ACC Pumpkin Patch

A few weeks ago we went to the ACC pumpkin patch brunch.  There was a huge storm in Austin the night before so the event was much quieter than usual, which was perfect.  Above is our best attempt at a family picture and below is the best we could get with the two munchkins.  Bailey obviously wasn't in the mood for pictures.

 

Ainsley on the other hand has become quite the little ham and often requests to have her picture taken.  When I tell her to smile pretty, this is the face she consistently gives me.  My beautiful, silly little girl!

 

The main attraction as always was having their faces painted and getting balloon animals.  Ainsley waited so patiently in line all by herself and after her turn, Bailey got to just bop over and have a turn as well - the perks of being the little brother!  Although, Ainsley did dictate exactly what he wanted to the clown, whether it was what he really wanted or not.

Ainsley ended up with a rainbow butterfly on her face and a pink and purple balloon butterfly.  Bailey got a pumpkin on his cheek and a balloon lion.

 

 

Sweet boy was so excited and in love with his lion and kept making it roar, but unfortunately it was short lived.  We left shortly after this picture was taken but I don't think his lion even made it to the car in one piece.  :(  Ainsley was sure to point out several times how careful she was able to be with her butterfly however.  Sigh.

 

I love getting to have these simple special mornings as our family of four where I am able to give my undivided attention to these two little people.  As excited as I am for this baby to complete our family, I also know that my exhaustion and pre-occupation with the new wee one is going to cause me to miss some of what makes Ainsley and Bailey tick.  And that makes me sad yet extra thankful for moments like these.

Happy 32nd Birthday!

 

Happy Birthday to my favorite man!  I can't imagine a better husband, best friend, and father.  We love you!!!

Build-A-Bear (from July)

As another special treat (partially for Ainsley's birthday) that we did when my mom was visiting back in July, was we took the kids to Build-a-Bear in the mall.  Often times we visit this store and the kids pretend with some of the stuff but we always walk out empty handed.  Well this time they actually got to build a bear and take it home with us.  Ainsley was SO excited and Bailey was in awe of the whole process.

Oddly, the first stuffed animal Bailey picked out was the Sponge Bob Square Pants and he was so excited about!!  Ainsley was also pretty interested in getting the Pinkie Pie my little pony stuffed animal.  I had to work some mom magic to steer them both towards actual bears.  Sorry kids.  (And look how little and tiny my bump was back then.  A far cry from the wide load I am today!)

 

Here they are holding "their" selections - a rainbow bear for Ainsley and an adorable plain brown bear for Bailey - and patiently waiting their turn to stuff their bear.  Even though we have been here several times to watch this process, they were both mesmerized!

 



 

Below is Ainsley stuffing her bear.  The workers have the kids step on a peddle to make the stuffing come out of the machine.  Then they have them pick out a fabric heart and rub it on different parts of their bodies to put magic into it.  I can't remember all of the little sayings but they are something like, "rub it on your smile so that your bear is always happy" and "rub it on your heart so that your bear always feels your love."  It is so sweet, engaging, and imaginative.  And then the kids kiss the heart and put it inside the bear.  Ainsley has made a bear here twice before, once when she made her Meow-Meow before Bailey was born and once for a birthday party, so she was excited and happy but it was Bailey that was really entranced by the process.

 

 

 

Then it was Bailey's turn.  Here he is stepping on the stuffing peddle and watching the worker fill up his bear.

 

 

Sweet boy.  He was so excited to get his bear back to snuggle.

After the kids made their bear, they took them over to the "washing station" to make sure that they were all clean and pretty before they picked out special outfits for them.

Selecting clothes took a lot of guidance so I didn't get any pictures of it but Ainsley chose a pink princess dress for her bear with lots of accessories and Bailey got his bear a pair of Sponge Bob boxers.  :)  Thanks Mom for such a fun outing and special treat for my munchkins!!

Another perk of this store is that the kids get to bring home their new friends in these great cardboard boxes that look like little houses.  Here they are later that week, adding some more personality to their bear's homes.

Fun!  Fun!

Mom's Visit (from July)

 

My mom came for about a week back in July.  One of the joys of having my mom come, aside from the fact that the kids and I love seeing her and always have a blast, is that she takes a TON of pictures of the fun stuff we do and just our typical day-to-day.  But... this also makes it a little daunting to post about her visits because there are so many pictures to sort through, which is why this post is 3 months belated.  :)  But she is coming for another visit in a few days so I thought that I better get my act together before I was two visits behind. 

Anyway, here are the munchkins playing with this little pool in the back yard.  I had been nagging George for weeks to get the kids a cheapy plastic pool but since he had to pick it up with his truck, it was something that never got done.  Then he came home with this pool and I griped at him because it had this slide part, which I figured would break quickly and make the pool unusable.  Well, I had to completely eat my words because the kids had such delight going up and down this slide a thousand times.  The slide made the pool play activities last probably three times as long and brought about lots of smiles and squeals of joy.  I guess sometimes Daddy's know best. 

 

 

Here we are at the big pool.  It was nice to get some pictures of me in the water with the kids since normally when the kids are swimming, I'm the one out of the pool with the camera.  It makes me so happy that my kids love the water and to swim as much as I do!

Turning the playroom into a giant highway.  We play this "game" often and our kids love directing me in where to put the road tape and then spend lots of time driving, parking, and racing different cars.

 

A little tea party magic...

 

  

 

And of course a trip wouldn't be complete without making smoothies!  This activity happens every morning when my mom visits, hints the name Grandma Smoothie.  In fact between visits if we are talking about Grandma or see a picture of her, Bailey will jump up and down in excitement and run over and point wildly at the blender.  This odd tradition and the impression it has made on my children both cracks me up and warms my heart.  But maybe it is fitting for our family because I have distinct fond memories of breakfast bacon and diluted coffee with my Grandma Graue and poached eggs on toast with my Grandma Cary!

 

 

And half the fun of making smoothies with Grandma is cleaning up and making bubbles afterwards.  I'm not exactly sure what happened this time (I think Grandma forgot to put the lid all the way on the blender before turning it on) but bubbles and suds exploded up and went all over the kitchen and floor.  Bailey thought it was hilarious and Grandma was happy to play along.  They were both laughing so hard together that it makes me wish these pictures had audio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These pictures are for Grandpa Smoothie... he got Ainsley and Bailey these shirts because the child on them reminded him of them.  Very cute.

 

 

Then the sprinklers came on... Ha!  So the cute kids in Grandpa's shirts quickly turned into naked kids playing in the water.

My mom's visit overlapped with Ainsley's birthday this year which was fun and special.  Here are a few pictures of the little people helping me make Ainsley's strawberry birthday cake.

 

And here are a bunch of extra pictures of our week.  Just this and that... and probably what captures real life and the kids' personalities better than the others.  The first several pictures are of Ainsley hamming it up for Grandma's camera.  Bailey was sick the first half of Mom's visit, so Ainsley got a lot of special play time while I took care of the lil man.

 

 

 

 

Then he started to feel a bit better.  Here he is giving his classic 'cheeeessseee' face.

 



Below is the result of Bailey's organization efforts with all the things with wheels outside.  He worked so hard on lining them all up.

 

Ainsley had just learned to swing a little bit before Grandma's visit, so she was eager to show off her skills.  She kept asking Mom to take pictures of her swinging. 

 



 

A post-gymnastic treat for Ainsley and a break from a poor whiny sick boy for Mom and Grandma.

 



 

 

Bailey doing a little reading.  He LOVES his books especially this car one from Great-Grandma Norma.

 

 

 

Bailey saying "I help.  I help." while I'm making coffee.

 

 

Not many days go by in this house without a visit to the dress-up basket and closet!  Bailey loves the witch hat and Ainsley's blue Cinderella dress is by far her go-to favorite.  I love to see their creativity in their outfits!

 

 

 

I love these munchkins!!  Thanks for visiting Grandma!!  I'm thankful that you don't stay away long!!