Poor Sweet Baby Girl...

Poor Brooke fell head first off of the front steps (again!). However, her bleeding head did not seem to stop her from eating!

We Did It!

Well, we did it. Jesse and I successfully went out of town for a long weekend with NO CHILDREN! We had a wedding to attend in Estes Park, Colorado and there was a "no children" policy. So, we decided to go ahead and go and use it as an excuse to take a mini-vacation. When we went to update our "consent to treat" form and our temporary will, we realized that the last time we went out of town without kids was when Ainsley was a baby! So, we figured we were due! I'm not pregnant or nursing for the first time in 6 years!
We rented a house in the mountains with 6 college friends. It got a bit wild at times, but it was lots of fun! The wedding was on the side of a mountain next to a river. It was beautiful. Although I missed the girls terribly, I will admit that it was nice to get away for a few days.

I brought these ribbons back for the big girls from our trip to Colorado. They were so excited to play with them... however, it didn't take long for them to hurt eachother. Jesse said I may as well have bought them toy guns!

Isn't this just the best fall project? I stole this idea from a friend who had seen it on a blog. I think that they turned out really cute!

Choices...

This morning Brynn said to Ainsley, "You have 2 choices... that's it. Your red cowgirl boots or your new tennis shoes. Which shoes are you wearing to school?"
Listening to her say this made me both laugh and think. First of all, do I really sound like that?!?!? Ainsley did call me "Miss Bossy Pants" the other day, so I suppose that I must sound bossy to her.
I have attended several workshops and classes and seminars about parenting. I read a lot about it during my Masters program (before I had any kids). I still try and read about it. I live it all day ever day... but I have figured out that nobody has all the answers or really comes close. I find myself trying different things and seeing how they work for us and if they mesh with my girls' personalities. Having three strong-willed (nice way of saying stubborn) children, I am always looking for a parenting skill that will reduce conflict and stress.
So, lately we have been trying out this idea of choices. I give them two choices. Both of them are acceptable. It really doesn't matter to me which one they choose... as long as they make a decision. Example: "waffles or cereal?" "dress or pants?" "you buckle your seatbelt or me?" "red cowgirl boots or new tennis shoes?"
I suppose this is working for the most part. It gives them a bit of control and they are involved in the process. Those things are beneficial to their developing selves.
However, sometimes I feel like yelling, "Eat your waffle! Wear pants for once! Buckle your own seatbelt! And wear the tennis shoes!"
Yikes... does that make me a bad mommy?!?!? Honestly, I like the response I am getting from the girls with their choices. They seem to be understanding the concept and hopefully it will make me be less of "Miss Bossy Pants"!

I realized that Brooke is now the age that Brynn was when I went on bedrest... 17 months old. Brooke is so active these days! She is into everything and so curious about life and how things work. It makes me kind of sad when I think about the fact that I spent 5 months of Brynn's early life laying in bed... but obviously it was completely worth it.
Here is a picture of Brynn at 17 months old. Isn't she adorable?!?!?

First Day of School!

Both of the "big girls" are back at the same school this year. The transition was much easier than I had anticipated. Ainsley seemed just a tiny bit nervous, but she ran into her classroom and hugged her teachers like she had known them her whole life. It helped that she had a very good friend from last year in her class again.
Brynn did awesome! It obviously helped that her best buddy was there too!
I am hopeful that this will be a very positive year for the girls!

Going Away Party...

Our very dear friends are moving to San Diego tomorrow. Although we have only known them for about a year, we have become wonderful friends. The kids play together more like siblings... which can be crazy at times, but I love it!
Casey has become one of my most dear, honest, genuine and authentic friends. Our friendship grew quickly... I think for many reasons. Casey is very grounded and is aware of the realities of real life. I love that I can be honest with her and know I will get honesty back.
I LOVE her kids! We are going to miss them all so much. Ainsley cries when she talks about how much she is going to miss her "picnic friends". We have had many picnics with them!
Luckily, Casey keeps an awesome blog so we will get to see pictures of them often. Ainsley is already asking when we can go visit them and go to Disneyland! I know that we will keep in touch, but it won't be as fun as our picnics!
For our last playdate, we had them over for an ice cream party! The kids had so much fun making ice cream creations. I am not sure that anyone actually ate theirs, but they enjoyed using 6 containers of sprinkles!!!

My Girls!

Branson or Bust...

Jesse's parents have a timeshare in Branson, Mo, so we take a trip down there about once a year. We try to go in early fall when the trees are starting to turn. It is very beautiful driving down there seeing all the colors.
We had a very sad scene at Silver Dollar City last year when Ainsley was tall enough to ride the rides, but Brynn was not. It hurt my mommy heart seeing her so disappointed... and so bored on the only rides she could ride! This year I did my homework and made sure she would be tall enough to ride the big kid rides. She was! I was shocked at some of the rides that she chose to ride! Not only did she ride them once, she wanted to ride them "AGAIN!" I think we have a quiet little thrill seeker on our hands! Ainsley rode them all as well. She was too afraid to go on the adult rides, but she said "Maybe when she is 9 or 10." Brooke was very happy riding the little kid rides and playing the duck game. She was thrilled with her stuffed duck that she won!
The trip was a nice way for us to get out of town for a few days before the fall schedule started. We look forward to doing it again next year!

Check out the website...

I have added a bunch of pictures and videos on "The Girls' Website" so click on the link under "Some Links" to check it out.

Ainsley's 5th Birthday

Ainsley decided almost a year ago that she wanted a Luau themed birthday for her 5th birthday. We had a lot of fun shopping for the party and gathering beach themed things. Ainsley was set on wearing "coconuts on her boobies and a grass skirt" to the party. She told everyone... even complete strangers at the grocery store (which was often followed by a slight look of disgust from the stranger). We had a terrible time finding coconuts for a small framed 4 year old, so I ended up making some. The costume came together great!
We had family and some friends over to help her celebrate. The party was very fun with games, crafts, activites and beach-themed food. We even had our house all decorated.
Ainsley had made a birthday list of gift ideas, but she kept saying that "anything anyone got her would be wonderful!" My friends thought it was very polite that I had taught her to say that... which I didn't. I would like to take the credit for it, but she came up with that all on her own. There was one thing that she did really want as a gift. It was a "real drum set with three drums and a symbol". She was specific about it and didn't want a knock-off! She asked her daddy for it and he said no. Next best idea... grandparents! Obviously they didn't want to disappoint her, so they got online and ordered her "real drums".
I think that Ainsley had a wonderful birthday! She had a wonderful party, got to wear her costume, we spent her actual birthday at Deanna Rose Petting Zoo and then went to Red Robin for dinner. Amazingly, she is already planning her 6th birthday...
ps. The picture of the 3 girls in the flower cut-outs did not turn out as cute as I had hoped. The sun was too bright in their faces... Oh, and I do know that Ainsley is crying in the coconut picture! She really did have a great birthday. I have no idea what her problem was. I think she was annoyed because I made her change back into her costume the next day so I could get a few pictures. One more thing, I did not pay for that backdrop (even though my husband was sure I did!). It was from a wedding shower that I had and my mom hung onto it. It covered the entire wall and was just perfect for the party!

Butterfly Festival

My mom started a wonderful tradition with Ainsley when she was turning 2 years old. She takes her to the Butterfly Festival at Powell Gardens every August which is usually the weekend before her birthday. This was our 4th year to attend. Ainsley's first birthday party theme was butterflies which started the slight obsession with them...
Brynn got to join in the fun the summer she was born. She was about 8 weeks old at her first visit. Brooke went with us last year for her first visit. She was about 4 1/2 months old. This year was a lot of fun because all 3 girls were old enough to really explore and enjoy some of the things we have skipped in the past. We rode the trolley for the first time, did the catepillar scavenger hunt, checked out the big bugs and the girls got their faces painted! We also did a lot of the same "traditions" we do each year like have our pictures taken on the butterfly bench, have the girls stick their faces through the butterfly cut-out for pictures, paint flower pots and pick out a special something in the gift shop.
This is such a special thing that my mom does for the girls. Each year we pull up to the front of her house to pick her up and she has the front steps/yard decorated with all of the butterfly things she can find. This includes large blow-up chairs and rocking toys. Everyone dresses up in butterfly themed clothing. My mom makes photo albums of the year before which they discuss on the (long) drive to Powell Gardens. She also brings a huge bag of butterfly themed children's book to read to the girls in case they get bored... which they don't (but we did get stuck in construction traffic this year, so the books were great!).
My girls are so blessed to have such a great Mimi who cares about things like traditions, picture taking and family.