The Murrays

Pajama Party!

2012-01-27T11:53:00.002-06:00

Ainsley, whose social calendar is much busier than her parents these days, attended a fun party at school tonight. The kindergarten teachers, in an effort to raise money for the school, host a pajama party at school where the kids come back in the early evening wearing pajamas and dragging along a sleeping bag, pillow and perhaps a stuffed animal. They all join the teachers who are also wearing pajamas for a movie and popcorn.

When Liz dropped her off, Ainsley was having a great time with her friends, lots of giggling. It was a really cute idea, and we hope that Bridget gets to do the same thing in a few years.

At long last, a one-year check up

2012-01-27T11:47:00.004-06:00

After suffering through about three weeks of ear infections and viruses, Bridget finally went in for her one-year well visit. She looked great, according to the doctor, and there was no disagreement on our end. She wasn't thrilled about the shots, but luckily she didn't really run much of a temperature or have any other side effects.

Here are the stats:

Height: 29 7/8 inches (50th percentile)
Weight: 22 lbs, 13 oz (75th percentile)

Other than that, she has moved to the one-year-old room at "school" and is slowly adjusting. Not one for change, Bridget didn't take too kindly to leaving her old teachers. However, in the last week or so, she's been starting to play more and get used to the new schedule. Apparently another reason the teachers think she is starting to feel comfortable is Bridget has no problem taking food at snack time from her classmates or "borrowing" their work (for those non-Montessori speakers, things the kids are playing with).

Mom!

2012-01-15T21:43:00.004-06:00

After weeks of saying Mom, Mama and other ways to refer to herself, Liz was thrilled to hear Bridget actually say "Mom!" today. Luckily Casey overhead her as well so it was official. Since then, she has been saying some "Ma, ma" so we think we've crossed over into the m words.

Although Bridget was still pretty happy to see the dog at the zoo today. It was one of those rare 60-degree January days in KC today so we took advantage of it and headed to the zoo for a bit. It was great because Ainsley imparted some of her knowledge from her new favorite PBS show, "Kratt Brothers," and Bridget finally was interested in the animals. Good times were had by all!

Merry Christmas from the Murrays

2012-01-03T12:33:00.005-06:00

We had a great Christmas season this year, which included four Christmas celebrations. Ainsley must have bragged to a couple of her friends because parents of one of Ainsley's friends mentioned that not everyone has that many Christmas celebrations! We are just lucky to have so many family members with which to celebrate the season.

Bridget, who couldn't be bothered with taking photos, enjoyed pulling off wrapping paper, but also spent a good amount of time munching on Cheerios and taking it all in from various vantage points. She also napped through much of Ainsley's present opening since we knew Bridget wouldn't really get it and/or do much with her presents yet. However, she has enjoyed the new toys. Even Ainsley has been caught playing with a few of Bridget's new toys!

Ainsley really enjoyed the holiday season this year. She couldn't wait for G and Melmo's visit, Grandma and Pop's visit and then, of course, Santa's visit. Then she couldn't believe she got one more Christmas over at Nonny and Papa's house. All in all, we stressed to her how unbelievably blessed she is, and she really did seem to appreciate it. And she certainly has enjoyed her much increased collection of Barbie dolls!

Ainsley made an ornament at school and was really excited to give it to Mom and Dad on Christmas morning.

Santa must have gotten the memo that even thought Ainsley really Barbies, she still loves to dress up. He got her this awesome Disney Princess dress and crown.

Ainsley got a cool retro sled, and Bridget couldn't stop climbing on it.
Best picture we managed of the girls on Christmas Day.

Dog! Dog!

2011-12-23T19:14:00.003-06:00

Bridget started talking!

Unfortunately for Mom and Dad, her first word is dog. As in Hooper. Every chance she gets, Bridget will point at Hooper and exclaim, "Dog! Dog!" Sometimes she even tries to say "A dog!" While very cute, we were hoping for more Ma and Da. Casey is in luck as she has said a few "Da!," but thus far, no Mas.

We are pretty sure right after dog is going to be Ainsley. She really, really wants to say it. We both think we've heard her try to say it, but must be waiting for the right moment since you know, Ma is so much harder. :)

In addition to loving to say dog, Bridget is completely taken with Elf on the Shelf. Maybe because her sister gets so excited to find Dolly the Elf every morning. But every time she sees the elf, she points right at Dolly (maybe she's excited because she likes d words?) and keep pointing at her until we acknowledge that yes, that is in fact, Dolly the Elf. We all are getting a pretty big kick out of it.

Bridget turns one!

2011-12-02T14:24:00.008-06:00

Hard to believe we've come around to this day. Bridget officially entered toddlerhood yesterday. Since we're writing this well after the posting date, we can tell you that we celebrated over the weekend with cake and presents over Nonny and Papa's house.

Since it was such a busy month, we decided to wait until she was older to go for a big party. We knew we made the right decision when Bridget was more interested in playing with the wrapping paper than her presents, and when we sang "Happy Birthday" to her, she seemed to be trying to figure out what all the fuss was about.

However, Bridget did discover that she really enjoys a good piece of cake. Ainsley hesitated a bit more with her first piece of cake, but Bridget took one lick of frosting and thought it tasted pretty good and dug in. We finally had to extract the cake before she ate the entire smash cake.

Here are some pictures from the fun:

Lady of the Dance?

2011-11-25T20:52:00.002-06:00

Ainsley started taking Irish dancing this summer -- the first class was just an introductory one. However, this fall, after soccer ended, Ainsley started up her lessons again, this time moving up to the level one class. We've really seen a big difference in her skills and are seeing major improvements with every class. After returning home after her second lesson, Ainsley showed off some moves to Liz.

Fakesgiving

2011-11-25T20:48:00.004-06:00

This year we ended up celebrating two Thanksgivings. Much of Liz's family is on hold waiting for baby #2 from Taryn and Matt or busy with senior year of college and swimming activities in Ohio. So we celebrated with Aunt Caroline and Uncle Matt the weekend before Thanksgiving since Matt couldn't get off work on the Friday after Thanksgiving this year, and we had real Thanksgiving with family friends -- both were fun and had tons of yummy food!

No other reason for this post than just cute pictures

2011-11-08T09:16:00.002-06:00

A few notes from B's 11th month

2011-11-08T09:12:00.003-06:00

She's up and moving. Walking is her preferred method of getting places now.

At 11 months, Bridget is eating almost all "regular" food, interacting with us more and more.

She loves playing peek a boo. She will cover her face, and then when you ask where Bridget is, she'll uncover her face with a big smile. She could do it over and over ... until she gets distracted.

Ainsley and Bridget have started taking baths together. They have a great time playing together in the tub, and it certainly is nice to eliminate one bath.

Bridget's New Hobby

2011-11-08T09:07:00.004-06:00

Here it is October...

2011-10-01T14:27:00.008-06:00

It's Oct. 1. We're not sure how it got to be October already, but the past six weeks or so since school started for Ainsley have flown by in a haze of adjusting to new schedules, packing lunches, school activities and busy jobs.

Both girls are doing great. Bridget is 10 months and starting to dig real food. She took her first tentative steps (about two) last Sunday morning before mass. It was so cool to see, but when she dropped down and we started clapping, she seemed completely surprised by it. She hasn't quite figured out what we're excited about when she has done it a couple of times since then. But since Bridget loves clapping, she always smiles and often claps with you.

Ainsley is loving, loving kindergarten. We can literally see her learning new stuff right before our eyes -- for example, she'll come home and say "Buenas Noches!" before turning out the light or she'll start counting by 10s. She might sing a song she learned in music class or show a picture from art class. Every night, she reads a book from their Bookworm program to us. We are enjoying hearing about all her adventures in learning and with her new friends.

Bridget at 9 months

2011-09-15T15:11:00.004-06:00

Bridget had her 9-month check up this week. Here are the stats:

Weight: 20 lbs, 11.8 oz

Height: 27 3/4 inches

The doctor said she looked great. And luckily she only had to get the first part of her flu shot. She wasn't happy about it, but at least it was over quickly. It's hard to believe that the next time she gets a check up it'll be for 12 months.

Standing...

2011-08-20T18:50:00.003-06:00

Just a note to say that Bridget has started truly standing as of today. She can let go of things and stand for a good five to 10 seconds before coming down. Sometimes we're not sure she knows why we're getting excited, but she does seem to like standing.

We're guessing it's only a matter of time before she is standing for longer periods of time. Then we just have to wait for the biggie: walking.

Bridget just doesn't want to wait. She can't wait to be running just like her big sister.

First day of school, first day of school

2011-08-16T09:37:00.009-06:00

Ainsley started kindergarten this week! It's so hard to believe that she is now in grade school. The short version of this week: Ainsley really seems to be enjoying her new surroundings and likes her teacher.

The long verison: The night before the first day, Ainsley woke up twice both times from a "bad dream," but luckily we got her back to bed without much of a fuss. In the morning, she seemed happy and ready to get going. Both of us and Bridget all took her to school after taking the all-important standing on the front porch with the backpack in the uniform pictures.

While Ainsley may have been nervous, she really didn't show it that morning as we walked down to the kindergarten classes. When we got to her classroom we found her seat, right up near the front, and got her backpack and stuff put away in her cubbie and on her hook. Once back in the classroom, we said our goodbyes. Ainsley did great; it was Liz and Casey who had to leave quickly. Outside the classroom, Liz shed some tears and Casey did the manly hold-it-back method. We both looked at Bridget, and Liz said, "Don't grow up too fast." At that moment, Bridget puked up some breakfast, and we both laughed. It broke the sadness, and we were ready to move on.

The rest of the week went smoothly, and on Friday Ainsley told Casey on the way to school that she loved kindergarten. So looks like we had a good transition!

P.S. As you can see in the pictures, Ainsley lost her second tooth on the Sunday before school started. So now she's got a nice empty spot where her two bottom front teeth were, and she loves to feel the spot with her tongue.

Five-year stats

2011-08-08T10:11:00.003-06:00

Ainsley went in for her big check up before kindergarten starts. Aside from having to get four shots and blood drawn (ugh!), the check up went great.
Here are the stats:

Height: 43 1/2 inches
Weight: 38 1/2 lbs

They tested her vision for the first time and so far it looks like she's following in Casey's path, thank goodness.

All in all, she's very healthy and is ready to start school.

A visit from the Tooth Fairy

2011-08-05T20:07:00.005-06:00

Today, Ainsley lost her first tooth! She was very, very excited. Here's how it happened: Ainsley took a bite out of an ear of corn. She bounced back and looked at Liz. Her gums were bleeding a bit, and Liz took a closer look and realized her middle bottom tooth (probably her first baby tooth) was loose.

Of course, we were a bit surprised. I guess we both thought that it doesn't start until later -- closer to six -- but after a little Google search we found out that children who get teeth early generally tend to lose teeth a little earlier. Considering Ainsley got her first teeth shortly after she was six months old, it's not surprising that she's losing a tooth now.

Anyway, back to the tooth story. So Ainsley bounced around, barely ate the rest of her dinner. As we were finishing up, she said she really wished her tooth would come out tonight. Casey, who hadn't completely finished his ear of corn, suggested if she really wanted it to come out then try taking another bite his corn (since we had already cut her corn off the cob after her first bite into her cob). She looked at both of us, steeled herself and took a big bite. Sure enough, her tooth came out.

Oddly enough, we happened to be reading "Silverlicious," in which a girl loses her sweet tooth and silliness ensues. Ainsley loved the book, so we had read almost every night this week. So, of course, Ainsley was even more excited since she was so up on what happens when you lose a tooth. She had us write up a note to the fairy that she dictated and then signed and put her note and the tooth under the pillow for the tooth fairy's first visit.

The next morning Ainsley was thrilled to see that her own personal tooth fairy visited her and left her an extra special amount of money for her first tooth and a note congratulating her. In addition, she has enjoyed showing off her new grin!

Ainsley's first art class

2011-08-02T06:45:00.004-06:00

As July was winding down, it became painfully obvious that Ainsley was ready to move on from her preschool. We only had a few weeks left with some taken up with vacations and kindergarten camp, but we really hated to see Ainsley feeling bored and knowing she was the oldest in her class by far.

Finally, it dawned on Liz that as a perk of her job, Ainsley could take the summer art camps at KCAI. So she quickly checked in with her coworkers to find out if there was room for Ainsley in the last possible art camp we could do, and luckily, there was! So for a week, Ainsley was able to attend two art classes a day and visit Liz at work before and after class. They also got to eat lunch together every day, and they even were able to have lunch one of the days with Liz's former coworker who had enrolled her daughter in the same class!

We had a great time, and Ainsley loved doing the different art projects. At the end of the week, each class held an exhibition of the work they completed. It was so fun to see the results. We will be taking advantage of this perk again soon!

Bridget at 7 months

2011-07-21T20:19:00.004-06:00

Of course, I'm behind on writing this since she's closer to 8 now, but for the record Bridget has had an exciting month. She started crawling toward the end of six months and now as I write this she can crawl pretty much wherever she wants. We think that she feels like she has to keep up with Ainsley, but we keep trying to remind her that she is not going to turn 5 anytime soon, but she doesn't want to listen.

She also likes to pull herself up to stand whenever she gets the chance. She seems very proud of herself, and that is pretty much all she wants to do. In fact, it is very difficult to get Bridget to stay in one place for very long.

Today, we noticed that she has now popped one of her two top front teeth, so we're guessing the other is on the way soon. She also weighs about 18 lbs, 12 oz. now.

Just so it isn't too text heavy, here's a recent shot of Miss B:

Playing together...

2011-07-14T10:48:00.005-06:00

sort of.

P.S. A few more posts below as well as one on the way about a certain 5-year-old girl who had a quiet, but very nice birthday this year.

Happy fifth birthday, Ainsley!

2011-07-04T07:37:00.016-06:00

Considering much of Ainsley's preschool class left school after graduation and the fact that it is a pretty busy summer for us, we opted to go with the idea that we'd do a friend pretty on even years and a family party on odd years. Hopefully, we can stick to it.

So, with that in mind, we opted for family fun day -- Ainsley woke up to us bringing in a present and saying happy birthday. Then Casey made pancakes for her. At this point, the plan was for Casey and Ainsley to go to swim lessons and for Liz and Bridget to attend a friend's baby's naming, but our instructor got sick and weather didn't cooperate, so Casey and Ainsley headed for a nearby indoor pool.

After a mishap at the pool (nothing to do with us), we met back up at home for lunch and decided since the weather cleared up to head to a park and possibly visit the zoo for an hour (the beauty of having a family membership!).

When Ainsley arrived home from the pool, she was surprised to find her new bed (we had moved the guest bed into her room and switched her bed out) with a brand new comforter, sheets, etc. Here's how she reacted:

That evening, Nonny and Papa gave over for a cookout, cake and presents. Our thoughtful family had sent presents and cards for Ainsley, so it was fun to have stuff from many family members represented. Finally, we had the cake and Ainsley was thrilled with her pink cake with polka dots and purple frosting.

All in all, turning 5 was a pretty great thing. She literally seems to have grown up overnight, and she now seems very ready for her next adventure: kindergarten!

Happy Fourth!

2011-07-04T07:37:00.010-06:00

This year, like most Fourth of Julys since we moved into our house, we spent the morning attending the popsicle parade in Casey's parents' neighborhood and then hosted Nonny and Papa for a cookout and to watch the fireworks in our neighborhood.

Bridget's first Fourth of July was marked by her attempting to pull up on anything and everything. She is determined to start standing immediately. We keep trying to tell her that she doesn't need to rush this, but somehow we don't think she is listening.

Ainsley enjoyed riding her bike -- with training wheels, mind you -- during the popsicle parade. Afterwards getting a kick out of turning her mouth blue from said popsicle.

In addition, this year we finally let Ainsley swing on the swing in front of our house. For years, it's been there taunting her. Since she is such a big girl now at 5, we figured it was time to let her try it out. Not surprising, she loved it. Papa pushed her on the swing for quite some time before and after dinner. We are sure that she'll be asking to go out on the swing again very soon.

Ainsley also got see her first big, up-in-the-sky fireworks. She loved them, but she loved them more when she could see them from the swing.

On the move.

2011-06-20T14:24:00.004-06:00

Bridget decided to start moving! Here are a couple of videos of her crawling, scooting and just basically getting where she wants to go.

New haircut for the summer

2011-06-20T14:22:00.002-06:00

P.S. Go back through the posts -- we've added in some new ones!

Six months ... a bit late

2011-06-15T13:13:00.012-06:00

Bridget is already well on her way to seven months as I write this, but I wanted to make note of Bridget's six-month stats. We just went into the doctor this week, but we saw a lot of the doctor around Memorial Day weekend when she was fighting some nasty virus that turned into a yucky cough for the last two weeks. (And then I had to suffer through it as well.)

But the doctor said Bridget looked great, and her stats were good. She also has popped another tooth, and the doctor mentioned that the top two look like they are about to come in as well. She unhappily received a couple of shots and was on her way.

Weight: 16 lbs., 11 oz. (60th percentile)
Height: 25 3/4 inches (50th percentile)

At this point, Ainsley was a pound smaller and 27 inches tall. But more than anything, we've been debating how much/little they look alike.

A visit from the tooth fairy and other things...

2011-06-07T12:52:00.006-06:00

Editor's note: I have been been back posting due to busy schedules. See below for more posts and two more to come -- one on the baptism and one on Ainsley's preschool graduation.

Well, at least whatever fairy brings teeth to babies -- Bridget popped her first tooth over the weekend. On her bottom left, we can now see the first sprout of a tooth. No wonder she was a bit cranky!

However, she is loving trying out all the new foods -- this below shows how much she enjoys sweet potatoes.

Graduation!

2011-05-31T11:55:00.004-06:00

Due to crazy weather last week, Ainsley's preschool graduation ceremony was moved to this week. It's hard to believe that Ainsley will be heading off to kindergarten here in a couple of months. We are so proud of her. She is such a big girl now!

Enjoying the warm weather

2011-05-23T08:41:00.005-06:00

This weekend, in between storms, we tried to soak up the warm weather with walks, trips to the park and playdates. It was a great follow up weekend to the baptism with lots of hanging around and not too much on our agenda.

And we made a fort out of the dining room table and some old sheets. Apparently one of the sheets had a rip in it, so Ainsley made it a little bigger and here's the result.

Baptism

2011-05-16T14:42:00.007-06:00

On May 15, Bridget was baptized. It was a beautiful ceremony, and we were so happy to celebrate the occasion with some friends and family. We were so thrilled to have both of Bridget's godparents there -- Nathan and Sarah (with Sarah coming in from Chicago). We also had other family come in from out of town to share in the weekend.

On Sunday after the ceremony, we celebrated with a brunch at our house and were joyed by friends and family there.

Godparents Sarah and Nathan surround Liz, Casey, Ainsley and Bridget during the ceremony.

Father Rush, who also baptized Ainsley, anoints Bridget with oil.

Bridget afterwards with Grandma and Pop.

Nate and Sarah hold their goddaughter.

Nonny and Papa with Bridget and Ainsley

Ainsley with Madeleine (daughter of Nate and Liz)

Ainsley had a great time playing with Madeleine, Evelyn and Ava back at our house.

Starting our solid food adventures...

2011-05-16T14:41:00.004-06:00

Bridget has ventured into the solid food world. She is hit and miss with the rice cereal -- eating it right up at times and other times a bit fussy about it -- so we think she'll be excited when there is a bit more taste to this new food on a spoon concept.

Five months old

2011-05-09T15:23:00.005-06:00

Yet another month has come and gone for Bridget. This last month has been a big one for Bridget -- she really seems to be getting rid of a lot of newborns habits and looking forward to eating some solids. Rice cereal, here we come!

This month, we broke Bridget out of the swaddle with great results. We were a bit worried she wouldn't be able to get herself to sleep, but with just a couple of tough love naps and a bedtime, she's already figured out how to sleep without swaddling. Despite always putting her down on her back, Bridget much prefers sleeping on her stomach and usually on her stomach with her legs tucked under so her rear end is up in the air. Since she has such great head control and can roll either way on a whim, we have given up fighting it and just continue to put her down on her back and let her roll over.

Bridget continues to want to do more of what she sees the bigger babies doing like sitting up and crawling. She is attempting to sit up, but, of course, can't yet. She also spends much of her tummy time swimming in an attempt to crawl, which results in her getting increasingly annoyed at the fact that she's not actually going anywhere. However, she can get places -- she rolls and manages some sort of scooting -- so we are extra careful where we put her down these days because she often doesn't stay there for long.

She has continued to enjoy grabbing stuff -- mostly hair -- and does a great job reaching for what she wants. She also likes to touch faces and whatever you are holding in your hands. And everything, and we mean everything, that she touches goes directly into her mouth.

We look forward to her baptism and starting her food adventures in the very near future.

Ainsleyisms

2011-05-09T09:03:00.005-06:00

Being almost 5, Ainsley has really shown that she has her own opinions and thoughts on the world. And sometimes those thoughts are quite entertaining. A few recent examples:

Driving home one night, Liz and Ainsley are discussing the day. When asked about lunch, Ainsley says she ate all her mixed vegetables. Liz replies that's great. Then Ainsley says, "But Hannah didn't eat her vegetables."

L: "She didn't? Why not?"
A: "She doesn't like vegetables. But I do. I ate mine all up."
L: "That's great. You're going to grow up big and strong."
A: "Hannah won't."
L: "Well, maybe Hannah just doesn't like her vegetables all mixed together. Maybe she eats them when they are separated and just one vegetable."
A: "Yeah, that must be it. She must not liked mixed vegetables."

At this point, Liz feels they have covered the subject and asks about the rest of the day. To which Ainsley says, "Mommy, we're going to talk about Hannah not eating her vegetables all the way home." Thankfully it's not a long ride.

On another ride home, Ainsley is discussing how she wants to go to the park when they get home. However, Liz knows that Bridget will probably need to go to bed soon after they get home and it's likely that Casey won't be home in time to take her while Liz puts Bridget to bed. But we hate for Ainsley not to have a good amount of outdoor time when it's nice out. So Liz asks Ainsley if they went outside at school today.

A: "Yes."
L: "Good."
Ainsley paused, seeming to remember that on another occasion that Liz has said she went outside at school and we'll probably have to stay inside now for the evening to have dinner and get ready for bed.
A: "But Mommy, we only went out once, so I'll need to go to the park."

And one final example. Recently we thought she might enjoy going to the Sunday preschool room rather than sit through mass. She has several friends who go and so we talked about it prior to one Sunday morning. On that particular Sunday, Liz took Ainsley downstairs to drop her off and when they reached the classroom, Ainsley decided she did not want to join in this week. Liz tried to tell her that she might have more fun there than sitting upstairs -- it happened to be Palm Sunday so it would be particularly long mass and since we thought she was going to the Sunday school, we didn't bring any of our usual distractions for her. But upon the second attempt at telling Ainsley this, she simply replied:

"Mommy, I don't want to have this conversation again."

It was all Liz could do to not burst out laughing.

Family walks

2011-05-03T21:25:00.003-06:00

Now that the weather is getting warmer, we are enjoying taking walks -- sometimes Ainsley brings her baby in the stroller -- but usually it's the four of us and Hooper. Bridget really likes the walks; she usually spends her time looking around and often takes a snooze as well. Ainsley loves to run along the trail, stop and pick flowers and find sticks, which usually end up in Hooper's mouth.

This past weekend on a particularly long walk, Ainsley stopped for this cute picture along the trail.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T21:06:00.005-06:00

We enjoyed a very nice Easter. We dressed the girls in some adorable dresses compliments of Grandma and Pop Crosbie. Mass went pretty well -- Bridget took a nap.

They had several visits from the Easter Bunny -- one early with Grandma and Pop, one long distance from G and Melmo and two local. These girls have it pretty good.

Giggles...

2011-04-18T21:35:00.004-06:00

Apparently all it took to bring out the laughter in Bridget was her big sister. Liz was picking up the girls from daycare, and Ainsley came into the infant room with Liz. For whatever reason, Ainsley started running in a circle and jumping up and down. Bridget, who Liz was holding, had a view from Liz's shoulder. She started cracking up.

At first Liz, who was talking to the teacher about Bridget's day, didn't realize what was going on, but then realized that Bridget was watching Ainsley run around in a circle and laughing. It was the first time Ainsley made her laugh.

When we got home, Ainsley was excited to show Casey how Bridget laughed at her -- we're sure in years to come Ainsley will not appreciate it if her sister is laughing at her. Here's the video we caught of Bridget giggling at her sister's silliness.

Four months old!

2011-04-01T13:29:00.013-06:00

Bridget went in her four-month appointment this week. We can't believe she's already a third of the way through her first year. She got a clean bill of health, suffered through a couple of shots and was on her way. Her stats were 12 lbs, 15 oz (45th percentile) and 24 1/2 inches (60th percentile).

In this fourth month, Bridget has been trying to sit up and although she's far from being able to do it, she loves being held where she can see the action whether it's her friends at daycare, watching Ainsley playing or just checking out the dog.

She is also very much into reaching for objects and grasping them. Unfortunately this has turned into a lot of hair grabbing for Liz, but it's fun to watch her hold onto a rattle or other toys.

She still isn't a huge laugher yet, but she's getting there. She'd much rather smile at you then laugh. Maybe she has a more developed sense of humor and she doesn't find our silly antics funny...

Casey rocks the parkway!

2011-04-01T13:29:00.012-06:00

Casey ran his first half marathon the weekend of April 3, and he did a great job! Considering the poor guy couldn't really train very well with a newborn in the house, he made good time. Liz, Ainsley and Bridget got to wave to him at about the halfway point as the race route came fairly close to the house so we walked up to see him.

Way to go, Casey! Here's a picture of Casey after the race:

It's soccer season again...

2011-04-01T13:29:00.011-06:00

It's time for another soccer season. Ainsley is enjoying her games, and her fan club is having fun watching her.

I'm pleased to meet you.

2011-03-17T09:35:00.004-06:00

Despite acid reflux that can make sleeping difficult, Bridget is a pretty happy baby. She likes to give big smiles to most people she meets. So here's a picture of her bright smile. Who could resist that?

Sisters

2011-03-08T21:16:00.005-06:00

Liz took this photo last Friday afternoon while they enjoyed a rainy day at home. Ainsley is really starting to enjoy her sister. She loves to give her hugs and kisses and likes to try to get her to smile. She even happily endures Bridget yelling when she does tummy time. While she still gets frustrated about the amount of time Bridget sometimes requires Mommy and Daddy, Ainsley is a great big sister.

Bridget is fascinated by her big sister. Whenever she gets the chance, Bridget will watch Ainsley whether she's playing, talking or even hanging out in the car. Think she's taking notes for when she's 4 1/2?

Three months old!

2011-03-04T16:45:00.006-06:00

At three months old, Bridget is really enjoying watching more and more of what goes on in her world. She loves to have someone hold her in a sitting position so she can watch what Ainsley is doing. Bridget has really strong neck muscles, so we're always amazed at how long and how well she can hold up her head.

She still hates tummy time, which is why we think she doesn't roll over that much. She can do it, but just doesn't do it often, instead preferring to hang out on her back and kick her legs. She recently tried out the Bumbo, and she liked how it allowed her sit up and look around.

We think Bridget may end up being a thumb sucker as she is obsessed with putting some part of her hands in her mouth most of the time she is awake. When she doesn't have her hand in her mouth, Bridget can be rather chatty. She enjoys "having a conversation," and is a big fan of up close and personal face-to-face discussions.

It's always fun to watch new developments. We look forward to all that is ahead of us.

Bath time for B!

2011-02-22T14:26:00.011-06:00

Bridget recently discovered that she can make the water splash if she kicks in her bath. Baths are much more fun now.

However, when we get out of the tub, it can be chilly. Not fun!

Eventually, it gets better once she is getting her diaper on and getting into pajamas. As long as you quickly get her dressed, it's fine, but take too long and she'll let you know she's unhappy with the situation.

Swim team in her future?

2011-02-22T14:26:00.007-06:00

Ainsley started up her swimming lessons again this month, and she's really taken off. She is diving off the side of the pool (sometimes even without assistance), learning to float on her back and even going underwater. She gets excited to go to swim class, and always has a big smile on her face during class.

We look forward to her spring class -- we're hoping that we get the go-ahead on joining the youth class as her teacher thinks she's ready even if she is a bit young for it!

This was all happening when Uncle Andrew was in the height of swim season at Ohio State. It couldn't help but make us wonder if we'll be watching Ainsley on her own swim team in a few years.

Roll over, roll over.

2011-02-20T20:38:00.006-06:00

Today, Bridget rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time. We're pretty sure it was by accident, and so far, she hasn't repeated it, but it was a start. She did seem happy that she got herself off her tummy -- she's not a fan of tummy time -- but she didn't seem to know how to do it again when we put her back on her tummy.

P.S. As of Feb. 28, she has rolled over a few more times. She even rolled over at 4 a.m. on our bed the other night as Liz was getting ready to feed her. We have a feeling she'll get the hang of it soon.

Two months old!

2011-02-11T11:00:00.004-06:00

Bridget went in for her two-month doctor appointment a bit later than originally scheduled due to the blizzard. We finally got in on Monday, and while we're still struggling with some sleeping/eating issues, she's doing well. She weighed 10 lbs., 15 oz. and was 23 inches long. The doctor said she looked great. Poor girl had to get three shots though, so she wasn't really happy at the end of the appointment. Thankfully, unlike Ainsley, she didn't get a fever following the shots, just slept a bit more.

In other news, Bridget is now smiling away. When you come to get her after a nap or in the morning, she'll give you a big, gummy grin. Or when Casey comes home from work. Or when Ainsley goofs around for her. We've been trying to capture it on the camera, but no luck yet. She's also very close to laughing. You can hear it right there beneath the surface, but just isn't quite there.

Wow, tummy time is exhausting!

Bridget loves the star at the top of the play gym, just like her sister.

Dance party, anyone?

2011-02-05T23:37:00.005-06:00

Lately, Casey has been pretty busy at work, so Liz has tried to finish up dinner and have it ready by the time he gets home. One evening in an effort to try and get dinner finished up, Liz turned on some music to try to entertain Bridget. Well, Ainsley decided they should dance around to the music, and pretty soon it was necessary for some of her dolls to join in on the fun. Before we knew it, it was a dinner dance party!

Making the best of the blizzard.

2011-02-05T23:34:00.004-06:00

Today, Casey and Ainsley decided to have some fun with all the snow we've gotten this week. They ventured out -- the temperature finally got to what felt like a reasonable 30 degrees -- and did some sledding in the front yard and made a snowman. Here's Ainsley showing off their efforts.

One month and growing...

2011-01-14T09:58:00.007-06:00

Bridget had her one-month check up at the doctor's last week, and everything looked great. She weighed 9 lbs., 1 oz. (50th percentile) and was 21 3/4 inches (75 percentile). We'll head back in another month, but with the way she is eating these days, we're sure she'll have gained quite a bit more.

Bridget is quite different from her sister in her sleeping habits these days. Ainsley liked to nap during the day, especially in her bouncy seat. Bridget won't nap unless she is either in someone's arms or swaddled in her crib. Also, Bridget is up a lot more during the day -- probably due to being much more gassy than Ainsley -- but the return is that she sleeps much better at night. She routinely does at least one stretch of anywhere from four to six hours each night.

When she's awake and not upset from the gas, Bridget loves to study the face of whoever is holding her. She also turns to watch her sister whenever she hears her voice. She is already fascinated by all that Ainsley does.

And now on to what everyone really wants, recent pictures of our growing Bridget.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

2011-01-11T12:30:00.005-06:00

It's officially winter here, and temperatures dropped into the single digits in addition to snowing about five or six inches. Ainsley talked Casey into going out to "sled" on the hill in front of our house, so they bundled up and headed out into the cold. Ainsley had a great time!

Afterwards it was time for Casey to snuggle up with Bridget to warm up.

We're already looking forward to the days when all four of us can enjoy the outdoors in the evenings. It's going to be a long winter...

Ainsley's school pictures

2010-12-30T23:26:00.003-06:00

We recently got Ainsley's 2010 school pictures back, and we couldn't resist sharing them here.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-23T13:56:00.008-06:00

Christmas 2010 came and went in a fairly quiet fashion. The week prior to Christmas, Liz, Ainsley and Bridget enjoyed time together at home -- wrapping presents, making Christmas cookies and Liz playing with one arm with Ainsley (while holding Bridget in the other). The actual weekend of Christmas we had fun hanging out with Caroline, Matt and Casey's parents as well as time with just the four of us.

On Christmas Day, Ainsley didn't wake us until after 7 a.m., and then the four of us gathered around the tree. Three of us watched Ainsley open pretty much all of the presents. Ainsley was really excited about how Santa remembered presents she asked for this year, and she enjoyed showing Bridget her presents.

We spent the rest of the day over at Nonny and Papa's house where we all took turns holding Bridget and Ainsley got quite a bit of playtime with Nonny, Papa, Caroline and Matt. (Who needs Mommy and Daddy when you've got grandparents and an aunt and uncle to pay attention to you?)

Casey, Liz and Ainsley read "The Night Before Christmas" together before bed on Christmas Eve.

Ainsley being goofy on Christmas morning.

Not the best picture of the girls, but at least we captured them on our first Christmas with both.

Ainsley with one of her favorite presents from Santa -- pink Legos!

Ainsley wearing the adorable fairy princess outfit that Auntie Caroline and Uncle Matt got her. She loves it. It also came in handy last week when she went to a costume birthday party. When asked what she wanted to go as, she immediately answered that she would wear the fairy princess costume.

Meeting Auntie Caroline and Uncle Matt

2010-12-23T13:55:00.002-06:00

The timing worked out perfectly this year for Auntie Caroline (Ainsley prefers Auntie to Aunt) and Uncle Matt to spend their first married Christmas in Kansas City so they also could meet their new niece. Over the long weekend, they logged some hide-and-seek time with Ainsley (and Ainsley used Uncle Matt as a jungle gym) as well as quite a bit of snuggling with Bridget.

We had a great time with them, and Ainsley and Bridget -- as well as the rest of us -- were sad to see them go.

We forgot...

2010-12-22T23:49:00.004-06:00

what life was like with a newborn. While Bridget is lucky because we're not getting ready to move across country in the two months following her birth, she is born at a time of year when it's cold, making it rather hard to calm a fussy baby at 4 a.m. Often when Ainsley was fussy, we could take her on a walk in the stroller and solve everything. Of course, we also spent a lot of time driving around to get her to sleep, another problem this time around.

But, all in all, Bridget is doing great. She now weighs above her birth weight, and she's doing a good job of sleeping in her crib -- as long as she is swaddled. If not in the crib and swaddled, Bridget's favorite sleeping spot is on Casey's chest. She spends much of the evening after Casey gets home, laying on her stomach, curled up, against Casey's chest.

She is already becoming more interested in her surroundings. She spends time just looking up and staring at whoever is holding her. Bridget also has amazing head control already -- she will often pop her head up when she is in the middle of burping and her big blue eyes get even wider as she seems just as amazed that she can hold her head up as we are.

But most of all, we are enjoying our new life as a family of four. Bridget seems like she's always been a member of our family.

Yep, she still has the dark hair. Guess we'll see if it lightens up or stays true to Daddy's hair color.

For Baby B

2010-12-11T15:43:00.005-06:00

Last night while Liz did a few things around the house and before Casey got home from work, Ainsley busied herself at the table making some drawings. When she asked how to spell Bridget's name, Liz got curious what she was up to, and she found Ainsley had made drawings for "Baby Bridget." Here are snapshots of the completed works:

Welcome Bridget Anne!

2010-12-08T14:06:00.007-06:00

After a quiet Thanksgiving and decorating for the holidays, Casey, Liz and Ainsley were ready to greet December. Dolly, the elf, had reappeared to keep track of Ainsley for Santa, we had our tree up and decorated and even had a head start on holiday shopping, so apparently that was the signal our little one needed.

At 6:43 a.m. on Dec. 1, 2010, we welcomed Bridget Anne Murray to our family. She was a bit smaller than her older sister at 7 lbs., 11 oz. and 19.25 inches long.

After a rocky first week -- poor Bridget had to go back to the hospital to stay under bilirubin lights for about 24 hours -- we are starting to get into the swing of this four-person family. While we are still carefully watching Bridget's health, we are enjoying the chance to let Ainsley start to get to know her little sister.

Ainsley loves to hug and kiss her sister. She is having a hard time getting used to Mom and Dad being distracted at times, but overall she is doing great as a big sister. Liz did have to discuss the fact that Bridget will "never catch up" to Ainsley's age, stressing that she will always be four years younger than her.

Annual chili cook-off

2010-11-22T09:56:00.004-06:00

This past weekend we hosted our second annual Murray Chili Cook-Off, and what a great round of chili entries this year. Last year, on a whim, we decided to host a chili cook-off and when it turned out to be a big hit, we figured why not make it an annual get together?

However, this year, with an official competition, the recipes were all taken up a notch -- we made a beer and bacon chili, and the other entries included everything from traditional to super spicy (made with home grown habanero) to black bean and bacon.

Since we were hosting, we thought it might be more fun for Ainsley to spend the night over at her Nonny and Papa's house, but, of course, we welcomed children. Our friends have had a baby explosion since last year's event. This year's young guests included five babies, a 2 1/2 year old and a seven year old. Crazy how much can change in one year!

Speaking of babies, we're just about to week 38 around here. Not much has changed, but the good news is the nursery is much closer to being done -- painting is finished, changing table/dresser has been moved in (Ainsley's old one) and organized, crib (also Ainsley's) is put together complete with new bedding and almost all the laundry is done.

Now we just await her arrival.

A visit to Lawrence

2010-11-16T12:39:00.007-06:00

This past weekend, we used a housewarming party for a friend who bought a house in nearby Lawrence to visit the campus and take Ainsley to the Natural History Museum there. We enjoyed showing Ainsley around campus and pointing out some landmarks that have been made familiar to her by various KU books we've read to her - Allen Fieldhouse, Chi O Fountain, etc. - as well as show her the house we lived at while Casey was in law school. (Wait, Mom and Dad had a life before ME?!)

Then we headed to the museum where she enjoyed running around looking at the exhibits. She was disappointed there weren't more bees in the live bee exhibit and wanted the snakes to be doing more, but otherwise she had a good time. Casey even got to visit Comanche, a horse who is often described as the sole survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn (actually a myth, but a good one), who he remembers fondly from his visits to the museum as a kid.

Pointing out the lone bee we saw.

Stuffed bears are kind of funny, but you can't look at them ...

Ainsley introduces her My Little Pony to Comanche.

After lunch out in Lawrence, Casey and Ainsley headed back to KC for a birthday party while Liz stayed for the housewarming party. All in all a fun day for the whole family!

Here are a couple of pictures from the fun, crafty party:

36 weeks and counting.

2010-11-12T07:26:00.006-06:00

Yesterday, we got one more peek at our newest member of the family. She is doing great and is getting ready to greet the world. We're hoping we have a couple of more weeks to get ready as we're a bit behind on the preparations -- the guest bedroom turned nursery is in the final stages of being painted, there's laundry to be finished up and actual room set up to finalize.

But for the most part, we're all very excited about meeting her. Ainsley has been reading a book she received from her friend Bea about "How to be a Baby" ("How to be a Baby ... by Me the Big Sister" is adorable! Thanks again, Currys!) She also received an amazing handmade quilt from one of Liz's co-workers for becoming a big sister. But mostly Ainsley just wants to know, "When is the baby coming?"

Very soon, Ainsley. Very soon.

Happy Halloween from Dorothy

2010-11-02T21:14:00.008-06:00

It was a bit chilly out this year so Dorothy needed some tights. Who says Dorothy wouldn't have worn pink and grey striped ones?

Ainsley had a great time celebrating Halloween this year. She attended two parties plus the actual trick or treating on Sunday. First, she went to Papa's office where she trick or treated around the office, went through a "haunted house" in the boardroom and had fun making wands with Papa at the little reception afterwards.

Next, she had her party at school. It was almost a disaster because we forgot her costume in the morning. Luckily, Liz could pick it up at lunch and drop it off before the festivities, but Ainsley was so worried about it that she asked one of the teachers to call her mom and make sure she was bringing it! All was well, and she had fun at her party. She told us that she was the only Dorothy, but there were two Tinkerbells.

On Sunday, we headed over to Nate and Liz's house where we met up with Madeleine and neighbors Mike, Heather and Evelyn. (Evelyn and Ainsley will be in kindergarten together next year.) We took the girls over to the Brookside shops for trick or treating there, then headed back to play and relax at Nate and Liz's house until it was time to go around the block. Evelyn and Ainsley did a lot of running to and from each house, and Ainsley got a huge kick out of saying "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat!" at Nonny and Papa's house. (She had been told she could only say it to them. And before you ask, yes, they did teach her the saying.)

On the walk over to the shops, Evelyn and Ainsley held hands. Too cute!

Waiting patiently for the candy.

Ainsley took a break from the trick or treating to smile for the camera.

"Trick or Treat!"

All three girls - Ainsley, Evelyn and Madeleine

Finally, Ainsley and Casey went around our neighborhood while Liz manned our door before we retired the Dorothy costume. Who knows, maybe her little sister will be wearing it in a few years.

Ainsley poses with her jack-o-lantern at the end of the night.

Caroline and Matt's wedding

2010-11-02T20:34:00.015-06:00

The happy couple

We'll just start off this post by saying we had a wonderful time over Caroline and Matt's wedding weekend. But we were so busy that we did a horrible job of capturing any photographs of all the events. We have relied on family and friends' photos to illustrate this post, but despite that, we will remember the weekend with fond memories because it was just perfect. (And thankfully we just got to view the gorgeous photos that the photographer took, so we'll have plenty of photos of the wedding in the near future!)

The week started off crazy with parents' night at Ainsley's preschool and kindergarten round-up for next year's school happening that same week. But finally on Thursday we were able to really kick off the weekend with a fun night at Nate and Liz's house in their basement pub and then a trip to Charlie Hooper's. On Friday, Casey enjoyed golfing with many of the groomsmen, his dad, Liz's stepdad, family and other friends in town for the wedding. Meanwhile, Liz had a great time attending the bridal luncheon and getting a manicure and pedicure with the bridesmaids and Caroline.

Ainsley had a great time at home playing with Grandma and Pop Crosbie, who came into town on Wednesday to help out -- and we couldn't have done it without their help, so we're so thankful they could come! -- and then, as a bonus, they got to attend the beautiful ceremony and fun reception (at least until Ainsley declared she was tired!).

On Friday, we headed to the rehearsal. Ainsley came with us, giving Grandma and Pop a little break. Ainsley did a great job practicing for her big role, and Aunt Caroline and Matt made her evening by giving her an adorable little Fancy Nancy doll and a beautiful necklace to wear at the wedding. (The doll has received a permanent place in Ainsley's bed; high praise for any stuffed animal/doll in our house.)

Ainsley is ready to go to the rehearsal.

Afterwards, we dropped off Ainsley with Grandma and Pop so she could get to bed and be rested up for her big day, and we headed to the yummy rehearsal dinner at Jack Stack BBQ. Then we went home to rest for the big event.

On the wedding day, Liz headed out early and got her hair and make-up done and then returned home to help Ainsley get ready. The three of us finished getting ready and headed to the church where we met up with the rest of the bridal party, and Ainsley enjoyed hanging out with the "big girls," Aunt Caroline, Nonny and Mrs. Walsh.

Casey looking dapper in his tux before the wedding.

The ceremony was just beautiful, and Ainsley did such a great job being flower girl. She waved to people and met up with us at the end of the aisle, and Liz escorted her to Grandma and Pop who she sat with during the ceremony. We don't have any pictures that do justice to the ceremony, but luckily the photographer did.

Notice Ainsley's awesome purple shoes. When Caroline sent Ainsley these purple sparkly shoes with butterflies on them, she was so excited. She had to wait until the wedding to wear them. Now she wears them almost every day.

Ainsley waving (I think) to Casey.

With Matt now officially Uncle Matt, we said good bye to Ainsley and she was happy to take a break and go over to the hotel where Grandma and Pop stayed on this visit to go swimming and play. Casey and Liz joined the wedding party on a trolley where they all traveled around Kansas City, taking pictures. It was quite fun!

Casey and Ainsley goof around while waiting around during picture taking at the church after the ceremony.

The reception went off great -- Casey's dad as well as the maid of honor and best man all gave wonderful toasts, first dances were great and everyone had a blast dancing. Ainsley made us all laugh when she stood up on her chair and waved and said hi to "Papa" during his speech. She also enjoyed getting out on the dance floor. But not too long into the dancing, she laid her head on Casey's shoulder and declared that she was tired. So Grandma and Pop took her home to our house, and Casey and Liz stayed on at the reception.

Ainsley pretending to drink tea from her coffee cup. This is how she managed to wave and say hi to Papa during his speech.

Casey, Caroline and some Murray cousins at the reception.

Casey and his now-married little sister.

All in all, it was a great wedding, and we were so glad to share in it. We also were thrilled to officially welcome Matt to the family! A wonderful way to start what is sure to be a fabulous life together for Caroline and Matt.

Eight weeks left ...

2010-10-18T10:15:00.003-06:00

We are heading into the countdown -- eight weeks (give or take) to go and we'll have another little girl in our household! We are all very much looking forward to her arrival. Liz has been feeling much better this second half of the pregnancy and is thrilled she can eat normally again. This time around, of course, there's not as much putting the feet and relaxing since we have a busy four year old. But, luckily, Ainsley is very excited about the arrival of her sister and most everyday says good night to her and asks about her.

Below is a picture of Liz and Ainsley before heading into rehearsal for Aunt Caroline's wedding this past weekend. We'll have much more to report on that very soon!

Ainsley's "homework"

2010-10-06T10:52:00.006-06:00

It's been really fun to watch and hear about what Ainsley has been learning about in her new pre-K class. Lately, they have been talking about Abraham Lincoln, and one of the fun activities that the teacher does is let each kid bring home an Abe Lincoln mask. The child's task is take some pictures with the mask on in a variety of places (see below) and then when they bring back the pictures, they get to be circle time leaders.

Ainsley was excited to bring the mask home this last week, and we are hoping to bring in pictures tomorrow.

P.S. Update: We took the photos in, and apparently this photo sparked a conversation between the kids about whether Abe Lincoln had a dog.

We still wear pink even when we play soccer.

2010-09-16T20:20:00.008-06:00

This fall, we decided to see if Ainsley would enjoy soccer. Last weekend, she had her first practice/game. She had a good time, and it was fun to meet other girls who will be in her kindergarten class next year. We're not sure yet if she's sold on it, but she has plenty of time to figure that out. We know she had fun on the sidelines with the other girls!

A wedding shower for Aunt Caroline

2010-09-09T09:04:00.008-06:00

The flowers and food are hiding it, but Liz's baby belly is quite out there these days.
The hosts and bride before the shower.

A couple of weeks ago, Liz and Mary Beth (Nonny) hosted a wedding shower at our house for Aunt Caroline. It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed celebrating the upcoming nuptials of Caroline and Matt. It'll be here before you know it!

Ainsley was so excited to give Aunt Caroline her gift. In the flower girl book that Caroline got Ainsley at Christmas, it talks about the wedding shower and the flower girl in that book gives her Aunt Caroline a purple teapot because purple is her favorite color. Well, since Ainsley really likes the book and thinks it is the Bible on how Caroline's wedding will go, we decided to track down a purple teapot. Luckily, Liz was successful, and Ainsley got to present Aunt Caroline with it at the end of the shower.

We opted to have Ainsley go to do something a little more kid friendly during the actual shower since most four-year-old girls don't have the patience to sit around while the ladies gab, eat yummy food and open wedding presents, so she went to visit the new polar bear at the zoo with Daddy and Papa. (It was a big hit! She loved the polar bear.)

Ainlsey (on the left) views Nikita up close. Whoosh!

It turned out to be a fun day for everyone. Now we can't wait for the wedding weekend!

Back posting...

2010-09-07T21:46:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the extremely long lapse in posting. We hope to get better again this fall. It was a really busy summer!

We've added several posts we've had ready, but had to wait for a chance to upload pictures. So scroll down for some adventures from our summer.

Our fall is in full swing now with Ainsley in the pre-K class at school and enjoying swim lessons at the Y and Brookside soccer. Photos and stories to come!

Bonjour, Butterfly!

2010-08-19T08:23:00.007-06:00

This past weekend we decided to take Ainsley to Powell Gardens to check out the butterfly festival. We guessed correctly - it was a hit. Her favorite part was when we were in the tropical butterfly area, and not once, but twice, a butterfly landed on Liz's shoulder.

"Fancy Nancy," Ainsley's favorite book character at the moment, was on site. So she participated in a little parade around the garden with "Fancy Nancy," but we think the hot weather may have made it less appealing than it sounded. Ainsley seemed like she would have much rather been playing in the spray park and getting cooled off!

Despite the heat, we all enjoyed checking out the butterflies. We even found "Bonjour, Butterfly" (a "Fancy Nancy" book) at the library later that day so we've been reading it almost every night.

Ainsley the big sister

2010-08-10T09:01:00.005-06:00

At the end of July, we learned that we will be having another girl come December. Needless to say, Ainsley was very excited. She now regularly "talks" to the baby in Liz's belly, letting her know what she has to look forward to when she is outside the belly.

Ainsley's little sister

It's pretty adorable when she kisses the belly and says she loves her sister. We think she's going to make a great big sister and can't wait to meet the new addition to our family.

Happy 4th... a bit late.

2010-07-18T07:13:00.004-06:00

This year we attended several parades - this one in our little neighborhood was on July 3, and so we went over to join in on the fun. Ainsley was a little shy around the firefighters.

Another picture inside the fire truck. Ainsley went with Madeleine Orr on another parade on the 4th, and she got to see another fire truck. At some point, we'll have to get the really cute photo of the two of them from the Orrs.

We rounded out the parades with the annual Popsicle Parade in Casey's old neighborhood. Always a good time. Ainsley actually rode her bike the whole way this year!

Ainsley's birthday part 2

2010-06-30T14:57:00.008-06:00

This year, we decided it was time to have a friends' party in addition to celebrating with family. After mulling over lots of option, we finally landed on a pool party. It's summer, it's hot, what's not to like about a pool party?

We met up with seven of Ainsley's friends, both from preschool and elsewhere, for a fun early afternoon party at the pool. Everyone enjoyed swimming, playing in the water and just generally relaxing poolside before the birthday activities commenced.

Later, we got out of the pool, had a fun lunch and ice cream treat provided by the pool's snack bar and then Ainsley opened presents from her friends. Probably the cutest moment was when one of them had to be shushed by his dad because he was about to tell Ainsley what was in the gift as she unwrapped because he was so excited for her to open it!

Sitting around waiting for lunch are Ainsley (in pink and black suit), then to her left: Zoe, Lily, Ava, Evelyn, Liam and Solveig. (Not pictured: Fletcher.)

When Liam almost told her it was Cinderella in the present!

Then we invited everyone to stay as long as they wanted at the pool, but gave them their parting favors in case they were ready to head home. Ainsley, of course, wanted to go back in the pool. We had a hard time getting her to leave, but when we got home, she crashed!

Happy Birthday, Ainsley - Part 1

2010-06-30T14:56:00.008-06:00

Since pink is her favorite color, Ainsley requested pink frosting.

Ainsley was very excited to turn 4 years old. She'd been talking about her birthday forever, and luckily the day itself turned out great with the celebrating continuing for several days.

Before going for a birthday swim, Ainsley made sure her cake was safe to eat later.

Ainsley loves playing princess, and since her birthday she has been able to play dress up as some of her favorite princesses.

Every princess needs shoes, right?

Dancing with her Prince Charming.

Fancy Nancy needs accessories.

Jesse from Toy Story has slept in Ainsley's bed ever since her birthday.

Blowing out candles. She did a great job! We hope her wish came true!

Butterflies are beautiful, especially when they are sparkly.

Ariel makes bathtime much more fun!

Daddy, can we do racetrack?

2010-06-07T19:22:00.006-06:00

During a particularly rainy weekend, Ainsley started to get a little cabin fever. That afternoon, Casey set up a "racetrack" through the downstairs. He turned over chairs, placed cushions on the floor, and moved tables around so that Ainsley could ride in a circle from the kitchen to the living room and back to the kitchen. Casey then would time Ainsley so that she could try to set records.

This game turned out to be a HUGE hit. Ainsley played racetrack for over two hours that day, and now asks on almost any rainy day, "Daddy, can we do racetrack?"

Bringing out the camera would always result in a slower time. Ainsley - who never met a camera she didn't like - would slow down to pose for the picture.

Ainsley celebrates another lap around the house.

A rainy field trip

2010-06-07T19:22:00.003-06:00

The blogging catch up continues...

Back in May, Liz went on a school field trip with Ainsley to the Kansas City Zoo. Unfortunately, it rained for much of our visit, but we still managed to have some fun.

Ainsley checking out the seals. It was just not our day at the zoo. The pool was being refilled. The seals were still hanging out so at least we got to see them.

At least the elephants were out and active. (Yes, there are a lot of girls in Ainsley's class!)

Ainsley took this picture of an elephant. Turned out pretty good.

Some of Ainsley's class for a group picture. It was like herding cats.

Close up of Ainsley standing next to her friend Lily.

Jiggle Jam

2010-06-07T18:59:00.005-06:00

We had a fun Memorial Day weekend with the first visit to the pool, BBQs and more. But one of the highlights of the weekend was a Sunday trip to Jiggle Jam. Ainsley had a grand time -- she got to sit with Cinderella in the carriage and have her picture taken, she had her face painted and got a new bubble machine. She even enjoyed riding the bus to Crown Center and back.

Also, we ran into Casey's friend Tom who had his four-year-old daughter Ava with him, and Ava and Ainsley were instant best friends. They played together for awhile and rode a little train. They got along so well that we were glad we were able to get them together the next weekend for a BBQ at our house.

Catching up with grandparents

2010-05-18T08:15:00.007-06:00

We finished out our visit in Chicago with a mini Marquette reunion after the Shedd. It was great to catch up with friends.

The next morning, we headed to Indiana so we could spend time with Liz's family. We had a great time celebrating Mother's Day and relaxing for a few days. Here are a few pictures from our visit:

Ainsley insisted on going in the pool even though it was pretty cool out. Luckily Grandma and Pop were nice enough to go in with her. Thank goodness for heated pools!

More swimming. She swam until she was forced out.

After the visit with Grandma and Pop as well as seeing Liz's grandparents, we headed over to see G and Melmo. We also had a chance to see Uncle Rob and Malikeye. Ainsley and G had fun playing a game with stuffed animals -- it basically was Ainsley throwing them at G and then G would dump all of them on Ainsley while she was laying down. We have no idea where it came from, but Ainsley thought it was great. She was cracking up the whole time.

It rained one of the days we were with G and Melmo so we opted to check out a little children's exhibit in downtown South Bend. It provided entertainment for a couple of hours.

Ainsley attempting to make a basket. It was geared for a bit older children, but we still managed to have some fun.

Shedd Aquarium

2010-05-18T08:14:00.004-06:00

We know the blog's been slow recently, but we're hoping to make up for lost time this summer.

In early May, the family traveled to Chicago. Casey's Uncle Todd and Aunt Karen were kind enough to let us stay at their place on Friday night. Ainsley had a great time playing with them and Boomer, their dog.

The next morning, we met up with Marty and Ryan, our friends from Marquette, and took a trip to the Shedd Aquarium. Ainsley loves fish and had been super excited about the trip since she realized that an aquarium was a zoo for fish. She told us that she was very excited to see the sharks.

We took the "L" downtown. Ainsley loves trains and had a blast looking out at the city.

Ainsley in front of the whale exhibit.

Ainsley had a great time at the penguin exhibit. One of the penguins took a liking to her and kept swimming up the glass and splashing near Ainsley. Of course, she loved it.

Finally, Ainsley saw her sharks.

Talking with Ainsley...

2010-05-03T08:39:00.004-06:00

As most parents do, we enjoy the many ramblings of almost four-year-old Ainsley. Last night while driving home from Nonny and Papa's house, Casey said, "I love summer."

Ainsley promptly responded, "I like winter." And we laughed as Liz said, "Ainsley, how can you say that when all you want to wear are sleeveless dresses?"

Her reply was simply, "Sometimes I like Christmas."

Point taken.

Easter: Egg Hunts part 1 and 2

2010-04-15T19:43:00.004-06:00

We actually had beautiful weather for Easter weekend (after we got through the huge rain storm on Friday), so we enjoyed as much outdoor time as possible. This usually means Easter egg hunts -- we split up the egg hunts, the first at home and the second at Nonny and Papa's house after mass on Easter Sunday.

Finding eggs in the bushes around our house.

Ainsley proudly displays some of her eggs, this was about halfway through the hunt.

Finding an egg in Nonny and Papa's yard.

You can see a bit of Ainsley's Easter dress. She loved this dress, but we're guessing it got such high marks because of its pink belt rather the navy blue with white polka dots. Luckily, she also wore a hot pink headband so she had a bit more pink to complete her outfit.

Easter: Dyeing eggs

2010-04-15T19:33:00.004-06:00

On a rainy Good Friday, Liz and Ainsley spent the morning dyeing eggs. They had a great time, and, of course, Ainsley thought the pink eggs were the best.

P.S. Yes, it's perfectly acceptable to dye eggs in your pajamas, especially when it's a rainy Friday off from school!

Fancy Ainsley

2010-03-17T16:02:00.008-06:00

Apparently Ainsley is practicing her defiant model pose.

Dresses, dresses and more dresses. It's rare to see Ainsley in pants these days. Everyday, she asks, "Mommy, can I wear a dress?" and often helps pick it out. Lately, though, she's also started accessorizing the outfit.

At Christmas, Ainsley received "Fancy Nancy. " We spent many nights reading about Nancy's plain family and how she helps them become fancy (accessories are a must!). And now, somehow, we've found ourselves with a Fancy Ainsley.

Where are the Jayhawks?

2010-03-17T16:00:00.005-06:00

Last Friday, Liz, Casey and Ainsley headed downtown for the Big 12 tournament, no not the men's but rather the women's tournament over at Municipal Auditorium. She loves to watch basketball, so we figured why not go see it in action? We took her to a game at Allen Fieldhouse last year, and she had a great time.

So we arrived at the game, bought our tickets and found our seats. When we sat down, Ainsley turns to us and goes, "Where are the Jayhawks?"

I guess Casey's efforts have paid off.

Luckily, we still had a good time watching Oklahoma State take on Iowa State (OSU won, which happened to be the team Ainsley was cheering for). She loved the band, cheerleaders and, of course, the mascots.

A baptism, a nephew and a Godmother

2010-03-17T15:59:00.004-06:00

A few weeks ago, Liz headed to Indianapolis to our nephew Max's baptism. Liz flew out a day early so she could hang out with Max on Friday while Mom and Dad were at work. They had a lot of fun until the poor guy got a fever, which lasted until Sunday morning when he finally started feeling better ... after everything was done. But Max was a trooper and did great at the baptism, and we all had a great time at the taco party that Matt and Taryn put on after the baptism.

While Liz was in Indy, Casey and Ainsley enjoyed a fun Daddy-daughter weekend complete with dinner out with Nonny and Papa, ballet class, a birthday party and even a doughnut run on Sunday morning. Ainsley was thrilled when they ran into her classmate Lily and her dad at Lamar's so they ended up staying and eating breakfast together.

A good weekend all around.

Is it time for ballet class yet?

2010-02-14T11:53:00.004-06:00

For Christmas, Ainsley got ballet lessons from G and Melmo. Ainsley loves them! She's even more excited now that we got her moved into the "big girl" class after the teacher saw that she clearly didn't belong in the intro class. (Thanks to those ballet classes last winter!)

It's a big step since for this class the parents sit outside the class -- parents can see through the mirror, but the kids can't see them. Liz took Ainsley to the first "big girl" session yesterday, and Ainsley did great. (It helps that a friend from school is in the same class.)

She was so excited for class that she woke up early, telling us, "I didn't want to miss my ballet class!" We assured that there was no way she would considering they start at 10: 15 a.m. Anyway, it's a fun way to spend part of our Saturday mornings.

Mommy, can I wear a dress?

2010-02-14T11:46:00.003-06:00

Ainsley is asking more and more to wear dresses. She likes to wear them to school, parties, even for gymnastics class. So we bring you a picture of what she often looks like now before heading to school.

Ainsley the Flower Girl

2010-01-29T21:31:00.005-06:00

We were thrilled when Caroline announced that she and her boyfriend, Matt, were getting married a couple of months ago. They soon set a date for the wedding -- this October in Kansas City. We were also honored that all three members of our little family will play a part in the ceremony, Casey and Liz as a groomsman and a bridesmaid and Ainsley as flower girl.

Ainsley is so excited to be the flower girl in Aunt Caroline's wedding. She is really excited to wear a pretty dress and walk down the aisle. Her ideas have been reinforced by a great book Aunt Caroline and Matt got for Ainsley for Christmas: Fiona the Flower Girl. We started reading it to her as soon as we got it, and we have since read it too many times to count. It came with a very cute little purple flower necklace that Ainsley wears all the time. In fact, she wore it to school the other day, and all the little girls in her preschool class were admiring it.

The whole concept of getting married is something Ainsley has really only heard about in fairy tales, often in the form of a Disney movie, "Cinderella," "The Little Mermaid," etc. So Liz couldn't help smiling when Ainsley told her the other day while she was taking a bath that she was going to marry Matt. Liz laughed and said, "Oh, really?" Ainsley nodded and said, "I'm pretending to be Aunt Caroline." Our only conclusion was that she thought Matt is the prince, and Caroline must be a princess because they are getting married.

Needless to say, we are all quite excited for the festivities in October.

Sledding, a snowman, snowballs ... and Candyland

2010-01-04T19:28:00.005-06:00

Since the snow didn't seem to be going anywhere the week after Christmas, Liz and Ainsley decided one morning to try out sledding on the front hill again. (Casey and Ainsley attempted that weekend, but with too short snow pants, it lasted one round. Luckily, we found some snow pants in her size in the sale rack at Target so we were able to enjoy the winter weather.)

We sledded, built a tiny snowman and made and threw some snowballs. We had a great time, and when we were done, what sounded better than warming up with some hot chocolate (or hot chocolate milk as Ainsley says) and Candyland?

Christmas 2009

2010-01-04T19:25:00.007-06:00

We had a great Christmas -- celebrating in very white conditions this year. After mass, we still managed to host Christmas Eve despite the conditions. Christmas morning Ainsley actually slept in until almost 8 a.m. She was excited to check out if Santa came to our house and if he ate the cookies and drank the milk. He did and even left a few presents after he finished his snack. See some favorite shots from Christmas morning:

Ainsley loved this gift from G and Melmo: ballet lessons this winter and spring. She wore this leotard and ballet shoes the rest of the morning.

Yes, we realize that we have a girl. But this little girl likes trains. So Santa brought her a train set.

But then again she is a little girl. And what little girl doesn't want a dollhouse? So Santa left the big present behind the chair. Currently a set of Disney Princesses (from her Grandma and Pop) are living in the dollhouse.

Elf on the Shelf

2010-01-04T19:19:00.007-06:00

After reading about an elf visiting their house last year on our friends the Leahys' blog, we checked in with Santa to find out if we could have an elf start checking in on Ainsley this year. Sure enough, right after Thanksgiving, an elf showed up in our house. "Dolly," as she came to be known, checked in on Ainsley every day and flew back to the North Pole each night to report on whether Ainsley was naughty or nice.

Ainsley loved finding where Dolly was each morning. Dolly even went into Ainsley's school with her to check on the boys and girls there.

We were sad to see Dolly go on Christmas Eve, but she promised to come back again next year.

A Pre-Christmas Celebration

2010-01-04T19:17:00.006-06:00

In the days before Christmas, Liz's mom and stepdad came to Kansas City to celebrate. We had a nice visit, introducing them to Stroud's (we all gained about 10 lbs from the visit!) and exchanging gifts.

Ainsley enjoyed wearing her pajamas all morning while she opened gifts.

A musical nursery rhyme book was a fun present.

A greener way for Ainsley to do all her doodles ... and write her name 85 times.

Ainsley and Grandma hold up one of her gifts from Uncle Matt, Aunt Taryn and Max: Mrs. Potato Head!

Santa's Holiday Express

2010-01-03T22:15:00.004-06:00

Every year, Santa takes a train from the North Pole and makes a one-day stop at Kansas City's Union Station. We decided it might be a good way to visit with Mr. Claus.

Side note: Liz took Ainsley to see Santa one evening in Brookside, and Ainsley actually talked to the big guy. As you can see above, she didn't really want anything to do with Santa this time around. But she did enjoy the train.

Ainsley's holiday program

2010-01-03T21:58:00.006-06:00

Much, much to catch up on! As always, the time gets away from us during the holidays, so we'll try to get a few posts up soon.

First up, Ainsley had her first holiday program at her preschool back in mid-December. It was fun to watch the kids perform - Ainsley's class sang "Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas." She practiced for the week prior each night in bed. (She continues to sing it off and on. We really get a kick out of hearing her slowly singing to herself in the back seat or while getting her coat on.)

(We are sorry that the video isn't better. We took this one off Casey's iPhone. Liz forgot to hit record on the actual video camera. Whoops ...)

Ainsley in action

2009-12-09T22:49:00.003-06:00

Here are a couple of videos from our trip to Florida.

In this one, Ainsley started swimming on her own while we were there. Ainsley was very proud of herself (and so were we). Despite crazy wind from a hurricane in the Caribbean, we had to drag Ainsley out of the pool every time.

This one demonstrates how fearless Ainsley was with the string rays. She loved feeding them! There were a few other kids there, and the two girls in the group were the only ones who would do it. We brought home a plastic string ray, and she still talks about it.

Giving Thanks Indiana Style

2009-12-06T21:24:00.003-06:00

This Thanksgiving, Casey, Liz and Ainsley headed up to Indiana to celebrate both T-day and Grandma and Pop's 60th birthdays. We got the chance to meet Max, our new nephew (Matt and Taryn's three-month-old son), and see our other nephew, Malikeye (Rob's son), again. We enjoyed spending time with Liz's grandparents and even found some time during the short visit to catch up with some friends.

Sand and Surf

2009-12-06T20:10:00.006-06:00

In early November, Liz and Ainsley headed down to Florida for Grandma and Pop's birthdays. Ainsley got to see the beach and ocean for the first time, swam in the pool (and swam on her own for the first time!), went fishing (and caught one, with a little help) and even fed string rays. Liz was even able to log some time by the ocean, catching up on her reading.

Swimming with Grandma (and Pop) was a favorite activity. She even started swimming on her own -- with floaties, of course -- while we were there.

Making a sand castle on the beach

Ainsley feeding the string ray for the first of many times.

Ainsley's face after feeding the string ray.

Fishing is fun!

She caught a fish. Very proud.

Out to lunch one day, the waiter gave Ainsley a balloon. She thought it was great that it matched her shirt.

We had a great time in Florida and can't wait to go back.

Daddy's Little Helper

2009-11-11T22:41:00.005-06:00

After a rainy, cold October, November has started off with wonderful weather. Casey and Liz finally were able to get around to raking up their leaves and Ainsley decided to help. She loved raking her leaves into little piles - which we would then be ordered to run into - and she had a great time playing in the big piles Casey put together.

Cinderella Loves Halloween

2009-11-11T22:24:00.005-06:00

Ainsley really figured out Halloween this time. She discovered that all she has to do is knock on a door and she gets free candy. What a concept! But, while the candy was fun, the real treat was dressing up as Cinderella.

Ainsley shows off her Cinderella costume before heading out to
trick-or-treat

Ainsley and Casey pause for a quick picture.

After trick-or-treating, Ainsley stopped over at Mike and Heather's house to play with her friend Evelyn. Mike and Heather were nice enough to give Ainsley some dinner - and even after all of candy, she still managed to eat a little bit. Ainsley and Evelyn had a great time and we had a lot of fun hanging out with Mike and Heather.

2009-10-24T14:37:00.002-06:00

Ainsley loves the "Toy Story" movies. Liz's mom found an old Woody doll that Liz's brother Matt got from a girl friend in high school and gave it to Ainsley more than a year ago. Ainsley loves her Woody. Last year at Christmas, she added Slinky the Dog to the mix, and just recently Buzz Lightyear became part of the gang.

So, naturally, when we saw that the movies were being re-released in the theaters in 3-D versions, we figured it was time for Ainsley to go to her first movie in the theater. (We just went to "Toy Story 2," the favorite of the two.) A bit overwhelmed at first, Ainsley ended up having a great time. She even kept her glasses on through the whole thing. She has already asked us when we'll be going back.

First of many ...

2009-10-24T14:02:00.005-06:00

Field trips, that is. Ainsley's preschool went to a pumpkin patch a couple of weeks ago, and Liz tagged along. Getting 20 3-, 4- and 5-year-old kids to and from a pumpkin patch reminded Liz why she did not choose to become a teacher. But, seriously, it was a very beautiful fall morning, and we had lots of fun until Ainsley woke up from her nap later that day with a fever. (Thankfully, it came and went so it wasn't anything terrible.)

Ainsley and her friend Nate on the bus together. Liz was pleasantly surprised when Ainsley decided she wanted to sit with Nate on the bus. They laughed all the way to the pumpkin patch. (She did decide to sit with Liz on the way home.)

Ainsley in the actual pumpkin patch. We were told to pick out a pumpkin that fit in your hands. Ainsley was quite proud of the one we found. Although, Liz ended up carrying hers and a couple of other kids' pumpkins back to the tractor that took them out to the patch.

The kids got to meet some farm animals and go down a slide while they toured the pumpkin patch. (Nate is behind Ainsley. They were quite the pair for most of the morning.)

Take me out to the ball game...

2009-10-02T19:33:00.003-06:00

Last weekend was the Royals final home stand, so Papa suggested that all of us go out to the ballpark on Sunday. We had a great time -- it may have been one of the last warm days of the year -- and Ainsley discovered the kid area at the stadium, including a new found love of merry-go-rounds.

Improvements at home sweet home

2009-10-02T19:22:00.004-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, we enjoyed a visit with G and Melmo. They drove out so G brought along his tools and served as a handyman all weekend -- we redid the tile in front of the fireplace (and by we, I mean my dad did all the labor and I handed over some tools, followed instructions, etc.), installed a ceiling fan in the guest bedroom (much to the happiness of the guests staying in there that weekend and all those to come) and fixed a peeling spot on the ceiling (gotta love old houses). He also helped fix up some other odds and ends around the house.

(Now if we could just get Liz's dad and stepdad to visit more often, we'd never have to fix anything! On Liz's mom and stepdad's last couple of visits, he took on our backyard and made some major improvements. He also has helped with several indoor projects. At some point, we'll start absorbing some of this knowledge...)

However, it wasn't all work and no play. We did sneak in a trip to Union Station and Crown Center where G and Melmo had not been yet, which included watching for trains in the bridge above the train yard and lunch at Fritz's. We got a couple of great pictures, but they're on G and Melmo's camera, so we'll post them as soon as have them.

So You Think You Can Dance....

2009-09-12T10:56:00.002-06:00