The Yogurt Sequence

For Aubrey's experience, click here. Aubrey was one month older when her yogurt event was captured.

More Backyard Fun!

The same neighbor that gave us Aubrey's new bike also gave us this great slide for the backyard. Well, we actually paid her $10, but seriously, a bike and slide for $10 is basically her payment for walking them across the street. It's great having neighbors that are upgrading their kids play things. It is also great being the closest neighbor with slightly younger kids! The girls are having so much fun on this slide. Aubrey will take a ball up with her, roll it down, and then chase after it. She has also started to go head first. She tells me, "I be very careful, Mommy." and uses the sides to keep her at a slow pace. Ainsley is constantly trying to climb up it, thankfully she hasn't figured out the ladder yet. Ainsley has also taken a few well deserved feet into the chest. She doesn't walk away after her turn, she just tries to climb right back up. She'll learn. I'm sure after a few weeks the novelty will wear off, but for now it is non-stop fun int he backyard!!!

No Edie! Elmo, not Melmo!

Aubrey has appointed herself Ainsley's speech therapist. It is so cute. She corrects Ainsley whenever she says "Melmo." It is super cute to hear her correcting "Edie" on her words. Ainsley is up to 22 words, 4 animal sounds, and a few two word combinations. I was asking Aubrey's therapist what is on target for a 1 year old. She said that you are looking for 3 words and lots of babble at 12 months (mama, dada, baba all count) and 8-10 words by 18 months. I wish I would have been more of an advocate for Aubrey and got her into Child Find at 18 months. It has been such a blessing and we are truly going to miss Jenn's weekly home visits. I am confident that with guided help from Mike and I Aubrey will continue to grow and be just fine come Kindergarten.

It is very strange to hear so many things coming out of Ainsley's mouth. Aubrey had about 10 words at her 2nd Birthday so we are dealing with a whole new type of toddler. Aubrey is also teaching Ainsley body parts. I've been teaching Aubrey how to sit with Ainsley and a doll or book and show Ainsley the parts of the face, or tell her what they are when Ainsley points. Then Aubrey shows Ainsley her own nose, mouth, or whatever. I think this will be a great way to grow their bond and to help Aubrey feel involved during Ainsley's directed playtime. Aubrey is loving playing with Ainsley. She will come over and take her hand and say, "Baby sister, come in other room." And off they go. It is adorable!!! If you cannot tell, I am loving the interaction between these two lately! Of and they both spin in circles until they fall over when they listen to music! I love spinning kids!

My 2 Year Old Can Do What?

Our neighbor asked me if we would like to have their Schwinn bike that their daughter grew out of. We had planned on getting AJ a bike when she turned four, but with a free heavy duty bike being offered to us, we had to say yes. Aubrey was awake when the bike was brought over so there was no hope of saving it for her Birthday on June 11th. So, I told her that Trinity wanted Aubrey to have a bike for her Birthday. Aubrey calls it her "Happy Birthday Purple Bike!"
AJ has wanted to ride it ALL DAY. I actually ran a few hours of errands to distract her. I told her that riding a bike is a BIG thing, and we HAD to wait for Daddy. Let's just say that the moment Aubrey heard the garage door open she was running for the door yelling, "Daddy home, I rite purple bike now! Yay!!!" I warned her that she might be too small, but she didn't let that stop her. She swayed her bottom from side to side and went for it. She did GREAT! And was riding on her own after a few minutes.
So there you have it, our two year old can ride a bike (with training wheels)!

All Grown Up

Aubrey has changed a lot since last Spring. Here are a few notables.
- Her timidity is gone. Well, it is at least short lived. She warms up very quickly in new settings and is very independent.
- She is a monkey and climbs all the crazy options at the playground. She even figured out that it is easier to climb without her shoes, and now that she takes them on and off by herself, she may take them off and discard them at will.
- She really wants friends. If she sees kids playing she wants to join in, even if we don't know them. The days of parallel play are over.
- She loves dogs! What? She approaches them on her own and even played with one at the park for 15 minutes the other day. She actually was throwing the dog the droll covered tennis ball over and over.
- She doesn't purposely wet anymore! !!! She tells me, she goes by herself, and we are all good. She has only wet once in the last 6 weeks and it was a total accident. She said she needed to go while she was in the bath and by the time she was out and dried off it was too late. She is staying dry more and more while she sleeps, so we are very close to being diaper free.
- She is so verbal. She is clumping 6 words together and making decent sentences.
-She KNOWS her Birthday is coming and is so excited about her party. This is a first. Last year she just didn't get it. It is fun to plan her party knowing that she is anticipating it!

13 Months

Whenever people comment on how opposite Ainsley is to Aubrey when it comes to personality I am quick to point out that Aubrey didn't get difficult until 13 months when she decided to drop a nap. Now don't get me wrong. Ainsley was a much easier baby, more mellow, rarely cries (but whines instead), and is very happy. Aubrey was a great baby, very sweet, loved to cuddle, she just was harder to entertain and I had to work a lot harder at it. Of course Ainsley has Aubrey, so she has a kid who loves to entertain her, bring her toys, and play with her. Who knows, maybe if Ainsley was first she would have been more like Aubrey.

Well, in the last few days I have noticed a little bit of "fire" in Ainsley's personality. She gets MAD when she doesn't get her way, the toy she wants, or is unable to do something she wants to do. Here are a few examples.
*throwing a full fit when she cannot get the shapes into the shape sorter on her first or second try.
*flailing, kicking, and screaming when removed from the stairs.
*after climbing a cement thingy at the zoo and holding onto the rail to see the animal at the zoo, I removed her and was trying to hold her to show her. Yikes, she freaked out and wanted to stand on the bars like her sister and cousins.
*getting mad when meals do not have fruit on her tray.

It's just a little silly, but I am glad to see this little angry streak. It proves that she isn't a little angel after all. Now I have to hope that Aubrey's temperament mellows at 3 so I only am dealing with one fiery female.

Who Needs a Swing Set?

Ainsley loves scooping up the water and sucking it off her fingers.
This is such a great toy on a hot day. They don't get too cold, like they can in a pool, and they are refreshed from all the splashing!
The girls love playing in the sand together. Ainsley tries to scoop it into her mouth mostly, but she is still having fun. Aubrey likes to fill and dump buckets.
Oh and the beloved teeter totter which has finally made it outside. It's a great toy for my little adrenaline junkies.
Aubrey loves to go "too high" with her sister. Ainsley loves it too. It just about gives me a heart attack, hence me hoovering in the background ready to catch Ainsley if she is launched.

And of course we have a plethora of balls, a small basketball hoop, and a few ride on toys. The kids have so much fun outside. I just love this time of year!!!

Girl's Getaway 2008

This past weekend I had the pleasure of taking a little trip with a few of my friends from high school. We have all had children in the last few years and are now stay at home moms. As much as I love having the opportunity to be home, at times I feel like I am losing my mind in the world of toddler. I find myself referring to myself in the third person in the real world, excusing myself to go pee pee all by myself, and having my conversations, with adults, being about the new Little Einstein's that will be on Playhouse Disney next week, and how I better set my DVR for that one. Yikes, it's hard to believe that 3 years ago I was preparing for my first child and teaching 34ish kids reading, writing, and arithmetic.

So we wanted an adult weekend to say the least. What is more adult than sampling wines and champagnes in the Sonoma/Napa Valley area of California? It was wonderful a wonderful time away and I am really hoping that there are many more trips like this in the years ahead. Here are a few of my favorite moments.

* Waking up at 6:26, rolling back over and sleeping until 8am.

*Getting up to an already made pot of coffee (thanks Kattie) and sipping some Joe while reading People magazine. Wow, I was really out of the loop. Jamie Lynn Spears is pregnant? They haven't mentioned that on PBS! I'm kidding, I knew that one, but that was about it.

*Getting carded at our first winery visit, then fearing they would think my CO ID was a fake. When I graduated college we went to Dave and Buster's and the ID checker thought I was using someone's ID and asked me all kinds of questions off it. Once he saw my friends literally rolling on the ground laughing he decided I must be 21.

*Along the same lines, being mistaken for the girlfriend of the 20 year old that was sitting next to me on the return flight. I apparently look much younger than 29 years 11.5 months without the double stroller.

*I hope I get this name right, sitting on the terrace at the Gloria Ferrier Winery sipping champagne and having a picnic of fresh berries and gourmet cheeses. The picture above was our view.

*Getting in trouble for using my cell phone BEFORE the wine tour started and then having the entire group asked to turn theirs off for the tour because of me. Dude, I was planning on ending the call when you showed up to start the tour, calm down!

*Being asked what we were planning on doing after high school while in the hot tub with an older lady. I guess she missed the conservative one piece I was wearing.

*Making oh so many U Turns as we drove past our exit, street, highway...

*Having In N Out in Petaluma.

* Touring the lavender gardens at one of the wineries and trying all of their lavender enhanced beauty products.

*Getting upgraded to a suite!

* Calling Mike and hearing about all the fun they were having.

* Seeing my family waiting for me at the airport and getting all teary eyed when I got a huge hug from Aubrey.

*Coming home to a freshly cleaned house. Thanks Sweetie.

*And last but not least. Having Mike buy 6 bottles of wine from the area I was staying so I could continue the experience back home with him. He really listens. He bought a few Sauvignon Blanc's, Pinot Noir's, and Caberneat's. I have no idea how to spell these and either does my spell check, I hope you aren't cringing too much. Basically he bought the things I said I liked on the trip. We only did a few tastings on the trip because the champagne tasting turned out to be more of a champagne drinking as we also had a tour that served two glasses .75 full with "splashes" offered along the way. A splash turned out to be another half glass at least. I avoided the splashes, but it was a little too late.

It was so fun and I am so thankful that we all have husbands who were happyto honor their wives in this way and happy to have that special time with thier kids. Mike told me he wishes I didn't go becuase having that time with the kids made him realize what he misses daily while at work. How cute is that? It was a great time to say the least! And now we only have three weeks until our family vacation to North Carolina with the Hoskinson's and the Santagatas!!!

Proud of Daddy

Mike and the girls listening to music and watching the colors bounce around on the TV!

I was away this past weekend on a girls getaway and Mike was left to hold down the house. it was a BIG step. I have never been away from Ainsley for more than a few hours while she was awake. I've been here every morning since the day she was born. It was a BIG step, but this post isn't about me. Mike was a champ. I was a bit worried that he wouldn't hear the kids crying at night, or wake up on time, or remember that they eat lunch, or need sunscreen, or that Aubrey needs to sit on the potty before leaving the house...

Anyway, he was a rock star and the kids were without casts, stitches, or any other ailment when I got home. He took them to the park, church, Wendy's and Walmart. He woke up with Aubrey at 3:30am when she was afraid of the dark, he got up with Ainsley at 11:30 when she just freaked out, and he managed to hear Aubrey say, "Good Morning Daddy!" each morning. I am so glad that I have a husband that I can trust with the our kids. I know that sounds funny, but some people feel that the father is as good as a babysitter and nothing more. That is not the case in this house and it makes me proud. So I am proud of my husband and my girls for being so self-reliant. It makes me excited for my next getaway!

now that's imagination

About 20 minutes ago Aubrey handed me a dried crusty booger. I asked her what it was. She said, "cookie, eat it!" She was grinning ear to ear. So I pretend ate it and she said "yummy cookie" and started laughing at me. Thanks for the nice treat Aubrey!

Ready for Summer

We have slowly been outfitting our girls for the summer season. It is still cool enough most days to stay in jeans, but the sun is strong enough to get you. After all, we are a mile closer to the sun here. Aubrey picked out her own glasses and I persuaded her with the hat choice. She ended up with 2 lime green bathing suits this year so the hat was a must!
Ainsley's glasses have hearts all around them. She also got a pair of shoes to match! After all, a girls got to coordinate, right? These were all Easter presents from my grandma. Thanks, Grandma Bette, the girls look adorable!

some random thoughts

I don't think I will buy Special K bars anymore. They only have 90 calories, but I am always still hungry and end up eating something else. I think I will just eat the something else for now on.

Mike and I have a big backyard. When we had it landscaped, we didn't buy trees or shrubs, they were really expensive through the company. Whenever we come home and plant our ten things, our yard still looks very bare. I think we would have to plant at least 30 things to make it look full.

There is a reason you hire people to do that kind of stuff. It is hard to have an eye for what will look nice together and even harder to see 5 years from now, when are little $6 shrub is 5 feet by 5 feet.

Ainsley is learning to go down the stairs now. That is a big relief since she usually tries to walk right down them.

Aubrey is still a bully. It really bothers me. Girls are supposed to be sugar and spice and everything nice.

We have a lot of clothes. I am in my laundry zone and cannot believe we have worn that much stuff in the last week and a half.

Ainsley has added "sit, ball, and doggie" to her vocabulary, all distorted, but all words.

Aubrey added "California" to her word bank. She wanted me to leave her alone yesterday while she was on the computer and I asked her where I should go. "go California!" You got it kiddo, I leave Friday.

Ainsley is trying to drop a nap. I don't know how I feel about that.

I lost a pound this week just by eating a smaller lunch.

Mike's in a chips and dip phase. If the phase continues, I will gain that pound back. They are way to yummy to pass up.

We had bbq burgers on Mother's Day. I love that meal, it may be one of my summer favorites. Aubrey ate the patty, but not on the bun. I think it was too big for her mouth.

Netflix has not worked out for us this month. We have been super busy and definitely paid too much for our rentals. Bummer.

Outlet stores drive me crazy. I went earlier this week and each store I bought something in had someone in front of me buying out the whole store when I just had one item. People are insane, the prices were no better than a sale at Kohl's or Target (I was in kid stores).

500th Post!

It's been fun sharing my family life the last two and a half years. It is nice to "vent" a little, share adorable stories, and embarrassing moments. I especially like the comments that tell me I am not alone and even though I may not interact with another adult all day, there are many moms out there having the same battles, over joyed over the same milestones, and struggling to get the laundry folded with two little "helpers". Thanks for reading and sharing!

I didn't see that one coming!

This is how we found Aubrey on Saturday during her nap. She had been sleeping for 3 hours, so we went to check on her/wake her up. Mike opened the door to an overwhelming smell of Desitin. I keep diaper cream, Neosporin, and lotion on top of Aubrey's 5 drawer dresser. Well little Miss Sneaky used her step stool to get the diaper cream. We You know, playing sunscreen time.
I don't use the creamy desitin either, I use the good stuff, the 40 zinc oxide kind, the kind that is meant to be a barrier between skin and water. Fortunately, I was in the middle of finishing dinner so Mikey gave her a bath while I stripped her bed, cleaned the perimeter, and got back to my pork chops. He was up their FOREVER. The stuff would not come out of her hair for anything. There is still a film in her hair a few days later actually. At least we kn ow she won't get a rash on her head!!! Needless to say, her dresser is now free from temptation.

lots of learning

It seems like Ainsley is learning a new word every two days. This is so different from what I experienced with Aubrey at this age. It is crazy to hear so many words coming out of a newly one year old mouth, at least for Mike and me. Just some random things she said today. "Melmo boop" (Elmo Book) She says thank you regularly but it is very distorted and comes out "tak ou." She announced she needed to "poop" while in her high chair, then pooped. And says "boom" when she falls down.

A lot didn't happen today

I had planned to meet the other Colorado Heldts at the zoo today. Unfortunately, Brianna wasn't feeling well so we had to reschedule. Then I planned a picnic at the park for me and the girls. It started raining as we were driving there. Before we left I saw the rain clouds and tried to plan a lunch date with daddy instead. He already had plans, which is why I tried to beat the rain. The rain was faster. Ainsley skipped her afternoon nap, I guess I skipped mine too. So there you have it, a lot of good intentions that didn't work out.

If we all acted like toddlers

I was observing two toddlers interacting today and started laughing when I imagined how the world would act if I acted that way. Here are a few examples of what I saw today. Note there were two toddler girls at my house and I am not telling who did the "toddler" behavior, so don't assume it was all Aubrey.

1. After finishing her milk, toddler girl throws it onto the ground and asks for water using the word please. A few weeks ago I was having lunch at Applebee's and upon tasting the water, decided I needed to order a beverage. The water tasted terrible and I was thirsty. I ordered a Strawberry Lemonade and waited for over 5 minutes before it was delivered to the table. It was 90 percent ice and nearly $3 so I slurped it down and never got a refill. Well, at least not until the check was paid for and we were leaving. I wonder what the servers response would have been if I threw the empty cup, ice and all on the floor, when I was finished and then politely asked for a refill?

2. While playing outside, each toddler was driving a car. One car is better than the other, in other words, they both want that one. So the toddler in the less desirable car pulled up to the better car and hung onto the side in hopes of somehow taking possession. Imagine pulling into the supermarket and parking next to a fantastic car. Then you simply roll down your window and hang onto the door handle. I'm sure the owner would gladly give it to you! Yeah it didn't work in my yard either.

3. Two pairs of dress up shows, two kids. Again, one pair is better than the other and they both want those ones. So as one toddler is getting up on the couch, the other toddler pulls her shoes off, puts them on her own feet and refuses to move. Just imagine being in the shoe section of Nordstrom, slipping off your fairly new summer sandals, and having some woman grab for them and put them on.

You just cannot pull off this behavior much past four. Sheesh. I tried to laugh much of it off after the time outs, but it is hard sometimes. There is so much you have to teach children. They simply are not born free of sin, and good natured. They have to learn right from wrong and it is my job, as mom, to teach them. I can already see it in Ainsley. She pushes the limits and waits for me to react. She wants me to guide her. She will often walk up to the fireplace, touch it, and then make eye contact with me. If I don't respond, she will begin to hit it. If I do respond, she fusses for a few seconds and moves on. Wow, I have a lot to teach these girls in the next 20 years or so. I better get to it!

Growing Up

Last week was a big week for my kids. Aubrey, out of the blue, decided dressing up is the best thing ever. How did this start? She also has more of an opinion on her daily clothes. I sent her up to get a pair of underwear the other day and she came down with the shirt she wanted to wear too. Later, she decided she wanted to wear different pants. After her bath last night she wore a tiara with her pajamas for an hour. It is so fun, but it makes her feel so much older to me.
Ainsley had a big week too. She learned three words this week! Early in the week she learned "more." Now if I am having a snack outside of mealtime she walks up to me and says "more." So "more", means "feed me!" On Friday, during the dress up parade, Ainsley learned "bye bye." She had been saying "buh buh," but now it is very articulate. Aubrey would say bye each time she left the room and Ainsley just picked it up. Then Friday night she started saying "moo(n)" while watching a video with a song called "Moon, Moon, Moon." See! TV is good for you! It is so fun to enter this learning phase with both of my kids. I'm so excited to take it all in along side them!

We're Better Together!

Our church, Plum Creek Community Church, challenged its small groups to have a positive impact in the community in the 40 days following Easter. They actually went one step further and gave a week's work of offering back to the small groups to assist them in their service projects. So, in the month of April, over $10,000 was used in the greater Castle Rock area to meet the needs of our community. How cool is that? One group has taken on a local skate park, and plans on showing up several times this Spring with a cooler of water for the kids to enjoy. Another group is adopting a family that was recently widowed and meeting their needs, whatever they are. Another group put together a large care package for a family that lost their home in a fire a few weeks ago. A few groups teamed together to plant a beautiful garden area in a retirement home here in town for the residents to enjoy this Spring and Summer. We have a collaborative blog about what everyone is doing. It is called Better Together.

Our group had two false starts on our project. Plan A was to help a woman who's husband was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. We were hoping to do Spring cleaning, bring over 10 freezer ready meals, turn their yard over for Spring, and plant some flowers. As good as it is to want to help someone out, you cannot just surprise someone with a gesture like this. The woman was very grateful for our offer, but just wasn't ready to accept help at this level. So Plan B.

Plan B was a no brainer. We wanted to take over a coin operated car wash here in town for a few hours, pay and offer to wash and dry residents cars. Mike got $330 in quarters from the bank and we were ready to go. The catch, the owner was NOT for it or us. He said he didn't want us standing around his car wash and already helped out the Douglas County High School Band once a year. We didn't wasn't to do a fundraiser. We wanted to wash as many cars as possible in 3 hours and fund everyone's wash. He said he didn't need our help with business, so that was that.

Plan C. We decided not to recreate the wheel and globbed on to a volunteer project that was already planned to take place today. So our group of 12 showed up downtown this morning and picked up trash along a local creek for a few hours. It was fun! There were tons of volunteers there and we had a great time cleaning up our town. We used a small portion of our money to provide some water bottles and donuts for the volunteer, but we have a ton of money left. We are going to split up the rest and let people bless a random person this week. I think I may put my portion on a gas card and give it to someone at the gas station this week. People hate paying for gas and would probably be stunned if someone offered to fill their tank (even if it only gets it half way). We had a great morning and it is definitely an event I want to do with my family again next year. What a great lesson to teach children, don't use the ground as a trash can!

Friends and May Showers

Aubrey and Jasmine have become such good friends. It is really sweet the way they ask about each other if it has been a few days since they have hung out. Aubrey asks if we are going to Jasmine's house almost every time I drive by her street. If I go to the park, Aubrey wants to know if Jasmine will be there too, and so on. It is really sweet. Unfortunately good friends can also hurt each other the most. These two friends fight like cats and dogs most times they hang out, then a wave on amnesia comes over them and they share a toy back and forth for a good half hour. They are so young and already displaying "girl friendship" characteristics. it's a little scary.
Aubrey was outside by 8am yesterday. She announced she wanted to "catch snow." She really wanted me out there too, but that's crazy, it was really wet snow. So we talked through the screen for about ten minutes and she finally gave up and came in. The cutest part was her cleaning the snow off her car before getting in, just like mom and dad have to do.
I took this picture out my front window a few hours later. Fortunately the snow didn't stick to the streets so it was still a pretty safe driving day. Unfortunately, tomorrow morning is the day our small group is doing a service project and cleaning up a few of the creek beds that run through town. Hopefully it is warm enough today to melt the snow so we can see the trash!

better than a cupcake!

Ainsley is now a participant in our daily frozen yogurt tubes. She loves them, and it is one less food I need to give her with a spoon, which means one less fight at mealtime.

And it snowed from 7am to 1pm today. The news people were right for once!