More Ainsley funnies....
We heard two good ones from "mini-me" today that I had to share....

Ainsley: I'm pretending to be a mother.
Mom: You are? What are you doing?
Ainsley: I'm sitting down.
Mom: (falling on the floor laughing)

The second one - we have some very good friends, Tim & Heather and their children Lauren & Grant that Ainsley adores. I told her Heather & Grant were coming for lunch today and she said:
"And my favorite is Miss Heather and YOUR favorite is Mr. Tim!!!"
Whaaaaaaaat????

School IS cool
At least according to Hayley - she loves school. What's your favorite part of school, Hayley? The work! What?? Whose child is she anyway? :) Seriously though, she loves loves school, and has done really well, especially in reading and math. In fact, she went through the Quest testing (a program for highly capable learners) and we just got notice in the mail that she is invited to attend. It's a pullout program which means she will attend school at a different location every Friday. It was really exciting news! She is really excited about it and is looking forward to getting more of a challenge in school. The good thing is that it starts March 2nd thru mid-June so she can get a good sampling of the program without feeling like committing to an entire year. I'm a little nervous about it, just in not wanting her to get overwhelmed by it but I think she'll be fine. She's pretty easygoing about new things and again, she's really excited about this program so I think that says a lot.
Yay for Hayley!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doctor update
Ainsley had her 3-year checkup today - doing great! She is in 50th percentile for weight (33 lbs)but 95th for height (39")!!! Yikes, I think this girl is going to be taller than Hayley, she was never that high on the charts. :) Hayley was 4lbs lighter and 3" shorter at this same age! Anyway, not so happy about the toe poke nor the bandaid they put on it. Poor girl, she yelled loud and long, the little drama queen. Just glad it's over - she needed a booster chicken pox shot but we'll get that one when we go back in a few weeks for a potty training issue follow-up.
:)

She's THREE, she's THREE!!!!!!!!

What happened to the last three years? I mean, really, where did our baby go? Ainsley turned three today, February 18th. I was looking at the pictures we took today and I'm just so surprised, especially comparing them to her birthday last year. She is such a KID lately, saying the funniest things. And doing amazing things too - two nights ago she copied MOM when Dan wrote and now can write it herself. It's awesome to watch her do it, and to listen to her try to "read" words. (reading Costco receipt...) "Dad, does that say Costco?" It's so cool to be going through this with her like we did with Hayley.

Anyway, we had a Barbie Princess party today - she wanted it all pink & purple and was it ever! We hung decorations on the walls that made it look like a palace - her face when she saw it this morning was absolutely priceless. I made a fun Barbie cake - it was a little tricky but it really came out pretty cool and she loved it...and it actually tasted good. :) She has been enjoying dress-up a lot lately, and she got several outfits in her size - those were a huge hit! She spent most of the afternoon & evening putting them on and changing them and dancing around flapping her fairy wings....she was so cute! (pictures below of course). The Tinkerbell outfit from Auntie M and Uncle Allen was a big hit - she was a crack-up prancing around with that and waving her fairy wand. What a little girly-girl she is.

It's hard to believe she is now 3 years old. No more baby. No more toddler. Time to buy a "big-girl" bed. Learning to write. Independent and creative and silly and lovable and strong-willed. She is a handful but such a joy! Happy 3rd Birthday Ainsley!!! And now some pictures.....

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.....

Last weekend we made a trip down to Vegas, to celebrate my grandmother's 85th birthday and my uncle's 50th birthday. We had a great time with everyone and it was good to see Tina and Dennis, whom we hadn't seen since our wedding in 1995! That part was great, but taking the kids downtown was another story - they enjoyed the M&M's store and the Bellagio fountains and the lions at the MGM....but we did NOT enjoy exposing our kids to all the sleaze of Sin City. Wow, seeing all that with a 6-year old that can read EVERYTHING was disconcerting. It was great to get out to Red Rock Canyon on Sunday and do a little hiking and enjoy some nice weather and clean air. All in all, fun time with family, way too much wonderful food, not enough

sleep, and realized we have no desire to return to that city. But we did get some great pictures!

Another "pair"....
We've just discovered another of Ainsley's food pairings....if she has gum, she will chew it for about 10 minutes, and then says she's done and asks for a mint. Every single time, without fail. So weird.

Watch what you say....
to your kids, it always comes back haunt you! Here's one from Ainsley tonight....

[Mom] talking in a louder voice to Dad who was downstairs
[Ainsley] Mom, what you talking? (she is not always grammatically correct!)
[Mom] I was talking to Daddy.
[Ainsley] You talking loud to Daddy! (talking loud or "louding" is her version of "yelling")
[Mom] No I wasn't talking loud to him.
[Ainsley] Yes! You WERE talking loud to him!
[Mom] No honey, I wasn't.
[Ainsley] (sigh) You also need to think about that. (stomps off)

Hmmm, that must be something she hears frequently. :) And just for the record, Ainsley uses the word "also" constantly. As in, "I also want lunch" "I also love Hayley" "I also no want to." These statements are generated completely out of the blue and not usually attached to anything. Some other common words out of her mouth...
"But I also no not want to." or "Betuz I also no want to." (Because....)
In fact she uses the word "betuz" (because) in front of the majority of her sentences.
"Aww, why not?"
"No, I no liiike this. Oh, yes! I also like this!" (all one sentence)
"Betuz my tummy is also hurting." (when she doesn't want to eat something...however said tummy is perfectly fine if offered chocolate!)
"Tan I watch a moooofee?" (Can I watch a movie)
And when you ask, what movie would you like to watch?
"Tan I watch Mermaid-uh?" (Can I watch Mermaidia? Current favorite Barbie movie, has probably watched it 50 times)

Another one the other day....I asked her if she wanted something (don't remember what) and she said no, and I think I asked her again and she huffed and replied "what did I just tell you?" That little one repeats my words ALL. THE. TIME.

Weird Ainsley food quirks....
If she has a cheese stick, she MUST have a yogurt afterwards, or vice versa. Same with goldfish crackers and granola bars (ohla bar) - can't have one without the other.

She is a treat and a ham and a handful and just all around enjoyable and adorable at this age....and we're glad to see the "twos" starting to dwindle - whew.

Daddy & his girls
Tonight Dan took the girls to a Daddy-Daughter Sweetheart Dance. I love that the community has an event such as this to get daddies started on taking their daughters out on dates, and hopefully showing them what a date should be like. And maybe when those girls are older, they will have garnered some amount of discernment from that for future dating prospects.
Anyway, I of course have to share some photos, because they are just so darn cute. It started out with the "putting on the glass slippers"....


Dan gave the girls some jewelry just from him for the event (bracelet for Hayley, necklace for Ainsley) because, shouldn't our girls expect gifts whenever they go on a date? :)

Finally!!!!!
It took forever to figure out what I was going to do and where and how...but I finally have an organized scrapbook area with actual shelves and a place for everything. And Hayley even has her own area with shelves and space to organize and she is happy happy. It's not fancy but it WORKS and I love it. I actually did this a few weeks ago but still wanted to post. Here it is:

Okay, and one more pic of the girls and me, since I'm NEVER in the picture. :)