Elf the Musical

I bought Joel tickets to see "Elf the Musical" at the Fox Theatre for Christmas.  I asked Thomas and Jamie if they wanted to go with us, and they were in.  Before actually purchasing the tickets, I asked Joel if it was something he wanted to do, and he said yes.  He loves the movie, and watches it multiple times every year.  I was excited to think of something outside the box for a gift.

Neither Joel nor I had been to the Fox, and it is amazing.  It's absolutely beautiful inside.

As soon as the show started, Joel and Thomas wondered what they got themselves into.  They both lost interest almost immediately and said it was awful.  I know it was because of the "musical" aspect of it, but what did they expect?!  I even told them before going that it was a musical!  I thought it was pretty good, and especially enjoyed a night out. 


Little Diva

Ainsley is quite the little diva.  The things she says and does never ceases to amaze us.  But, under all her diva-ness is a sweetheart.  She loves giving hugs and kisses and telling us that she loves us too.  Our favorite is when we tell her we love her so much and she replies with:  "I love you so much too."

It's no surprise that Lily likes anything that Ainsley has, and it's not uncommon for us to hear Ainsley saying:  "Yi-yi:  that's not yours.  That's mine."  But, even if her little sister tries to steal Ainsley's things, Ainsley still loves her.  I wish Ainsley knew how much Lily loves her and already looks up to her.  In Lily's eyes, everything Ainsley does is the greatest.

Ainsley went through a stage for a few weeks where her baby doll had to go everywhere with her.  We had to put the baby in her carrier, pack the doll's diaper bag and cover it up before putting it in the car with us. 

Cards, books, and crayons are still some over her favorites.  She loves doing flash cards and drawing. 

Lani reading Ainsley a book

Her Dad (and uncles) still think it's funny to pull her pants up high with her shirt tucked in, and they think some of the things I dress her in is ridiculous....

I argued with Ainsley for over an hour one afternoon about changing her diaper.  She informed me that she was changing her own diaper and refused to let me help her.  "I do it myself" is something we hear way too often in our house these days.  After lots of screaming and tears, she finally figured out that she couldn't put it on herself and let me help her. 

Ainsley definitely has an attitude and you never know how she'll act from one minute to the next, but we wouldn't trade her for anything. 

What chocolate doughnuts?  I didn't eat chocolate doughnuts!

Snow angel time!

Ainsley's been walking around the house doing snow angels on the carpet for quite some time, so when she woke up to snow on the ground a few weeks ago, she was one very excited little girl!  Once Joel got home from feeding the cows, he took her outside for awhile.

Getting buried in the snow is kind of fun!

Enough already, Dad.  I'm over it.

She loved making snow angels in the actual snow, even if she doesn't move her legs. 

It's hard to get up with all this stuff on, Mom!

A snowman was next on the agenda.

But, she quickly lost interest in it when Joel showed her how to throw snowballs at me.  She thought that was funny.

Ryder's Birthday

Ryder's birthday was earlier in December and Ainsley couldn't wait to go celebrate.  This girl loves birthdays and asks at least once every day (she even asked on Christmas) if it is her birthday yet! 

Ainsley usually comes in the bathroom with me while I'm getting ready and pretends to put makeup on, which usually involves taking my blush brush and brushing her hair with it.  Well, I guess I wasn't paying attention to her, and I looked down at one point to see mascara on her face.  Yikes!

We tried to get a picture for Christmas cards while we were over at Jennifer's, but it's so hard to get two girls (and my husband) to look at the camera at the same time.  I don't know how any family with young children can get everyone to look (and smile) at the camera at the same time.  Maybe one day...

Lily is so much different from Ainsley and will actually sit and smile for the camera, so we took advantage of it.

I think I can officially say that Ainsley is over the stage of crying during the Happy Birthday song.  We sang to Ryder without any issues. 

Happy Birthday, Ryder!

Ainsley was one of the first for the Birthday cookie!

8 Months

Lily was 8 months old on Wednesday. 

I tried to get a few pictures of her, and big sister thought she needed to help.  Ainsley was right beside me taking pictures of Lily with her Dora camera. 

 

When Ainsley couldn't take all the attention being on Lily anymore, she finally climbed up beside her on the couch.  These girls crack me up!  The looks they give each other makes my heart melt.



Kisses!

Lily loves to give kisses!!!

Game over!

She's trying so hard to crawl, but her weight is holding her back.  She'll get up on all fours and then plop back down on her belly because she can't hold herself up!  That doesn't stop her from going places, though.  She can roll and scoot her way to whatever she wants. 

She can stand with minimal support for a few minutes. 

Her first tooth popped through earlier this week.  I felt it on Thursday evening, but you still can't see it.  It's one of her middle bottom teeth.  She's been pretty cranky lately, so I hope that more teeth will start popping through soon.

Eating puffs and watching Mickey

Lily thinks Ainsley is hilarious!

It's hard to get her to lay down for a good nap during the day.  She usually wakes up 20 minutes or so after laying her down.  I guess we can't complain too much since she does sleep through the night.  Her best naps are when someone holds her while she's sleeping, but I don't have time for that most days, so she usually goes with minimal sleep during the day.

This is one of her favorite places to take a quick nap

Big sister's sippy cups are cool

She loves to sway back and forth in her jumperoo.  She'll jump in it, too, but the swaying really cracks us up!

We like to say Lily's flapping her wings when she gets excited.  Ainsley sometimes asks if Lily's going to fly away....

I'm going to say her favorite things right now are either my hair or her big sister, and it's a toss up between the two!  

Tea party for two

She's still in size 4 diapers and 18-24 month clothes.  Her hair is getting longer and fuller every day and it's still keeping the reddish tint.  Her eyes are still dark, but not quite brown. 

She found Ainsley's Cinderella doll one day

Daddy did her hair the night before and it wouldn't go down!

I've given her a few new "table" foods in the last few weeks.  Toast and peas were a few.  She's done pretty good with them and once she gets a few more teeth, I'm hoping to start weaning her off of baby food. 

I don't know about these peas, Mommy!

Yummy toast

Lily is still such a chunk.  Her thighs are huge!  We sure love our chubby babies!