More Thanksgiving Fun with Family!

Larry's boys, Hayden and Sam on the left, and Nan's kiddos, Barbara and Wesley on the right!

Hayden is in second grade, Sam is four, Barbara has two years of college behind her and getting ready to go to UTMB in Galveston to pursue a career in nursing, and Wesley is a freshman at Reagan High School!

More of Funny Ainsley

Watching a little "Word World" on tv.

Picking up acorns in the park and...

...feeding them to the fish! The fish didn't like them, but Ainsley thought it was the right thing to do.

She just stepped out of the bath!

Thanksgiving morning:

"Ainsley, look at Mimi, smile!!!" This is what I got instead! It's just too funny not to post!

Again, "Ainsley, look at Mimi, smile!"

And here, she's pulling the skirt off!

She really looked so cute Thanksgiving morning, but she wanted to play with her skirt and she refused to keep her bow in her hair, which is lost somewhere in our house. So, you'll have to use your imagination, and pretend you know what she'd look like with the skirt around her waist, a bow in her hair, and a smile on her face! It was a great Thanksgiving. We are thankful for beautiful children, their spouses, and grandchildren. See more pictures below!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, THANKSGIVING!!

No matter how hard we tried, Ainsley insisted on putting her own spin on her Thanksgiving greeting. She recently had her birthday, so she just combined the two and would say, "Happy Birthday Thanksgiving!" It was a great Thanksgiving lunch with her cousins, Macy and Marshall, and the rest of the family.

The Kids' Table

My Broken Heart♥

This is what happened last Monday when Marshall, 5, broke my heart! I had picked him and Macy up from school and we went to their house. Marshall said, "Mimi, I have a girlfriend." That's when my heart began to crack a little. (See, I thought it was I who was his girlfriend, right after his mommy.) I calmly said, "Oh, really, who?" He said, "Sadie.....she calls me 'Marshmallow!'" I have often heard a little girl yell, "Bye, Marshmallow," when they get in my car after school. Then he went on to say, "I call her 'Princess!'" At this point, my heart was completely broken in two! To make matters worse, he said, "And I love her very, very, very much! I even love her more than God!" I said, "Oh, no, Marshall, you don't love anyone more than God. You love God above everyone else, then your mommy, daddy, Macy, and the rest of your family (me?)" And then Macy piped in...."and THEN your GIRLfriend!"

My Hero, Julie!

Julie and some her friends at her school decided last September that it would be "fun" to walk a half marathon in the San Antonio Rock and Roll Marathon last weekend. She walked a lot in her neighborhood, then on Sunday afternoons, all of them would meet at a nearby park and they would walk up to THREE HOURS at a stretch! It was often very hot during these walks, and if that wasn't bad enough, they frequently saw coral snakes on this trail! But did that stop them? No! They had the "faith of a mustard seed," (see my post about Marshall saying that a few months ago, below). Something really cool was that she wore some kind of a "chip" on her body and as she passed through certain milestones, I would get a text message which said, "Julie Metcalf just crossed the 5K line," etc. I had gone to Houston for Ainsley's second birthday, and was driving home when I got the message that said, "Julie Metcalf has crossed the finish line for the Half Marathon!" It was a great feeling! I knew from the beginning that she would succeed because when Julie sets her mind to something, she always succeeds! She is an awesome daughter! I am a mother filled with pride.

"Little Lady Bug" Turns TWO!!

Little Ainsley, AKA "The Lady Bug" turned two on Friday. The next day was her birthday party. The day was off to a great start when Mary, her sweet babysitter/nanny came over with a pink donut with sprinkles on it. Mary knows what a birthday girl likes for breakfast!

She had a fun birthday party with a lady bug theme that afternoon,with lots of her friends and her mom's and dad's friends. The highlight of the party was a visit from "The Tumble Bus," a recycled school bus outfitted with a small trampoline, padded walls, monkey bars and all sorts of things to climb up and slide down!

Daddy and her friend Anthony helped her blow out the candles on her lady bug cake!

She even dressed like a lady bug!

This is what was going on inside the Tumble Bus!!

It was hard to get a clear picture because she was in constant

motion!

Mommy, Mary, and Lisa

When the party was over, Lisa and Matt stayed for Ainsley to open their present. Here it is:

To all of my grandmother/friends, you may want to steal this great idea. It's from Hallmark, and it records YOUR voice reading the entire book! Ainsley now has "Aunt Lisa and Uncle Matt" reading her this beautiful book!

And she loved this super soft big blanket from her Gigi, especially before she opened it all the way up and used it like a "muff." Before she went to bed, she said, "I want my SOFT blanket."

 Here she is playing with one of her presents, a little van that she quickly labeled "The Tumble Bus!!!"

Papa and I got her a new tricycle, which she called her "motorcycle," and Macy and Marshall gave me some money, and asked me to go shopping for a helmet for her when I got to Houston (they wanted her to pick it out.) She takes her shopping very seriously.

The Barbie one was OK...until we found....

....the "Bling-Bling Monkey Helmet!" You can't see it but it even has pink rhinestones on it.

Today, before I had to leave, Ainsley was eating breakfast and watching the news on tv (really!) and I couldn't resist taking a few more pictures of her. She has changed so much in just two months since I had seen her. She truly is turning into a "little girl." She is almost potty-trained! She can identify many of the alphabet letters and can sing the "ABC Song." Like all two-year olds, everything is "MINE." When I started singing the "ABC Song," she said, "NO, Mimi, MY ABC SONG!" She loves to put together wooden puzzles and doesn't need much help anymore. She also loves to color and dance. She enjoys watching "Word World" on tv, and can identify the words as soon as they pop up. Her teachers are amazed at how she talks in complete sentences. At her cupcake party in her classroom Friday afternoon, she got up to throw away her napkin, and she even said, "I go to throw away my trash." Later that night, she said, "Mom, may I have a drink of water, please." And then the one that surprised me later in the evening, was when she said, "I want the light on in the other room." A nine-word sentence! And she just turned two! Here are just a few more pictures that captivated me this morning.

Little Lady Bug, it was such a fun weekend. I can't wait to see what new things you'll be doing this next year in your life. I think if I had the power, I'd freeze you at this age!

Halloween '09

Peter Pan and Tinkerbell

Ainsley, the Bling-Bling Lady Bug!!

Cutest lady bug I every saw!

Funny Grandkids

Macy is easy to spot in this picture of Kids' Choir at their church. They had an outdoor concert at Family Night a week ago. She looks like she might be the daughter of one of the Blues' Brothers!

Here's Marshall in the back of his dad's truck at Movie Night after the concert. They had a huge outdoor screen to watch "Horton Hears a Who," and everyone sat in lawn chairs or in the back of trucks. He fell asleep with Gavin's older sister snuggled next to him!