she laughs!

Paige turns 11 weeks old today. Time is going by so fast! It seems so long ago that I was pregnant, and that Ainsleigh was singing lullabies to the baby and feeling for kicks. Tonight Ainsleigh helped me give the Paige a bath in the baby tub. Paige is finally starting to really enjoy her bath in her tub, rather than screaming before/during/and after. Now she kicks around and makes little splashes. She really likes it when we sing to her. It's been "you are my sunshine" and tonight it was "raindrops on roses." Ainsleigh feels like such a big helper. She got the tub out and wash clothes for each of us. I had been taking Paige in the shower with me. She seems to really like the sound of the water and calms down a lot for it. The shower was nice, but is much easier using the baby tub in the sink.

Today we were playing with Paige on my lap, getting as many smiles out of her as we could. Ainsleigh decided to ram her head into Paige's tummy. I began the protective lecture..."be careful...she's a baby...be gentle." But as I did Paige grinned and let out a sweet squeak that was obviously a laugh! Ainsleigh and I couldn't believe it. Ainsleigh was so proud of herself! She did it several more times and, each time, Paige laughed! Ah! I love it!

Paige is definitely my most observant baby. She loves to stare at things and gets angry if you move her when she's looking at something interesting. She likes the mobile over her crib and Ainsleigh likes to keep it moving for her. Tim says she's like me because she's so easily distracted by staring off at things. Only time will tell.

mini photo shoot

So much for taking photos of the girls at home. I'm trying to get a good picture for a birth announcement and this is what I get. It's pretty funny though!



Cute little baby toes. Had to get a picture of those.

the best smiles

When Paige grins, she REALLY grins. She is smiling all the time now and it is so cute. It is definitely making her seem like she is actually aware of us and how hard we are trying to get a reaction from her. I keep wondering if she does this because she is mocking the way I grin at her. I know I try pretty hard and my eyes do get squinty...



Ainsleigh and I made homemade playdough today. She really loved playing with it. It is a much better consistency than store bought playdough and I think she feels like she is actually doing some cooking of her own. She loved seeing how the food coloring worked. It was fun! We had a little photo shoot at home too and I'll try to share that later. It's nice having them at home together, but it takes some serious effort to do projects with Ainsleigh in between taking care of Paige. They are both so neat to watch and spend time with, I never feel like I get to focus enough on either of them enough. I wonder how my Mom did it with five of us. I'm just doing my best and hoping Ainsleigh remembers the playdough making, and not the frustrated hollering. Not that there ever is any, but just in case...

Ainsleigh in helper mode

So the other morning, I set Paige down in her crib and she is content and mesmerized by her mobile. So, clever mother that I am, I decide to run for it, and take a shower while I can. I hear Ainsleigh saying, "Mama, the music turned off so I had to wind it back up for Paige." I assume she is leaning over and winding up the music on the mobile. I get out of the shower and start to feel like drying off is not as important as checking on my daughters. It is too quiet. I walk in their room to see the above. Ainsleigh is in the crib with Paige. She has covered herself and her sister with blankets and put all the stuffed animals she could find around them. I don't see Rose, the plastic decoy duck she inherited from Great grandpa Louis (funny story for another time), but just about everything else is there. I'm still not sure how I should have reacted. Laughter? Fear? Amazement?


Paige looks happy. I guess I'll just be glad for that and maybe be more careful next time. My big helper. So unaware that she could ever cause any harm.

so funny

Ainsleigh thinks this is the funniest thing ever. All day long I hear..."Mama! Look! Paige is eating my nose again!" Given her expression, Paige apparently doesn't see the humor in it...

She's thinking..."well, if you put something near my mouth, you have to expect it to end up being sucked on." But when you're this cute, you can pretty much think and do whatever you want.

Brrrr!!

We braved the weather to drive to Grandma Connie and Grandpa Larry's house last week. Grandpa was determined to get our windshield wipers fixed as they are kind of necessary in this weather. We knew that it was supposed to snow quite a bit that night, and planned to stay overnight. But then the temperature took a dive, as did the battery in my car, and we ended up staying four nights! The girls didn't seem to mind. It was a week of lots of firsts. Ainsleigh's first time sledding, first time shoveling the steps for Grandpa, first time sleeping by herself in the toddler bed (or princess bed as the cousins refer to it) all night, Paige's first long naps on Grandma's sofa, and Ainsleigh's first hairstyle done at a salon. Paige seemed to really grow up and started smiling on demand. It was a week of memories made, baking done, and art projects completed while we were snowed in at Grandma's!

I had to share this video of Ainsleigh getting ready to sled. She has the best kung foo dance that she's perfected while watching the credits of Kung Foo Panda, when they play the song, "everybody was kung foo fighting." We had to convince her that it wasn't "come through panda."




Here is Paige asleep in her favorite spot on Grandma's couch, napping in the warm sunlight.



These photos bring back memories of playing in the snow at Mom and Dad's myself when I was a kid. It almost doesn't seem real that it has been so long, and that I am old enough to have my daughters recreating the same memories I had. We spent hours out in the snow, building forts with our cousins or the neighbors, or sledding down the small hill in our front yard. My cousin Dustin even got his tongue stuck to the icy cold sled on his way down the hill and had to go to the emergency room. Oh...but those were the older style sleds with metal runners. We were safe, Ainsleigh just used the plastic saucer.



Look at those rosy cheeks! Remember the days when it seemed like you could play for hours out in the snow and not get cold? I think Ainsleigh cold have stayed outdoors a lot longer than I could handle.


You can sort of make out a little Paige smile.



And this was taken today. Paige in the bumbo chair. She's holding her head up so well now.




I don't want time to go by too quickly, but I'm sort of feeling done with the cold and snow now and ready for the time that I can take this baby out without worrying about the cold and let her enjoy some fresh air and sunlight.

Here's one last video of Paige smiling a little at Mom and Dad's. I can't get enough of her sweet little chubby cheeks!



We missed Tim a lot and I know he missed us too, but it was kind of nice to break our routine and spend time with Grandma and Grandpa. It's been awhile!

snowy day

The snow has fallen all day long today. We spent it indoors, baked some bread, made potato soup. Ainsleigh drew a beautiful self portrait. Paige slept. Blizzard Warning in effect. There is always so much to get done, but on days like today, it just can't be. We are forced indoors so we just try to just pause and enjoy it. Tomorrow it all starts again.