I'm Four Years Old!

Mom - "Happy Birthday, Ainsley!"
Ainsley - "Mom, am I already 4 yearls old?"
Mom - "Yes, sweetheart, your 4 years old."
Ainsley - "Isn't that so exciting!"

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Ainsley opened presents the morning of her birthday. She really loves being mommy's little helper. So, she got an ironing board for her birthday. We ironed almost every piece of clothing in her closet that day! Here she is trying it out on her new magnet doll outfits.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Andrew didn't need much to have fun on Ainsley's birthday. He loved the balloons from the weekend and enjoyed crawling all over with them. Thankfully, none of them popped and he is still getting much joy out of the simple things.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Double Birthday Party

"Mom, I would like to have a Bolt birthday party this year. Andrew let me know that he would like that too." -Ainsley

So, this year it was Bolt. The whole year has been about Bolt the super dog. We have pretend Bolt, stuffed animal brown Bolt, baby Bolt, and we play Bolt. You name it, if it's Bolt, we've probably done it. Bolt goes everywhere with us. So it was fitting that we would have a Bolt birthday party to celebrate the fact that we are moving from three to four.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

The Bolt birthday cake and the birthday girl. (It took multiple stores to find someone who had a Bolt cake kit left. Thank you Target for keeping outdated toys! Making a Bolt birthday cake myself would have been a bit too much for me.)

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Did Andrew get into his cake. That's the most asked question after a baby turns one isn't it? I won't leave you in suspense and you can decide for yourself...did he like it?

I gave him a small taste and he went with it with both hands. However; nothing was going into his mouth. The table sure did get it's fair share of the cake!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Oh but wait, the cake is yummy!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

I love it mom! Sorry it's everywhere!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

After letting Papa know for months, she would really like the movie Bolt. Her birthday was complete.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

I'm One

Today I turned one year old! It's hard to believe that this much time has already gone by. I've changed so much since I came into this world. I now have three teeth and another one on the way. I am crawling and working on walking. I eat so many big people foods and I drink milk, real milk! I can talk and say "mama" and "dada" and it sounds like more words will be on their way soon. I have an independent, sweet, sensitive spirit and always have a smile to offer anyone who glances my way. Overall, the first year of life was great and I can't wait to see what changes I have in year two! Mom and dad aren't rushing me but I'm excited to walk, talk, and catch up with my sister.

Here I am, on top of my present! Mom dressed me up today like a big boy! Button down shirt and all.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

Getting into my birthday present. I wonder what it could be?

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

MMMM, basketball! I love it and so does dad :)! Mom never could have imagined a game of hoops in the house but that day is here. Well, almost I have to figure out how to throw the ball and not eat it.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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:

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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.

From The Rankin Family

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.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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.

From The Rankin Family

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.

From The Rankin Family

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.

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

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!

From Andrew Tyndale Rankin

My First Musical

From The Rankin Family

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!

From The Rankin Family

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.

From The Rankin Family

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

From The Rankin Family

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.

From The Rankin Family

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.

From The Rankin Family

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.

From The Rankin Family

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

From The Rankin Family

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.