Ear Confections

There has been a cold going around here for several weeks. Avery got it first, then Kenley, then Shelly, and finally Ashlyn. Somehow I escaped it so far. I had Kenley at the doctor last week with her first ear infection. We got her started on antibiotics and she is doing much better. Ashlyn was getting over the cold when she started telling me that her ear hurt. So...back to the doctor we went. Sure enough, she has an ear infection too. You would never be able to tell that she is sick. The guy at the pharmacy was watching her act like she always does, bouncing off the walls and said, "Well, at least we know this medicine isn't for you!". I informed him that he was mistaken. "She has a terrible ear infection, " I told him. "She is just the happiest kid on the planet." He said, "Wow, I wonder what she is like when she is well!" That is our Ashlyn...always happy. She is so in love with life. I hope she never loses that. She has gotten in the habit of making up excuses for why we should say her bedtime prayers instead of her. Last night she let us know that she couldn't say her prayers because she has an ear confection. Trying not to crack up laughing we told her that she still needed to say her prayers and ask God to make her ear confection to get better. She keeps us laughing all the time. What a blessing.

Summertime Fun

Summer is here. Ken has been traveling and working quite a bit so it has been me and the girls just having fun. Ashlyn is a princess (just ask her, she will tell you) and Kenley is growing by leaps and bounds. Kenley had her 6 month check up last week. She weighs in at 18 lbs 5 oz and is 27 inches long. She falls in the 50% for length and the 70% for weight, so that is why she appears so "soft". She still hasn't rolled over yet. It is almost funny to me now. She sits up completely unsupported and has been for several weeks now. But she can't muster up the will to roll over. One of her latest things she does to entertain herself is stick her tongue out to feel her two new teeth. She thinks it's fun. She is so cute looking around with her tongue sticking out.


We have been hanging out with Shelly and Avery a lot lately. Kenley and Avery have actually started to interact. They pretty much just smile at each other, but they seem to enjoy watching each other. They were having a big time playing with magazines the other day. It is funny to see how different their personalities are: Avery is calm and content to read whatever magazine she is given. Kenley is a typical little sister, "I want it now and you better give it to me. Oh, and if you have something first, I will want that too. And you better give it to me or I will make you pay!" It will be interesting to watch them grow up together.


Kenley has been eating solids for awhile and we have learned that she loves the little rice puffs when she is getting fussy. It's actually us that love the rice puffs when she gets fussy. Rice puffs are a wonderful thing. Rice puffs can buy 5-10 minutes of time that I can use to finish my meal, clean the kitchen or any other tasks going on. We LOVE rice puffs...so much so that we have created a song about them (big surprise, huh Mom)


An Apple A Day (Sort Of)....Ashlyn wanted an apple with her dinner last night. Well, let me back up a little...I started cutting the crust off of her sandwiches a long time ago when her little mouth was so small. She would eat a sandwich and all she could get was crust before she was full. That is my disclaimer for why I started the whole crust-cutting-off routine that I said I would never do. Anyway, I think she has decided that the crust or skin on anything is yucky. She told us last night when eating the apple, "Baby, that's bad," while pointing to the peel of the apple. The following is one of those memories of my child's youth that I think are so cute.


So that has been our last few weeks. Just hanging out, having fun and enjoying these two beautiful girls that God has given to us. You may wonder why I don't have very many pictures of Ashlyn in this post. That's because we can barely get a picture of her anymore. She has lost the concept of remaining still while you take a picture. She is a mess. She is always moving and always talking. Sometimes it makes me bonkers. Thank you Shelly for keeping me sane this week on just one of those days. You are a great friend. I was able to get a picture of Ashlyn with Kenley in the yard. We are so blessed.

Portraits

It was portrait time for both girls yesterday. Ashlyn had her 3 year pictures taken and Kenley had her 6 month pictures. Time goes by so fast. I can't believe my little Ashlyn is three years old now and the time with Kenley is going even faster. Here are their portraits.

Water Baby

The temperature in Texas has been on the rise. The weather for swimming has definitely arrived. Yesterday was Kenley's first time to go swimming. After the first shock of being submerged in the cool water, she relaxed and really enjoyed her time in the water. She was kicking her legs and loving the cool water.
Ashlyn is back in the water too. She is back to being her fearless self. This summer we will teach her how to swim without floaties. She is a little over confident in the water because of wearing the floaties, but I think she will learn quickly. We are so glad to have a way to cool off in this heat and still enjoy being outdoors. Here are some pictures of Kenley's first swim.

Different Strokes

Last night was a perfect example of how completely different our two girls are. We have a swing on our back porch that Ashlyn has loved since the day we bought it for her when she was about 15 months old. Of late, she has had to share it with her baby sister because it calms Kenley down when she is fussy. She has been cutting her first tooth so she has spent a lot of time in it these past few days. Kenley had trouble napping yesterday so as soon as she got in the swing she took the opportunity to snooze for awhile. Here is Kenley in the swing.After Kenley woke up from her nap, Ashlyn wanted to take a turn in the swing. She had been running around the yard barefoot, but when it came time for her turn in the swing she went inside and grabbed her shoes and handed them to her daddy. When asked by the neighbors who were over for dinner what she was going to do, she answered, "I'm going to kick the ceiling!" They laughed thinking she was just making no sense....I knew better. My only rule for this "game" that Ashlyn and her daddy have made up is that she has to wear shoes. The screams of delight began soon after she started to swing. This child has absolutely no fear of anything. Here is a picture of Ashlyn's turn in the swing (FYI-the picture is turned the correct way...note Ken looking at her).I love how different these girls are. They are so much fun. Kenley is so calm and Ashlyn is everywhere and constantly keeps everyone entertained. Ashlyn and Ken went to church the other night while I stayed home to get Kenley to bed. Someone asked Ashlyn at church if her mommy was there. She said, "No, she didn't come." Then they asked if her daddy was there. She said, "No, he didn't come either." The man said, "Really?" Ashlyn got a huge smile on her face and replied, "Nooo, I'm just drama!" She is hilarious.

Another story about Ashlyn that Mom asked me to be sure and post. We have had to teach Ashlyn how to use the restroom in a horse stall because sometimes there is no access to a bathroom at the barn with the horses. She was very proud of herself for learning this. Well, about a week ago we were over at the neighbors house eating dinner. All of the adults were in the house. Jacob and Ashlyn were outside playing in the Little Tykes house that they have in the backyard. I looked up and saw my daughter running stark naked across the yard covered in mud. After cracking up laughing I asked Ken to go outside and lay down the law with her. He called her over and was going to ask her what in the world she was thinking. He couldn't get it out before she assured him, "Don't worry Daddy. I've already tee-teed in the house." I sit here laughing about this even still. She had used the restroom in the little playhouse in the backyard. There is never a dull moment with her. I wish I had a picture of that.

Our Sleeping Beauties

There is nothing quite as precious as a child sleeping. We snapped these pics last night when we came up to check on the girls before heading to bed ourselves. They are such a picture of innocence....

Ashlyn's 3rd Birthday Party

We had a luau for Ashlyn's 3rd birthday party yesterday afternoon. We have all been very excited about it for several weeks now. She has been talking about her party for days. Ashlyn's big gift this year was a trampoline...just as much for us as it is for her. She had no idea that she was getting it. Daddy, Mommy and PawPaw hurried to put it together during naptime yesterday while Nana went all out decorating the inside and back porch for our luau theme and Kenley enjoyed the beautiful weather in the baby swing outside. It worked out perfectly that Ashlyn woke up right after everything was set up. We kept her inside until the first kids got here for the party and then took her out to see her new trampoline. She was so excited! She jumped on it for hours last night.
We had Hawaiian pizza followed by the cake and then showed her slideshow that I make for her every year. The slideshow viewing was comedy in itself because Ashlyn and all the little boys at the party (there were no other girls there) lined up in front of it and laughed hysterically at every picture that came up...which made all the adults laugh at them. Ken got it all on video...what a great memory. The party was a blast. It could not have been more beautiful weather. Kenley did awesome just taking everything in.
Ashlyn's presents included a baby stroller (she has already taken her babies on a walk this morning), some new princess apparel (everything is Disney princess now), new Crocs, a princess hippity hop, a new dress, a puzzle, The Little Mermaid movie (which she loves because she is convinced that her daddy now works for Ariel with Chicken of the Sea), two new baby dolls, and some new pajamas. She loves everything.
It was such a fun birthday this year because this is the first year that she has actually gotten it. I think she really understood that this day was HER birthday party. A little bittersweet for me because for some reason I feel like the 3rd birthday is their last "baby" birthday. She will have "big kid" birthdays from now on. I can't believe my little baby girl is three years old. She is growing up so fast right before our eyes and it makes my heart sing and break at the same time.