Bumper Bowling

The weather is cold and our play groups have been meeting inside. Today, we went bumper bowling! It was a riot to watch the kids bowl and be so excited when they got just even a few pins down. It took about 2 hours but we finally made it to the 8th frame (we didn't get to finish out the last two frames, we ran out of time!) and Ainsley rolled an 82. Not bad for 8 frames and a roll speed of almost nothing.

Here she is with her 5 pound ball!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

She has some great bowling gene's in her. Mom, Papa, Great Grandma Annie, and Great Aunt Barb are or were all good bowlers.

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Andrew wasn't quite sure what to make of the morning. There was a senior league their while we were and the kids all got an overdose of attention. It was hard, but I managed to keep him from chasing the ball down the oiled lanes.

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning at our house was filled with fun, excitement, and a lot of anticipation. Ainsley kept wondering if she would see a Bolt ornament (found at the very tip toe of her stocking), or Bolt anything! We were curious to see if Andrew would get the concept of opening presents. But most of all there was a lot of anticipation on my part to see if Ainsley would like her gift this year.

Getting going Christmas morning....we had a delay. Since winter storm 2009 dropped almost a foot of snow on us, dad was outside shoveling and helping a neighbor push their car out of the snow. Later that day the favor was returned as we tried to venture out to go to Papa and Gigi's. But we were all patient and waited to start opening presents until we were all warm and cozy together.

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It didn't take Andrew long to figure out how to get into his present! He loved ripping the paper, sand he had a huge smile on his face, much like the one here when he saw something come out of the box!

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Ainsley's present this year was a puppet theater complete with handmade puppets by mom! (I was curious to see if she would like the puppets and realize who made them.) Well, she likes the puppets but I must say the puppet theater has seen a bigger hit. It has doubled as a play house, ice cream stand, theater, and store front. It has been a huge blessing to her and we give thanks to the wonderful couple who handed it down to us.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

This Christmas has been so very special because we have been blessed in so many ways...Andrew is with us, Ainsley is with us, the Lord has continued to provide for us, and we have been blessed by the many generous friends we have in our life.We hope that you too have had a joyous holiday with many blessings.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Christmas Traditions

It's important to have fun things to remember about your Christmas. Special moments, special gifts, and special family traditions. This year we carried on an old tradition and started a few new ones. The most exciting tradition we started this year was Christmas Cookie baking. Now, yes, I've always made Christmas cookies. Good old stand by's, cookies I grew up with, and perhaps one new trial cookie each year. This year though, Ainsley joined in the fun. I purchased two magazines full of holiday cookies and let her go through and pick out the ones she wanted to make. Eight different cookies in all (we only conquered seven.) Here's a picture of the cookies we made this year:

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Little did I know she would pick out cookies that required some serious decorating. We had spritz cookies, grandma's classic chocolate sandwiches, spice x-mas packages, butter stars w/ butter frosting, red velvet shortbread cookies, peanut butter blossoms (my grandma's recipe), and christmas sandies. I told her that each year we would carry on with her picking out the cookies (Andrew will join in as well when he's old enough.) My hope is that she continues to have a love for baking and that we have a fun time together in the kitchen. Not to mention, we will have a wonderful selection of cookies to share with our friends and family.

Another tradition we started this year was a birthday cake for Jesus. Ainsley really focused on the fact that we were celebrating Jesus' birthday at Christmas time. Naturally, she wondered if we could bake a cake for him. So, we baked together again and sang happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas Day. It warmed my heart to hear my family singing to Jesus. I hope that this is a tradition t hat we continue through the years. Here's our first Happy Birthday Jesus cake.

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And last but not least the tradition of Christmas PJs carried on! This year the kids had christmas PJs with dogs on them. Ainsley loved them and Andrew was just as happy as usual. I wonder how long I will be able to keep them matching.

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Christmas Catch Up

The holidays are passing by and the trips to see family and friends are slowly coming to an end. Mom has caught the blog up on the events leading up to this joyous season where we celebrate the birth of Jesus; now, it's time to get caught up on what we did throughout the season. We will be posting soon about the new traditions that our family has started, the fun we had with our families, and the exciting new blessings that we have received.

As you wait to see what has gone on throughout our holiday, we hope that you had a joyous one! The Rankins.

1st Snow 2009

We are beginning to see winter here in Kansas City and I couldn't wait until the first snow. Today it came in true midwest Missouri form. We had rain, than ice, than the fabulous snow! I forgot how many clothes mom had to put on me before I went out. It was cold and bright! I think we need to add sunglasses to the winter wardrobe.

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It wasn't the right type of snow for snowmen, but I had fun making snow angels with my neighbor! Mom even took us on a trek through the woods looking for animal footprints. This is my favorite thing to do when it snows, I love the adventure. I can't wait for some more big snows and the chance to make a snowman!

Movie Star

My sister loves her sunglasses. She has red ones, blue ones, pink ones, and funny shaped ones. Today, mom caught her sharing with me. I thought it was great and had a huge smile on my face. My sister always makes me smile especially when she is being so kind.

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I really loved it, but wasn't so sure about the yellow world I saw through these lenses. So even though the sunglasses only lasted a few minutes in their proper place, we sure had fun together and lots of laughs.

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Mom just loves these moments of happiness between the two of us that she captures on camera.

Trimming the Tree

We started putting out Christmas this week. Last night the tree, the tree lights, and the angel went on top. Dad lifted me up and I got to top the tree. So this morning while Andrew was sleeping, mom and I trimmed the tree. I couldn't wait to get started and get our special ornaments out. Last year my favorite was the Little Einstein rocket ship and it's music. This year it was the first to go on the tree.

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The tree is done! I stepped back and looked at my work and thought it was pretty good. Mom did have to space a few ornaments out for me and we were careful to not put many at the bottom where Andrew could get to them. We are looking forward to what he thinks when he sees this new addition to the family room.

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Andrew likes it! He's fascinated by the lights and he has spied some of the shiny ornaments. He stared at the tree for awhile and mom wishes she knew just what he really was thinking. With some of my funny antics I got his attention and mom got a great photo!

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After that great picture, I had to let Andrew know that touching was a no, no. Mom enforced this as well as the tiny little fingers kept inching closer to the tree. Andrew took direction well and we have been playing happily near the tree. Mom took a quick snap of the two of us. We love the joy this season brings in so many ways.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Happy Thanksgiving

From The Rankin Family

We are thankful for so many things this year...the birth of Andrew, health, and the support of our loving families. We are thankful for our friends and all the moments we have shared with them. And we are also thankful for the opportunity to share our lives with those around us. We hope that you all are touched in some way this holiday through loving family, friends, and our Lord and Savior. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Blue Birdhouse

Today while mom was out and Andrew was napping, dad and I went out to the garage and built a birdhouse together. I've been watching the birds all summer and with winter coming, I really felt they needed a real home in our backyard. So, with the scraps in our garage we built this sweet little home for the birds.

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Of course, we had to paint it. My first choice was yellow. Lowe's didn't come through for us though with a birdhouse size can of paint in yellow. So instead, the bird house is blue! Not a bad choice, it's my favorite color. I love doing art, painting, and making things. So this was a real treat for me to work in daddy's workshop.

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Now, we just need to find a place to hang it!

Fall Fun

We had a beautiful day here and I got to go outside with my first truck! My cousin, Will, donated some of his old toys to me and I'm loving them! I knew what to do with this big yellow Tonka Truck the minute I saw it. I definitely have some of my dad's gene's in me. Not only do I look a bit like him but I also have his affinity for trying to see how things work. I had the wheels off in no time.

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Here I am checking out the grass. Unlike my sister, I love the feel of the grass between my fingers and honestly, it doesn't taste too bad either!

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My First Musical

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Ainsley, mom, and dad had a rare treat on Thursday night. Thanks to Papa and Gigi, we were able to go out just the three of us. It had been a long time since we had some alone time with just Ainsley and she has had a big year! A new brother, enrolling in speech classes, parents who are busy...we wanted to reassure her and let her know that she has a very special place in our family and we are thankful of the blessing that she is to us. So we all got dressed up and headed off to dinner. One of her favorite spots is California Pizza Kitchen, so that's where we went. After a pepperoni pizza for three, we were off to the big event!

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Ainsley's first musical! I got the tickets awhile back for opening night and it was so exciting. Ainsley couldn't wait to see George and the Man with the yellow hat on stage. We took some time to let her know it was a story being played out right in front of her, that there would be music and dancing, and that there wouldn't be a break for her to go potty for awhile. She was absolutely enthralled.

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I know it made an impression. This morning I found her dancing and singing "That's a Meatball" in the family room. It was a pretty cute sight. I wish I could have got that on video!

Belton/Grandview Train Ride

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After a long period of fascination with trains, Ainsley finally got to ride on a real one with her Monday morning play group. We made the drive down to Belton for an authentic train ride experience. Here is the train conductor.

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The train is run by a group of volunteers and they make a great effort to keep it vintage. There were old suitcases on the train and really cool lights on the ceiling. It was a 45 minute ride to the next station up the tracks and then the train went "backwards" all the way back to the depot. Here is Ainsley getting her ticket punched. The guy had an authentic ticket puncher that made a really cool shape.

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Andrew came along for the ride. He did great and really enjoyed looking out the window. A friend of mine got this picture of the two of us. One of the few with just me and him.

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Ainsley enjoyed looking out the window as well. She was pretending she was on a treasure hunt and enjoyed playing "I Spy" as well.

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Overall, this was a great raveling experience. I'm not sure how they would do on a long train ride. We're hoping to take them on the train to St. Louis one day. I guess will find out if a short trip is what makes the difference.

Happy Halloween 2009

Happy Halloween! This year we were off to Papa and Gigi's for some treating. No tricking here. They have a great neighborhood and Ainsley even got to trick or treat with her new little friend who was snow white.

What was Ainsley you ask, well this year she really wanted to be a princess. For a few days it was Sleeping Beauty, then it was Ariel and she kept waffling. So, here I was running out of time to get her a costume. Of course I was looking forward to the last minute discount but equally concerned I wouldn't get the desired look. So off we went to shop, Ariel, no Sleeping Beauty, no Snow White and then I said, "No matter which one you pick, you must wear clothes underneath your costume." (It was going to be very cold on Halloween night.) Fearing she would ruin the look she said, "Mom, I'll be the dragon costume that we already have." (I had picked this up for free at a garage sale this summer.) We stopped at one last place, Target. She saw this costume and was hooked and so was I. It was warm, she could wear a cream shirt underneath, and it was well constructed. Happiness all around, including a 30% discount :)

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And then there was Andrew. He was the duck/chicken that Ainsley was for her first halloween. (Minus the striped tights.) I think he is equally as cute as a duck/chicken!

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Here is the finished pumpkin carving project. Ainsley is fascinated by the moon, we always look for it and talk about it's shape.

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Pumpkin Carving 2009

Well, nothing has changed much on the pumpkin carving front in the last year. Ainsley is still not willing to dig in. This year she did take a hold of the spoon and make an effort at some scoops in cleaning out the pumpkin.

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Then Ainsley decided that the pumpkin smelled funny. This has been her new thing lately, "Mom, I smell something pewy." And once, I hear that it's all over. She's usually right, and often it's Andrew. But you know there was no cleaning out the pumpkin after that statement. Dad, was called in for the remainder of the clean out.

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Andrew was completely unsure of the whole pumpkin thing. He looked inside it, didn't even make an attempt to touch it, and when I helped he remained unfazed. Admittedly, I was disappointed.

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Perhaps next year will get more of a reaction out of him. Right now, he is just content with his thumb and his lambie.

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She was definitely into the carving portion more this year. We purchased a new pumpkin carving knife but she's still not quite strong enough to do it without some assistance. She still loves to yank out the carved pieces though. This year, no toothpick necessary!

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Our girl is a puzzle fanatic. Have I mentioned we are up to 300 piece puzzles with her. She can really get going if the puzzle has discernible colors. So it was no surprise that she loved fitting the pumpkin top back on. "Mom, it's like a puzzle!"

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First Fall/Winter Walk

The weather has been strange here in Missouri. We've had a really rainy October with a lot of really big temperature swings. Today it started off sunny and in the high 60s but by mid-afternoon we had gray skies and low 50s. Ainsley still really wanted to go for a walk though. So after what seemed like 30 minutes of preparation, we went out for the same length walk.

Fall raincoats and winter hats/mittens. I haven't quite gotten to the winter coat stage yet, but we are close. Andrew was not a fan of all the extra gear, not that you could tell by this picture.

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Ainsley loves walking with her dog Bolt. Usually Bolt is in a doll stroller, today we kept him warm by carrying him. I would not be surprised if he got a dog jacket yet this winter and a Christmas present. He goes everywhere with us, absolutely everywhere.

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Rosy cheeks, red noses, and cold hands when we got home. I need to stock up on some hot chocolate and marshmallows, Ainsleys drink of choice on days like this. (Sometimes, I think it's the whole premise for going on a walk in the first place.)

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Halloween Cookie Making

It's been rainy here and we've been stuck inside. So, mom and I made our annual halloween pumpkin cookies. This year I have been much more involved. I helped with the counting and measuring when we made the dough. Then, I got to help with the rolling of the dough. Mom even gave me the scraps so that I could really roll my own cookies! But then there was my favorite part, DECORATING!

I picked out some sprinkles at the store and mom let me go to town. By the time I was done, you couldn't even see the smiling pumpkin face underneath!

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Here's one of mom's decorated cookies. She only made two. I wonder why. :)

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Why is this one plain? Oh yes, we are going to frost these!

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Umm, Andrew is definitely suffering from second child syndrome. Can you believe that he has sampled these cookies!

Drinking!

Andrew is slowly graduating to a cup. I'm not sure why it has taken him so long to catch on. Perhaps it's because with the second child I decided to introduce water only or mommy's milk. (Bottle acceptance diminishes rapidly at this house and a cup is my only hope.) Or perhaps it's because the cup seems as big as he is. Whatever the case, I am glad he is finally getting the hang of it.

Ahh, a sippie cup.

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Look mom, so big!

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I really do know how to use this thing.

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He'll only drink about two ounces a day, but it's a start. He really enjoys just chewing on it and making squeaking noises on the rubber spout with his gums. Oh well, he's happy. What more could I ask for!

Harvest Party

Ainsley has made a few new friends lately and we were invited to a 4th birthday Harvest party this weekend. Ainsley had a lot of fun at the party with her new friend and experiencing some new fall activities.

Here she is painting a pumpkin. She made a very beautiful abstract design. I have had it on my window sill in the kitchen admiring it. I'm sure we'll be painting pumpkins again next year.

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They also had a pony ride and a hay ride. Of course Ainsley was excited about Shadow, the pony! She sure is an animal lover. There is a pet somewhere in our future, hopefully not something quite this large!

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Out of everything though, she was most excited about bobbing for apples. She talked about this from the time we got the invitation. She had a blast getting wet up to her pig tails. She had a few young coaches on the sideline tipping her off to the stem trick.

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Check it out mom, I got it!

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We're so thankful that God is bringing these new friends into Ainsley's life. This particular friend is close to our home out in Independence and he has also blessed us with a new friend down the street from Papa and Gigi's house. Even after three years of living in Missouri we are still finding our way and he is guiding us.