The Birthday

You saw the birthday video .... now for the photos!

(might as well blog it up.... at home right now with two sick girls who are - for the moment - fast asleep.)

 Dasha & Grandpa Jack: Thank you for the toddler crayons!  Now I can be just like big sister!

For some reason, she ADORES sister's swim goggles.  Whenever she sees them, she determinedly puts them on .... as a necklace.  I'm convinced she thinks it is beautiful.  Have to dress up for the party. :)

The Party

Thank you Toomeys: both girls love their DAWG swag & the Little People book

 Famous chocolate cupcakes... recipe from my dear friend Brooke back in Bham. Same one we used at Ainsley's first birthday 4 years ago.  I think Addie likes it. :)

That is ONE. HAPPY. GIRL.

A few days prior... on Wednesday (the real bday)... we had a little celebration just for us.  A couple of gifts, ice cream, and messy spaghetti! 

She loves the stacker toys.  This one is her new favorite.

sister love!

While watching her baby sister get a pile of new toys, and seeing all of the hubbub centered around someone other than herself was difficult for big sister -- she doted on baby during her bday week.  She just hugged and hugged her, and was thrilled right along beside her.  She says "I just can't believe she's not zero anymore!" Me either.

Big sister loves dolls -- and baby has been slowly but surely claiming them from big sis.  So, Ainsley wisely bought Addie her very own first real doll.  Addie love-love-loves this doll.  She snuggles her, kisses, her, "talks" with her, and giggles with her.  She won't let me buckle her in the carseat without first reaching for baby doll.  

jake photo bomb

This has to be one of the things that makes me really SEE baby as a bigger girl.  When she picks up a straw cup herself and goes for the swig with those big, serious eyes.  All business when it comes to water. 

The ice cream discovery:

Thank you Nana: I love my new big girl chair!

And a favorite of mom's.... spaghetti!!! 

Time to get messy, people.

Yes, those are loads of laundry in the background waiting to be put away. Always. Like I said - life here is messy, but we are embracing it.  Well, with a quiet wish for a little fairy to come help us out once in awhile. :) Oh right, her name is Maria and she comes this Thursday. Thank. God.

pancake treats for daycare birthday party:

Fall.

It's pumpkin carving time.

I really dislike carving pumpkins.

I'm terrible at it.

Though I LOVE the fall season. 

This year I was lucky enough to be a mommy chaperon on baby's first field trip!  A trip to the pumpkin patch.  

This girl slept all the way there, and all the way back. :)

Boy did we enjoy ourselves! It was bitter cold (try 38 degrees!) But we got to hang out with all of our baby and mommy/daddy friends!

The babies had a convention of sorts in the back of an SUV. Much warmer there.

On one Sunday afternoon... Ainsley and her neighbor friend went nature hunting.

The weather here has been all over the place.  90 degrees in early October.... super cold last Friday. Windy. Sunny. Some rain.  Addie's sporting the wind-blown look:

perfect weather for monkey-ing around:

and making uneatable treats... like these candy apples (and my ... ahem... pumpkin pie. Let's just not talk about that one. Ever.)

So that 90 degree weekend? We went camping with our friends! Couldn't have lucked out more with the weather... though it made for an unexpectedly sweaty outing to the pumpkin patch.

This was a HUGE farm.  They had slides through and down a "mountain", lots of pumpkins, a luxury hayride, yummy carnival food, a large maze, animals, pedal tractors, and this entire barn devoted to rope swings:

The girls getting ready with their borrowed "play tent". :)

on blogging...

This is what our house looks like lately.  All. The. Time.

First of all, THANK YOU to anyone reading this right now.  Truly, you are DEAR and TRUE friends.  I know because if you check this blog you've realized that I never post anything anymore!  Yet here you are, loyally clicking on that bookmark to see if by chance I've pulled up the laptop and tossed some pictures up. 

I have to tell you, I've been so very overwhelmed with LIFE these days.  We have been LIVING.  Forget about documenting the living... :)

Truth be told... I'm kind of intimidated to blog again. I mean, where do I start?  So much to share. And life keeps tumbling forward at warp speed with the little ones and jobs.  Also, I'm sure I'm experiencing some hormonal roller coastering these days (as I did after Ains turned one and we slowly started weaning).  The night weaning occurred first.  Blessed SLEEP here I come!  But oh, the mama guilt, the fear of supply drop, the hormonal tornado.  Sigh.  And then - SHE TURNED ONE. 

She's growing up so fast!  We soak up every mess, every diaper change, every whimper and giggle and drool.  Every babble, every sign-language attempt, every sweet-baby-smell-snuggle. And yet it goes.  Just look, my first baby is so big!  She's set her mind to learning the 'cup song' (haven't seen this youtube yet? you MUST). 

So I finally recalled some advice a friend once gave me: 'just start'.  He was talking about unpacking (when we moved to DC) but it applies to lots of things. including this blog. So, I'm back. I hope. I'm just gonna start.  It's probably going to be messy, not in chronological order, not in any order... but so is my life right now.  Stay tuned!