Ainsley's 3rd Birthday Party

 

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Ainsley's 3rd birthday with a pink party! She requested a just pink party. Here are a few pictures from her fun day!

The pink decorations: 

With Nani and Poppy - 

 Grandma and Grandpa -

Ainsley requested that all the girls wear pink to her party, and all the boys wear green. She was happy to see them all arrive - 

 Our family -

Happy Birthday Ainsley!!!

Evan - 6-1/2

 Evan is 6-1/2! He has almost finished Kindergarten and is looking forward to the summer. A few things about Evan...

His favorite subject is math. (He can do multiplication and division in his head - it is really amazing to see)

Is greatly improving with his reading

His favorite foods are watermelon and cheese ravioli, with Life cereal before bed coming in a close 3rd.

He played basketball in the winter and is now playing spring soccer and doing great! (He has improved so much and scored his first goal!!

In the last month he lost his first tooth and no longer needs his training wheels

He is seriously the best big brother. I am so thankful they play so well and Evan is so good with her!

Two Wheeler!!

Evan is now training wheel free :) On the first Sunday in April, late in the afternoon, I took the kids on a bike ride. Evan had been struggling with his bigger bike and taller training wheels, and I kept encouraging him that it would help him ride a two wheeler. It was really tough for him, and eventually his one training wheel popped up. After pointing out that he was riding basically a two wheeler, Evan decided to give it a try.

It was quite a sight.. Evan could ride his bike right away, but the stopping and starting proved to be pretty tough! He would stop, fall, and then start crying. I would ask him if he wanted to stop, but wanted to keep trying. It lasted for an hour at least, but I think that he got just enough confidence to ride.

After the first day of riding

After that, with a few days of practice at the church parking lot by Nani and Poppy's, as well as using his smaller bike, Evan has become quite good. He is zipping around the sidewalks and streets and loves his new wheels!

Ainsley is 3!

Our sweet girl is now 3!! It's been a privilege to watch her grow. In the last few months, she has grown so much. She is now much more little girl than toddler. On our recent trip to Chicago, I realized that we are now in a new phase.. no chasing around a little one.. it's so nice to see her becoming a kid, yet bittersweet to know she's growing too fast.

Ainsley loves playing with her big brother - they are best buds. They occasionally disagree, but most of the time they play really well together. She loves him and all the things he is interested in.  I always wondered if they would play together, and I am so glad that they do!

She also loves her cousin, Mya. It's so great to have a friend her age and a girl to play with (or else A might think the only toys are legos, mario, and shooters). The girls get together at least once a week for story time or other activities.

She also loves her new cousin, Baby Leah! She was so interested when Leah was born! She still loves to talk with her and hold her..

Ainsley even decided to try out being a baby again herself for a few weeks.. 

A few other things that our sweet little girl is up to..
- She can write the A and I in her name, and spell her whole name out loud.

- She thinks her name is Ainsley ME, instead of Marie.. it's too cute and I don't want her to stop
- She still loves riding her bike and is quite the expert, trying to keep up with her big brother
- She is happy to dig in the dirt and play with her kitchen.
- Still loves the color pink

- She moved to her big girl bed after Chirstmas and is doing great. She still loved to snuggle at night before falling asleep and still has her bubbies in her bed only.
- She love ice cream and has a real sweet tooth
- She is getting more independent every day (dressing herself, buckling her own carseat). Ainsley is always trying to keep up with Evan

At her 3 year checkup, she was shy with the Dr, but was hitting all the milestones right on track. She is 37in, 31lbs, and more importantly, to her, big enough to ride the rides at Kings Island :)

Lost his first lost tooth!!

Yesterday, April 23rd, Evan lost his first tooth! He had been awaiting this day for a long time. His front two teeth have been loose, with the permanent teeth half in behind them. He was wrestling with Poppy and his friend Zachary, and in the mix, the tooth popped out! I think he was a little stunned and scared, but definitely excited!

The tooth fairy wasn't exactly prepared, but she pulled something together late last night to make for an exciting surprise in the morning (and $2 bill and a tooth keeper)!