a 3 yr old birthday party

We had Ava's birthday party with Ryan's family Sunday night. To say Ava was excited was an understatement. She even picked her birthday dinner: hot dogs, carrots & dip, grapes and macaroni and cheese. I know, someday I'll be WISHING that's what she asked for. : )

Let's just say that Ryan and I decided that if you could buy into Disney, it might be a more cost effective route than we think the next few years might be.

Grandpa and Olivia

Hanging out with Aunt Callie

Ava had asked and asked for a baby doll she can take swimming. So when she excitedly opened one up from Uncle David and Aunt Tara, we had to give her a test run.

Playing with her new trains from Gpa and Gma

some Kate cheese

That whole "pumping" thing is kind of hard

Kate thought that whole "swinging" thing was hard

Helping Olivia down the slide

Kate and Ava are quite the buddies of late. It's fun to watch my girls interact together more and more and see their individual relationships form. Sisters are something special.

We tried for a family shot and actually did pretty decent. I like this crew . . .a lot.

All the "kids"

cake time!

You could say Kate likes ice cream . . .alot. Maybe one day I'll have to post the video.

Olivia tries some of Grandma's.

I'm totally being patronized here. : )Playing school with Aunt Tara & Uncle David

Mommy and Kate

fun night at the fair

Late Saturday afternoon we all loaded up for a full night of the county fair. We had to check out the bunnies . . .

and of course the chicks
They fit right in - don't they!? : )

It was HOT for the first couple of hours we were there. Inside one of the buildings they had tons of things for kids to touch, play with and enjoy for free. With the heat, we probably stayed in there for over an hour until it cooled down. The girls had a ball.

Petting the baby pigs

Ava surprised us over and over that night with all the new things she was willing to try that normally would have overwhelmed her and left her crying. She's always been scared to even get one small flower on her cheek with face painting. This time she adamantly informed us she was getting a butterfly on her face. It was so sweet to watch her psych herself up as she waited her turn, "I'm almost 3. I'm big now. Ava won't cry. . . You hold my hand mommy?" She was a trooper and I was so proud of her.

The finished product- she was SO proud of herself and feeling quite good.

Then she decided to surprise us some more. Before we went into the kids building, she had refused any ride but the carousel and even got a little overwhelmed on that at first (although she normally loves them). We thought we were going to have to give away the tickets we'd bought. But our newly empowered little girl surprised us (it must have been the butterfly cheeks). She chose a ride she had to ride herself and while we put her on cautiously, she proceeded to love it and wave happily.

While we were having fun, I asked her if she wanted to ride another ride with me called the "wiggly worm." She excitedly agreed and I just prayed as we climbed in (it was both bumpy and faster than she was used to and I had visions of a bawling child for the ride).

I didn't need to worry.

Poor Kate and Olivia had been so patient watching Ava on her rides and excitedly waving and cheering her on. So we thought they needed a turn.

Of course, Ava had to go and supervise.

We stopped for a traditional fair snack of anything greasy and yummy and Ryan got a lemon shake-up. On a whim he let Kate and Olivia try it and I think he regretted ever letting them near it. They went crazy for it. I wished so badly I had our video camera - we just laughed at them. Let's just say Ryan had to get a refill.

Kate gets her fill (they drank for all it was worth on their turn)

Olivia thinks it's her turn

yum.

Kate preferred the previous arrangement

Before we headed out (after the cows, horses, ducks, chickens, rooster, peacocks and more), Ava had to try a couple more rounds on the rides.

Except the magic had ended. When Ava rode the car ride the first time, it was before dinner and there was only one other little girl on the ride. This last time around? It was full of kids who had discovered horns on all the vehicles.

My daughter does not like horns, much less many of them being beeped incessantly. I was actually quite proud of her as she didn't cry (although she wanted to). Instead, she rode the ride like this.

That was our cue to go home - broke and exhausted . . .but what fun night. : )

a morning out with Daddy

Saturday morning, since he'd had SO much sleep, Ryan took the girls out on the town for the morning going to all the fun places in town that don't cost a thing. : ) Some of the pictures were too cute not to share.

My girls' favorite animals at the Pet Store?

Mice. Enough said.

At Best Buy, Ava discovered she loves a Wii. The fun part? We just got one! I have a feeling she'll better than me in no time once it's up and running.

Kate and Olivia already found the phones they would like someday.

Finally they ended up at Meijer. They have a small, motorized horse that barely moves but is free and the girls think it's GREAT. It's such a great incentive for good behavior while at the store. We've even used it as rewards for good behaviors going other places nearby.

Ava gets a turn

Then Olivia

Ava wanted a picture with her - doesn't she look thrilled?

And finally Kate.

Thanks for a fun morning out Daddy (from all of us!) : )

camping with Daddy

This past weekend we took full advantage of some gorgeous weather! Ryan and Ava have been planning on camping for a while now. We're heading up to Michigan with all 3 girls for our first full weekend of camping soon with Ryan's family and we thought we better let Ava get a feel for it in her own backyard first.

She was quite excited. Daddy gave her a new flashlight that I don't think she let go of for the entire 24 hours.

Watching Clifford before bed.

I told her to take the camera out and take some silly pictures for me (Kate, Olivia and I decided we preferred the comfort of our own beds for a little while longer). : )

Here's one of many shots I found the next morning.

Getting tired?

Just kidding!

Overall she did great. She fell asleep a little before 11 and was poking Ryan around 5:45 telling him, "It's time to wake up Daddy. It's morning." Let's just say Clifford was watched a few more times that morning before they came walking in the kitchen around 8. : ) She's pretty excited to camp some more!

What are Kate and Olivia up to these days?

Organizing Mom and Dad's desk

Playing with (or on) our toys

What does the trash hold today?

WHAT? My sister gave it to me (from the trash) . . .

Holding up the kitchen light

"Won't my mommy be so proud of me . . . ."


Plugging up the outlets

Checking the diaper cream supply

Helping Daddy fix something . . .

Putting sister to bed

Alphabetizing the DVD's

1 . . .2 . . . 3 . . . .

. . . BREAK (you have to rest somewhere).

Getting mommy a kleenex

say "CHEESE" for the camera again (man, mommy's hounding us today)

If I could just climb up here, I'd get a better look at Tess (the neighbor's dog)

Almost there . . .

MOM!?!?!?

Chatting after lunch

Cleaning the toilets

Just in case you ever wondered what life with twin one year olds is like. The reality is that I took most of these picture one afternoon a month ago. Let's just say they haven't slowed down any yet. : )