Caught in the act!

Three forward movements, hand over hand, toy retrieved. Ainsley crawls forward! I'm just posting this so I have a reference when I attempt to do her baby book!

Take a look at these

I am way too lazy to figure out how to upload video so here is my progressive still photography of a girl who desperately wants to get somewhere. The knees are in the air, the eyes are fixed on the prize
huh, it seems like she may sit up instead, and she is starting to flip around...
now backed up against the wall but determined to turn the situation around...

moved by mommy and so grateful...
that she turns to face me and give me a grin...
"ohh, look at me, I'm sliding backward."
"let's give this one more try, shall we." Seriously this kid cracks me up, I'll put her down a good five feet from the Christmas tree and she ends up under it somehow and starts pulling on the ornaments. Who is this kid? I really need hidden cameras, she can't be getting everywhere by going backwards!This was just a cute one to throw in. Mike is playing songs for the girls. Notice Aubrey's hand gently on her sister's back. She is so sweet with her and wants to make sure she doesn't fall. I love this family!

Happy Holidays?

My dad found out a few days ago that the company he has been working for for six years is most likely dissolving before the end of the year. As of Tuesday, the owner wanted to close this Friday, you know tomorrow, but I think they talked him out of that. Thanks for the notice boss. My dad's boss was diagnosed with Alzheimer's some time ago and it is getting harder and harder to run a business. This is about the worst time of year for this to happen to a plumber. It is always slow around the holidays with all extra money going to gifts, so it will be very difficult to find another job. Who wants to hire someone new when you don't even have enough work for your current employees? What a bummer for my parents! Maybe they'll get lucky and someone will buy the business and keep the three employees on. Who knows? It just isn't ideal to be in your 60's and have your job be pulled right out from underneath you.

Yesterday

I french braided Aubrey's hair for the first time. I'm not that fast at it, so hopefully I will improve with practice. Aubrey was really patient because I told her I was making her hair very pretty.
It's pretty loose, every time I would drop the comb Aubrey would turn to see what I dropped. I had to figure out how to leave it in my hand while I worked.
The braid was out after her nap and left her hair looking like it had a crimping iron applied to it. We also decorated our tree last night. Aubrey really enjoyed it. She wanted to hang ALL the ornaments and got really upset when Mike and I would hang them. I had a box set aside with unbreakable ornaments just for her, but she had so much fun she wanted to keep going. She doesn't understand that it is decorated for the season though. She is watching a show right now with three ornaments in her lap. I guess I am going to have to decide what I want to do about this.
This is Aubrey's section. She was into clustering the ornaments on the same branches. I am ashamed to say that we "fixed" it after she went to bed. I have a 2 foot tree that still needs decorating, maybe I'll let Aubrey decorate that one however she wants, and leave it that way Hmmm, maybe it can even go in her room. No, then she will never take a nap. It will probably go in the playroom though. I love this season!!!

I'm happy to report

As of today, Ainsley can officially get from a crawling position into a sitting position without the backward somersault! Go Ainsley!!! Aubrey is growing more aware of numbers and what they mean. She was apparently "behind" in this area when we had her assessed for speech. In other words, bad mommy hadn't worked on this enough with her. So after two months of counting everything we come into contact with, she gets it. She rediscovered a little monkey today while playing and told me she has two who has. Woohoo! She also corrects us when we give her treats. She tells us she wanted two or three, not one. When she was assessed she understood one and more, but not two. So we are progressing. She also knows a few colors by name too, something else I had apparently dropped the ball on. Oh, and with one viewing on The Santa Clause she now knows who "Ho Ho Ho" is.

Santa isn't the only one with a pink nose

Poor little Ainsley has a cold. She has had colds in the past, or at least I thought she had, but not like this. She came down with it Thursday and was just a bit cranky, no biggy. Her naps have been getting shorter and shorter all weekend due to congestion. Yesterday she was so snotty, poor little girl. Last night we had some quality time together while I was trying to clear her nose, then calm her down, then get her back to sleep. Needless to say, the Heldt girls didn't make it to church this morning... Ainsley, although she seems incredibly happy right now, is blowing out all kinds of stuff with her sneezes and HATES for me to wipe it off. I actually wiped some into her eye because she was so squirmy. Hopefully snot in the eye doesn't cause infections. We actually have colored snot so it is definitely a real sickness. I will be washing all plush toys and de-germing the toys today in hopes to keep Aubrey well. Oh and it is pretty much my fault she is sick. Mike was sick early last week and I insisted that he hold Ainsley while I did something (I don't remember what). He told me he shouldn't be holding her, and me, assuming Mike was being a big baby and not really that sick ignored him. I also figured since we all live together we have already been exposed so what harm could a little daddy time do?Lesson learned, lots of harm.

Turkey Weekend

Don't worry she didn't eat the skin. It was just a better picture with it on!

We had a yummy Thanksgiving dinner and have been enjoying leftovers all weekend! Here's what we ate.

Turkey

Stuffing

Green Bean Casserole

Candied Yams

Gravy

Rolls

Jellied Cranberries

Pumpkin Pie

It was a delicious meal. I definitely continued eating well after I was full. Aubrey loved the candied yams, cranberries, and turkey. Ainsley had a tray full of stuffing, and Mike and I ate it all! What a weird concept. Let's make a lot of healthy food, but slather it in totally unhealthy sauces and eat twice as much as usual. I definitely did a much better job than last year with the meal! How was your Thanksgiving?

Adventures in potty training

More and more Aubrey is waking up dry in the morning. We are super proud of her. We also put a potty in her room so she can just go when she gets up, I am sure this is a big part of it. She is both bowel and urine trained, but it is still very much on her terms. She hates to be coerced into going and will fight you if you try to convince her that she needs to try. Man, that girl can hold it. I do put a pull up on over her undies when we go out, more for me then for her. She hasn't needed them though!!! Here are a few pics and stories of adventures.

After taking off her pants and diaper, she decided to sleep in the corner of the room. This happened within the first week of having a bed, and only happened once, but it was pretty cute. And by this, I mean sleeping on the floor. The naked from the waist down thing happens ALL the time, and unfortunately she still pees when she's asleep occasionally. Well, actually three times this week. Yes, three loads of bedding instead of three loads of whites, darks, and kid clothes.
She also takes off her clothes wherever she is when she decides she needs to go. She then yells "mun" and charges for the bathroom.

Question of the week

Have you ever taken the Real Age quiz? Mike and I did this morning. Mike's real age was 21.3 years old and mine was 29.8 (3 months older than I actually am). In my defense, I was asked about weight fluctuation in the last five years and mine has really gone up and down due to pregnancy, and I wasn't allowed to note that it was because of pregnancy! Also Mike has been playing basketball a few morning s a week for two weeks so he got to answer that he exercises, and I haven't exactly been working out regularly. So my question... Who do you think gave more accurate answers? No, not really, the real question is what is your real age?

http://www.realage.com/

so thankful

There are numerous things that I am constantly thanking God for; my children being in good health, a faithful husband, an amazing church, growing friendships, safe travel in inclement weather... the list goes on and on. There are so many things that I don't thank God for, at least not regularly, so here it goes. Lord, I am so thankful for...
...being born into a country that is governed by democracy
...being able to worship you without fear of prison, persecution, or death
...being lead to Castle Rock to raise our family
...and you leading so many amazing families to do the same
...and us living life together at Plum Creek Community Church
...always feeling at ease with our finances knowing that ultimately You are the provider for our family
...the medical innovations that continue to come about making fertility easier for so many couples that we know and don't know
...You growing families through adoption both here and abroad, for You knowing the plan even when we don't
...sitting at a table with Rachael last December at a brunch and running into her at Kohl's, finding out we are practically neighbors, and having kids that enjoy hanging out together.
...life long friends that I can continue to live life with through email, blogs, phone calls, and occasional visits
... our constant flow of house guests, we are so blessed by these visits
...seasons, and when we wake up to snow the day before Thanksgiving the first words out of my daughters mouth are "shoes?" "go?" even when my words are "not right now"
...so many Americans being willing to serve our country in peace times and war so that a draft is no longer necessary
...always being able to find plane tickets for under $250 to visit family in California
...microwaves and refrigerators
...caffeine and dessert
thank you Lord for caring for my family and always remembering us, even when we don't seem to appreciate it. Thank you for not holding a grudge when I forget to talk to You or acknowledge something terrific that You did for me. Thank you for providing your Son as the ultimate sacrifice for MY SINS, for providing grace to all of us even though we so don't deserve it and could never earn it. Thank you for allowing me to find you in my youth before scepticism and self reliance could take over and harden my heart to You. Thank you for each breath. Thank You.

Happy Holidays from the Heldt Family

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9552682628

It takes about 30 seconds to watch and is totally worth it! Enjoy!

just another Monday morning

I host a playgroup every Monday morning with a group of moms from my church and a few moms I've met at the park or been introduced to by friends. Basically, I open up my house weekly to provide a safe environment for kids to play and women to invest in each others lives. Since it is Thanksgiving week, we decorated cupcakes to loosely resemble turkeys!
Fine, they look a little more like peacocks, but it was a valiant effort on my part to say the least!
These four cuties are all within a month of each other in age. Laina and Ainsley are doing such a great job sitting up. Well the two Owen's are too, but I haven't mentioned them on this blog so it isn't as relevant, and they are a little older than the girls too :)
Aubrey and Julianna are playing soccer. I apparently was too since I was totally holding the camera slanted. My backyard is not a huge hill, just a tiny little slope. Julianna was totally dribbling across the lawn, I was super impressed!
And, a non related picture of Ainsley up on all fours! She traveled all over our floor today while I was making cupcakes. She maneuvered through a a series of rolls and large scoots backwards. When did she get so big? She is already seven months tomorrow. Oh and it was 76 degrees today and Wednesday should be in the 20's with an 80 percent chance of snow. Colorado is pure craziness when it comes to weather!!!

At the office

Today my daddy is being so silly. When he went to work he went to the wrong office. He went to our office at our house, not the one down the street where I can't see him. Mommy told me that daddy can be more flexible with his new job and wanted to work from here today since he didn't get much sleep last night. I always wonder what daddy does at work, so I think I am going to sit right here and watch. Hmmm, he looks a lot like mommy looks when she checks her email. I don't get it, how does daddy looking at his computer get me food?

A girl and her who-ha

Aubrey has renamed Monkey, WHOHA. As many of you know, this is a slang expression for, well, you know. So we have some pretty funny conversations going on around here on a daily basis. Here are a few of the noteworthy statements that come out of our mouth on a daily basis.

-Aubrey can you find your Whoha, it's time for nap.

-Mommy's got your whoha.

-Can you give whoha a kiss?

-Can Ainsley see whoha?

-Grab your whoha and head upstairs.

-No, we don't play with Whoha in the grocery store, only at home or in the car!

I think you get the point. It is just plain funny sometimes. I really love when Aubrey walks through the house trying to find her whoha. She actually calls out to it expecting a response. She also knows that she can't take toys from her sister, so she will still take the toy, but tell you it is for Whoha. Currently Who ha is watching a Baby Einstein episode, Aubrey is coloring, and Ainsley is playing with plastic keys. Aubrey insisted that we put it on for Whoha, got him set up in front of the TV in a cushy chair with a few toys, a sippy of milk, and a blanket! This girl adores her Whoha!

Sitcom Moment

It really happened. Aubrey dumped an entire box of cereal on the floor. So, was I off checking my email or on the phone with a friend? Nope! I was standing right next to her saying, and I quote, "Aubrey, don't touch that box of cereal, you need to leave it on the counter." To which she responded, "Bobrie's Oh's" and pulled it right off while flipping it over. I was shell shocked and not a fast responder... obviously. I picked up what I could (5 second rule) and swept up anything near a floor board and trashed it. I was so mad! Did I punish her? Nope! I proceeded to make my kid fresh waffles for lunch. This actually happened yesterday. Today's battle, Aubrey and I took a shower about an hour ago. She has been playing naked ever since. Occasionally she brings me over her underwear and tells me "no clothes" but for the most part she is happily playing away. I am going to start lunch after I post this so I guess I will get her dressed before she eats. Or maybe we'll all get naked and join in on the fun. Who knows what's to come in any crazy day at home. Oh, wait, she is actually putting on her underwear right now. She has both of her feet through the same hole, but it is a start!

baby steps

I'm down a pants size! I haven't been on a scale since September, but clothes don't lie. Our scale needs new batteries and the batteries are downstairs. Mike and I are pretty lazy about things like that. Hey maybe I should leave the batteries dead, I seem to be doing much better without a scale. Maybe I will have enough energy to workout this week and really make some improvements before the season of gluttony is in full swing!

hot poppie

I did end up putting one of those door knob thingies on the inside of Aubrey's door since I am not always available to hear her sneaking out during her nap. So after I get Ainsley up in the morning I open Aubrey's door a little so she can come downstairs when she gets up. This was my morning conversation with Aubrey Sunday morning.

AJ: (walking down the stairs) poppie (coffee)
ME: Yes, Mommy is making coffee.
AJ: Bobrie poppie?
ME: Coffee is just for mommy. What would you like to drink?
AJ (still on the stairs) Hot cocoa?
ME: Yes, you can have some hot cocoa.

It's just kinda funny to hear your two year old demanding coffee as they come down the stairs hair disheveled and sleepy eyed. I have been giving her cocoa in a sippy, but it just seems like a lot of sugar in the morning so I found this double shot glass (mug) from Dave and Busters. It's definitely Aubrey size, so now she gets a mug just like mommy. It is a little like the three little bears around here. Mike's mug is bigger than mine and Aubrey's is the smallest. It is actually pretty cute.

A new trick

Ainsley learned how to go from the crawling position to the sitting position. You back yourself into it in case you were wondering. The problem, Ainsley isn't an independent sitter yet. So she topples over backward or onto her side. It's hilarious, but sad. I guess I need to put her into the sitting position more often so she can master it before getting a head injury. I still think crawling is coming soon. She currently hops forward and then splats back onto the carpet. We'll see, it could still be months I am sure, she is just showing a lot of mastery lately. Any predictions from cyberspace?

too tired to sleep

It has been one nap fiasco after another here this afternoon. Ainsley woke up early from nap number 1 which I thought meant she needed to take nap number 2 early also. Nope, she planned on staying up an extra hour. So after several failed attempts, me realizing it was time for her to eat again, Baby Einstein on my bed so I could finally take a shower, and a long hard cry, Ainsley is asleep, or at least quiet. Not a bad way to spend an hour forty minutes.

In the middle of all of this Aubrey peed her pants. I had JUST asked her if she had to go pee pee and she said no, moments later... MOMMY. I got her cleaned up and changed, luckily she was wearing jeans and socks and they absorbed most of it. Then we headed upstairs for a story, that Aubrey wanted no part of, got her in a diaper, and put her in bed. While I was in the shower Aubrey showed up naked, noticed her sis watching TV and wanted to join in. I jumped out of the shower, took my towel and marched Aubrey back to her room. She told me she had to poop so I put her on the potty, she peed. I put her back in a diaper and left. Moments later she found me getting dressed and she was naked again. I put her back in a diaper, and a onsie, and overalls, and back into bed, oh and I put a door knob thingy on her door too. I put Ainsley down for her nap, and finished getting dressed. Aubrey was wailing, I went in there and she pleaded with me to go poop. She tried, couldn't, and got back in bed. I sat down to type this entry and she was calling me again. I walked in her room and she managed to get all those clothes off, and was holding poop in both of her hands! Ewww. I got her cleaned up, diapered, dressed, and back in bed. It has been an hour since we first went upstairs to read a story, she is definitely not in bed, but quiet. Nope, now she is knocking on her door saying "I up" no kidding, go to sleep.

Did I mention we are watching our little friend Jasmine today too? Jasmine was a trooper. She listened to the story, we sang a song and she got into bed. She did cry at one point 20 minutes later, probably because of all the ruckus, but she is asleep, and has been for 45 minutes. What is with my crazy kids today? Don't they know we are having people over for dinner tonight and I want them to be rested? This nap sequence has been pure craziness today. You gotta love being a mom of youngsters!

things I've taught Aubrey that I wish I hadn't

- to laugh when someone farts and say pee you.
- that she gets flavored warm milk when I drink coffee. No biggy when it was a few times a month, but now that I am back to daily it seems like more sugar than she needs at 8am. Sure I could stop giving it to her, but not without my coffee...
- to growl when she is angry. I apparently rumble when my patience is dwindling. Now when she isn't happy with certain outcomes, she growls in disapproval.
- to hop on in whenever I, anyone, is in the shower. She joined Mike this morning, and to his utter horror, she was very interested in the male anatomy. He said he has never felt so violated. Needless to say her stay was short.
-How to search for toys on the computer. Whenever I pull the computer out she hops up on my lap and wants to look at toys on line.
-that chocolate is delicious. She has her mommy's sweet tooth. Maybe Ainsley will be our savory kid like Mikey.


I'm sure there are tons more, but these are the what came to mind as I was in the kitchen making Aubrey hot chocolate this morning, it is precious to hear her say cocoa though.

Free to ME!!!

Here's some of the new furniture we were given. Doesn't it look like it was always there?
Another angle, the chair was the only thing we already owned (and the gobs of toys). I want to decorate the walls with artwork that the kids do. I am thinking about mounting a few strips of cork dressed in molding (project for Mikey) and then rotating Aubrey's artwork.
One last shot. I felt like it deserved three since I have been working on this for five-ish hours today. There is still another bookshelf, shorter and wider, but I am still working on the last third of stickers that are on it. I don't think it will fit in the playroom so it may live in Aubrey's room instead. I was also able to get a bunch more toys upstairs too so hopefully it will be a little less toy crazy in our main living area. Hopefully...

38 minutes

is how long it took for Aubrey to settle into her new bed. We got some amazing furniture from a friend of ours who recently moved into a smaller home. His daughter was getting all new furniture so we got all of her old stuff. We scored. There is so much furniture in fact that we are putting most of it in our playroom! Their are 7 cream bookshelf-like items equipped with wicker baskets and an amazing loft bed with a built in rail from Pottery Barn Kids. Obviously we have the bed on the lowest level, but when the girls are older we can raise it up and make a playhouse area underneath. It is such a huge blessing. Seriously, second hand PB Kids is way better than ANYTHING we would have bought. A few of the items are covered in stickers, so I have a fun project for football day tomorrow.
She really is happy, she just didn't want her picture taken, this was just the best picture of the bed. If can be raised to about five feet off the ground. basically a top bunk without a bottom bunk. Oh, and I am removing that Velcro, it was for a curtain that enclosed the play area. I'll replace it in a few years when we use it that way. :)
Aubrey immediately put Who Ha in his place of honor. The comforter can reverse to light pink, which probably goes better with our extremely lime green walls, but I like this side! I had a purple and green set in my hand, but since this is such a good transition bed from a crib, Ainsley will probably use it too and her room is orange and hot pink. I know, more hand me downs for little A, she'll get used to it eventually.
See, I told you she likes her new bed. She was thrilled and kept going upstairs to sit on it.
Aubrey is thinking, "Do I have to share everything with her?" And Aubrey is wearing a dress with pants if you were wondering.
Aubrey all tucked on for the night. Her music box doesn't connect to the bed, but she is pretty attached to it and I wanted this to be a smooth transition. I think 38 minutes was a great first night. She did immediately come downstairs after I tucked her in. I grabbed one of those, you can't open the door thingies, and went into her room, I told her if she came out of her room again I was going to put it on her door handle so she couldn't get out. Worked like a charm, she still yelled for me a few times to tell me trivial things, but she didn't even get out of her bed. What's next, college?

Exersaucer of Poop

Without fail, you put Ainsley in this thing and she drops a load. This picture was taken two days after our Fall snow. It was in the mid 70's. I love Fall!

Halloween Week

What I really liked about Christmas as a kid was that it was the holiday that never ended. We celebrated Christmas for weeks. Christmas with Grandaddy and family, Christmas with my Grandma and family, Christmas with my parents, Christmas with my siblings and their children, Christmas with my dad's family. And let's not forget the family friends who always brought gifts. I loved the never ending gift parade. I know, I know, that sounds horrible, but I was a kid, give me a break! What I think I really loved was that it was season, not a day. I tried to do that with Halloween this year for Aubrey.

On Sunday, we carved our pumpkin. Mike used an amazing witch stencil and it was fantastic. Unfortunately, some unexpected warm weather came through and it got all wilted before Halloween. Oh well, next year I guess we will do it the night before. We also roasted our pumpkin seeds!
On Monday, we had a Costume Party playgroup. The lack of costumes in this picture is due to the craft. The kids sponge painted harvest pumpkins. I had prepared pieces to make them into Jack-O-Lanterns, but as it turns out, 2 year olds only have the attention span for one step crafts!

Tuesday we went to our cousin Zoe's (Owie's) Halloween birthday party. It was a blast and Aubrey got to make a scary hand, decorate a foam pumpkin, and make a personal pumpkin shaped pizza.
Yesterday we went Trick-or-Treating at a local museum with Jenna and Laina. It was crazy busy and a bit overwhelming, but still fun. Check out Laina's costume. Jenna made it! Yes, from a pattern and everything. Wow!
Aubrey still wasn't sure about this whole Halloween thing, but then she ate a sucker which made it all worth it! We also went around our own neighborhood once we got home and then passed out candy to the kids. Aubrey wasn't thrilled about giving candy away, but she got used to the idea. She was mostly bummed that the kids weren't coming in to play. Both of the girls went to sleep without a fight and Mike and I lounged around for a bit before bed. All in all, it was a great holiday.