo, The Beach...
*A quick trip to Wyoming. I want to visit a Dude Ranch and Wyoming is only a few hours away.
* Camping! It's been 4 years, we should really give this a shot. And I totally think the kids would love it.
*Disneyworld/Disney Cruise. This is a several years down the line dream, but I still like the idea of it.

Multi-Family Trips
*Return Trip(s) to the North Carolina Coast
* Winter Cabin Rental
*Camping Trips

What trips are brewing in your mind that you hope to take in the future? I hope I can check some of these off in the years to come!

So Long Gucci

Well, all good things must come to an end. Gucci went back home on Monday. Aubrey was sad and her lip did quiver a little bit, but she is happy that we get to visit her from time to time. Ainsley was sleeping when Gucci went home and she asks about her all the time. "Hey, where's my cat?" We would like to get the girls a kitty of their own, but Ainsley may have an allergy. She had a cold pretty much the entire two weeks that Gucci was here and I often observed her with watery eyes. I think I will talk to her pediatrician about getting an allergy test before we bring a cat into our home permanently. And if cats are out I will have to find a cat size dog to fit the cat size hole in all of our hearts.

My Sweet Girl

With the exception of the cuddly newborn through early walker stage, age 4 is my favorite stage so far. I love seeing how Aubrey interprets the world around her and how she makes sense of it all. I love how she totally gets who God is, but thinks Santa Claus is just a cartoon character. I love that she is beginning to trust that we won't judge her if she doesn't do everything perfectly the first time. I love that she has an opinion on how I should style her hair for school and what outfit she should wear. I love that she wants a boy Barbie, because she already realizes that a girl need a prince to sweep her off her feet. I love that she understands "rules" and doesn't beg me for things that are outside of them. And I truly love that she will still curl up in my lap and be content with some Mommy cuddles. She has captured my heart and I am so thankful to be blessed with an amazing little girl!

This face

is the ONLY thing that gets me through the independent, rather be right than be loved stage, that is the two's. She's too cute to be mad at for long!

Funny Kid

She is doing so well with her letters!

Oh my goodness, my daughters crack me up. When we were potty training Ainsley, Mike started telling stories to help her stay on the potty. It has become a new past time around here to tell silly stories. Here is Aubrey's latest story.

Once upon a time I got invited to a Ball, but there were no potties there! So I went on the floor and nobody cleaned it up, and everyone had to walk in it. Then I danced with the prince and lived happily ever after. The End.

Is it just me, or is the hilarious?

Restoring Order

Man! Things have just gotten out of hand over here. I have been going 100 miles an hour for a few weeks now but simply running in circles. I am feeling very overwhelmed with the pace of things, but can't seem to find the pause button, or even a button that makes us move a little slower. Fortunately my plans for the day got canceled, so I am having a dedicated "find the floor" day. I am planning on filling my van with items to donate and making a delivery later today. I know, I know, we could sell the stuff and make a few dollars. I just don't have the time or energy to invest in that endeavor. But I desperately need to have less stuff, less clutter, less mess. So that's my goal for the girls nap. I will probably change out of my pj's and put on some "work out clothes" so the neighbors don't think I am a total mess.