Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Happy happy birthday to Ainsley Christianna!

I love love love this little girls enthusiasm! Anything Ainsley does, she does with spunk and figures out a way to have fun while she's at it. :
Take being "So Big!" for instance.
There are so many ways to be "So Big!" that I couldn't pick which picture to post!
No matter how many times the play kitchen gets picked up during the day, it almost always looks like this. I'm over it though - toys are meant to be played with!
Sadie Beth was thrilled when we first got out this outfit for Ainsley since it was her favorite. She would have worn it 7 days a week and I think enjoyed it almost as much each time Ainsley wore it. And to think I almost didn't buy it because I thought $3 was too much to spend on an outfit (even though it was OshKosh) at a yard sale!

Ainsley opening her birthday presents! She got a puzzle from Daddy and Mommy and a baby doll from Sadie Beth.
Sadie Beth was quite proud of her present. She bought it with her own money and was so excited to give it to her sister.
Sadie Beth wanted nothing to do with her puppy birthday cake. Ainsley on the other, didn't hesitate at all.
Nobody's surprised, are they?
Spunk, enthusiasm, fun....that's our Boobear!
I think she could have played with her cake for quite awhile. Even if she didn't eat much.
We had friends over to celebrate Ainsley's birthday. The Mobley's were such fun to join in on making a big deal over our girl. She loved having her friend "Buhbuh" (Lorelai) and Lorelai's big sister, "JuJu" (Julianne) to party with!
On her actual birthday, we went out as a family to Los Aztecas. Can this girl put away Mexican food!!! We have to cut her off every time. After Mexican we went for a birthday ice cream cone at Krispy Kreme. After every bite Ainsley exclaimed, "Num-a-num!! Mmmm!" She is serious about her food!We love you Ainsley Christianna and can't even begin to describe the joy God has given us because of you!!! You have brought so much fun, sillyness, smiles, love and happiness to our family!
Our hard-working 3 year old! Putting away the silverware is one of Sadie Beth's jobs and she does quite well at it. We have been spending lots of time talking about being a hard worker who does her work "...heartily, as unto the Lord and not for men." She even has a little song she sings while working, "Whatever we do we our best...whatever, whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and NOT for man!"
Such a goofball. I know this is far more pictures than anyone else cares about, but I love them!
She looks innocent, but don't let her fool you. She's full of sneakiness!
Family pizza and movie night! I think on this particular night we enjoyed a Sesame Street sing-a-long with a lot of our fun vintage favorites!
We had so much fun putting together a couple of boxes for Operation Christmas Child. We made a boy box and a girl box and Sadie Beth must have packed and repacked the boxes a dozen times. What a great opportunity to learn about generosity and giving before Christmas. Our ball girl - Ainsley alternates between loving balls and baby dolls. They are definitely her favorites. She goes nuts every time we walk past the big ball bin at Target!
Ainsley loves her "NAK" - aka "milk." When we come home after supper time as soon as we pull in the driveway she starts asking for it because she knows she gets a cup while she gets ready for bed.


Thanksgiving program = total disaster! Sadie Beth is one that needs a lot of preparation for what's coming at her. We talk through things - over and over and over. Well, for this first program of the year, the kids only practiced their songs in their classrooms. We talked a lot about what to expect with her at home, that they would be in the sanctuary, there would be parents there, etc. So it wasn't at all what she expected and she totally freaked out. Thankfully, preschool is awesome and she got to sit on the directors lap for most of the program until she got her wits about her and stood up for the last few songs. By the time the Christmas program rolled around, she was a champ!
It was about this time we stumbled upon some big news for our family! We found out the night we got home from Thanksgiving Day with family that this little Boobear was going to be a big sister!!! Hooray! We were so so excited and thankful God has blessed our family with another little one....and this blessing came just about as soon as it could have...quite the surprise, but we were so thankful!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Highview Harvest Party

Somehow I missed a whole bunch of pictures in my first Harvest post and didn't want to leave these out!! Sadie Beth and I so enjoyed the Fall season this year. We talked and learned a lot about the reasons for the different seasons, how God made the world perfectly for us, and did lots of observing as summer turned into fall...(a little ironic that I'm posting this as spring is turning into summer once again!)
One day we decided to go on a special walk to enjoy how beautiful it was outside. We collected leaves to bring home and make a collage. When we we got home Sadie Beth put together this lovely collage and was so proud of her work. Our theme for the day was the verse from Genesis, "All He had made was very good!"
Around this time Sadie Beth decided she was big enough to start eating spinach salads like Daddy and Mommy. She tried...really she did, but it didn't last too long. She just couldn't quite adjust to the taste and texture. Considering her mommy was offered a brand new Teddy-Rupskin doll just to eat one bite of salad when she was a little girl and still wouldn't do it, I don't push it. She'll grow into it!
And this little goof eats her weight in peas just about every week.

I love fall! Thought this was a particularly "fall-ish" looking day. So thankful for our home, lots of room to play in the backyard, and a peaceful neighborhood.
We had a blast at Highview's Harvest party this year! Sadie Beth dressed up as Abby-Cadabby, one of her favorites from Sesame Street...and it just so happened that a friend had made an Ainsley-sized Abby-Cadabby costume for her daughter a couple years ago. I loved that they got to match!!
It's amazing how much difference a year can make! Last year at the Harvest Party, we eagerly anticipated Ainsley's arrival and Sadie Beth wasn't so sure about all the activities.
This year, Sadie Beth loved participating in each of the different games and we had this silly little thing that was nearing her first birthday!!!

Take note - this picture was taken on Nov. 2nd...and it wasn't the last bowl full of tomatoes I pickjed for the year! I was quite proud of my cherry tomatoes....though I certainly needed a confidence booster after something went terribly wrong with my cucumbers. Every cucumber that grew on my plant had some sort of odd tumor shape and turned bright orange. yikes!
Don't let this one fool you - she looks innocent, but is quite the little stinker.