Cousins

We feel so blessed that Ainsley has her cousin Mya!
The girls are only 15 days apart, and we hope that as they grow up, they will be great friends.
For now, the girls are happy to swing together...
And just hang out...

15 Month Stats..

We went to the doctor yesterday for Ainsley's 15 month doctor appointment. It was crazy! She was completely scared of everyone that touched her.. I don't know if she remembers being there? I couldn't even get her to sit on the scale with the nurse across the room - she was screaming her head off! I guess she knows what she likes and doesn't like!

Anyway, here are her stats:
Weight: 21 lbs 12 oz (30%)
Height: 29 1/8 inches (30%) - I highly doubt this measurement, Ainsley was kicking and screaming
Head: 46 cm (50%)

Hopefully we won't have to go back for another 3 months!

Mini Trip #2: Dayton

On the Tuesday after the 4th of July, we took another mini-trip. Doug took the day off, and we headed with kids to Dayton. The first stop was the Wegerzyn Gardens. I had read about this park in a book and it was free, so we decided to check it out. It turned out to be awesome!! There was a special Children's garden with plants that the kids could touch and smell, and also an area were kids could water fruits and veggies that were being grown.
The grounds were beautiful, and we spent some time walking around. The kids loved it!


The highlight of the garden for Evan was the stream leading to the waterfall that he could play in! He would have run around for hours if we would have let him.




Ainsley even posed for some pictures for daddy..
After we left the gardens, we headed over to the Boonshoft Museum. We got to watch a cool laser show in the planitarium that felt like you were riding amusement park rides. Evan played with the locks at the water table:
Ainsley had a great time dancing in a crazy room that projected the outline of your image on a wall: She had a blast playing on the air table with daddy:


Check out the video of her playing:



We had another amazing day and made more great memories!!

4th of July (well, really the 3rd..)

We had a wonderful 4th of July this year. The day with all the festivities was actually the 3rd.. It was a really hot day, but we made the most of it. The day started off with the neighborhood bike parade. Evan was all decked out and Ainsley liked watching the other kids. My brother Chad biked from his neighborhood (8+ miles) to see the parade - which was really cool!



The hot afternoon was spent playing in the backyard pool with Avery next door. Later in the evening, we headed to the Mason 4th celebration. We met up with our niece Mya and the girls got to play.

Evan got a really cool Scooby Doo balloon animal..
Ainsley tried to play some games..
and she got to watch the crowd from up high...

As we were walking out, Evan saw laser tag and at the last minute decided to play. At first he was telling us the gun was too heavy and that he couldn't do it...

Then, by the end, he was really into it..
We headed home around 9, and everyone got showered. After Ainsley was in bed, I asked Evan if he'd like to go back and watch the fireworks. Doug stayed home, and we went and parked in the back of the Mason High School. I let Evan sit on the roof of my car. He was so excited, I could tell it would be a fun night! As the fireworks started - he kept saying, "Wow, that one almost touched me" and we played that's my favorite. On the way home, Evan asked me if there were fireworks in heaven. Priceless.. what a wonderful day!

Mini Trip #1: Columbus

We've recently taken several mini-day trips and had so much fun! Doug has taken off a few days, and we've been able to do so many fun things. Plus, Ainsley's car ride tolerance seems to be 2-3 hours, so it's been working out well.

First, over Memorial Day, we took the kids to Columbus. We went for two days and pricelined an awesome hotel. The hotel had a indoor and outdoor pool that connected, so you could swim between the two. (I missed pictures of this!) Evan was in heaven at the pool! We also took a tour of the Anthony Thomas Chocolate Factory (also missed pictures). Evan was super interested and it was fun to watch the chocolate being made. We even got free Buckeyes at the end!

The rest of the time, we went to Cosi using our Cincinnati Museum Center pass. So much fun!! Here are some pictures from our two day visit:

First up - the water table in the Kid's Zone. We spent the most time there - Evan playing with the locks and Ainsley spraying water:


The kids also loved the Kidspace - it was for little ones 5 and under and it was strictly enforced, which was really nice:

Evan tried to pull himself up using a pulley system:

And lift lots of heavy weights: Of course, there was the big kid water area too:


And lots of fun to be had playing on the bed at the hotel:



We had such a great time on our little adventure!

Butterfly Show & Ross's House

Then, we did a great little day trip to the Butterfly Show with Grandma and Grandpa Ross. We had a wonderful time - the kids loved the butterflies and they were landing all over them.



After the show, we headed to Five Guys for a late lunch (Evan loves the cracking peanuts) and the headed over to Grandmas and Grandpas. Of course, Evan had to play water balloons, with Grandma and Grandpa. Ainsley even got to do a little swimming in the little pool. We ate dinner and had Grandma & Grandpa's slushies!! Yum!

At the end of the night, Evan needed a bath, so he took one in the Grandma & Grandpa's big tub (with jacuzzi jets). Grandma added a little bubble bath, combined with the jets, made a crazy amount of bubbles everywhere. Evan was completely covered!! He was squeeling and having so much fun. I don't think the pictures even come close to showing how full it was.

We had another fun day trip and made lots of great memories!!