Practicing to be a big sister

We got some time to spend with the Bucheks today! It's been a long time and we were happy to have them over for dinner, Christmas gift exchange, and playtime. Aisling and Jake played really nicely together and had a wonderful time. The kids really were on their best behavior during dinner, too! And, Aisling got to practice being a big sister with Jillian, who very much put up with Aisling's fledgling baby-holding technique. Aisling was very gentle with Jillian, and told us later she hopes the baby is a sister.

Dinner, smores, and movie night

Aisling was excited to discover that Ainsley was coming over for dinner, smores and a movie night! The girls had a good time, really playing with each other. We were cracking up listening to their conversations, which seem so adult in so many ways!

After dinner we made smores, Aisling's favorite dessert snack. She always gets it all over her face! Ainsley isn't as fond of them, she'd rather just eat the chocolate separately. After the girls got cleaned up, we put them in their pajamas and settled them in for movie night - Tinkerbell!

Carter came to play!

Aisling was so excited to have Carter and his parents Jenn and Bill come over for dinner and playtime. Carter enjoyed playing with all of Aisling's cars and train stuff, especially her Harold the Helicopter. That caused a few hurt feelings as Aisling wasn't so sure she wanted to share that with him, but it all worked out in the end. Carter also loved her little playhouse, and Aisling and he had a good time playing in it before dinner.

The kids were wonderful during dinner (a wonderful night to cook out!) and then we went inside to play some more. Carter and Aisling had a great time in her bedroom - she loves showing off her new big girl room. Around 8pm we all called it a night - bedtime! We're looking forward to having Carter, Jenn and Bill back for dinner again soon.

Crazy hair day!

Aisling has been celebrating Dr. Seuss week at school, and today was crazy hair day! I asked her as I was getting her dressed how she wanted to do her hair, and she said she wanted a bunch of "ponies". When I asked her how many she wanted, she said 8! I wasn't sure she really had enough hair for 8 but we tried, and managed to get 8 in.

She was one of the very few kids who actually did anything crazy with her hair, and so they made a big deal out of it at school. They had fun colors to spray in her hair, and asked Chuck if that was ok - of course it was! She had a great time.

When she came home, worn out from a day of hard playing at school, she and Chuck chilled out and played cars in the living room floor. They had a great time!

Ainsley's Birthday Party!

Aisling was invited to Ainsley's birthday party. She had a wonderful time, although she was surprisingly shy around all of Ainsley's school friends. It was interesting to see the roles reversed - usually Ainsley is more reserved about participating but this time it was Aisling. She eventually warmed up and had a wonderful time. She wore herself out completely though, and at the very end she had me hold her because she was just so tired. It was good timing though, because it was nearly time for cake and ice cream. Ainsley received a ton of wonderful presents, and Aisling was very good about not trying to jump in to help open them. At the end of the night, we headed back home and Aisling was asleep in 5 minutes flat.

Getting ready for Valentine's Day

Aisling has been so excited about Valentine's Day, and anxious to decorate her box for school. We finally got the chance to do this - Chuck started it with her and he ran out of ideas (and patience). I jumped in and we finished it up with hawaiian flowers, glitter dots, and princess stickers. She was thrilled to take it to school and thought it looked really great! As a matter of fact, she was anxious to show it off to her new teacher, Ms. Holly, whom she thought would absolutely love it. Chuck said they made a big deal over her box!

Trip to the zoo!

We were all going stir crazy, so Melissa and I decided to take the girls to the zoo! It was a nice day, and although most of the animals were hanging out inside, we took the opportunity to go to the Children's Zoo. The girls had a great time looking at everything they could, and playing with the displays at the Children's Zoo. It was a nice diversion from a winter day!

First best snowfall of the year!

We had an amazing snowfall! Aisling was begging to go sledding so I promised her I would pick her up early to do so. I snuck out of work around 3pm and we headed off to the hills in the subdivision to sled. Aisling had a great time, only got scared once. She almost ended up in the water going down the one hill but I stopped her in time. She was thrilled I was able to get myself on the sled with her, and go down the hills with her.

So much fun, I haven't been sledding since I was a kid! Pure joy on her face.