Mom, is my birthday OVER now?
That was a question Ainsley asked last night after my family left...we had a family party Sunday, her kids' party last Sunday and took her out for dinner on the 18th...so I think she was starting to wonder how long this whole party thing lasts! I let her choose the meal - her first choice was Cheerios but I had gently nix that idea. So she came up with chicken noodle soup, bread and brownies with four cherries for dessert. Easy enough!! It was a fun day, the weather was gorgeous - that sun felt so strong we almost believed it was spring. Just a few pictures....




I'm FOUR!!!!!!!!!! Where are the gifts?









Lovely face, Hayley







Auntie M, Mom and me








I do NOT know why my pictures are so grainy, I still haven't figured out the right setting on that camera, argh. And sorry, I got too lazy to fix the red-eye.

Hayley is down another tooth - just this morning. That's FOUR holes in her grin now, it's pretty darned cute though. :) Don't really know how she EATS!

Has it already been FOUR years?!?!?

Today (Monday) is Ainsley's 4th birthday - where does the time go? While I am happy to be on to new things and growing and maturing, I am really missing the 3-year old too! I think with her being the last, and knowing we are never going to have a 3-year old in the house again.... :( She is just such a sweet and lovable girl, but still has that naughty streak (that I secretly love!). But we are seeing so many glimpses of her "getting" it, figuring out on her own what is appropriate behavior. She is learning new things, loves writing words and drawing pictures and trying so hard to learn to read - every time we have ranch dressing at dinner she sounds out the word - look mom, I can read - rrr...aaa...nnn...kkk....hhhh....RANCH!!! (this despite the multiple times we've explained c and h together say CH.) She constantly tells us that she learned this or that at school...and talks about her friend Alana at preschool (note: she doesn't go to school, nor does she have a friend named Alana!! Hayley does!). Happy 4th Birthday Ainsley!!! I just can't believe you are growing up so fast!
Anyway, can't end a post without a couple pictures, so here we are....









....THEN....

....and NOW....

Hmmmm......
So my Valentine's card from Dan said this:
"Thank you so much for a GREAT year - I look forward to the 2008-2009 season."

Too much sports in our house or not enough, I'm not sure which.

A Date night with Daddy
I love that the Parks & Rec puts on a Father-Daughter Sweetheart Dance!! This is the third year that Dan has gone - the 2nd time with both girls. And they love to get all dressed up and have a date night out with daddy (and I get time ALONE!) :))
Dan got the girls wrist corsages (they were so tiny and cute!) and took them out to a nice dinner at the Hungry Goose Bistro and then on to the dance. They were so excited to have both won something - Hayley got balloons in the raffle drawing and Ainsley won chocolate for being the youngest one there. Here are some pictures!

















A couple of random favorite-thing-about-my-girls that I was thinking about this morning.
Ainsley - this girl loves chocolate. I mean, LOVES chocolate as intensely as me. Last night for dessert, I told her she could have some of her chocolates that she won at the dance. When she took one out of the box, she held it in her hands, looked at it with these HUGE eyes and her entire little body literally SHOOK with the anticipation of the first bite. I thought she was going to fall off her stool! It was really funny to see her reaction to it!
Hayley - imagine her stumbling downstairs in the morning, squinty-eyed in the bright light, hair every-which-way, still in her footie pjs (love these by the way) and holding in her hands just below her chin is a little heart shaped pillow that says "HUG ME". I of course, obeyed immediately. :) It was just so cute, she takes a bit to wake up in the morning (kind of like her Grandma Wolfe!) so I loved how she used this to "talk" - it was really funny and made me smile all over again when I was thinking about it this morning.
Sweet girls of mine!!!!

My Girl and her "people"

Ainsley is really blossoming into a artistic, crafty little soul. She announced to me this morning, "Mom, after I pick up the game I have to do a craft." So her latest crafting favorite is making these little people out of scrap paper, tape and yarn. She uses my scrapbooking punches and makes the heads, bodies and hands and then cuts appendages herself, occasionally adding a decorative touch. :) I took a few photos today to share - she's so proud of her achievements!

The assembly line

The "people"

Such a proud crafter!